by John Creasey
‘If that remark was intended to be sarcastic I trust it will be the last of its kind you make,’ rebuked the Master. ‘If it was an acceptance of simple fact, yes. By a process of simple selection, by using the sperm and ova of physically and mentally perfect men and women, by developing the system of the artificial womb, I have produced a race of people who have none of the defects of the Earth-bound human being. You see in Azran an example of such a person. Only in self-defence against Terrestrials do she and others use the quite exceptional physical strength they possess. We try to restrict the need for such excesses by giving to each one who visits Earth a small pistol which compresses air and is powerful enough to force human beings and even vehicles off balance. Show me yours,’ he ordered Azran.
He glanced at the girl with a kind of stern approval, and she smiled, as if quietly pleased, and took a small, flat object from her trousers pocket. It was so flat that its shape had not been revealed, even by that ‘skin’. The Master gave it to her back as he continued, ‘We on Nega have many dependent satellites which are all controlled by us. We call the manmade galaxy Nega-plus. The Nega children, never influenced by any of the normal emotions, are taken to remote places on various planets and other dependent satellites and they are trained to use their minds. To think, not to feel. Their pleasures are all cultural. They study the fourth and even the fifth dimension. And there will soon be sufficient of them to populate the Earth efficiently.’
The Master stopped, and the silence was so profound that the faint buzzing was inaudible. It did not occur to any one of the three ‘Earth’ human beings with him to doubt the truth: there were enough of these children of the Nega galaxy to populate the Earth, even if not in the same way as the hundreds of millions of human beings already teeming there.
As if he understood this and accepted what was going through their minds, the Master went on, ‘There are, of course, too many people on Earth. Replacement at the present rate of turnover would take far too long, even with the advantages I have outlined to you evolution would not be quick enough. Obviously, the best way to deal with this situation was first to restrict and then to prevent any new Terrestrial human births. I have been responsible for many experiments in such birth control, the last of which have proved to be wholly satisfactory. We have small dependent satellites, also controlled by Nega, the master satellite. Many Terrestrial humans call these flying saucers. These so-called saucers affect all the women of a selected area with the semen-neutraliser, which makes conception impossible. The whole of the selected area is potentially barren from the first waves of neutraliser, which we call Nega waves and which affect the ovaries and the creative or genital organs of both men and women. One such treatment is sufficient for at least a year. I have not yet sufficient Nega waves to cover the whole of any country but substantial areas of each country have now been affected. Moreover, problems in the production of the Nega waves have been overcome. The Nega waves are produced from electrical impulses common in outer space, it was simply a case of concentrating and controlling them. They are inexhaustible, like plankton of the oceans. Larger areas on Earth are being affected each day. There is no known form of protection. The waves pass through all known construction materials, such as steel, cement, brick, reinforced concrete, aluminium. Nothing yet discovered has resisted them.’
As Palfrey listened to all this his mouth seemed to become parched, painfully stiff and parched. He could not look away from the Master and had no idea what the other two were doing. There was a doom-like positiveness in what this creature said – obviously there was no likely margin for error – what he said was the simple truth.
Palfrey gulped and asked, ‘How much of the Earth have you conditioned so far?’
‘About one tenth of the major population areas and a far greater proportion of the scattered communities,’ said the Master, promptly. ‘The effect will become apparent very soon, certainly within a month.’
‘How—how long will it take to cover the whole Earth?’ muttered Maddern.
‘At most, another thirty days,’ answered the Master. ‘It is possible that it can be done in twenty days. I had intended to slow the process down—it had not been my intention to proceed at anything like such speed, because there were not enough trained Celestial humans to take over on the Earth. It is a living Earth we wish to see, not a dying one. This problem, as I have told you, has been overcome. Delay is not now possible. I had intended to come to terms with the big powers. However, since the announcement of the incidence of Nega-induced birth-control has been made, it would be an act of inhuman cruelty to slow the process.’
He stopped and Maddern spoke angrily and bitterly – the first sign of emotion he had shown.
‘There would have been no news to break if you—’
‘Reggie,’ interrupted Palfrey in the mildest of voices, ‘recrimination won’t help. We still don’t know what the Master proposes, and obviously it was a grave error to release the news.’
Maddern drew in his breath as if it hurt, but he made no retort. Joyce looked narrowly at Palfrey then closed her eyes. The Master gave a quick nod of approval and then went on briskly, ‘You are a man of rare discernment, Dr. Palfrey. I am beginning to believe that it might be possible for us to come to some arrangement even now. Contrary to what others may think, it has never been my desire to wipe out all Terrestrial humans. Those who remain will have much more food and much more leisure as their number lessens. What I desire—’ he hesitated, spread his hands and then leaned forward with an earnestness even he had not shown before ‘—are a number of places on Earth where my Celestial human beings can become acclimatised and learn what they will have to do when eventually we take over. They can, of course, do a great deal of preparatory work. In fact they will have to if they are to control the world in which the vast mass of people are old or ageing. The Terrestrials can, however, lead a contented life, surrounded by their normal pleasures, even their sensual pleasures. It would have been possible, of course, to make the men impotent and to take away the pleasures of physical love-making, but this I have no desire to do.
‘What I do desire, Palfrey, is peaceful occupation of the Earth.
‘I will guarantee that no harm is done, that there is no violence at all, and no blood-letting, in return for the free acceptance of, say, one Celestial human to every one hundred Terrestrials. They are to be absorbed in society and may procreate although they will be restricted to two offspring to each couple, and they will live in areas set aside especially for them.’ The Master paused, then leaned forward and went on in great earnestness, ‘I do not see how I could be more reasonable. Each nation may even retain its sovereignty over its Terrestrial subjects. I hope very much that the national leaders will accept the conditions, so that we may remove fear of extermination from the Earth.’ Again he paused and again he leaned closer to Palfrey, and this time he asked, ‘Do you think the terms will be acceptable?’
Palfrey said quietly, ‘I cannot tell until I’ve talked with world leaders.’
‘Will you present these proposals to them exactly as I have presented them to you?’
‘Yes,’ Palfrey promised.
‘Will you use all your influence to persuade them to accept?’
After a moment’s pause, Palfrey said almost inaudibly, ‘Yes.’
‘But you can’t!’ cried Maddern, springing up from his seat. ‘It’s diabolical. You virtually condemn the whole human race to extinction and then persuade its surviving members to become slaves? It’s monstrous. It is diabolical!’ He glared at Palfrey, not at the Master, and his eyes were fiery and his lips taut; at times the words seemed to run into each other.
‘Be quiet!’ the Master ordered sharply.
‘I won’t be quiet. I won’t—’ Maddern advanced towards Palfrey, his fists clenched as if to attack him. ‘And you are supposed to be able to speak for mankind. You can’t even speak for me�
�or for you, can he, Joyce?’ Now he began to round on Joyce, and repeated, ‘Palfrey can’t speak for you, can he?’
Palfrey and Joyce had worked together for over ten years. And, Palfrey knew, she had been in love with him for most of that time.
She had served him and Z5 more faithfully than anyone alive, with absolute and unquestioning loyalty. She had been known to argue, even to fight for her opinion but once the decision had been made, she had always accepted it, and bided by it.
Now, she hesitated.
Palfrey had never seen her wear such an expression, as if she were undergoing a swift transition from love, as it were, to hate. He had spoken for her a thousand times and she had never hesitated to trust him. But she did not seem to trust him now.
At last, she said, ‘No, Sap. You can’t speak for me.’
‘My God!’ exclaimed Maddern. ‘Rather than let you go and plead with the governments, I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you.’
And he leapt at Palfrey’s throat, hands outstretched and fingers curled as if to choke the life out of him.
For one moment Palfrey was afraid, for Maddern, even less than Joyce, could have no idea of what was in his mind. The next moment the urgent fear faded, for the Master simply stretched out a hand with one of the flat pistols in it, and pointed it at the enraged man’s chest.
At that instant, Maddern collapsed.
Chapter Seventeen
THE METHOD
For a few seconds there was utter stillness, Palfrey and Joyce staring with horror at Maddern, who was on the floor, crumpled up, as if dead. Then Joyce flung herself on him, took his head in her arms, glared up at the Master and cried, ‘If you’ve killed him, I’ll kill you!’
She felt for Maddern’s pulse and held it for a moment, now staring into his face. Then, pivoting round, she sprang up at the Master, and there was murder in her eyes.
Palfrey thrust himself forward, taking her by the shoulders. She struck out at him but he held her arms tightly. He had a strange flash of thought – that there had been times when she longed for him to hold her like this, and now all she did was strain to get away.
‘Stop it, Joyce!’ he ordered sharply.
She kicked at his shins.
‘Stop it, or—’
The Master stepped forward and pointed the gun at her as he had at Maddern, and she went limp in Palfrey’s arms. Her head lolled back, after one gulp her breathing seemed to stop. The Master, just behind her and in front of Palfrey, spoke with a touch of impatience.
‘She will come round, and so will Maddern.’ He watched as Palfrey lowered Joyce to a chair and made her comfortable, and then went on, ‘The compressed air power here on Nega is much greater than on Earth, where it has a limited range and effect. That is why my emissaries have to learn to protect themselves in other ways.’
Palfrey made no comment as he knelt down on one knee and straightened Maddern’s body, resisting the temptation to check his pulse. He left the man there and stood up to his full height. He was at least a head taller than the Master.
‘I permit the use of violence only when there is no way of persuading Terrestrial humans to rely on their intelligence,’ declared the Master, with angry impatience. ‘It was necessary to send emissaries to observe what was happening on Earth, and they were sometimes compelled to go long distances from their capsules. Relief capsules were always sent, of course, but occasionally emissaries such as Azran were left to their own devices. For people who have had the best education, the best training and in one case years of experience with a man of your calibre, however, your agents are most disappointing. I am constantly faced with the fact that development of the Terrestrial human species by the simple form of evolution can only fail. Don’t you think so?’
Palfrey drew a deep breath.’
‘I’m beginning to.’
‘Ah. You are a man of unusual percipience.’
‘One thing is becoming glaringly obvious,’ Palfrey conceded slowly. ‘That you are very advanced compared with us on Earth. We need a thousand men and tens—hundreds—of millions of pounds to build a space craft. You—’
‘Our space capsules are quite simple. We have achieved what no other humans have been able to achieve – complete control of nuclear energy. Palfrey, if I return you to Earth will you tell the leaders of nations what I have said?’
‘I’ve already promised to,’ Palfrey said.
‘Will you use your influence to persuade them to make this arrangement with me?’
Palfrey’s hand strayed to his hair and he began to twist a few strands round his forefinger. He could say ‘yes’ of course, convincingly, but he was not sure that any kind of lie was wise with this man, who seemed able to divine the truth, to know what others were thinking. There was great simplicity, almost naivety about him, which showed in sharp contrast to his fantastic powers.
So Palfrey said, ‘I still prefer things as they are on Earth. Evolution down there may be slow, but—’
‘You cannot possibly win!’ cried the Master.
‘We might prefer to fight and lose,’ Palfrey retorted.
‘You have absolutely no chance at all. Surely your mind is good enough to enable you to comprehend the situation. Either the people of the world co-operate, and most of those now alive continue to live in comfort and freedom from fear in their own protectorates, one might say, while we take over control, or we simply take over whenever we wish without concern for them. We simply wait.’
‘Wait?’ exclaimed Palfrey.
‘Time is of little consequence here,’ declared the Master. ‘I may be impatient personally but if necessary I can wait for ten or even twenty years without distress. By that time the average age of Terrestrials will be so high that their leaders will come to terms. If they really prefer me to destroy them all and take over the Earth then I can do nothing more. I want to spare them, Palfrey. Don’t you understand? I really want to spare them.’
Palfrey said, ‘I’ve only known about this for a few days you know. I need time to adjust, to re-think the situation.’
‘That, of course, is understandable,’ conceded the Master. ‘And you will need help. Come with me.’ He stepped over Maddern’s body and went to the door which opened as he approached. He led the way along a circular passage, passing a few of the Celestials working at different control panels or scanning the stars. Door after door opened until finally Palfrey was at the top of a spiral staircase of bright metal. The Master led the way down.
As they neared the bottom, Palfrey stood quite still, for the Earth lay beneath them and seemed only a few hundred miles away, spanning the whole width of the window. A dozen men were standing at what looked like huge telescopes, and controlling their focus with obviously meticulous care. Then he saw some tiny patches on the Earth’s surface show a vivid white, as if light suddenly burned on it. The Master took Palfrey to one side of the window.
‘Do you see the patches of light?’
‘Yes.’
‘They are new patches of the world which are being impregnated by the Nega waves,’ the Master told him. ‘This window is in fact a lens of a vast telescope. Each of the “telescopes” you see are actually ray guns. They focus on the illuminated areas for a specified period of time, which can be as little as three hours or as many as seven. After the radiation there will be no new Terrestrial human or animal conception on those areas.’
Palfrey could only nod, he was so appalled.
‘The Nega waves can be strengthened,’ the Master stated simply. ‘At double strength they can destroy all human life. But as I say I do not wish to kill, nor do I wish to take over a planet which has ceased to function. But if I have to, I will, Palfrey. Nor would I wait very long because now you Terrestrials have reason to believe that we come from outer space and that we have satellites encircling the Earth, you will attempt
to find us and attack us. You have some very powerful weapons.’ Now the Master was looking only at Palfrey, and his voice took on a harder note. ‘Well? Do you wish to save some who live on Earth? Or will you condemn them all?’
Very heavily, Palfrey said, ‘I tell you I will put the situation to the leaders.’
‘Good! And you will also show them the advantages?’
‘I will present every side of the case.’
‘Excellent!’ approved the Master. ‘You can go down to Earth at once, and—’
Palfrey said, ‘With Joyce and Maddern?’
‘Most certainly not,’ said the Master, firmly.
‘Why not?’
‘You must surely have seen that neither is in any way amenable to reason. They would do everything in their power to prevent an arrangement. They must stay here.’
‘Very well,’ Palfrey said, after a long pause. Outwardly he had to appear to accept the situation, had somehow to hide his feelings, conceal the revulsion he felt against what this man was planning. What was happening at this moment over those areas which shone with such radiant light?
Then he added, ‘But I must know everything, half the truth won’t help.’
‘You do know everything,’ said the Master simply.
‘I don’t know how long the effect of Nega waves lasts on women. I don’t know how long it will take you to impregnate all the people of the world. I don’t know how long it would take to double the strength of the Nega waves and so kill everyone on Earth. I do not know the conditions in your conception, pregnancy and birth colonies. And I cannot urge the leaders to submit if I cannot tell them what will happen if they don’t.’
He felt the intense gaze from the Master’s grey eyes, and he wondered if the other could read his thoughts, had any idea what was in his mind.
‘I will tell you these things,’ the Master promised. ‘You are quite right – only when they know all the truth can the leaders decide. This Nega planet is manmade. It is our headquarters, as I have said, and main centre of operations. Other, smaller space stations comprise a galaxy, of which I am the supreme controller. The satellites can project Nega waves but the people living on them are governed and controlled from here. The speed of our attacks can be restricted only by the number of ray projectors in existence, and many hundreds are under construction. As I have told you, thirty days at the most, twenty days at the least, is what we require.’ He gave a little smile, almost supercilious in its way, and went on, ‘I trust you are not considering the possibility of finding something to counteract the effect of the Nega waves. I tell you with absolute truth, that there is none.’
