The Sensaurum and the Lexis

by Richard Dee

  “Found these in the mobile,” he grinned. “Reckon the Professor might want to take a look.”

  “Thank you, Winstanley.” The Master looked at the two boxes. “Ah so kind, you have returned my transmitting box. I presume that means you have my agent safe; we will attend to him later. And what is this one? Some sort of attempt at copying; that is flattery indeed. Professor, come and see what you make of these.”

  The Professor picked up both boxes. “I will take their toys and examine them.”

  “We will not parley,” said Langdon.

  “Who said anything about parley? You have nothing to offer. I merely wish to pass a message through you. The government has not listened, not taken me seriously and now it seems as if you are developing a way to thwart me.”

  “I’m just doing my duty,” said Langdon, “to the country, keeping it safe from all those who would destroy it. There is nothing personal, you are a criminal and I will see you brought to justice.”

  “Fine words,” said the Master. “In that case we seem to be at an impasse. You have killed some of my men, but I have plenty more. My demonstrations at the banks have shown my seriousness.”

  “We foiled your last demonstration. You are no more than a common criminal, taking money with a few thugs. It’s hardly the stuff of a ‘Master’.”

  “On the contrary, you have witnessed a small part my power. I was never intending to rob the bank, that was just a test of the Professor’s invention. I am not a common criminal.”

  “You are though, however you dress it up,” insisted Langdon, “and as far as we are concerned you will be treated as one.”

  “Then what do you propose?”

  “We thought you might give yourself up. Your scheme is ended, now you see that we can destroy your slaves.”

  Rodney was unimpressed with the notion. “Hah!” he roared, the mask amplifying the word. “You show me your strength, so that I can devise a counter. We will shortly try your wonderful toy on my men here. I am confident that it will have no effect.”

  The Professor returned. “I have looked briefly at both boxes, the Sensaurum is the one that was taken from the works, the other is a Wasperton-Byler generator, as I suspected.”

  “And the purpose of this generator? Is it the thing that’s been killing all my slaves?”

  “Almost certainly, it produces a field that will destroy the filament, or rather, I should say that it would destroy the first version of the filaments, the one before my latest revision.”

  “I see, show them what you have achieved, Professor.”

  Aldithley cranked the Wasperton-Byler generator, with no visible change to the automata surrounding Rodney. Jackson felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, all that effort for nothing.

  “You see,” the voice from the mask was triumphant. “We have learned from your success and already gone past that. There is nothing more to be talked about. I expected to hear your surrender today; instead you still believe you can beat me. This is what you will do. The government must resign, immediately. I will be installed, together with my guards, in power. The King will declare me First Minister of State and give me his backing. He will order the cessation of hostilities against me.”

  The Master put his hand to his mouth and muttered something. Instantly and with a flourish the guards formed up on him. “You can see that I’m not a callous murderer, you may all go to pass my message to those in power. You have two days to comply,” he said over his shoulder as they bore him away. “If you do not, my next show of power will dwarf the last. The city, nay the country, will tremble before the Master of Automata.”

  They were suddenly alone. They got back into their mobile. “We must continue on our visit to the ministers,” said Langdon, “even without the evidence of the boxes.”

  “Won’t Oswald be defeated without them?” asked Jackson.

  Langdon stopped the mobile. “Since the Sensaurum was the empty one, I think not. Since Rodney is aware that we have his man, I have a better idea; you two return to Oswald and update him on events. I will carry on alone; there is little evidence to present now, just my verbal report.” They stepped from the mobile. Before he sped away, Langdon said to Jackson, “Make sure that Oswald knows we have but two days, help him as required. I may be late returning.”

  Chapter 34

  Oswald was not at all dismayed. His first question was, “Did Aldithley look inside the Sensaurum, or just the generator?”

  “He had no time to do much,” said Jessamine. “He merely reported that the Sensaurum was the one I took from the works.

  “Then we are still ahead of where he thinks we are.” He smiled. “Neither was that my only Wasperton-Byler generator.”

  “But it did not work,” Jackson explained. “It had no effect on the guards.”

  Oswald shook his head. “I’m unconvinced. I think it was a game to try and unsettle you. I suspect that the Professor disconnected the mechanism before his demonstration. In short, he lied. As for the Sensaurum, I can understand how it works and can now make a similar machine that will block its signals. The Sensaurum I have will provide a template, the supplies are arriving, all I need is time.”

  “Then we will not detain you,” said Jackson. “The Master said that we have two days. Langdon has gone to see the ministers on his own while you work to ready another box.”

  “What did the Master mean?” asked Jessamine, when they were alone. “He mentioned a report, something about your parents.”

  “He was correct; I found another report at the Prosthesium, about the accident that killed my parents. It placed all the blame on my father, but the origin of that blame was the only survivor, Rodney Nethersole.”

  Jessamine gasped, she held him tight. “You poor thing,” she said, “and you’ve been keeping that inside you all this time.”

  “I think Langdon knows,” he added. “He seemed unsurprised when it came into the conversation.”

  “He knows most things; maybe that was why you were recruited in the first place, not just for your knowledge of the factory? Langdon would want a lever he could use to make you hate Rodney.”

  “Well he has succeeded in that. My father would never have been responsible for all that death and destruction. If he had lived, we would have learned the truth. I will not rest till Rodney faces justice for that, as well as his present activities.”

  “And I will help you do it,” she said. “With all that heavy on your mind, you must come to my room tonight. That is if you can bear to be with me.”

  “We do not talk of those things you do as work,” he said. “I pretend they never happened; it does not stop me loving you.”

  Chapter 35

  The next day was spent in preparing for any eventuality. In the morning Langdon told them of his meeting with the ministers.

  “Once again I impressed on them the importance of stopping Rodney,” he said, with the air of one who had been repeating this message for too long. “In the end, given the fact that we were abducted yesterday, they agreed to mobilise the army, to be ready to contain any mob that might form.”

  “Well that is a relief,” said Fairview, “at last. Did you also ask them to check for soldiers and Watchmen who might have been treated by doctors recently?”

  “I did, and it was agreed that would be done. I insisted that the man who was checking should himself be checked.”

  “What of the demands of Rodney, or should we call him the Master?”

  “The threats and demands were dismissed, apparently, His Majesty has been kept up to date with events. His reaction was that the government must stand firm against Rodney, or the Master, whatever he chooses to call himself. He also demanded to be informed of all developments in statics. There was less opposition to my requests this time. It seems to me that Rodney’s support among the rich and powerful is melting away.”

  “Now that they could see we are gaining the knowledge to defeat him.”

  “Exactly, I told them t
hat my finest agents were performing heroic feats of sacrifice.”

  Langdon never mentioned Rodney’s revelation, or Jackson’s knowledge of the accident, instead he exhorted them all to be ready for the threat, wherever it may come from.

  “Mr Patching,” said Langdon, “have you talked to our captive recently?”

  “I have, sir,” he replied. “Just this morning, I attempted to obtain information from the captive, again he resisted.”

  “We have less than one day,” Langdon said. “Have my agents in the field reported?”

  “Nothing has been heard,” replied Fairview. “I’m away to see Clarry after we have finished here. Oswald is working as fast as he can.”

  “Very well then,” said Langdon, “carry on, everyone, and keep me informed.” He departed.

  Langdon appeared not to have noticed that Jackson and Jessamine had shared the previous night in one room. After an afternoon helping Oswald and emboldened, they did the same on the next night.

  At some early hour, they were awoken by the voice of Fairview. He was shouting that there was a huge mob marching into the city from the south. It appeared to be heading towards the buildings of state. Quickly Jackson returned to his room, dressed and prepared himself for whatever the day might bring.

  Fairview was with Jessamine when he arrived in the classroom. He had a large map of the city pinned to the chalkboard and was marking on it with a thick red stylus.

  “They are coming towards the river, from all parts of the city,” he was explaining. “The Watch was sent out to disperse them, but half of them turned on the rest. As we saw at the bank, they were secretly under Rodney’s control.”

  “Then we know not who is untouched and who is controlled.”

  “Until it is too late,” agreed Fairview. “We can trust no-one. Reports indicate that there are many dead, from both sides.”

  “If the Watch has failed,” said Jackson, “what now? Are the army deployed? Will they be sufficient? Are they even uncontrolled?”

  “Sir Mortimer is talking with the army commanders as we speak. There are so many more in this throng, ten times or more as many as the mob at the bank. And others are joining all the while. They are approaching up the main road from Hammerham; they are being funnelled towards the Stafford Bridge, where they will arrive in two hours or so. The army is deployed to hold them before they reach the southern end of the bridge. There are several thousand soldiers stationed along their route.”

  “Will it be enough?” asked Jackson.

  “We took the fight to the Western Isles with less,” Fairview said, “and there we were against trained warriors, vicious in close combat. These are civilians, men, women and children. Many of these will be unskilled in arms, too young or long past the age of service.”

  “What of the sheer numbers involved?” wondered Jessamine. “Will our soldiers be able to shoot their own countrymen?”

  “What then do you suggest? That we take Oswald’s detonator and kill thousands?”

  “That is what we must do,” said Langdon, striding into the room, “and without delay. Jackson, run down and grab him, tell him we need to go while there is still a chance to avert disaster.”

  Jackson went to the workroom, Oswald was surrounded by pieces of equipment, wires and switches, the Sensaurum lay open before him, gutted like a fish on a slab. It was clear even to Jackson’s untrained eye that it was not ready to work. The man himself was engrossed and oblivious to his arrival.

  “Oswald,” he said, “Sir Mortimer has sent me, there is a mob approaching the Stafford Bridge. He wonders, do you have the results of your labours?”

  “No sir, I do not.” Oswald was clearly frustrated. His eyes were red-rimmed form lack of sleep. “Pray tell him that I’m working as fast as I can and would go faster without interruption. I will catch you up, leave me the mobile and Jessamine to operate it. We will come to you as soon as I have completed my work. I know what needs to be done; it’s merely a question of doing it. Take the other Wasperton-Byler generator. It may be your only hope.”

  “We are going to the Stafford Bridge,” Jackson told him.

  “I will be there as soon as I can,” muttered Oswald, already engrossed again in his work.

  Jackson picked up the box containing the generator and ran to Langdon.

  “Oswald is not ready,” he reported. “He has given me this generator and says that he will complete his work as soon as he is able.”

  Langdon thought for a moment. “We cannot delay, we know what to look for. We will have to separate the pure from the affected, before we can stop the mob. If all else fails, then we must resort to using the generator.”

  “He asked me to leave him the mobile, and Jessamine. He will follow us as soon as he can. He knows now where we are headed.”

  “Well, Jackson, now that is organised, we must make haste to the river.”

  The aerialways were still out of action, the precaution against more derailment was playing into Rodney’s plans to disrupt every aspect of modern life, to make him the saviour no doubt, so the group had to take a tram to the bridge. To Jackson, it seemed incongruous that they were travelling thus to save the city.

  They bumped over the cobbled streets in a form of transport that was obsolete, surrounded by unknowing citizenry. In not much more time than it would have taken them in a mobile, they arrived at the square in front of the government buildings. Ahead was the river with the huge bulk of the Stafford Bridge. The square was cordoned by Watchman, who were laying out barriers as if preparing for an event of state.

  “It was all arranged automatically,” explained Langdon, “as soon as the mob formed, all government buildings were evacuated and contained. It was done so much quicker after the Master’s threats.”

  A company of soldiers were lined up, with their backs to the structure. The officer in charge greeted Langdon as he showed his identity.

  “Well, sir, what have we to expect?” he asked. “I know only that a peril approaches from the south, my men are annoyed that they are held here, they wish to be at the vanguard, not guarding the rear.”

  “There is a mob forming on the south side,” said Fairview. “They intend to cross the bridge and attack these buildings. You are the last line against them if they get over. Do you have scouts in high places?”

  “That we do, sir,” the officer replied. “Look up there.” Atop the statuary of past leaders, were two men, together with a magnifying lens. “What can you see?” shouted the soldier.

  “A great press of common folk, sir,” came the reply. “They are moving towards the bridge. Barricades have been placed at every intersection; they are stopped, three streets back from the river. They cannot go around it, the ways are blocked by soldiers. There is fighting.”

  “Then matters seem to be in hand,” said Langdon. “Can I ask, have any of your men been ill recently?”

  “I don’t understand the question, sir.”

  “Have they visited a doctor for any reason?” Still the officer did not respond. “It will be easier if I show you,” said Langdon. “Order your men to form up, facing away from me. I wish to see their necks.”

  The officer looked puzzled but complied. Langdon and Fairview walked along the line, seeking the tell-tale mark that would reveal one of Rodney’s automata. Finding none, Langdon turned back to the officer, who had gone pale.

  “And now yours, if you please,” he said.

  The officer did so; there was the scar that had been seen on so many.

  Langdon turned and called the sergeant-major over. The man arrived and saluted. “Detain this man, take his side-arm,” ordered Langdon. “He is an infiltrator.”

  The officer suddenly changed demeanour. His eyes glazed and his body slumped. He drew his gas-pistol and before anyone could stop him, placed the barrel in his mouth and pulled the trigger. The shot echoed around as the man fell.

  As they gazed, shocked at the sight, there was a shout from the men aloft. “The first barrica
de is breached,” they called, “the mob is advancing.”

  In the distance, there was a sound, like a wave on a pebbled beach. All stopped to listen.

  “Sergeant-major, you are in command now; get one of your men up atop the wall over there. Have the rest scour the area.”

  “Very well, sir. What are we looking for?”

  Fairview showed him the Wasperton-Byler generator. “A device like this, it’s what caused your officer to do what he did. Look around, there is a man with one of these very close. If you spot him, or her, it’s important that you take it from them before they can pull the lever on the side.”

  The soldier regarded Fairview with disbelief, as if it were impossible, which it must have seemed to him. He gave his orders and the men spread out, searching through the passers-by, and those who were watching the Watchmen secure the square. Suddenly, there was a scuffle; calls for assistance. Jackson glimpsed a wire pointing into the air, jerking around as the soldiers grappled with a man.

  “We have him, sir,” called a soldier. “We spotted him hanging around, like you said, with a box around his neck.” One of the soldiers emerged with a Sensaurum, its strap cut and flapping. “We managed to remove it from him; he was trying to depress the lever. What shall we do with him?”

  “Well done, keep him secured and in sight,” said Fairview. He took the Sensaurum and acting as Oswald had shown him, turned its control to the off position. He then opened the box and removed the wires that issued from the lever. “It is safe,” he said, replacing the cover.

  “Good work, Jackson, now we can proceed,” Fairview said, “and have an option for Oswald when he arrives.”

  Langdon had been quiet, gazing out towards the river. Jackson had been occupied assisting Fairview and had almost forgotten that he was present. He seemed willing to leave all the decisions to Fairview. Now he joined them. “We should ensure that nobody on this side of the river is a threat,” he said. “I suggest that we operate the generator, to flush out any more of Rodney’s men who may be close.”