Fade Out (48 page)

‘That's true, but we could adapt – eventually.'

‘Some of us might,' said Wedderkind. ‘Industry would collapse, water wouldn't reach the cities, sewage would flood into the streets, food supplies would run out – '

‘And within a week, there'd be total chaos,' said Brecetti. ‘I'm not anticipating anything on that scale. I was merely pointing out the dimensional relationship between the old and new cutoff zone and what
appears
to be the unit of measurement.'

‘Yes, thanks, I see that…' Wedderkind patted Brecetti on the shoulder. Brecetti didn't know, of course, that York's computer had come up with the possible locations of five other craft. If they all acted together, each producing a cutoff zone six thousand nine hundred miles in diameter, they could switch off most of the world. Permanently. To Wedderkind, that made a whole lot more sense than a formation takeoff.

As he sipped from his cup, the hot coffee steamed up his glasses. Wedderkind took them off and dried the lenses with his handkerchief. He squinted at Wetherby with small, naked eyes that looked curiously vulnerable. Wetherby got the message and nodded.

Wedderkind replaced his glasses and tapped the bridge into place on his nose. ‘Al and I got some information from George York in Baltimore last night that we'd like to share with you. I'm not sure what to make of it. The important thing is to decide what we are going to do about it.'

Wedderkind told Brecetti and Collis about the possibility that there could be five more landing sites and the changes in the Earth's magnetic field. It took them both a few minutes to get used to the idea.

‘So far, I've remained steadfastly optimistic,' said Wedderkind. ‘But whichever way you look at it, one is a visit but six…'

‘Sounds more like a lynch party,' said Brecetti.

‘The point is, we can't keep this to ourselves much longer,' said Wedderkind. ‘In fact, I'm going to have to tell Bob. We're going to have to confess to the Russians that we double-crossed them – and that we know they double-crossed us too.'

‘We could always pretend we just found Crusoe,' said Collis.

Wedderkind smiled. ‘You're learning fast, Ray.' The smile was replaced by a frown. ‘I wonder what Allbright wants to talk about?'

‘I think he wants to move everybody off the Ridge and down to the base camp,' said Brecetti. ‘He's concerned about these continuing earth tremors.'

‘So am I,' said Collis. ‘They're not violent, but if Crusoe keeps on growing… why take the risk? Especially now that we're completely cut off up here.'

‘Yes, I can see the problems,' said Wedderkind. ‘But whatever the risks, I think it's vital for some of us to remain here for as long as possible.'

‘Why?' asked Collis.

‘Because once we move off the Ridge, we might not be allowed back.'

Brecetti nodded soberly. ‘Neame told me he'd heard that there was a rumour going around among the Air Force technicians that the project was going to be terminated.'

‘It wouldn't surprise me,' said Wedderkind. ‘That three-week fade-out really rocked everybody back in Washington. Up here on the Ridge, we've been concerned with the purely scientific view. Even so, I don't have to remind you of the wider implications. And the dangers – on all kinds of levels. Bob has done his best on our behalf, but Fraser has been cutting the ground away from under him. I know Bob. He never tries to defend
an untenable position. This new fade-out has put the pressure back on again. He may well have recommended termination.'

‘Without telling you?' Collis looked surprised.

‘Why tell me first when he can tell me afterward and blame someone else for the decision?' said Wedderkind. ‘I don't mind. After all, I've been holding out on him.'

‘I thought you were friends,' said Collis.

‘We are,' said Wedderkind. ‘I didn't want him to worry.'

‘But Arnold, even if they send us all home, they still have to get rid of Crusoe. What are they going to try to do, blow him up?' asked Wetherby.

‘I imagine they'll try.'

‘And are you going to stand by and let them?'

It was Brecetti who replied for Wedderkind. ‘What's the alternative, Alan – link arms around the hull and sing “We shall not be moved”?'

‘No, but Arnold has access to the President,' said Wetherby. ‘He could go to see him and explain what we've discovered, and urge him to postpone any decision to end the project.'

‘Al,' said Wedderkind. ‘You know what the reaction to Crusoe has been. What do you think they're going to say when I tell them there could be five more? Bob is going to go bananas. Up to now I've steadfastly believed Crusoe's presence to be essentially harmless. I still do. But supposing the cutoff zone does
spread?
Should we just stand by and let it happen, or should we warn people, and at least give them the chance to try to stop it?'

‘What could they do?' asked Wetherby.

‘Nothing,' said Brecetti. ‘And there's nowhere anyone can go to avoid it. In any case there's no need to alarm people unnecessarily. Let's wait to see if the cutout zone
gets any bigger. There'll still be plenty of time to warn Washington.'

‘What do you think, Ray?'

‘I think it's madness to hold back on this information. I think you ought to tell Connors that there could be more than one landing site and where you think they are – and also pass on Phil's gloomiest prediction. Regardless of what Connors or Fraser or both of them together are plotting behind our back.'

‘Al?'

Wetherby grimaced thoughtfully. ‘I think I agree with Ray. Since I can't see any advantage in concealing the information, honesty would seem to be the best policy. I also think it might be time for our group to get ready to head for the hills. The journey may turn out to be totally unnecessary, but it will be a useful exercise.'

‘If only to prove how pathetically impractical the whole idea is,' said Collis.

‘Don't agree,' said Wetherby. ‘Noah's Ark. Lot and his daughters warned to flee the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Admirable biblical precedents. And historically, we have the example of the early monasteries acting as centres of knowledge during the Dark Ages.'

‘But surely, if we're contemplating the possibility of dislocation on – well, let's just say a continental scale – wouldn't it be better for all of us to try to work together instead of hiving ourselves off into selfish little splinter survival groups?'

‘Now that
is
impractical, Ray,' said Wetherby. ‘Faced with a prolonged breakdown of the type Phil has theorized, it would be impossible to maintain the present structure of society and the same geographical groupings. Without twentieth-century communications we'd have to revert to decentralized authority. And without electrical power, we'd find ourselves back in an America of the
1870s with bizarre outcroppings of twentieth-century gas, diesel, and chemical technology. Pioneer railroad America before the days of the telegraph, with modern diesels pounding the tracks at one hundred miles an hour. Diesel cars and trucks, light aircraft like the German planes of the late thirties – maybe even simple jets. All with primitive cockpit instruments operated by air and hydraulic pressure. Communication with the ground would have to be done by waggling the wings. And if the six magnetic sub-poles York has discovered ever become a permanent feature, then compass navigation will become a real tour de force…'

As an ex-RAF navigator, Wetherby found the problem especially appealing. He paused to consider the perspectives he had opened up. ‘As a matter of fact, you know, it could be jolly exciting.'

Wedderkind checked the time and finished his coffee. ‘I think I'll take the diesel down to the base camp and phone Bob before I talk to Allbright.' He turned back in the doorway of the trailer and smiled at Wetherby. ‘Living on the edge of the Chicago campus has certainly sharpened
your
sense of survival.'

Wedderkind arrived back on the Ridge some twelve minutes after he was due to meet Allbright in the command hut.

‘Sorry I'm late. I was down at the base camp trying to contact Bob Connors.'

‘But he wasn't in Washington.'

‘No…' Wedderkind took the offered chair.

Allbright sat down behind a spartan desk, the top of which was as trim and ordered as a barrack square.

‘What was it you wanted to see me about?'

‘Evacuation.'

‘Partial or total, and on whose orders, General?'

‘Phased and temporary,' said Allbright. ‘And it's not an order, just a suggestion. Starting with all nonessential personnel. In view of what is happening – and what may be about to happen – it would seem to be a sensible precaution. Especially as the cutoff zone has virtually brought all research activity to a halt.'

‘I agree there's not a lot we can do up here at the moment,' said Wedderkind. ‘I wouldn't oppose a reduction in numbers. I assume you're proposing to transfer them to the base camp?'

‘That would be the first step,' said Allbright. ‘If we accept the idea that Crusoe is preparing for takeoff, then according to your theory, he should revert to his fluorescent state. That will mean he'll be beaming out a large amount of ultraviolet radiation. I don't think it's a good idea to have this campsite crowded with spectators when that happens.'

‘No, that's right.'

‘Good. Now as you know, before any of us can leave this area, all Ridge personnel have to be checked out by the base camp medical unit. That process takes thirty-five minutes per person. Deducting our recent losses, we're left with a total strength of three hundred and twelve men, including yourself and Mr Connors. The unit can process two cases simultaneously, giving us a total processing time of around ninety hours. That's three and three-quarter days, assuming the unit works nonstop. Given a sudden emergency, we could find ourselves with a big tailback.'

‘There's the emergency medical unit on the Ridge, and NASA could always draft in more staff,' said Wedderkind. ‘But in any case, General, is it
really
necessary to have all your people processed? You and I, Bob Connors, and Alan Wetherby have all been given a clean bill of health. Not once, but several times. If anybody on the
project had been taken over by a parasitic host, or were incubating a virulent extraterrestrial plague, surely we would have been contaminated too.'

‘I don't think our medical opinions carry much weight,' said Allbright. ‘Washington's fears are understandable, the Defense Department directive is quite specific, and I don't have the authority to countermand the order.' Allbright allowed himself a quiet smile. ‘I also think it's time we stopped pretending.'

Wedderkind frowned. ‘I don't understand what you're getting at.'

‘Oh, come now, Mr Wedderkind. Do I
really
have to put it into words?'

‘It might help.'

‘I wonder…' Allbright looked squarely at Wedderkind. ‘I was referring to the fact that you and I both know that everyone on the Ridge has, in varying degrees, been affected by the contact with Crusoe.'

‘Well, obviously, we're bound to be changed in some way by this experience.'

‘Of course,' said Allbright. ‘But I'm not referring to a change in attitudes. I'm talking about a physiological change that hasn't been detected yet by the base camp medics. That opens up… how can I put it… new areas of understanding?'

Wedderkind didn't say anything. He didn't need to. The other way was so much easier. He relaxed his defence and let his mind interlock with Allbright's.

WEDDERKIND: HAVE YOU TOLD ANYONE?
Allbright: No. I thought it might be misinterpreted. I was reluctant to believe it myself,
AFRAID?
At the beginning, yes. I was afraid I might be losing control over my own actions. Now I realize that nothing else has changed,
NOTHING. WE STILL HAVE OUR FREE WILL, ONLY OUR PERCEPTION HAS INCREASED. CRUSOE HAS UNLOCKED THE CLOSED DOORS IN OUR MINDS.
BUT WE ARE STILL LIMITED. WE CANNOT COMMUNICATE IF EITHER OF US REFUSES INTERLOCK.
Perhaps that will change with time. Do you think Crusoe has been interlocking with us?
YES. I BELIEVE HE WAS IN CONTACT WITH SOME OF US WHILE HE WAS STILL IN ORBIT.
Feeding us with ideas?
YES, BUT ON A LEVEL BEYOND OUR PRESENT DEGREE OF PERCEPTION. I AM UNABLE TO DISTINGUISH HIS THOUGHTS FROM MY OWN.
So, in fact, we could be completely under Crusoe's control,
HOW CAN YOU THINK THAT WHEN YOU HAVE HELPED PLAN HIS DESTRUCTION?
That's true, but we could still be deluding ourselves. The idea that we still retain total freedom of action could be just an illusion. Covert mind control was the one thing that the people in Washington feared,
ALL GOVERNMENTS FEAR IT BECAUSE THEY KNOW, SUBCONSCIOUSLY, IT IS A POWER THEY WOULD LIKE TO POSSESS – AND MISUSE, TO BLUDGEON US INTO CONFORMITY. THERE IS NOTHING TO FEAR. WE ARE AS WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN. THE POWER IS WITHIN ALL OF US. ONLY NOW, SOME OF US ARE ABLE TO USE IT.
But why set us apart from the rest? And why me? I am committed to destroying Crusoe. Why arm his enemies?
PERHAPS HE KNOWS YOU BETTER THAN YOU KNOW YOURSELF. IT MAY BE BECAUSE WE WERE AMONG THE FIRST TO MAKE CONTACT WITH CRUSOE – OR THE FORCE HE IS RELAYING. WE ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES AFFECTED. I CAN SENSE A GROWING AWARENESS AMONG EVERYONE ON THE RIDGE. PEOPLE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING WITHIN THEM.
Is Connors aware?
ONLY PARTLY. HIS MIND IS STILL CLOUDED. I CAN FEEL THAT HE KNOWS SOMETHING IS HAPPENING TO HIM BUT HE IS TRYING TO FIGHT IT. IT WORRIES HIM.
And many of the others too. The degree of awareness varies from person to person. It is as if they had been handed a strange tool without any explanation on how to use it – or what to use it for.
YES. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US AND THE OTHERS IS THAT WE HAVE BEEN QUICKER TO UNDERSTAND ITS
POTENTIALITIES, AND TO USE THEM. I KNOW THAT COLLIS AND BRECETTI ARE ALMOST AT THE SAME POINT, BUT I HAVE NOT TRIED TO CONTACT THEM BECAUSE IT IS STILL TOO DANGEROUS. IT IS BETTER TO WATT. THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF TIME AFTERWARD.
There may not be any ‘afterward'.
I CAN'T ACCEPT THAT. THERE HAS TO BE. OTHERWISE THERE WOULD BE NO REASON FOR OUR EXISTENCE OR CRUSOE.