The Dark Design (55 page)

Now they were in the thick clouds raging from the hole.

Suddenly, they were through.

Though still blinded by fog, they could read the radar-scopes. Before them was a sea, 1 kilometer below. Around it circled the mountain. And ahead, in the center of the sea, 48.5 kilometers away, a little over 30 miles, was an object which reared high above the water, though still dwarfed by the mountain.

Cyrano, looking at the CRT on the panel, said, “Behold the tower!”

The radarman, seated before his equipment on the port side, confirmed the sighting.

Firebrass ordered that the ship be taken to 3050 meters altitude, somewhat over 10,000 feet. The propellers could not be swiveled horizontally to lift the ship faster because it had to fight the wind.

However, as they rose, they found that the wind lessened. By the time the ship had reached the desired altitude, it could proceed straight ahead. Now its estimated ground speed was 80.50km/h, over 50 mph. As it neared the tower, it picked up more velocity.

The sky was brighter than at dusk, lit by both the weak sun and the clustered stellar masses.

Now the radars could sweep the entire sea and touch the top of the most distant wall. The nearly circular body of water was 97 kilometers across or somewhat over 60 miles in diameter. The opposite wall was the same height as the nearer one.

“The tower!” Firebrass exploded. “It’s 1.7 kilometers tall! And 16 kilometers wide!”

In old-style measurements, that would have been slightly over a mile high and almost 10 miles in diameter.

There was an interruption. The chief engineer, Hakkonen, reported that the hull was collecting ice. It was not, however, on the windscreens of the control room, since they were made of an ice-resistant plastic.

Firebrass said, “Take her down to 1530 meters, Cyrano. The air’s warmer there.”

The River, entering the sea, still carried much heat even after its passage through the arctic regions. In this deep, cold cup the waters surrendered warmth, so much that the temperature at 1524 meters or 5000 feet was 2 degrees above Centigrade. But higher up, the moisture-heavy air was an ice trap.

While the dirigible was lowered, the radar operator reported that the interior of the mountain was not as smooth as the exterior. There were innumerable holes and bulges, as if the makers of the mountain had not thought it necessary to finish off the inside.

The narrow ledge described by Joe Miller had been detected by the radar. It led from the top of the mountain to the bottom. There was another narrow ledge leading along the base of the sea, ending at a hole about 3 meters wide and 2 meters high.

No one commented on this. But Jill did wonder aloud why the big hole through which the dirigible had entered had been made.

“Maybe it’s for their aerial craft, if they have any,” Firebrass said. “It could be used to keep from having to fly over the mountain.”

That seemed as good a reason as any.

Piscator said, “Perhaps. However, the flash of light that startled Joe Miller so much could not have come from the sun’s rays going through the hole. In the first place, the hole is darkened by that cloud stream. In the second place, even if the sun’s rays had flashed through, they would not have illuminated the top of the tower. Joe did say that the fog was momentarily blown aside. But even so, the rays would not have reached the top of the tower. And if they had, he would have had to be in a straight line with the rays and the tower.

“He couldn’t have been since the ledge on which he stood doesn’t exist far enough to put him in the line of sight.”

“Maybe that flash of light actually came from the aircraft he saw a minute later,” Firebrass said. “It was coming down and perhaps its engines had to release some energy, in some fashion, to check its rate of descent. Joe thought it was the sun’s rays.”

Cyrano said, “It’s possible. Or perhaps the light was a signal from the tower. However, if the tower is big enough to be seen by Joe, and he must have been standing high on that ledge to see 48.5 kilometers away, how could he see a much smaller object, the aerial machine?”

“Maybe it wasn’t so small,” Firebrass said.

They were silent for a moment. Jill tried to estimate the size of an aircraft that could be seen at that distance. She did not know what it should be, but she thought that it must be at least a kilometer wide.

“I do not like to think of it,” Cyrano said.

Firebrass ordered him to send the ship in a circle around the sea. The radar indicated that the sides of the circular tower were smooth and unbroken, except for openings about 243 meters or slightly less than 800 feet below the top.

There was a difference in the height of the exterior top of the tower and the interior. Inside walls 243 meters tall was the smooth surface of a landing field almost 16 kilometers across.

“Those openings at the bottom of the wall are slightly lower than the center,” Firebrass said. “That must be so the moisture can drain out through the holes.”

What interested them most, however, was the only protuberance on the “landing field.” This was located at one end, south—all directions from the tower’s center were south—and it was a hemisphere with a diameter of 16 meters and a height of 8 meters.

“If that isn’t an entrance, I’ll eat my loincloth,” Firebrass said. He shook his head. “Sam’s going to be disappointed when he hears about this. There is no way that anybody can get into this tower except by air.”

“We’re not in yet,” Piscator murmured.

“Yeah? I know. But we’re sure as hell going to try. Listen, everybody. Sam ordered that we should make only a scouting trip. I think that trying to get into that tower comes under the definition of scouting.”

Firebrass was almost always ebullient, but now his whole body seemed to quiver and his face was lit up as if all his nerves had suddenly become light transmitters. Even his voice shook with excitement.

“There may be defensive weapons, manned or automatic, down there. The only way to find out is to probe. But I don’t want to endanger the ship any more than we have to.

“Jill, I’m going down with a small party in a chopper. You’ll be in charge, which means you’ll be captain, even if only for a short time. Whatever else happens, you’ve achieved that ambition.

“You keep the ship at about a thousand meters above the tower’s top and a thousand meters away from it. If anything should happen to us, you take the ship back to Sam. That’s an order.

“If I see anything suspicious, I’ll holler. You take off then and let me worry about getting back. Got that?”

Jill said, “Yes, sir.”

“If that dome has an entrance, it may take an electronic or mechanical Open Sesame to get in. Maybe not. They wouldn’t think there’d be any chance of us ever getting to it. I don’t think there’s anybody home. Maybe there is, and they’re just waiting to see what we do before they take action. Let’s hope not.”

Cyrano said, “I’d like to go with you, my captain.”

“You stay here. You’re our best pilot. I’ll take you, Anna, and Haldorsson, he can fly a chopper, too, Metzing, Arduino, Chong, and Singh. That is, if they’ll volunteer.”

Obrenova phoned the others at their posts and then reported that they were more than willing.

Firebrass informed the crew of the radar findings over the general address system. He also told them that a party would be landing shortly.

He had no sooner finished than he got a call from Thorn. Firebrass listened for a minute, then said, “No, Barry, I have enough volunteers.”

Turning away from the phone, he said, “Thorn was very eager to be with me. He sounded unhappy when I turned him down. I didn’t know he was so fired up about this.”

Jill phoned the hangar section and told Szentes, its chief petty officer, to prepare the No. 1 helicopter for flight.

Firebrass shook hands with everyone in the control room except Jill. He gave her a long hug. She was not sure that she liked that. It seemed unofficerly, and it was also too much like a farewell embrace. Did he have some doubts about being able to return? Or was she just projecting her own anxiety upon him?

Whatever the truth, she was having conflicting emotions. She resented his treating her differently from the others, yet she felt warmed because he was especially fond of her. It was a wonder that she did not have ulcers, she suffered so much and so frequently from opposing feelings. But then she had never heard of anybody having ulcers on this world. Mental and nervous tensions seemed to manifest themselves in psychic forms. Her hallucinations, for instance.

A moment later, she was no longer the exception. Cyrano had asked Piscator to take his post for a minute. Then he had risen and warmly embraced the captain while tears ran down his cheeks.

“My dear friend, you must not look so sad! There may be danger there, but do not fear! I, Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, will be at your side!”

Firebrass released himself, patted the Frenchman on the shoulder, and laughed, “Hey, I didn’t mean to make everybody think something will go wrong! I wasn’t saying good-bye, just so long! What the hell! Can’t I… ? Oh, well! No, Cyrano, you get back to your post.”

He smiled, his teeth very white in his dark face, and he waved at them. “So long!”

Anna Obrenova, looking very pensive, followed him. Metzing, looking very grim and Teutonic, walked out behind her.

Jill immediately gave orders that the ship be taken to the position Firebrass had commanded. The
Parseval
began to circle downward. When it had plunged into the fog, its searchlights were turned on. Though powerful, these could penetrate only 150 meters or somewhat less than 500 feet. The dirigible took its position, hovering in one place, its nose pointed into the wind, its speed exactly matching the force of the wind. Four tunnels of light were carved into the fog, but these showed nothing but dark-gray clouds. The tower was ahead and below, invisible, yet seeming to radiate a massive ominousness, extending feelers that gripped the ship.

No one spoke. Cyrano lit up a cigar. Piscator stood behind the radar operator and watched the sweeps on the scopes. The radio operator was intent on his dials, running the set through the frequency spectrum. Jill wondered just what he hoped to pick up.

After what seemed an hour but was only fifteen minutes, Szentes called the captain pro tempore. The belly hatch was open, the chopper was warmed up, and takeoff would be in one minute.

Szentes sounded strained.

“There’s a little problem, Ms. Gulbirra, which is why I called you before takeoff. Thorn appeared, and he tried to argue the captain into taking him along. The captain told him to get back to his post.”

“Did he do that?”

“Yes, sir. The captain told me to call you to make sure. Mr. Thorn won’t have had time to get to the tail section yet, though, sir.”

“Very well, Szentes. I’ll take care of it.”

She switched off, and she swore softly. Here she was, commander for only fifteen minutes, and she was confronted with a disciplinary problem. What had gotten into Thorn?

There was only one thing to do. If she ignored Thorn’s behavior, she would lose control of the ship, the respect of the crew.

She phoned the auxiliary control room in the lower tail structure. Salomo Coppename, a Surinamese, the aft second mate, answered.

“Arrest Mr. Thorn. Have him conducted to his cabin by a guard detail, and make sure a guard is posted outside his cabin.”

Coppename must have wondered what was going on, but he did not question her.

“And call me as soon as he shows.”

“Yes, sir.”

A red light on the control panel ceased blinking. The belly hatch had just been closed. The radar had picked up the No. 1 helicopter, heading downward for the top of the tower.

A voice suddenly came over the radio.

“Firebrass here.”

“We read you loud and clear,” the radio operator said.

“Fine. You’re coming in L and C, too. I’m going to land about a hundred meters from the dome. Our radar’s working A-OK and so we shouldn’t have any problems. I expect that the wall will block off most of the wind when we land.

“Jill? You there?”

“Here, Captain.”

“What did you do about Thorn?”

Jill told him, and Firebrass said, “That’s what I would’ve done. I’ll ask him why he was so hot to go with us when I get back. If… if I don’t get back, for any reason, you question him. But keep him under guard until this tower business is finished.”

Jill ordered Aukuso to tie in the radio with the general address system. There was no reason that everybody should not listen in.

“I’m coming down now. The wind is weaker now. Jill, I…”

Cyrano said, “The belly hatch is opening!”

He pointed at a blinking red light on the panel.

“Mon Dieu!”

He pointed out through the windscreen.

That was not necessary. Everybody in the control room was looking at the fiery ball suddenly born in the dark grayness.

Jill moaned.

Aukuso said loudly, “Captain! Come in, Captain!”

There was no answer.

The intercom was ringing.

Moving slowly, as if the air were cotton candy, Jill pushed the switch to ON.