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Doomsday Eve

<h2>X</h2> At first, the figures were indistinct and Zen could not see them clearly. He mentioned this to West. "They will get sharper in a minute," the craggy man answered. His voice had sunk to a whisper heard from afar. Zen glanced at him to make certain he was still there. The colonel had the flickering impression that the chair was vacant but before the impression could firm itself, West, faster than the eyes could follow, seemed to be back in the chair. "Note the screen now, Kurt," West said. The figures had become clear. It seemed to be a view of some kind of underground cavern where men were working on an object that looked like—Zen squinted his eyes, to make certain. "A small space ship!" the colonel said. He felt eagerness rise in his voice. Like so many kids born in the age of science, he had harbored the dream of the days to come when men would fly beyond the sky, to storied space islands that lay afar. Science had promised that this would happen and the fiction writers had embellished this belief with dream worlds. Somehow, it had never come to pass. One problem after another had prevented realization of this dream. The war, which should have accelerated development, had stopped it completely. Neither side had the materials or the engineers or the skilled technicians to construct a vessel capable of space flight. "No," West said. His voice was toneless and the far-away note was still strong in it. "Sorry to contradict you, colonel, but that is not a small space ship, though it is designed to get out of the atmosphere for a short time. Look again." "Hell, it's a super bomb!" Zen gasped, as recognition came to him. "Right, colonel!" "A bomb big enough to devastate a continent!" Cold currents suddenly flurried at the base of Zen's spine. "Right, colonel." West's voice was as dry as the Nevada wind. "I didn't know we had such a bomb under construction," Zen blurted out. "We haven't." "Then who—where?" The cold currents at the base of Zen's back were flowing down both legs and up his spine. "Look at the men, colonel. Look closely." West's voice was also cold. "They're Asiatics!" Shouting the words, Zen was out of his chair. "I didn't see the yellow faces and the slanted eyes at first. West, that's a huge guided missile. It's being built to drop out of the sky at thousands of miles an hour, on us!" "Yes," West said. He did not move a muscle in his body. On the other side of Kurt Zen, Nedra sat equally silent and motionless. "I have to get out of here," Zen said. "This information must be reported to the general staff, at once!" Urgency pounded in the tones of his voice. "The new people do not fight," West said. "I thought you were one of us." "It doesn't matter who I am," Zen said quickly. "The building of this super bomb must be reported. It must be! Extra warnings must be issued. We must alert every z-type fighter we possess and have them in the air constantly, in the hope that we can destroy this bomb before it lands. We've got to follow the construction hourly, so we will know when it is ready to be launched. And that means we've got to have top-flight intelligence men here, to follow the building of that bomb every inch of the way. Or we've got to take this super-radar of yours to headquarters and use it there. That's the best solution, if it is at all practical." Zen was striding back and forth in the darkened room, planning the steps that had to be taken. "West, do you realize this super-radar of yours will win the war!" Excitement tightened the colonel's voice. "With it, the enemy won't be able to make a move that we don't know about in advance." His excitement grew as the vast longing hidden in him for the end of the war tried to come to the surface. "You have tears in your eyes, colonel," West said. "You're out of your mind," Zen retorted. But he knew the craggy man was speaking the truth. He swallowed harder. "We've got the Asians cold. We'll know every move they make in advance." He exulted as he realized again how much this meant. "I have always known every move they made in advance," West answered. "We'll have them on their knees in—huh? What was that you just said? What was that?" Desperation appeared in the colonel's voice. West repeated his words. "Then why didn't you warn us?" Zen felt each word sting as it left his lips. "Why didn't you warn us? Why did you let so many of us die so unnecessarily?" West did not answer. The silence in the room grew deeper. Cold had begun to appear in the air. On the screen, the silent figures continued busily engaged in the building of their bomb. "Don't you realize that your failure to report what you knew is high treason?" Zen continued. The silence grew. West sat as solid and as immobile as a mountain. Nedra seemed to have shrunk in upon herself still farther. More than ever she looked like a very small girl who had somehow managed to intrude into a world of adults and was tremendously confused and hurt by what was happening here. "Don't you hear me?" Zen said. "I hear you," West answered. "Your loyalty to your country does you credit, colonel. It is to be expected from a person in your stage of development. However, you seem to have forgotten that I am not a citizen of your country. Or perhaps you did not know this?" "Not a citizen?" Zen said. "But this mountain exists in America. I don't know whether it is actually on Canadian ground or lies in the United States, but this does not matter. By mutual treaty, the countries have become one nation. A citizen of one is automatically a citizen of the other." "True, colonel." West did not attempt to explain. "Then what country do you claim to belong to?" Zen felt his voice falter as he tried to grasp what lay back of this very strange man. "You talk like an American." "I was born here." "Then you are a citizen." "No. I resigned my citizenship. As to my real country, it is a far land. I am sure you have no knowledge of it. My loyalty, colonel, is not to any nation on the face of the globe, but is to—growth, to the new people who will come into existence one day." As West spoke, the cold that was freezing Zen's spine suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a sudden deep warmth. The words seemed to touch some hidden spring of warmth within him. "My loyalty is to the future, to the growing tip of the life force, to what the human race will become, not to what it is today. Only the future has meaning, colonel, and to the building of that future I have dedicated my life." In spite of the fact that the words thrilled him, Zen knew he had to deny them. "This is sophistry," he snapped. "I think any court in the land would hold it to be evasion of your proper duties. You can't continue living in a country and enjoying its ble—" Confusion came into Zen's mind. "Were you going to say blessings, colonel?" West said, almost maliciously. "Yes." "Would you point out these blessings?" "We had them once," Zen said. "And we're going to have them again." "Are you?" West nodded toward the screen where the far-off enemy technicians and engineers were busy with their super bomb. "Now that we know that it exists, that bomb will never land," Zen said. "I'll see to that personally." "How are you going to discharge this responsibility?" West inquired. "I'll find a way," Zen answered. "I admire your spirit, colonel, though not necessarily your evaluation of your personal position at this moment. Also, there is one other thing that I want you to see." The screen went blank. Slowly another scene formed on it. Zen, staring, blurted out words. "That's another one. They're making two of those super bombs. I didn't think they had the materials and the technical know-how to make even one! This doubles the problem, and more than doubles the urgency. We'll have to guard the skyways from all directions, including straight up. Damn it, West!" Zen slapped his fist into his open palm to emphasize his feeling of urgency. "Look again, colonel," the craggy man invited. On second look Zen saw something that he had missed before. "Those are Americans! We're building that bomb!" His words were little gusts of explosive sound in the quiet room. "Right," West said. His voice was very grim. "Then it's a race to see which side gets its bomb built first?" Zen asked. He did not know whether or not he liked what his eyes were seeing and the interpretation his mind was giving him. "I am afraid that is true," West reluctantly agreed. "But doesn't that change the picture, colonel?" "How?" Zen demanded. "We're going to win a war. We've got to win it." The words were firmly spoken but somewhere a lingering doubt remained as if some point had not been considered. "The other side also thinks it has to win," West pointed out. "To hell with what they think. They started it. We didn't. Man, you don't intend to tell me that you are going to sit right here and watch two nations frantically try to destroy each other—and maybe the Earth with them—when you have the means to stop it in your hand?" Horror exploded in Zen's words. "I am going to do just that," West stated. His voice was as firm and as solid as the granite core of a mountain. "But you can't!" Zen expostulated. "Why can't I?" West demanded. "I am not a citizen of either country and I owe nothing to any nation." "Even if you are not a citizen of either country, you're still a human being. You owe loyalty to your own race," Zen said. The craggy man showed faint signs of discomfort. But when he spoke, his voice was still imperturbable. "Granting your statement, what do you propose I do?" "Stop the Asians," Zen answered promptly. "Give us complete information on the location of their super-bomb. We'll make certain we get ours finished first and we'll use it to blow their installation out of existence." At the moment, his plan seemed feasible. "That would create the very danger you are trying to avoid, would it not?" West pointed out. "Both super bombs would explode simultaneously. Do you think the Earth would remain in its orbit if this happened?" "I don't know," Zen answered. "That would be up to the astronomers and the astronomical physicists to decide. In any case, if the danger is too great, we'll use ordinary weapons to touch off their super bomb. Well get the job done before they finish." "They are working underground, in a cavern at least three thousand feet deep," West pointed out. "Do you have a weapon that will penetrate to this depth?" "We'll build one!" "You talk very glibly, colonel." "Somebody has got to talk!" Zen said fiercely. "Even if they are building their bomb underground, they must have an exit for it somewhere. We'll locate their exit and drop an H-bomb on it." "And thus destroy their bomb and the best of their scientists and engineers?" "This is war. You can't have sympathy in war." "This is my point, colonel," West said patiently. "I have no sympathy—with either side." "Then what do you propose—to sit here and do nothing?" "I propose to let each side destroy the other as much as they wish and can. Then, when they have completely demonstrated the futility of their efforts, when it is utterly clear to the few who have survived that warfare is not the way to the future, then the new people will emerge to show the way to those who have survived." West's voice was calm. He seemed to be considering a situation often pondered and to be stating a conclusion firmly and definitely reached. "But that involves senseless slaughter," Zen protested. "This was the reason that lay back of the dropping of the first atom bomb—to stop senseless slaughter." "All slaughter is senseless, colonel, though from the viewpoint of the individual or nation doing it, slaughter is generally considered to be right at the time." Zen started to comment on what the craggy man had just said, then changed his mind. Was he dealing with a madman? This seemed possible. West's words certainly did not fit any pattern that Zen knew. The act of sitting by and letting two nations commit suicide went beyond the bounds of rational thinking. "I beg you, let me report this to the high command," Zen said, making one last plea. "In reply, I want to ask one question," West answered. "What would happen to the people here, and to me, if I revealed the existence of this instrument?" "You would be a hero," Zen said promptly, and knew he was lying as he spoke. "Your people would be protected." "I dislike calling you a liar, colonel, but that is exactly what you are," West answered. "We would all be taken care of, as long as all of us did exactly what the high command wanted. The instant I tried to do anything else, my actions would be called treason and I would be considered a traitor. My equipment would be confiscated, 'for the convenience of the government,' and I would be lucky if I did not face a firing squad. Tell me honestly, colonel, would not this happen?" For the first time, West's words had a tinge of anger in them. Or was it sorrow? "Sam—" Nedra said. "Something—" Her voice was a whisper from some far-off land. "What is it, Nedra?" West asked. In an instant, he had forgotten all about Kurt Zen. The nurse sat up straight and stiff. All color fled from her face. "Something—" Her voice was the faintest whisper of sound in this quiet room. "Nedra, what is it?" West's tones had alarm in them. Instead of answering, the nurse slid from her chair to the floor, in a faint. Dim and distant in the silence that followed came a popping sound. Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat— Zen had heard this death-dealing rattle too often to mistake its identity. "A sub-machine gun!" The drapes that covered the archway leading into this hidden room were shoved aside. A man fell through them. Zen knew at a glance that he was another of the kids who lived here in this hidden cavern inside a mountain. Blood was spewing from a hole in his back and he was fighting desperately for breath. "They're—coming with guns!" he gasped. West dropped to his knees and took the head of the youth in his lap. His face was dark as he saw the wound on the back. Cuddling the youth's head in his lap as one would a frightened child, he asked, "What happened, Carl?" "I don't know. They came out of nowhere. There was no one. Then these men were here. They came—shooting." Blood came out of his mouth as he spoke. He tried to cough it away, and failed. His hand went to his mouth and wiped at the blood, then he lifted his hand to his eyes and saw what was there. "How many are there?" Zen asked. Carl's eyes wandered until he found the source of this question. "Dozens," he said, his voice dull. Blood was draining from his mouth across West's legs and was forming a pool on the floor. Listening, Zen could distinguish three machine guns going now. Men were yelling. A girl was screaming. At the sounds, the colonel's lips formed into a line as sharp as the edge of a knife. "How did they get past your fear generators?" he said to West. "I don't know," the craggy man answered. "Perhaps they found an unguarded tunnel." Zen could not see what difference it made how the intruders had secured entry. They were here. "Where are your weapons?" he demanded. In his mind was the thought that the new people would have weapons adequate to defend their own citadel. "Weapons?" West did not seem to understand the term. "We have none." "What?" Zen said. Hadn't West understood him. Every farmer, every rancher, and every householder had his stock of weapons. Almost all people went armed. "No rifles?" "No." "Not even tear gas?" "No, colonel." "Then how in the hell did you expect to stay alive?" Zen burst out. "You surely knew they would find you sometime." "Staying alive is actually not as important as you think. Yes, son." West bent again to listen to the youth's words. "Good—good—" The whisper was very faint. West understood. "Goodbye," he said. "We will meet again. But, goodbye for now." The youth sighed. All pain and all fear went from his face. Peace came to him. But when West rose to his feet, his face was bleak. "He was new here," he said as if this explained something that he felt needed explaining. Somewhere a woman was screaming. West listened to the sound, then started toward it. Zen caught his arm. "The invaders have guns." His tone conveyed the impression that West was at fault because no weapons existed inside the mine. "Or do you want to go join him?" He nodded toward the body on the floor. Blood had stopped spilling from that body now. The essence of life had gone elsewhere and the tides of life had ceased flowing. "Yes," West said bluntly. "I want to go with him." His face had grown more black. Heat lightning was dancing in his eyes. Zen caught the impulse to say that this made two of them who wanted to join the bronze-skinned youth. He knew how to deal with this reaction. "Okay," he said. "Good bye." West blinked startled eyes at him. "Run along," Zen said. "Eh?" "I'll take over here and fight the battle you are running from," Zen continued. As if he were dispelling a mist from some hidden corner of his mind, the craggy man shook his head. "Sorry," he apologized. "However, the call is very strong. Only the sense of a job not yet done has kept me from going for—a long time." He shook his head again. "No, I shall not follow him, for another while, though I am positive that he is luckier than we are." "I agree," Zen said. Stooping, West picked up Nedra. She lay in his arms like a tired, sleeping child. Had she followed the youth? Kurt Zen had a moment of heartbreak as the thought passed through his mind before he saw that she was still breathing regularly. "Follow me," West said. The heat lightning still danced in the eyes of the craggy man as he moved across the room. The solid wall swung aside into another hidden door. "None of my people know this is here," he explained. "The combination lock is actuated only by my body." As Kurt Zen went through the door he could hear the girl still screaming somewhere. The passage was narrow. To one side, another passage led into a room where Zen caught a glimpse of some kind of electrical equipment in operation, the technical guts of the super-radar, he suspected. Ahead, West growled, a sound that came from deep in his throat. He had stopped and was staring down into a hidden opening in the wall. Zen saw that the opening, through some hidden arrangement of mirrors, revealed the interior of the big gallery where he had spent the night. Hell was loose in there now. <hr class="chap" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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