A LAUREL-LEAF BOOK

Published by Dell Publishing Co , Int

i Dag H mimarskjold Plaza New York, Niw 'Y.ork 10017

Text copyright © *977 by Walter Dean Myers Photographs copyright © 1977 by Franklin \\atts, Inc

All rights reserved   No part of this book may be reproduced or trtnsmitted in any form or by .inv means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system   without the \vntttn permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by Iiw   For information write   Franklin \\ atts, Inc    730 Fifth Avenue, New \ork, NY   10019

Laurel-Leaf ® TM 766734, Dell Publishing Co , Inc

ISBN   0-440-90788-8

RL:  2.1

Reprinted by arrangement with Franklin Watts, Inc. Printed in the United States of America

First Laurel-Leaf printing—July 1979 Second Laurel-Leaf printing—July 1979 Third Laurel-Leaf printing—April 1980

Acknowledgments

A particular debt is in order for the following individuals

Charles Boone Francisco Cortez

Eladio Cruz Jose Fernandez Edward Frieberg

Nola Lopez

Noel IP Massena

Giovanna Massena-Aiello

Stephen Queen

Alexander Rohrs

Barbara Rohrs

Robert Young

They had not expected the summer storm. In 2076 the science of weather was very exact. The storm had not lasted long. There was some thunder. A few flashes of lightning. And it was over. Then the strange reports started. People found lying in the streets. They weren't dead. But they had no idea who they were. In the worst cases they couldn't speak.

They were taken to hospitals. They were tested carefully. All proved to be healthy.

HI

Healthy but helpless. When they were hungry, they would cry. When they had been fed they would lie still. Sometimes they would make soft noises. Finally some were sent to Brain Study units for more tests. Then came the discovery. Their minds were gone!

Their brains had not been removed. They were not even damaged. They had just stopped working. The people could remember nothing from before the storm. Even simple things were forgotten. Such as how to walk. Most of them were older people. But now they had the minds of babies.

Scientists tried to explain what had happened. Some said that it was the electricity in the air. Others thought it was caused by sun spots. It might have all been forgotten. But for another storm ... and more missing minds.

Two men had been fighting in the street.

They fell down and began to cry. Two lovers

121

sat in a London park. Their marriage was set for June. The woman began to suck her thumb. The man wet his pants. A student in Denmark sat under a tree. Suddenly she began to cry and eat her school book. They, too, had lost their minds.

Four hundred minds were gone. One hundred during the first storm. Three hundred during the second. FORTIA, the army of the world, took action. First, the warning. Take cover during all storms. Then, a meeting at headquarters in Switzerland. FORTIA used radio waves to check the earth. Could a force from another planet be the cause? FORTIA officers remembered the Crolon attack thirty years ago. Could they be at it again? They were a very warlike people. Their small planet circled a dying star. The radio wave check cleared the Crolons. The attacks were not from them.



The checks turned up a powerful ray. It swept along the outer edge of the earth. And it was coming from Suffes. Suffes was a dark, unknown planet. A dot in space hundreds of light-years away. It was named after the scientist who had discovered it. Little was known about it. But one thing was certain. Something or someone there was attacking Earth!

FORTIA directed a tele-beam at Suffes. The beam questioned the dark planet.

WHY flTTflCK? WE flfiE NQT flT WflR.

There was no answer. But there was another storm. Late in August four hundred more minds were gone.

Scientists studied the ray. But they learned only one thing. It needed a storm to break through earth's atmosphere. That much they already knew.

FORTIA decided to send a ship. The commander had simple orders. Try to reason with the Suffessians. If reason fails, destroy them.

The trip would be a difficult one. An in-tergalactic ship moved many times the speed of light. Still, the journey would take months. FORTIA decided on a daring plan. Use an old-style space ship. And send it through a time-warp. It could reach Suffes within three days. There was only one problem. Passing through time would change the crew. Each member would age fifteen years!

The spaceship was the Odyssey. The crew was young. They were all around fifteen. The trip would take three days. When they arrived, they would be thirty. Commander Ron Viacom was fourteen. He understood his duty well. He had started training at nine.

The takeoff went well. In three seconds the ship was circling the sun. Karen, the chief engineer, was just about to chart a new course.

"Time-warp dead ahead," she said. Then the instruments went wild.

"Switch to seven bank!" Ron ordered.

"Seven bank switched in!" Karen watched the needles dance crazily. "Seven bank not working, sir!"

"Switch on standby power!" Ron couldn't understand. What was happening to his ship?

"It's not working either!" There was a trace of fear in Karen's voice.

"Engineering!" Ron spoke into his communicator.

Engineering answered.

"What's the power loss?" Ron asked.

"No power loss, sir," was the answer.

"No power loss?" Ron asked.

"No power loss, sir, but. .."

"But what, engineering? Please speak

up

i*»

"Sir, we're moving at great speed. I don't think it's possible. But it's thirty times the

speed of light! That's as high as the needle goes. God knows how fast we're really going."

"Karen, give me a reading." Ron wiped his sweating hands. "Are we headed for the time-warp?"

"No, sir," Karen answered. "We're not."

"Will you please tell me where we're headed?"

"Sir, we're still headed for Suffes."

Ron slapped on the phone to all decks. "All officers. Meet on the bridge. Five minutes. Better make that two minutes."

At the meeting Ron listened carefully. Each officer reported. There was no damage to the ship. All instruments were working. Something, or someone, had taken over. And they were hurling to Suffes.

"We're going to crash! We'll be smashed to pieces!" said Greg.

"Settle down!" Ron ordered. Ron looked at Greg. He was chief power officer. And he was calm now. "How much time do we have?" Ron asked.

"I'd say fifteen minutes, sir," Greg answered. "At the most."

Ron called engineering. "Reverse all engines!"

There was a low buzz. The engine reversed.

"What's our speed now, Greg?"

Greg checked his instruments.

"I'm not sure, sir," he said. "We're still going fast. Faster than I've ever gone before. Reversing the engines didn't help. It added to our speed for a while."

"That's it!" Ron said. "Something is using our own power. Stop all engines!"

Greg stopped all engines.

"We're slowing!" Greg reported. "We're below the speed of light now. But we're still going too fast."

"We have to cut more power," said Ron. "Starve that thing—whatever it is." Ron looked at Karen. "Cut life support!"

Karen flipped the switch. The ship went dark. There was no noise. A small safety light glowed on the bridge.

"Sir, we've stopped." Karen spoke in a low, even voice.

"Where are we, Greg?" Ron asked.

"No way to be exact without instruments, sir. But I can get an idea."

Greg slid open the view window. Below were the dark blue clouds of Suffes. The planet was less than five miles away.

"We've arrived, sir," Greg said.

Ron rushed to the window. "They wanted us here. And here we are—"

"And not a day older," said Greg.

"Fifteen minutes to landing," Karen reported.

"Let gravity bring us down," Ron said. "Their planet is smaller than earth. The touchdown shouldn't be too hard." Ron's hand touched the weapon at his side. "Get ready for anything."

r

fflfc

The ship landed in a thick forest. The tallest tree was only five feet high. It looked like a small, overgrown garden. Far off were huge gray buildings. "Ugly things aren't they," Ron said.

"Let's get this over with." It was Mano who spoke. Ron knew that he might cause trouble. Mano was all soldier. He knew nothing else.

"Reason first," Ron said. "Those are our orders. Try to remember that, Mano."

"Yes, yes," Mano smiled. "I'll remember that."

"Karen, get a life check going," Ron ordered.

"Do it from the ship, sir?" Karen asked. Ill have to put on power. It might be dangerous. They may have beams on us."

"You're right. Take a team of three. No, better make that four. Take Mano with you, just in case."

"You expect trouble?" Karen asked.

"I don't know," Ron answered. "Better take along breathing gear. I don't want to lose my chief engineer. This air may be bad."

"I wouldn't worry." Karen looked through the view screen. "Look at the size of those trees. There's enough oxygen."

The team—Karen, Karl, Mano, Greg— moved slowly. Tall gray buildings were half a mile away. It looked like a city. They could

see smaller buildings. None of them could tell what they were for. They inched forward.

"Wait!" There was surprise in Kari's voice. "We're being probed! Don't move."

"I knew it! I knew it!" Mano slapped the safety off his laser gun.

"Don't get excited," Karen said. "They have every right to check us out."

"They're getting ready to attack!" Mano's face was white with anger. "I'm sure of it. I'll take charge of—"

Mano fell to the ground. He rolled over. The anger on his face was gone. He looked peaceful. He was smiling. At first they thought he would get up. He didn't. He reached for his shoes. He started playing with his feet.

"Good Lord!" Greg stared at his friend. "They've taken his mind!"

"Everyone settle down." Karen tried not to get excited. "We'll go back to the ship."

/22/

"They're taking our minds!" Greg's eyes grew wide with fear. Small beads of sweat came to his forehead. "We don't have a chance! We don't have a chance!"

Greg started to run. He didn't get far. He dropped to his knees crying. He noticed his thumb and began to suck on it. His crying stopped.

Karen took a deep breath. She walked slowly toward the ship. She tried not to think of Mano and Greg. She left them where they fell. She turned to see if Karl was following her. She saw that he was taking another reading. Good, he was doing his job. Soon they would be back in the ship. Karen talked softly to herself. Keep calm. Easy. Relax.

Everyone knew at once. Something was wrong. Without a word Ron passed out more

weapons. Karen gave a full report.

/25/

"Karl, why didn't you notice the probe before?" Ron asked.

"It just wasn't there, sir. I took readings. It didn't show up. Not until we got near the city."

"How do you explain it, then?" Ron asked.

"I think it was a mind probe," Karen said.

"Then why not attack the ship?" Ron asked, "We have minds here."

"Yes," said Karen. "But remember back home. Where were the people who had their minds taken?"

"Where were they?" Karl was puzzled. "They were in different places. A park. Walking down the street. Hey, I see what you mean."

"They were all outside," said Karen. "Nothing protected them from the mind-destroying rays."

/26/

"Then we're safe in the ship?" Ron asked.

"It would look that way," Karen answered.

"A fine spot we're in," Ron said. "We came here to discover what's going on. Now we're locked in our own ship."

"Karl, you were taking a reading out there," Karen said. "Did you notice anything odd?"

"Odd? Yes, as a matter of fact." Karl picked up his pocket computer. He pushed a button. A roll of paper popped out. It was a record of all Karl's readings. "The odd thing is that a beam was on us. Then it stopped. Then it was back again. Each time it stopped, the energy level dropped."

"It must be a sweep," Ron said. "Like a light beam that sweeps across the sky. Now we're getting somewhere. We could time the

sweeps. Find out when the beam is not on us.

/29/

Then we could use power at those times. Karl, you and Karen get going. Time those sweeps. Who's running the computer?" "Helen/' Karl said.

"Get her up here," Ron said. »

Karen and Karl went outside the ship. They both wore plexi-shields. The shields stopped low-power rays. Karen and Karl sat quietly recording the sweeps. Carefully they noted any change in the readings. Within fifteen minutes they had their answer.

"It hits every three minutes," Karen reported. "Each beam checks something different. We have about two and three-quarter minutes of power between sweeps. We can run the computer during that time."

"Okay," Ron said. "Let's give it a try."

Karl stood outside the door. His job-record the sweeps. His hope—not to get excited. He thought of Mano and Greg. But only

/30/

for a moment. "Okay, hold it!" he called. The sweep was on the ship. Then it went by. "Now!"

Helen switched on the computers. Quickly, she began feeding in questions:

What was the sweep ray? What had attacked Mano and Greg? The machine had no answers. Finally Helen asked the computer for a table of equals. The table had just been finished. Karl gave the sign. Helen turned off the machine.

Karen and Ron went over the printouts. They stopped short at the table of equals.

TFBLEWEQUfllS

E01RL KtfftO RT fcfflftGKV EJ,

GRBG RT ttTBiGITV K

/32/

"The sweep ray is tuning in on everything it hits. It takes on the wavelength of its subject," Ron said.

"Our brain waves as well," Karl added. "The ray tuned in to Mano and Greg. It took their minds. Why not mine and Karen's? It read us too."

"Brain activity," said Ron, looking at the table. "Notice the count for Mano and Greg. When their minds were destroyed, the count was high. Their brain activity was very high.

/34/

Mano's was at sixty-four. Greg's was sixty-two. Karl, yours and Karen's were lower. The highest reading was forty-two. The danger point must be somewhere between forty-two and sixty-two. At that point the ray can destroy the mind. Didn't you say that Mano was angry, Karen?"

"Angry wasn't the word for it, sir," Karen answered.

"And Greg was scared out of his mind!" Karl said.

"You can say that again," Ron said. He put the table of equals into the fife. He pushed the "on" button. The file machine put the papers on film. Then it stored the film. The paper was already being recycled back into the computer. "Think of the people on Earth," Ron said. "Those who were destroyed. It all makes sense."

/35/

"You mean whose minds were destroyed," Karen corrected.

"Is there a difference?" Ron looked at his chief engineer.

"Not much, I guess," she said.

"All of them were excited. They were either angry, or frightened . . ."

"Or making love . . ." Karen added.

"Right. Then the ray could do its dirty work," Ron said.

"Maybe the Suffessians feel in danger. Maybe high brain activity harms them," said Karl.

"I don't know what they feel," Ron said. He strapped on his weapon. "But we're going to find out."

"A war team is going out?" Karl asked.

"No, we can't do that," Ron said. "We don't have weapons to match their mind rays.

And the shields might not protect us, Espe-

/36/

cially if we're excited. We need information. And we need it fast. The three of us will go out. I know you and Karen can stay cool. You have shown that. I hope I can."

Karen belted an Estron projector around her waist. It was a terrible weapon. It could destroy any life form. She could use it against anything within fifty yards. The weapon came into use in 2028. It had made women equal to men in war. No man could get near a woman wearing it. He could not use his greater strength against her.

Ron, Karl, and Karen made their way slowly. They went through the forest towards the SufFessian city. They passed Mano and Greg. The men still lay helpless. It had grown dark near the ship. But great sheets of light hung over the city. They seemed to come from the sky.

/39/

Karl took readings. They were very low. The skylights cast shadows. And the group used them for hiding. Ron decided to go toward the gray buildings. They might be some kind of headquarters, he thought. They made their way through the shadows.

"Look!" Karen pointed.

Ron and Karl looked. A group of Suffes-sians was walking straight toward them. There were two males and two females. They were smaller than Earth people. Their legs were very short. Their chests were quite large. Their faces looked human. Except for the eyes. They were large and lifeless.

The group passed. The Earth people moved on.

"They didn't notice us," Karl said.

"They noticed," Karen said. "Several of them turned and looked. They didn't seem to care."

/40/

At last the group reached the gray buildings. As they came near, Karl took another reading. Something was giving off great energy. Karen tested the buildings. They were not made of steel. The metal was unknown to her. A clear tube connected the two buildings. A band of white moved inside the tube. It was going from one building to the other. As they stood, several Suffessians came to the tube. They watched the band for several seconds. Then they walked away.

/43/

fri

"Looks like an information unit," Karen said.

"Record it on film," Ron said. "Well check it out back at the ship."

"Sir, something's going on." There was fear in Kail's voice.

The others looked. Two hundred meters away Suffessians were gathering. They stood outside of a white building. The building was an exact cube.

/44/

"Let's get closer," Ron said. They hid in the shadows of a small building. "We can watch from here."

The crowd moved about for a while. Then they began to sit down. The sky darkened above the white building. All at once its walls came to life with pictures. A park with people. Earth people!

"Isn't that Rome?" Karen whispered. "Certainly looks like it," Karl answered.

Other pictures came quickly. A young girl. An older woman in a kitchen.

"Oh, no!" Ron moaned. "What's wrong?" Karen looked at his face. He looked as if he would be sick.

"Those pictures. What they're watching. They're pictures from a human mind! That woman is Mano's mother!"

/47/

"Let's get out of here!" Karl said. "I can't stand anymore."

They made their way back to the ship. They made certain not to hurry. Not to get angry. Not to think of Mano. When they got back, there was bad news. They rushed to sick bay.

"It's Horvath, sir," Helen reported.

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"He said someone took his food pack. He said it was a FORTIA soldier named Jon. Horvath wanted to beat him."

"Fight a FORTIA soldier?" Ron found it hard to believe. A food pack was a small matter. And the soldiers were trained to kill.

"Jon ignored him. This just made Horvath more angry," Helen said. "He stormed off the ship. He didn't get far ... Everybody is getting jumpy, sir."

/48/

"Right." Ron was weary. He sat down. "Helen, we've got some more information. Run it through the computer."

"Yes, sir."

Karen gave her the film.

Helen put it into the computer. They turned on the machine between sweeps.

"Does the computer know their language?" Karen asked.

"Looks like a form of Boolean," Helen answered,

"How dull," Karen said.

"Lucky for us!" Helen answered. "Look how quickly we're getting a reading."

"Put it on the screen," Ron said. They all turned to watch. The print flashed onto the screen.

/so/

DflV THREE THHEE NINE SLEEP ENDS ONETKDrTJUH EXEHOSEEMBONE TKDFWE FEEDING ENDS OWE TWO SEUEN EXERCISE ENE OWE TWQNIiE LEflHNfcC ENDS M ELEVEN ENTERTflllXENT EME ONE THIBTEN HESTBEGfifi DflV THHEE raHTV SLEEP ENDS OWE TKD HUH FEEDM3

EKfflOSEENDS M LEflHNWG ENDS OHETKDMME EXERCBE ENDS OWE ELBJEW EWTEHTflMSWT EWDS OWE THHTEEU REST BEBftfi DflV THHEE fOJHOME SLEEPBiCSOWETWD FQUH....

"That's enough!" Ron said. "Is that all?"

"The computer scanned the film. It carries other information. The weather . . ."

"That's it!" Karen snapped her fingers. "I knew something was missing. Work! These people don't work. How long can they live?"

Helen checked the film. "About one hundred and fifty years. The film covers about five hundred years."

"They have nothing to do," Ron said. "No work. No worries. No wishes. Everything is done for them by those computers. They eat, sleep, exercise, and have entertainment/'

"What we saw today was it. They watch reruns of our minds," Karl said.

"They sit and watch what?" Helen was puzzled.

"Like television in the old days," Ron said. "And we have to do something. In

a hurry, too. Or end up on the Late Show."

/52/

"How can we stop them?" Karl asked. "We just have to get angry. And ZAP, our minds are gone."

"A full-scale attack," said Ron. "We start in the morning."

"Against whom?" Karen asked.

"Against the computer!" Ron hit his fist into his left hand. "It rules this place."

"And we're not going to get excited?" Karen asked.

/53/

"We'd better hope not!" Ron said. It was going to be a strange battle.

Ron led one group. Karl led the other. Karl was not a trained soldier. But he knew what they were up against. He had seen Greg and Mano fall. That was lesson enough. Karen had her job. She would keep in touch with the ship. If they failed completely, Helen knew her duty. She would send their last message to Earth, telling their people what had happened.

Their plan was simple. Attack the two giant computers. Karl's group would keep to the far right. Ron's group would go to the left. Hah0 of each group would destroy the machines. The other half would stand watch. They would stop any trouble from the Suffessians.

They were supposed to start firing at 0800 hours. Three minutes away. A small

Suffessian walked into the line of fire. Ron

/54/

didn't want to kill anyone if possible. The attack would start at 0800. He couldn't change that. And he knew that once it began he had to finish it. One minute from 0800. The Suffes-sian walked away. Ron felt sorry for them. They had to live in such an odd, dull world.

At 0800 hours the attack started. They spread out. The firing began. Point blank range. Lasers and ion weapons hit the buildings. Nothing happened. They stopped firing. There were no marks on the buildings.

Ron switched on his radio. "Karl, come in/'

"Sir, we didn't even scratch them," Karl answered.

"Same here," Ron reported. "Let's go back to the ship."

A tall heavy girl ran up to Ron. "We can't!" she screamed. "It's got to work. I don't want to die here." The girl pulled out her

weapon. She ran to the computer's dull gray

/57/

wall. She started firing an inch away from it. Her laser became so hot she dropped it. There was no damage. In anger she pounded the wall with her fists. A moment later she fell. Her mind was gone.

One of the girls became very frightened. She fell down. Her mind was gone. Ron raised his hand. He pointed toward the ship. They had to get back. All at once it had become cold. Ron looked around him. His group was walking. Slowly. Very slowly. They were going back to the ship. A few Suffessians were standing around. They, too, looked cold. Ron looked back at the computer. He noticed something. It was on the building that Karl had attacked. He hadn't noticed it before. A small rod stuck up from its top. Ron pointed it out to his group. A soldier fired at it, just missing.

At that moment, Helen's voice came over the radio. "Sir, I'm getting high power readings. Is there a weapon out there?"

/58/

She had hardly stopped talking when it happened. The soldier's second shot made a direct hit. A blue flame leaped from the rod. It lasted only an instant. The soldier crumbled to ashes.

Ron looked at the others. Their eyes were fearful. They began to shoot at the building. Now the computer was shooting back. Ron could feel fear rise in himself. He felt a strange buzz in his head. He thought about a painting he had seen once. The buzz stopped.

"Sir, this is Helen." She spoke in a low, even voice. "All is well at the ship. Please don't get frightened. All is well here."

A boy from the FORTIA team ran in front of Ron. He was firing his laser as he ran. The blue flame struck him down. Ron thought of a song a| he walked—a soft, sweet song. He hummed it to himself. He was walking slowly. Very slowly back to the ship.

Four were left now. Ron, Karl, Karen, and Helen. Of the others, four were dead. The rest had no minds.

"We'll attack again in six hours," Ron said.

Karen looked at Karl. They all looked at Helen. Had they heard right?

"I'm not crazy," Ron said. "I have an idea."

"What is it?" Karl asked.

"One computer feeds information to the /62/

other. We know that. Here's my plan. We shoot through the feeding tube. It seems to be made of glass. Then, we put more holes on the information band. We give it a new message. Then see what happens."

"I can't go out there again, sir." Karl looked "down at his hands. "Everytime I go out—I'm getting scared. And I know as soon as the fear—"

"—gets strong enough your mind will be gone." Ron finished the sentence.

tt-rr	,      »

Yes, sir.

"Helen. How about you?" Ron asked.

"I'll go, sir." She laughed nervously. "I'm the computer engineer."

Ron touched her shoulder. "Be careful. Don't get excited. Whatever happens."

They watched her go.

Helen turned her laser gun down.

That way, it wouldn't make too much heat.

/63/

The tube punctured easily. She shot the message onto the belt. She knew exactly what to say.

TURN YQURSE15 OFF.

"I don't know if it understood," she told Ron, back at the ship. They waited an hour. Nothing happened. It hadn't worked.

"A message is coming from Earth," Karl said. They crowded around the machine. The message flashed on the screen.

MORE MJNDE DE5TRQYEC.

"We've failed," Ron said. "We may as well go home."

"At least we'll be on Earth," Karen said. "With the ones we love..."

"... Until our minds are destroyed," Ron said.

The team, what was left of it, began to get ready to leave.

/65/

Ron told Karl to take readings. Take as many as possible. The information could be useful on Earth. Someone might come up with a new plan before it was too late.

"Sir, everything is working well," Karen reported. "We can take off. Whenever you're ready, sir."

"Thanks, Karen," Ron said. "Remember we need all the power the ship's got. We have to break free of this gravity." Ron smiled at her. "I know you can do it."

"Yes, sir." Karen's eyes told him that she wasn't sure. They may not get away at all. The ray had pulled them here. Maybe it wouldn't let them go. Karen set her instruments. She, at least, wanted to get the ship off the ground. They'd have a fighting chance in the air.

Karl timed the sweeps. They were coming every two minutes. The computers were being careful!

/66/

"That machine must be the greatest thing ever made," Karl said. "I've never seen anything like it. It does everything except eat."

"It works too well," Karen said. "And the Suffessians are the losers. They've lost something very dear."

"What's that?" Karl asked.

"Their imagination," Karen said. "They must have been very smart once. They had to be. They built machines to solve all their problems. Now, in a way, they are the ones who have no minds."

"You're right," Ron said. "They stopped moving forward. They started going backward. And that's why they began attacking Earth. They need our minds. Our dreams bring meaning to their lives again."

Helen held up a long sheet of paper. "You have to admire their machine, though. Look at this. It's a secret code. So the machine

/69/

can't make a mistake. One computer tells the other that the message is real. When it's not real, the machine repeats its last order."

"Whatever the order was?" Ron asked hopefully.

"Not quite, sir," Helen answered. "It's programmed to protect itself."

"But it can make a mistake," Karl said.

"What's that?" Ron's eyebrow lifted.

They all turned toward Karl.

"Remember how cold it got," he said. "It shouldn't have. The machine is supposed to keep the temperature even. It made a mistake."

"Somehow it got fooled," Helen said. "It thought the weather was hot. So it cooled things off."

"And I know what fooled it!" Ron was excited. "We blasted the walls! They must have become hotter than a new-born star."

/70/

They were all listening now. Ron was on to something important.

"What do you have in mind, sir?" Karen asked.

"One more plan," Ron said. "We know the walls got hot. Hot enough to trick the computer. But they didn't break up. And that's because we had to fall back."

"Because it attacked us," Karen said.

"Yes," Ron said. And now he was guessing. But he was sure he was right. "But a long attack will crack those walls!"

"There's just one problem, sir," Karl said. "The computer fights back."

"We have one small chance," Ron said. "We heat up the computer's walls. It will drop the temperature. We damage the connection between the computers. That way, they can't talk to each other. It can't find out it's doing

the wrong thing."

/73/

Helen knew the rest. "So it keeps repeating the last order!"

"But it'll drop below freezing!" Karl

said.

"Right so far," Ron said. "And that's what'll give us time for a long attack. Because of the cold the computer won't sense our attack so quickly."

"And when it does?" Karl asked. "It's suicide. We'll be killing ourselves!"

"It's one chance in a thousand," Ron said. "But it's the only chance we've got."

It was Karen's idea to use the carts. They didn't go very fast. They didn't have to. They could go in any direction. And that was important. Very important.

They found three carts near a small building. Everybody knew the plan. Karl would take one cart. Ron would use another. They would circle the computers firing their lasers. They would change directions often. Make it hard for the computers. Give them no easy mark. The outer walls would get hot. The

/75/

r

machine would begin to cool things off. Then Helen and Karen would move. They would blast through the clear tube. Then they would destroy the information band.

They touched hands and began.

Karl made the first hit. Then his cart turned sharply away. The machine did nothing. Again he fired, and again.

From the other side Ron was blasting away. The heat from the lasers was very great. They fired and fired. And still the machines did nothing. Then Karen called out.

"Sir, look out!" She was pointing to the top of the building. The attack rod was rising.

"This is it!" Ron shouted. He fired again. At the same time he steered the cart full speed ahead. Just in time too. A blast of blue flame missed him. It turned the ground black behind him.

Ron fired again and again. He steered

mi

the cart. Driving it fast and straight ahead. He fired again. This time he turned a sharp right. The blue flame hit. It struck where he would have been. That is, if he had gone forward. The computer was thinking. Guessing where he would be. He looked up at the information belt. Karen and Helen waited for his order. The temperature wasn't hot enough yet. Ron blasted the gray walls. This time two blue flames shot out. One landed in front of him. The other struck to the right.

Ron looked over at Karl. Blue flame hit right in front of Karl's cart. Karl stopped short. He jumped out. Just barely in time. The cart tumbled over. The blue flame struck. The cart melted. Ron circled in his own cart. He picked up Karl as he went by. Karl fired as Ron drove through a hail of blue flame.

Ron waved to the girls. They attacked the information band. Their work was swiftly

/78/

done. The band damaged easily. And then they were running. Trying to get to their cart. Karen fell. Helen turned to help her. The blue flame found its mark. Helen's face burned with pain. She fell. A second flame lashed out. It made a direct hit on their cart.

Karen was up and running. Running for her life. Ron drove towards her. Karl grabbed her arm. He pulled her on board.

They raced to the edge of the clearing. Then, they jumped. The cart went by itself. It didn't go very far. Blast after blast hit home. Finally, it was only a smoking pile of junk.

They made their way back to the ship. It was getting cold. Karl turned on the view screen. They could see outside. The computer was still attacking. It shot at anything that moved. They saw the spot where Helen was hit. There was nothing of her left. Nothing to see.

Ron had a small burn. A flame had narrowly missed him. Karen smoothed on bio-cell cream. That would heal it. Karl smoothed some on his leg burn.

"What's it doing out there?" Ron asked.

"It's freezing," KarLsaid. He was dead

tired.

"Then it's working," Ron said. "Well give

it until tomorrow morning."

Much of the plant life died overnight. The ground froze over.

In the morning, Karl took readings. The sweeps were coming every minute and a half. They packed all their weapons. Everything they could carry. Loaded down, they started out at once. Moving again towards the city. Outside was strangely beautiful. It was bitter cold. Icicles hung from the trees.

Karl touched Ron's arm. He pointed to a low house. Two bodies were lying on the

/82/

ground. They hadn't been burned. They had frozen to death. The Suffessians hadn't known what to do in the cold. They hadn't put on more clothing. They hadn't made fire. They simply died. Karen pointed to another group. They were standing close together in the freezing air. They didn't know what else to do.

"Let's get the weapons set up," Ron said. He turned to Karen. "How soon can you repair that information band?"

"I'm not sure, sir," she said. "Helen was the one who ..." Karen stopped. "I'll call you when it's done, sir," she said. Ron understood.

"What if it doesn't work?" Karl said.

"Don't think about it," Ron said.

Carefully, Ron and Karl set up the weapons. They were all directed at one spot. The spot where Ron was sure they could crack the wall. He had bet their lives on it. It was

some fifty feet above the ground. He re-

/85/

checked each weapon. They were all aimed correctly. Finally, he looked up. Karen was running toward them. She had finished. The band was working. It told the other computer to warm things up.

"Let's help it out, Karl." They started turning on the weapons.

For a long time nothing seemed to be happening. Ron checked the aim. It was on target.

"We have to break through soon," Karl said. "Or we're in trouble."

They watched. It seemed like hours. The weapons pounded. Even in the bitter cold Karl was sweating.

"The wall is getting hot, sir," Karen said. "It will attack soon."

Neither Karl nor Ron answered. They waited. Stamping their feet to keep warm. The

/86/

only sound was the hum of the weapons. Karen broke the silence.

"Oh, no! Look!" On the top of the computer, the attack rod was rising. All at once, there was a huge cracking sound. They could hear a number of small blasts. Then, thick, black smoke was pouring from the building. The plan had worked. The hole grew larger. Flames leaped from inside.

"Let's get out of here," Ron said. They raced back to the ship. No need to fear the mind ray. No need to go slowly. They got excited. Very excited!

They turned on the view screen. The huge building was burning. And the other computer was attacking.

"What in the stars is going on?" Karl said.

"It's acting against the heat. It thinks it's under attack," Ron said.

/89/

The damaged computer began to fight back. They fired away at each other. Soon, they were both destroyed. Two huge mountains of junk.

"Sir, what about the Suffessians?" Karen looked worried. "Will they die?"

"No, I don't think so," Ron said. "They'll start to live again. Think again. Have their own dreams again."

Karl was smiling. "Does anybody mind

if we get sta "What -Karen a gines. "Powei on the direction

"> good old Earth?" aren?" Ron asked. irning on the en-said. She pushed

it locked on Earth.

"Course charted, sir," she said.

"Good," Ron answered. "Let's go home."

/90/