The orchid cage, p.8
The Orchid Cage, page 8
The pebble clattered across the funnel, eventually rolling into one of the gutters… and then plunged down into the funnel… Suddenly, a sound rang through the air: a high, light, singing noise, constant in pitch and volume. Twelve large glistening spheres rose like soap bubbles from twelve large apertures, spheres from which the silky tissue of electrical discharge waved and crackled like fountains in the wind. Below, pistons pounded. Driving-wheels began to turn deep in the pit where the pebble had fallen, and there was a deep-throated sound of grinding. A wave of motion rippled through the machinery: wheels turned, joints clicked, shafts rotated, relays closed, sparks crackled. ..
Katia came out of her reverie, and suddenly screamed: “There it is! There!” The pebble had reappeared. It shot out of a tiny channel, and was caught in a bell-shaped fine-mesh network of cables which grasped it like a band. It was transported toward one of the hoppers, and tipped gingerly over the side. The gangway led up and over this hopper, and they hurried in that direction. They stared down into the depths of the hopper, feeling a blast of hot air rising around them. Somewhere in the depths of the vast machine was the pale-blue glow of Cherenkov-radiation. Then, just as abruptly as it had begun, all was still.
“Radiation,” whispered Rene. “Good Lord! It’s a converter-reactor!”
Chapter 3
In silence, they continued their journey. In spite of earlier appearances to the contrary, they discovered that the gangway divided several times, and went to higher and lower levels. Don took the lead, and tried to maintain a course which would bring them to the outside of the building as soon as possible. Suddenly, he raised his hand.
“Stop!” He pushed the others back.
“What is it?” said Rene. ;
“Jak and his crowd. We mustn’t be seen.” He led them behind a pyramid-shaped structure where they waited for a few seconds.
“They must have heard the noise,” said Al.
Don peered around the corner. “I can see Jak and Heiko … and there’s Tonio too.”
“Are they coming toward us?” said Kat.
“They’re talking. I think they’re deciding what to do.” Don turned to face the others. “This could be a stroke of luck. We needn’t let them know we’re here, but we can watch and follow them.” Again he peered around the corner, but drew back hastily. “They’re coming this way! We must hide.”
Rene pointed upward. “How about up there?”
Halfway up the pyramid-structure was a broad, flat surface, which could be reached by clambering up one of the sides. Rene went up to it, and helped the others. The floor was made in the shape of a grating, as if at one time it had been the outlet for a ventilator shaft.
“Lie down,” said Don to the others.
“God, this is uncomfortable,” said Katia.
Rene had put his face near one of the openings, and was trying to see down into the black depths. “I hope this wasn’t a gas pipe,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter. It’s not in use.”
Below them, the sound of footsteps came gradually closer, echoing in the deep interior of the building. Soon, the sounds came from directly beneath them.
“…definitely from here,” one voice said.
“But what could it have been?”
“It must be Don and his people.”
“Can you see any sign of them… ?’
The voices moved away, and soon only fragments of their words could be heard: “… search everywhere thoroughly…”
Don stayed low. He signaled to the others not to move, “There’s nothing we can do except stay put,” he said softly.
“Shouldn’t we—” Al broke off his sentence.
“What?”
“Well , shouldn’t we think of coming to some kind of agreement with the others?”
“What did you say?” Don sounded incredulous.
“You heard: come to an agreement with the others.”
“Are you out of your mind?” said Don furiously.
Katia was watching the two men with an expression of semi-amusement.
“Not at all,” said Al. “If we combined our efforts, we could achieve much more. ..”
“We’d achieve nothing at all! How would we win the Challenge? Work together? That’s nonsense!”
“Don, can’t you understand? This thing has become much bigger than simply winning or losing a Challenge. Exploring this city could lead to valuable new knowledge, knowledge that could benefit all of mankind.”
“I’ll hear no more of this,” said Don firmly.
Al looked at the others, perhaps hoping to gain some support. Rene was still sniffing doubtfully at the grating, and Katia had turned lazily onto her back, staring up through the transparent roof at the sky. It was late afternoon, and already the sky was beginning to take on the hues of evening.
“It’s getting late,” she said.
“Late?” said Al. “It’s already too late.”
“For God’s sake, Al!” said Don. “Are you going to work with us, or aren’t you? You don’t have to stay here.”
“OK,” said Al. The expression on his face was as sour as if he had bitten a fresh lemon.
“Right,” said Don with some satisfaction. He crawled forward to the edge, and looked down cautiously. “They’re still there,” he whispered in a moment. “They’re discussing something.”
“It’s too uncomfortable here,” said Kat suddenly. “I want to get down.” She stood up, and moved toward the edge.
Don scrambled over to her, and seized her by the leg. She fell backward, landing heavily on the metal grating.
“Confound you… lie down!”
Katia was lying at an awkward angle, and let out a soft groan. “Help me, Al”
“I eave her alone, Don,” said Al
Don turned on him angrily. “Shut up.”
“I said leave her.”
“What’s it to you?”
“Do something, Al,” Katia implored. She was still being held tightly by Don, and was struggling to escape from him, “Tell him, Al, tell him about—”
Don clamped his hand over her mouth. Al grabbed him, and pulled him away from the girl. Don released his grip on her and went for Al. He hit him across the face with his fist, then punched him hard in the stomach. Al seized his arm, and wrenched it painfully behind him. Don writhed, and managed to escape. He put his arms in a stranglehold around Al’s neck. At this point, Rene intervened, tearing the two men apart by brute force.
“Cut it out! Be quiet!”
Panting, the three men stood listening… and they heard the footsteps and voices coming back their way…
“...somewhere here…”
“…might have been mistaken…
Once more the footsteps passed the pyramid, and diminished until all that could be heard was the echo of their boots on the metal gangway, and the faint murmur of their voices.
“You two will ruin everything if you go on falling out,” said Rene. “For heaven’s sake, let’s get on with what we’re here for.”
The fury had gone out of Don and Al, but every so often they would throw each other angry looks. But the heat had passed, and now the four lay down on the grating, listening to the sounds of the others as they moved to and fro in the building.
The afternoon grew into evening, and then night fell. The sharp edges of the machinery softened, the glinting light of the multitude of reflections vanished, and the interior of the building became a mysterious assortment of dark shapes.
“We’d better get down,” said Don. “We should follow the others.” He climbed down first, and helped the others back onto the metal gangway. In a far-distant corner of the building they could hear the others.
“Round there,” said Rene. “Quickly.”
Moving quietly, they followed a branch of the gangway that seemed to lead in that direction.
In her excitement, Katia was not watching her path . , and suddenly she tripped. She stumbled against a metal column that spiraled upward, fulfilling some mysterious purpose of its own. But the impact of her weight against it set the metal vibrating and a sound like a bow being drawn across a violin string hummed through the building, echoing and reechoing.
Immediately they heard footsteps hurrying toward them, voices talking urgently.
Don looked around frantically, “Over there!” Without waiting for the others, he swung himself over the protective handrail and out onto a projecting ledge beneath the gangway. He crept out over the curving ledge, seeming to the others like a phantom in the darkness,
The footsteps were coming closer.
Al followed Don, and helped Rene and Kat down too. They went in the same direction as Don, crouching low. * Above them, the three other men hurried past. Don was now a long way ahead of the others, and they hurried to catch up with him. They saw him come up against a second protective rail, and he vaulted over it.
Instantly, the machinery came to life: a wire-mesh scoop shot along the pathway, pushed him ahead of it.
Don screamed… There was a sharp singing sound in the air, steady in pitch and volume. Like lightning, dazzling blue light crackled along the edges of the scoop, and, down below, twelve spheres of blue-white light rose from the ground. All around, the machinery was starting to turn, Pistons pounded, flywheels turned, chains clanked… the rousing sound drowned Don’s cries for help.
Jak and his group stood above them on the gangway, silhouetted by the background light.
“Radiation…” said Rene. He went over to where Don had disappeared. He saw the man being carried relentlessly by the machinery, struggling furiously but totally impotent against the might of the long-sleeping machines. At last he came to one of the hoppers, and was dumped inside. A moment later, his now-inert body skidded down one of the channels and vanished forever into the black abyss.
Rene watched in horror. All the could be seen of Don was the residual blue light that played around the lip of the reactor. It was over as quickly as it had started. The blue light dimmed, the machinery quieted.
Above their heads, Jak, Tonio, and Heiko walked slowly away, the sound of their boots on the metal gangway slowly vanishing into the distance. They totally ignored Al and the others.
Rene went back to Al and Katia, who were standing in stunned silence on the projecting ledge. Adopting the mantle of Don’s lost leadership, Rene led them back to the gangway, and headed for the outside. Soon they were back in the open, and they wandered listlessly back to a makeshift camp at the base of the city wall, resting only once on their way. Above them, the alien stars shone down.
Chapter 4
Although they could feel no sympathy for Don’s misfortune, the three friends felt the loss, if only because now they were without the constant stimulation of his leadership. In a desultory fashion they made camp, erecting a tent in the shadow of the city wall. Ten minutes later, they were lying on air-bed mattresses, their sleeping bags pulled up to their ears so they could hear and see nothing.
Al reflected that they were the product of a million years of consciousness, all of them accustomed to an isolation from nature and a ready acceptance of an almost totally artificial world , and yet here they were, hiding like animals.
“Al!” Katia’s whisper was low, in an attempt not to wake Rene, who was tossing and turning restlessly.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have already asked you twice.”
Al sighed softly. “I know.”
“Do I mean so little to you?”
“Katia, can’t you understand? Here we—”
“We wouldn’t need to make so much effort, and get angry and torment each other. ..”
Al tried to interrupt her: “Please, Kat, listen to me…”
“I could change my Eugenics registration. We might be paired up, and then .. but you don’t want that?”
“Yes, but…”
“Then leave these stupid planets, these boring machines, and this miserable city…” She had raised her voice, and Al hissed: “Sh!”
Rene turned over, and settled again.
“I’ve only stayed here,” Kat went on more quietly, “because of you. You don’t know what an ordeal all this is to me. Imagine how wonderful it could be for us together on Earth! All the things we could do.”
“Wait until it’s over, Kat. If only you could understand.”
“Won’t you give it up for me? Not later… but now?”
Al was silent.
“Will you give it up?’ she pressed him.
“No,” said Al. “But—”
“There’s no need to say any more,” said Katia coldly. “That’s enough for me.” She rolled over in her sleeping bag, and pressed herself against the wall of the tent. She did not utter another sound.
The following morning they were awakened suddenly. Someone lifted the flap of the tent, and sunlight spilled in.
“Hey, sleepyheads! Out of bed!”
Katia was the first to recover from her surprise. She slipped out of her sleeping bag, stepped lightly over the still recumbent forms of Rene and Al, and ran over and threw herself into Don’s arms.
“Hello, Kat! What do you say? Al, Rene! Wake up!”
Al sat up, still drunk with sleep. “Don! Where the hell did you come from?”
“Out of bed… both of you!” Don shouted, evidently in an exuberant mood. “I’m OK… nothing’s happened to me.”
Al struggled out of his sleeping bag and went outside. He punched Don affectionately in the side, their quarrels momentarily forgotten. “So what happened?”
“Yes .. come on, Don,” said Rene.
“Well… I somehow stumbled into a sorting-apparatus for the big funnel we saw. It carried me along, and while I was inside the hopper it was rather similar to that test we all went through yesterday. I was X-rayed, sprayed with liquid, had hot air blown at me, and a few other things… and then I was dumped down one of those gutters into the funnel itself. I hit the ground, which was soft, and an upright surface, which wasn’t. Then I was spun around, hauled along the ground, pushed over a ledge, and landed softly in a net. This carried me up with a kind of spiral motion, then the net gave way and I found I was sitting outside in the fresh air. That was all.”
“And what did you… ?” Rene began to ask. He bit his lip, and stopped.
Al knew what he had been going to ask. Don had been trying to conceal this under his noisy affability, but what had he been doing between then and now? It was a serious contravention of the Regulations to abscond from a group expedition, and especially to do so at night. Don had to be in such high spirits for some reason, unless it was simply the result of the very strangeness of the experience. But still the memory of Don’s final cry rang in his head.
“Have you nothing to say?” asked Don reproachfully. “Isn’t it a weird enough adventure for you?”
“It’s not all that weird,” said Rene. “I’m still convinced that that was some kind of device for splitting atoms. I still believe that you have somehow survived a journey through a converter-reactor. Miraculous maybe, but not weird. It would only be that if we as scientists couldn’t account for it. You seem to be alive and well, so I assume that the device functions like this: matter is put in at one end, and it will convert or transmute that into other elements. Perhaps there is a degree of selection of what kind of matter the final result will be. You chose to come out of it as you went in, so the machine didn’t convert you.”
“Excellent,” said Don.
“The fundamental change takes place within the atomic pile itself… the part of the machine with the blue-lit opening. That is due to Cherenkov-radiation. This arises when electrons or other charged particles pass through other substances, as for example in nuclear decay. Everything which happens before that process—the conveyor belt, the hoppers, and so forth—are just for analysis and sorting of the materials.”
“Didn’t I say as much?” said Don.
“The results of the analysis are then used to make the correct measurements of the effects… alpha particles, slow neutrons, gamma rays, and so on. At the end of the process, the nuclear reactions take place, which transmute the materials into the desired results.”
“Why wasn’t I turned into gold?” said Don.
“Probably some kind of safety device,” suggested Rene.
“So there should be. On Earth, really big machines like that one have any number of fail-safe devices.”
“Good,” said Don. “Then I suggest that the machines do not present any real threat to us. They might slow us up every now and then, but I don’t think they can do any of us any real harm. This means we can put all our concentration into Jak. I’ve got something particular in mind. Listen to this.” He put his plan to his companions in a few short words.
A little later, they were walking along the top of the city wall once more. It gave them a curious feeling to look across at the inner city, and see the strange ruined fort, and yet know that it was only an illusion.
They soon reached the place from which the gate led out onto the drawbridge, but this time they paid no attention to the bridge and turned instead under the wide arch and headed for the door which led into the interior of the building. Rene, who had been here with Jak, led the way. They walked up a staircase, and past several doors. They came eventually to a much larger doorway, which hung open. Rene led them inside. The room was a hall of weapons: in the center was a whole assortment of various kinds of weaponry, and around the sides hung various pieces of torture equipment and more weapons. Some of these had a function that was self-evident, but others held no clue to the usage to which they had been put.
Al left the others, and returned to the staircase. He went up one more flight of steps, and by pushing his way through a hatch came out onto a flat roof. This was bordered on two sides by battlements. Cannons poked their noses through the apertures, and judging by the presence of fresh tracks in the dust they had been recently moved. These were, in all probability, the weapons Jak had used against them the night they tried to cross the bridge. Al moved to the rampart, and looked down. A splendid view of the city was commanded from this spot, and it was not difficult to imagine that at one time this building had been a central one. On the other side, the view was of the illusory moat and fortress.
