“Let us know as soon as you get a general picture,” Tom said.
Ames and Billing promised to do so, and the meeting broke up.
Feeling somewhat reassured now that a definite plan of action had been decided upon, Tom resumed work on his sketches. Although both the problem and the solution were still hazy in his mind, a few ideas began to take shape.
A radio antenna would certainly be needed, to
ANOTHER TREMOR! 33
receive or transmit signals at a distance. And repelatron units would give the brain a way to exert force when it wanted to act. These were devices which Tom had invented to produce a repulsion-force ray. He had used the principle in both air and space flight.
A power plant might also be needed to generate additional energy in case the brain’s own energy was very small. Lastly, there would have to be a control system for use either by the brain itself or by its human operators.
After an hour of work at top speed, Tom was rather pleased with one rough sketch. He was mulling over the idea when Chow Winkler and Bud Barclay wandered into the office. Both were impressed when Tom explained the sketch.
Chow stared at it, goggle-eyed at the thought of such a contraption “coming to life.” “So that’s the Ole Think Box, eh?” he muttered.
Tom laughed. “Good name, Chow!”
All three were startled as a voice suddenly broke in over the wall intercom. It was the operator on duty at the plant’s communication center.
“Turn on your TV, skipper,” the operator suggested. “We’ve just had a news bulletin that an earthquake tremor has been felt over in Medfield. There’s a big plant there that makes rocket nose cones. A mobile TV crew’s been rushed to the scene in a helicopter and they’re trying to pick up the action with a television camera.”