Lamont snorted. “Mac, you might have found there were a few ‘short cuts’ to take on the way to your heaven.” He clutched himself reflexively, and then, embarrassed, thrust his hands behind his back. “Those eunuchs wanted to give me a job—after they punched my ticket, so to speak. I’d have swapped places with you in a heartbeat. Anyway, Jerry, I’m in. I’ve got a wife and children I want to get back to. But I think we’re looking at the thin end of the wedge here. Not only are more people like us going to end up in this mess . . . ”
“What? In torn women’s clothing?” teased Mac.
Lamont quelled him with a look and continued as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “But I figure there are men, women and children as real as Medea in trouble. Sometimes, brother, you’ve got to lend a hand. If we can stop this thing, let’s do it.”
“You’ve got me convinced, Lamont,” said Cruz. “Not that I see quite what we are going to do. Only two of us are soldiers.”
Lamont shrugged. “Jerry will come up with some ideas. Or Liz will bully them out of him. But I draw the line at wearing a tight dress again.”
Jerry smiled. “No. Next time it’s a g-string and nipple caps. Look Mac, I don’t want to argue with you but . . . well, modern history shows that soldiers win fights, even battles, but to win major wars you’ve got have the support of the people. You’ve got to convince everyone. Once ordinary people are ready to fight—yes, and get killed too—they’re a force to be reckoned with. Soldiers without public support will eventually lose.”
Lamont and Liz both nodded.
Mac shrugged. He plainly wasn’t convinced.
Jerry turned to the Frenchman, who was admiring the Greek sphinx’s frontage. “And you, Lenoir? I can organize things here so that you get reasonably well looked after.”
The botanist bristled. “I did not speak because it was not necessary! For the honor of France I cannot allow you Americans to claim all the glory. And the food here is horrifique—it has given me ‘the run.’ ”
“You watch who you call an American, Skatlam,” said Liz. “And I think you mean the ‘the runs.’ ”
“Ah. You are also afflicted?”
36
Radio-active car-park.
Tremelo shook his head. “That’s insanity. Look, we just don’t know enough about it yet. We have only the one survivor—”
Milliken shrugged. “Unfortunately, he’s still in the intensive care unit, and it appears that his mental state is . . . precarious. He certainly can’t tell us much.” The NSC man squared his shoulders. “The United States Government can’t be perceived as just sitting on its hands while the lightning strikes, Professor Tremelo. Steps must be seen to be taken.”
Tremelo steepled his fingers and glanced at Marie Jackson. His new assistant had been bringing two cups of coffee into his office and had heard Milliken’s last remark. Seeing her eyes roll sarcastically, Miggy fought down a laugh.
“Mister Milliken. Steps seen to be taken, which fail or backfire, are far worse for our prestige. News about the effect of the bomb-pumped laser leaked. We’ve stopped that leak. But the fact is, we gave it our best shot, and the result was that the pyramid grew by twenty-three percent and increased its snatch radius to over two miles.”
Marie set the coffee cups down in front of Tremelo and Milliken. Tremelo nodded his head in thanks. As Marie walked back toward her own little office, now behind Milliken’s back, she began making vigorous motions with her arms. As if she were swinging a sledgehammer. Miggy really had to struggle not to laugh this time.
The sight of Milliken’s expression—Official Set Upon Upholding The Party Line—quelled his amusement. Tremelo leaned forward and spoke forcefully. “It is not true, for starters, that we have ‘not progressed at all.’ We’ve so far made three important discoveries.”
He began ticking off on his fingers. “First, that the alien artifact absorbs all the energy we put into trying to penetrate or destroy it. The energy taken in is directly proportional to its growth. Second, it grows in size and increases its snatch range by a small but measurable amount for each victim. Third—and most important, in my opinion—we’ve established that if you’ve been inside the perimeter for at least five hours, and not been snatched—you appear to be safe.”