matum for evacuation of the Corps base might be con-
nected with Kolb’s leg and the risk of its origin being
discovered, but he had been unable to see what link
could compel Quist into action. Suppose, though, it
wasn’t a matter of compulsion, but of bribery; suppose
she was due to become one of Rimerley’s customers for
the renewal of some failing organfrom her recorded
image at the Non-Interference Conference it was plain
she was no longer youthfuland Rimerley had told her
that she would lose her chance if the Corps cut off the
supply of spare parts . . .
“That must be it!” she exclaimed, and ignoring Bracy’s
bewilderment she dived for the subspace communicator
which was her link with the Corps. The bands it used
were untappable, as far as was known, by any equipment
on Cyclops, but just in case Corps intelligence was faulty
in that area there was an automatic scrambler on the cir-
cuit as well.
“Maddalena Santos,” she said as soon as she had her
connection. *1 want to speak to Commandant Langen-
schmidt.”
“I’m sorry,” came the smooth reply. “The comman-
dant has been called off the planet for a conference on
redeployment of base personnel.”
“Damnalready? Then give me whoever*s acting for
him.”
“Dr Nole is the senior officer at present on duty, bat
he’s engaged with the Cyclopean inspection team at the
hospital. Is there anyone else you wish to speak to?”
“Not particularly,” Maddelena sighed. “Wait a second,
though, I have an idea. Can you record a scrambled
message and get it to Langenschmidt for me?”
“Yes, certainly. Just one moment.” A series of clicks;
then”Go ahead now, please. Recording.”
In terse words Maddalena summed up her suspicions
and ended, “By the way, Gus! Since you’re so sure
you’ll be back as soon as the Cyclopeans feel the pinch,
why not try and con the authorities into assigning this
evacuation fleet to search for the unknown ZRP, instead
of just tamely spreading our personnel here over a dozen
bases and leaving it at that? It’s going to take at least
thirty ships to shift what’s being lifted awayhalf that
number could carry out a thorough sweep of the high-
probability locations.
“Of course, knowing you, that’s probably exactly
what you’re doing at the moment.”
She closed the message and thanked the Corps opera-
tor. Then she turned to Bracy.
“Can you use an energy gun?” she demanded.
The boy shook his head.
“I think I’ll pass the next half hour teaching you.
Whatever’s being brought down here at midnight is
valuable, and if we interfere there may be trouble.
Lucky I brought a spare gun along, isn’t it?”
xvm
Darkness closed around the boat, still drifting as any
fishing-boat might when awaiting the arrival of a shoal
along the line of a nutrient-rich current.
“That makes us effectively invisible to the naked eye,”
Maddalena muttered. “Now let’s make ourselves invisible
to his burglar alarms, and we can go ashore.”
Bracy had tried and failed to comprehend the concepts
behind this cryptic statement. He put out his arm pas-
sively, and Maddalena strapped a miniature radio beacon
around it.
She had programmed a geepee computer for the task
of making them electronically invisible, and it was per-
haps the neatest trick of all those they were using. Essen-
tially she had shifted frequencies on the tapper and
connected both it and the computer to an ultra-tight-
beam transmitter. The beacons would show their loca-
tion at any given moment; the tapper would indicate on
what band the detectors were operating, and the trans-
mitter would put out an eddy current, so to speak,
which would confuse the circuits in the detectors and
cause them to record something as diffuse and harmless
as a patch of sea-mist. The fact that slight mist usually
followed sundown at these latitudes in summer was an
additional advantage.
“Remember, though,” Maddalena admonished Bracy
sternly, “even if it is pitch dark, and you’re masked for
the detectors, you can still make noise, and that’ll give us
away. Be careful.”
Bracy nodded and grinned. The grin vanished as he
glanced down at the butt of his energy gun, protruding