The Robot Brains [with w_cat] - [9]

Where next? He wondered.

- 17 -

281 From the window of his office on the sixty-fourth floor Michael Brant had a very good view of downtown Manhattan. But he was not looking through the window. He was sitting with his back to the window. He was a fat man with rings on his fingers and a big cigar between his teeth.

282 "It is interesting," he said slowly. "Of course, it is interesting, but where is money in it? You agree that it will take a lot of money to make something practical out of this model of yours, don't you?"

283 He was looking at the inventor who was standing in front of him.

284 "I haven't the money to do it myself," said the inventor. "That's why I came to you. I need a research laboratory. But I am sure that you will get your money back in the end."

285 "In the end!" Brant smiled cynically. "Listen, Marten, I am a financier, not a philanthropist. I want results - now. All right," he went on, "I'll give you five thousand."

"Ten," said Marten.

286 At this moment, though the door was locked, a dwarf-like figure, dressed in grey, suddenly appeared in the room. The man raised his hand and pointed a strange-looking gun at Marten. A bright ray appeared from the gun.

287 The next moment Marten's headless corpse fell on the floor. The weapon turned to Brant...

288 Afterwards the man in grey turned the ray on Marten's invention, and then disappeared.

- 18 -

289 In South America five men died.

290 In Africa and Mexico, in Sweden and Madagascar, the decapitations continued. Reports from behind the Iron Curtain said that this process was now world-wide. Brains were seen in Berlin, Hawaii, and other places. More and more people were murdered, and all of them were scientists - until the incident in Caribou City.

291 Caribou City was a small town on the banks of the Peace River in Canada. Uranium had been discovered there, and a group of scientists were doing some research work. One night a scientist was decapitated there in the presence of a large group of people, but this time the Brain who had decapitated him did not escape.

292 The scientist's assistant had a gun and shot the Brain through his heart.

293 There was a full hour of triumph in Caribou City. Then the revenge came. There appeared a lot of Brains in the town. They used the weapons, which were of the same type as the decapitators, but much bigger and more powerful. Whole buildings were burned to the ground. In a short while Caribou City was completely destroyed...

294 After that the Brains returned to their practice of killing the world's scientists. Every day reports of new decapitations came from different parts of the world: from Athens and Tokyo, Lisbon and Vienna. Newspapers attacked the governments for doing nothing.

295 The British Prime Minister declared a state of emergency.

296 The police and Military Intelligence were looking for the Brains' base, but could not find anything. The Brains simply appeared, killed, and disappeared again.

- 19 -

297 Sitting in an armchair in the cabin of his yacht, Captain Christian raised his glass.

298 "It's nice to be a free man again. Thanks, Doc."

299 Doctor Fox, sitting opposite him, opened a fresh bottle of beer.

300 "You did it yourself, Chris," he said. "You got the decapitator."

301 "And you took it to Miller's chief. I could not do it without you."

302 They sat a few minutes in silence.

303 "The important thing now," said Christian, "is to find the Brains. We must get one of those crystals."

304 "I don't see, how you can do that," said Fox. "You can't catch people who disappear into thin air."

305 "We must try. We must catch one of them before he has time to use his decapitator or touch his crystal. If we work fast, we can do it. And then we'll separate. I'll take the prisoner to a hiding-place which will be prepared - and you will take the crystal somewhere else."

306 Fox laughed: "First catch your Brain."

Christian smiled.

307 "We'll make a trap," he said. "We can publish an article in the newspapers that some scientist has found out the mystery of the Brains. The newspaper article will mention the place where this scientist works - and it will be our hiding-place! I am sure the Brains will come to that place at once!"

The doctor thought.

308 "Maybe it will work," he said.

309 "I am sure it will work," said Christian. "One of them will come and we'll catch him. And I'll make him talk."

"Shall we ask the Old Man to help?"

310 "No! This is my show. Afterwards, if we do it, we'll tell him the good news. But I want to do it myself."

He took a note-book and began to write a plan.

311 "We shall need two fast cars and an empty house in some isolated place. Then two separate hiding places."

312 Christian worked out the details of his plan.

313 "Where do they come from?" he asked suddenly. "I don't agree with your theory that they come from interplanetary space. A spaceship large enough to carry fifty Brains cannot be hidden. The astronomers have searched the sky with their telescopes and found nothing. There must be some other explanation. But what?"