Von Alder sat in his armchair in front of me, an armless and legless torso. I could see that he was savoring my revulsion and shock as I stared at him. He gave a high, bitter laugh and, using the muscles in his back, sent the wheelchair zig-zagging across the room and back to me again, proving he was far from helpless even now.
Stationary once more, he went on with his story. In Russia, he had finally perfected a theory to successfully control humans, for by that time, two new developments had been introduced in the world — computers and miniature transistors.
“As soon as I discovered these two elements,” Von Alder told me, “I knew I had what I needed. The computer, after all, was simply a mechanical brain that could be programmed to do whatever I wanted it to do — a brain outside a body. I knew that if I placed a tiny transistor inside a human brain, I could feed orders from die computer into the transistor. My subject would be under my absolute control.”
But he still had a problem: he hadn’t known how to place a transistor, even a mirco-dot transistor, inside the human brain. He continued experimenting, never revealing his theory to the Russians.
Then, Chinese scientists began visiting Moscow to exchange information. Von Alder decided to switch sides. The Chinese seemed to know nothing of his political past and he would be assured of better treatment. He made friends with a Chinese physicist and through him got smuggled out of Russia. It had been easy. Von Alders artificial arms and legs had been removed and he had been fitted into the bottom of a crate of scientific instruments being flown to Peking.
“Once in China,” Von Alder went on, “I found the solution. It was amazingly simple. Can you guess?”
Before I could say anything, he answered himself: “Acupuncture.”
He raced on breathlessly with his story. Using the ancient Chinese medical art of acupuncture, he could bury a micro-dot transistor in the human brain. The transistor was fed from a computer and Von Alders control of the human being was complete.
As he had done in Russia, Von Alder kept his discovery secret. When the right opportunity came, he planted a micro-dot transistor in the brain of a drunken official of the Communist party, a high-ranking member of the government. Then he activated the transistor with a previously programmed computer, and the Chinese helped Von Alder escape to Switzerland.
“Unfortunately,” Von Alder sighed mockingly, “the poor Chinese was killed while flying back to his homeland.”
As soon as he reached Switzerland, Von Alder had contacted his wife. Unknown to him, she had given birth to their daughters soon after the Russians had taken Von Alder away. Ursula continued to keep her husband’s identity a secret because of his association with Hitler, but she had supplied him funds to open a health spa. His family did not know of his current experiments and his daughters never suspected that “Dr. Bosch” was their father.
The spa flourished, attracting an international clientele of the wealthy and powerful. Von Alder spent years building his assassination squad, implanting the micro-dot transistor in the brains of carefully selected patients at the clinic. When the doctor was ready, he simply activated his human robots through the computer.
I’d been silent during his long narrative, partially because Von Alder was talking nonstop and partially because his story was too incredible to comment on. He was clearly mad, but he proved very quickly that he was not stupid.
As if reading my mind, he snapped, “You don’t believe me. You think you’ve been listening to the wild ramblings of a crazy old man.”
He wheeled over to the huge computer, saying, “Listen to this, Mr. Carter. Listen carefully.” He signalled to Suzanne Henley, who pressed a button. Suddenly, the voice of the President of the United States filled the room. He was discussing the upswing of trade with Russia and China. As his voice continued, Von Alder’s wild cackle almost drowned it out.
“Not only do the transistors transmit my orders,” Von Alder said, “but they also act as receivers. I can hear conversations taking place all over the world. You are now hearing your president speak through a transistor planted in die brain of one of your State Department’s highest officials. They are at a Cabinet meeting.”
Von Alder signalled to Suzanne, and she pushed a series of buttons. Conversations from Russia, China, England flooded the room, one after another.
Now I knew how Von Alder followed all my actions, beating me to every destination. He must have had transmitters in the brains of Agent Z1 and Verblen, and perhaps others at AXE.
“Nobody can stop me,” Von Alder boasted. “I arranged those assassination-suicides so there would be no questions left when I came in with the big kill. When I threaten now, they’ll believe me. And do exactly as I wish.”
His eyes glittering, the doctor rolled his wheelchair close until our faces were only inches apart. “Now we shall discuss your future, Mr. Carter. While you were unconscious, I placed a transistor in your brain. In a moment my assistant,” he nodded toward Suzanne, “will activate it. From then on, you will be totally and completely in my power, obeying the programmed tape that I have placed in the computer.”
Von Alder sat for a moment, staring into my face. He obviously relished my helplessness. I realized only too well his power, and I felt the sweat break out on my body.
Von Alder turned away from me and nodded to the girl. I braced myself as I watched her hand reach for a button on the computer. She touched the button. A set of lights flashed and more buzzing came from the machine. I waited tensely, not knowing what to expect. Would I black out? Would I lose all memory of the past? What would happen? Soon the lights stopped flashing.
“The Nick Carter transistor has been activated, Dr. Von Alder,” the girl said in a cool voice. “Function is perfect.”
I sat stiffly in the chair. I had felt nothing — my brain was still operating as clearly as before. I didn’t know what had happened, but obviously I was not under Von Alder’s control. I tried to make a rigid mask of my face so that he wouldn’t detect anything.
Von Alder apparently thought the operation had succeeded. He scarcely gave me a second glance as he wheeled excitedly about the room, talking to himself. “I have succeeded! Again as always!”
He made a motion toward Suzanne and said, almost contemptuously, “Release him, please.”
The girl quickly came to my bed and began to loosen the straps that held me. I kept my face averted in case she might see something there to warn her, but she barely glanced at me. When I was finally free, she moved back to the computer. I didn’t know how to act then, so I simply sat where I was while Von Alder continued to breeze back and forth, rambling on about his plans.
Suddenly, in the midst of his diatribe, he stopped talking and came rushing at me in the wheelchair, the nerves in his face twitching un-controllably.
At almost the same moment, Suzanne screamed to me, “Look out, Nick! He knows you’re not controlled. He knows! He saw your eyes!”
Her warning came just in time. I leaped from where I was sitting as Von Alder’s wheelchair came bearing down upon me. I saw then, too late, that there were two muzzles thrust out under the armrests of the wheelchair. One muzzle was spewing a sheet of searing flame, while a jet of blinding gas was emitted from the other. If I had not jumped when I did, I would have been burned to a crisp cinder. Even so, part of my left shoulder and arm were badly burned, and I was half-blinded as I dodged to one side.
Von Alder, in a frenzy, swung the wheelchair around and came at me again, both muzzles spitting out the lethal flame and hissing gas. I ran, twisting and turning across die room, as he propelled the wheelchair at me. I was burned again across the back before I could elude him, for, this time, he had been traveling too fast. I was near exhaustion, but before he could swing the wheelchair around again, I lunged after him.