CHAPTER FIVE
‘Are we all here?’ The question was directed at Simmel, who sat opposite the Director at the bottom of the long table.
‘Except for the Stenotype operator, Sir Robert. He should be up at any moment.’
‘Well, we’d better wait.’
There were ten places set round the conference table, each provided with a neat stack of stationery supplies and a glass of water. The Director’s desk had been pushed up against the window to make more room, and the table was set parallel to it. To the right of the window (when seen from the door) and at the top of the table sat Sir Robert; and on his right the Deputy Director, Frank Gresham, looking military but somehow very human and relaxed. Next to him was Seff, who was fidgeting with a pencil; then Heatherfield, who had only just arrived from the airport but looked very fresh and healthy and brown. On his right was set a spare place.
At the bottom of the table were two chairs next to each other: the first was for Mr Rupert, the Stenotype operator. His machine was all ready, standing on a thing that looked like a music-stand. The second was Simmel’s, who was now hectically leafing through the pages attached to his script-board and ticking-off items. Continuing anti-clockwise up the table on the other side — which flanked the wall adjoining Kate’s office — there was first an empty chair for the ‘visitors’ (Spigett would occupy this seat eventually), and next to that, Manson, who still seemed to be in a pretty bad temper. Finally there was Gatt, sitting on Hargreaves’ left and talking in a low murmur to him.
Heatherfield was writing something on a piece of paper. He folded it and asked Seff to pass it up to the Director. Seff gave it to Gresham who handed it to Sir Robert. Mr Rupert came in and murmured an apology for being late. He looked round the table, spotted the Stenotype, walked over and sat down next to Simmel. All was now ready.
Hargreaves read the note rapidly and caught Heatherfield’s eye down the table. ‘Yes,’ he said quietly. ‘That confirms what we thought.’ He took Mr Rupert in his gaze. ‘Are you all set?’ he asked.
Mr Rupert was tall and very slim, with a shock of blond hair that looked as if it could do with some attention from the barber. He didn’t look the part at all.
Hargreaves said: ‘If at any time we go too fast for you, please don’t hesitate to say so. I know you’re an expert, but you’re not a machine. So sing out if you lose us, won’t you?’
Mr Rupert’s voice turned out to be much more in keeping with his hair than with his job. ‘In that unlikely event,’ he said sibilantly, ‘I will certainly let you know, sir.’
The impression of smugness this conveyed did not in the least deter the Director. But Manson stared at him in obvious disapproval. The Director said: ‘Are you ready, Alec?’ The subtle admonishment was there.
Manson smiled agreeably. ‘I’ve familiarized myself with the facts,’ he said.
Hargreaves smiled with great charm. ‘That’s fine, then.’ He looked up at the ceiling, where some cable had been run to the centre. The bared ends of the wires were knotted loosely near a square piece of wood that had been newly fixed to the ceiling. ‘When are they installing the fan, Simmel?’
Simmel cleared his throat and spoke up loudly. He always used this voice at conferences. It seemed to be expected of him; although it was really better suited to the large conference room they normally used than to the deadened acoustics of Hargreaves’ private office. However, it sounded authoritative, and made up for the fact that he was easily the most unimportant person present. ‘During lunch, sir,’ he declaimed. ‘The engineers couldn’t finish it this morning.’
‘Good. Well, let’s hope it doesn’t fan the flames.’
Only Alec Manson laughed at the inadequate joke.
The Director shuffled his notes together as if they were playing-cards, and placed them squarely on the table in front of him. Then he crossed his arms and leaned back. The conference had begun.
‘First,’ he announced, ‘I’d like to thank you all for making it your business to get to the meeting so speedily — and notice I use the word ‘meeting’, not ‘conference’. I want the atmosphere to be informal; even if it does amount, in effect, to a court of enquiry. By now all of you have a rough idea what it’s all about, and what it could mean to the future of this Department if the present state of affairs turned out to be our fault. We will all have to look to our laurels in that event, and if any or all of us are to blame’ — and he scanned the table with his eyes at this point — ‘then blame will eventually be fixed. The thing to remember, however, is this: What damage has been done — and we don’t yet know the extent of it — is already done; and we mustn’t simply hunt around for scapegoats. What we must do is to ensure that it cannot possibly happen again — either this or anything else at all that could result from a slip or series of slips in those branches of nuclear research for which we are responsible. We must make perfectly certain that not one more casualty occurs, from now on, that could be prevented by us. True, we cannot help those poor blighters who have already been infected — only the doctors can do that. But henceforth every tin of contaminated food that is opened and its contents eaten is another mark against us. And by ‘us’ I mean everyone who has a hand in the harnessing of Atomic Power.
‘As you no doubt will have guessed, an enormous operation was put in hand, less than thirty-six hours ago, to trace and call in every can of infected food that has been shipped. This is no easy matter, as you will later on discover — the principal reason being that Mr Spigett’s product is exported in several different countries and under several different labels. Since those companies also buy up other small companies’ products and put their labels on them, you can see that the job of locating the contaminated ones will be a nightmare. You have heard, no doubt, over your radio or on the television, and seen in the newspapers, the warnings we have issued — though we haven’t yet given the full facts — and no doubt in most areas we can prevent the sale and consumption of Spigett’s beans, but — and this is the sobering part — we cannot hope to reach the back-woods of foreign and primitive countries at such short notice. You don’t have to look at a map of Africa — one of Spigett’s principal markets — to realise what a monumental task it will be to ensure the safety of every white, brown and black man in that vast continent, and yet that is no less than what we must do.
‘Mr Heatherfield here, of the Kenya Colony Claims Office, found a small group of adventurous young people who were ‘prospecting’ — or at any rate thought they were — for uranium in the Northern Frontier. They had with them a geiger counter, and reported to him that it had been behaving peculiarly, especially on the ship while they were en route for Africa. Well, you have all read the report on the Cartwright affair, and will no doubt have linked the two incidents, as we did. Our worst fears were confirmed when a quick investigation into the health of the crew of the ship revealed that three other men were also suffering from a hitherto undiagnosed malady which turned out to be radiation sickness, though these were mild cases.
‘The boys themselves may be in danger of radiation poisoning because they are known to have with them some of the canned beans among their food supplies. Efforts are being made to get in touch with them — they have a two-way radio — but the boys have chosen this of all times to disappear into some remote district of the frontier, and have lost radio contact. No doubt they will be found soon; but the fact that emerges from their experience on the ship proves that Cartwright’s tin was not just an isolated phenomenon.’ Hargreaves paused for a moment. ‘The extent and immediacy of the possible effects of consuming the contaminated food does, of course, depend on its exact nature. In all probability those boys would suffer little or no harm as a result of eating their present supply. But’ — and here he emphasized each word — ‘if we find that the contaminated food has been in circulation for some considerable time, I do not have to remind you of the possible results — some of you have been studying this for years.