He was surprised at the ease with which he did it. He forgot about the tranquilomats, about the M-A 19, about the fortress.
He forgot about everything except her, and that was maybe why he did what he did.
It was as if he was drawn into yet another world-a private world where only he and she had any existence. An enclosed world consisting only of their desire and their need to satisfy it.
Afterwards he felt gloomy, regretful and guilty. He started the car savagely. He knew he shouldn't blame her, but he did. He'd lasted time. Minutes were valuable, even seconds. He'd wasted hours.
Beside him she took a headscarf from her bag and tied it over her hair.' You're in a hurry.'
He pressed the accelerator as far down as he could.
'What's the problem?' she shouted as the engine thudded noisily.
'I've wasted too much time already. I'll drop you off wherever it is you want.'
'Oh, fine. Just one of those things, eh?'
'I suppose so. It was my fault, I shouldn't have picked you up in the first place.'
She laughed. It wasn't a nice laugh. It was a mocking laugh and it seemed to punch him in the stomach.
'Okay,' he said,' okay.'
He switched on the headlamps as dusk became night. Therewas no milometer on the dashboard so he didn't know how far they'd travelled, but he was sure it was more than sixty miles, ' Where is this town?' he said.
'Not much further.' Her voice softened.' I'm sorry, Lee. But what is the matter?'
Something was wrong. He couldn't place it. He put it down to his own anger.
'You may not know it,' he said, 'but I suspect that nearly all the people living here are being deceived. Do you know the fortress?'
'You mean that big building on the rock wastes?'
'That's it. Well, there's a group of people there who are duping you and the rest in some way. They want to destroy practically the whole of the human race by a particularly nasty method - and they want me to do it for them.'
'What's that?'
Briefly, he explained.
Again she laughed.' By the sound of it, you're a fool to fight this Man Without A Navel and his friends. You ought to throw in your lot with them. You could be top man.'
'Aren't you angry?' he said in surprise. ' Don't you believe me?'' Certainly. I just don't share your attitude. I don't understand you turning down a chance when it's offered. I'd take it.
As I said, you could be top man.'
'I've already been top man,' he said,' in a manner of speaking. On my own world. I don't want that kind of responsibility.
All I want to do is save something from the mess I've made of civilization.'
'You're a fool, Lee.'
That was it. She shouldn't have known him as Lee but as Bill, the name he'd introduced himself by. He stopped the car suddenly and looked at her suspiciously. The truth was dawning on him and it made him feel sick at himself that he could have fallen for her trap.
'You're working for him, aren't you. The Man?'
'You seem to be exhibiting all the symptoms of persecution mania, Seward. You need a good psychiatrist.' She spoke coolly and reached into her handbag.' I don't feel safe with you.'
'It's mutual,' he said.' Get out of the car.'
'No,' she said quietly. ' I think we'll go all the way to the fortress together.' She put both hands into her bag. They came out with two things. One was a half bottle of brandy.
The other was a gun.
'Evidently my delay tactics weren't effective enough,' she mocked. ' I thought they might not be, so I brought these. Get out, yourself, Seward.'
'You're going to kill me?'
'Maybe.'
'But that isn't what The Man wants, is it?'
She shrugged, waving the gun.
Trembling with anger at his own gullibility and impotence, he got out. He couldn't think clearly.
She got out, too, keeping him covered.' You're a clever man, Seward. You've worked out a lot.'
'There are others here who know what I know.'
'What do they know?'
'They know about the set-up - about the conditioning.'
She came round the car towards him, shaking her head. Still keeping him covered, she put the brandy bottle down on the seat.
He went for the gun.
He acted instinctively, in the knowledge that this was his only chance. He heard the gun go off, but he was forcing her wrist back. He slammed it down on the side of the car. She yelled and dropped it. Then he did what he had never thought he could do. He hit her, a short, sharp jab under the chin. She crumpled.
He stood over her, trembling. Then he took her headscarf and tied her limp hands behind her. He dragged her up and dumped her in the back of the car. He leant down and found the gun. He put it in his pocket.
Then he got into the driving seat, still trembling. He felt something hard under him. It was the brandy bottle. It was what he needed. He unscrewed the cap and took a long drink.
His brain began to explode even as he reached for the ignition.
It seemed to crackle and flare like burning timber. He grabbed the door handle. Maybe if he walked around…
He felt his knees buckle as his feet touched the ground. He strained to keep himself upright. He forced himself to move round the car. When he reached the bonnet, the headlamps blared at him, blinded him.
They began to blink rapidly into his eyes. He tried to raise his hands and cover his eyes. He fell sideways, the light still blinking. He felt nausea sweep up and through him. He saw the car's licence plate in front of him.
YOU 099 YOU 100 YOU 101 He put out a hand to touch the plate. It seemed normal.
Yet the digits were clocking up like the numbers on an adding machine.
Again his brain exploded. A slow, leisurely explosion that subsided and brought a delicious feeling of well-being; Green clouds like boiled jade, scent of chrysanthemums.
Swaying lilies. Bright lines of black and white in front of his eyes. He shut them and opened them again. He was looking up at the blind in his bedroom.
As soon as he realized he was back, Seward jumped off the bed and made for the bench where he'd left the half-finished tranquilomat. He remembered something, felt for the gun he'd taken off the girl. It wasn't there.
But he felt the taste of the brandy in his mouth. Maybe it was as simple as that, he thought. Maybe all he needed to get back was alcohol.
There was sure to be some alcohol in the lab. He searched through cupboards and drawers until he found some in a jar.
He filled a vial and corked it. He took off his shirt and taped the vial under his armpit-that way he might be able to transport it from his world to the other one.
Then he got down to work.
Lenses were reassembled, checked. New filters went in and old ones came out. He adjusted the resonators and amplifiers.
He was recharging the battery which powered the transistorized circuits, when he sensed the mob outside. He left the little machine on the bench and went to the control board. He flicked three switches down and then, on impulse, flicked them off again. He went back to the bench and unplugged the charger.
He took the machine to the window. He drew the blind up.
It was a smaller mob than usual. Evidently some of them had learned their lesson and were now avoiding the laboratory.
Far away, behind them, the sun glinted on a calm sea. He opened the window.
There was one good way of testing his tranquilomat. He rested it on the sill and switched it to ATTRACT. That was the first necessary stage, to hold the mob's attention. A faint, pleasant humming began to come from the machine. Seward knew that specially, shaped and coloured lenses were whirling at the front. The mob looked up towards it, but only those in the centre of the group were held. The others dived away, hiding their eyes.
Seward felt his body tightening, growing cold. Part of him began to scream for the M-A 19. He clung to the machine's carrying handles. He turned a dial from Zero to 50. There were 100 units marked on the indicator; The machine was now sending at half-strength. Seward consoled himself that if anything went wrong he could not do any more harm to their ruined minds. It wasn't much of a consolation.