The Robot Brains [with w_cat] | страница 21

332 "I am giving you three minutes," he said. "If you don't speak and answer my questions, I'll use your weapon on you. I'll decapitate you."

333 The telephone began to ring.

334 Christian was surprised. Only Fox knew that he was there. He took the receiver.

"Chris? Fox here. The crystal has disappeared. I kept looking at the box all the way here, and when I unlocked the box just now, it was empty. There was nobody near me. But the belt with the crystal has disappeared!"

335 Somewhere in the south of England a conference was taking place. A group of scientists were sitting and standing round the laboratory table. On the table there were parts of the weapon, which Christian had seized from the Brains and sent to Military Intelligence.

336 The Minister of War was looking at the parts of the weapon attentively.

337 "The weapon worked on quite a new principle," said the leader of the research group. "By some method - we don't understand it - power is taken directly from the atmosphere and changed into heat energy. This heat energy is emitted in a concentrated ray, which annihilates any material form."

The Minister of War thought.

338 "Can we make such a weapon?" he asked.

339 Outside the laboratory there was a strong guard of soldiers. They were ready for a possible attack of the Brains.

340 Suddenly the guard commander saw a great cloud of flame and smoke rising over the laboratory. A few minutes later nothing remained of the laboratory and the people who were inside it.

341 The guard commander sent a telephone message to Downing Street.

342 The Prime Minister looked tired. There were dark circles round his eyes, and his face was pale.

343 "It's a bad business," he said, "and I can't see the end of it."

The Old Man was sitting at the table opposite the Prime Minister.

344 "Our only hope is Captain Christian, sir," he said. "If his plan works, we may get useful information."

345 "True," sighed the Prime Minister. "And meanwhile the decapitations continue. We are losing the best men every day, and it's the same all over the world."

346 The Old Man said nothing, because he did not know what to say.

347 "And now the Minister of War," continued the Prime Minister. "It seems impossible! Only yesterday I spoke to him -"

348 "I am sorry," said the Old Man. "I know he was a personal friend of yours."

There was a short silence.

349 "I am waiting for news from New York," said the Prime Minister. "As you know, the United Nations are holding an emergency meeting now..."