The Robot Brains [with w_cat] | страница 30

Finally he could walk no more. In despair he fell down on the sand. The two robots stopped beside him.

Suddenly it became much darker. He looked up and saw something big which was falling from the sky...

Waldo and other Brains were standing at the door of the lift.

"We must follow him," said one of the Brains.

"No! He cannot live on the surface. It is too cold there, and then there are giant mutated insects. He will certainly die," said Waldo.

"But what if he gets to the Watchers?" said another Brain. "What will happen then?"

Waldo hesitated. He wanted to take revenge on the captain, but was afraid of the Watchers.

"If the Watchers find out what we are doing in the past," he said, "they will try to stop us. We must try to complete our work before it is too late."

"Yes, we must hurry," the others agreed.

They went back. Soon all the Brains gathered in the hall of the transmitter with crystals.

"Captain Christian has run away to the surface," said Waldo. "He may meet the Watchers. We must act immediately. As you know, our purpose is to throw off the yoke of the Watchers. We can do it if we change the course of history from the past. We must concentrate our efforts on the scientists of the past who are working on the problems of space travel. If we stop all experiments with space travel, that are going on in the twentieth century, people will never fly into space - and we shall be masters of Earth."

Waldo was speaking louder and louder and finished with the words:

"Our plan is clear. We must go into the year nineteen hundred and sixty-six and completely destroy the satellite bases and everything that is connected with them!"

The Brains were very excited. Someone shouted: "To the past - destroy the satellites!"

They took their crystals from the transmitter and fastened them to their belts. Each Brain was armed with his decapitator.

Waldo gave a command:

"Follow me - into the past!"

He touched the crystal on his belt, the other Brains did the same - and one by one they disappeared.

Active work was going on in the United States Rocket Research Centre in New Mexico. Under the hot sun ten red and silver rockets stood in the large field ready to fly up. Somewhere a man counted loudly:

"Ten... Nine... eight... seven..."

The rockets were part of the artificial satellite project. In a few minutes they would fly up into space, orbit Earth and send information back to the Earth base. They were the first steps of man to other planets and stars.