Chapter 20 Chapter 20 Time Limit Arrives

The headmaster's secretary entered through the door opened by the soldier.On his bruised and swollen lips, there was a short, indifferent smile.He bowed to the colonel, but no matter how he looked at it, he was completely unaware of Avardan's existence. "Your Excellency," the colonel said to the earthling, "I have already contacted the Dean and told him all the details, including your presence here and the whole incident. It is of course entirely a matter of course that you are staying here. — er — unofficially, I should have set you free as quickly as possible. However, I have a gentleman here, as you probably know, who has brought a very serious charge against you. In the present circumstances, we Must investigate..."

"I fully understand, Colonel." The secretary of the dean replied calmly, "However, as I have explained to you just now, I believe that this person has only been on the earth for about two months, so he has no influence on our internal affairs. Says he doesn't know anything. Whatever accusation he makes, his basis is weak." Alvadan replied angrily: "I am a professional archaeologist. I have specialized in studying the earth and its customs in recent years. I am by no means ignorant of the political situation here. And anyway, I am not the only one who made the accusation people."

The secretary of the dean did not look at the archaeologist from the beginning to the end, but kept talking to the colonel.He said: "One of our local scientists is also involved. This person's normal lifespan of sixty years is coming to an end, and he has begun to have delusions of persecution. There is also a person whose origin is unknown and has a medical history of idiocy. This All three together cannot make serious allegations at all." Alvardan jumped up suddenly: "I ask to speak..." "Sit down," said the colonel in a tone of indifference. "You refused to discuss this matter with me just now, and now continue to refuse. Bring in the man who raised the armistice flag."

That man was another member of the Ancients' Cult. When he saw the head secretary, he hardly blinked his eyes, and he didn't reveal the emotion in his heart at all.The colonel rose from his seat and said, "Are you speaking for those outside?" "Yes, sir." "Then, I suppose, the purpose of this riotous and illegal assembly was for us to release one of your countrymen?" "Yes, sir, he must be set free at once." "Indeed! However, in order to maintain the dignity of the law, to maintain social order, and to respect the representatives of His Majesty the Emperor in this world, it is absolutely impossible for us to discuss this issue when the masses threaten us with armed rebellion. You Your troops must be disbanded."

The secretary of the dean said with a pleasant face: "The colonel is absolutely right, Brother Curry, please let the situation cool down. I am 100% safe here, and no one is in danger. Do you understand? No one is in danger. I am an ancient guarantee of personality." "That's great, bro. Thank goodness you're safe." So he was taken out. The colonel said casually: "Once the situation in the city returns to normal, we promise to escort you away safely. Thank you for your cooperation and let this incident finally come to an end." Avadan stood up again: "I don't allow you to do this. You are going to let this tomorrow's human executioner go, but you forbid me to meet with the administrator. As a citizen of the Galactic Empire, that is my basic right." Then , due to a strong sense of frustration, he said without hesitation: "Do you pay more attention to an earth dog than to me?"

The last almost incoherent roar was suppressed by the dean's secretary in a loud voice: "Colonel, I am willing to stay here until the administrator is informed of my case, if that is what this person wants. Mutiny is a very serious charge." However, the suspicion—however far-fetched—is enough to disqualify me from serving my people. I sincerely look forward to the opportunity to prove to the magistrate that no one is more loyal to the Empire than I am." The colonel said in a blunt tone: "I admire your sentiments, sir. I confess frankly that my attitude would be quite different if I were in your situation today. You are an honor to your people, sir. I will try right away. Contact the Administrator."

Before Avadan was brought back to the room, he didn't say another word. He avoids the eyes of others.For a long time, he just sat there without moving, biting the knuckles of his fingers. Finally, Schechter finally asked, "How?" Alvadan shook his head: "I messed up almost everything." "what have you done?" "I lost my temper and pissed off the colonel and got nowhere. I'm not a diplomatic man, Schector." Heartbroken, he suddenly had the urge to defend himself. "What can I do?" he cried. "Borches has met the Colonel first, so I can no longer trust him. What if he is bought off at the cost of his life? What if he always Part of this plot? I know it's a crazy idea, but I can't risk it. It's all too suspicious, and I want to see Ennias himself."

Schechter stood up, clasped his bony hands behind his back: "Okay, so—will Ennias come?" "I think so. But that's because Boches himself asked for it, and I don't understand how it works." "Boches made the request himself? Then Schwartz must be right." "Really? What did Schwartz say?" The fat earthling was sitting on the cot.When people's eyes turned to look at him, he shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands resignedly. "They have just shown the secretary through our room, and I have had psychic contact with him. He must have had a long talk with the officer."

"I know." "But there is no betrayal in the officer's mind." "Well," said Alvardan grimly, "then I guessed wrong. I shall be in trouble when Ennias comes. What about Boches?" "There's neither worry nor fear in him; only hatred, and now the Lord hates us for having caught him and dragged him here. We've hurt his pride so badly that he's going to fight us back. I saw him Little reverie in the head. Thinking of how he himself would act single-handedly and not let the entire galaxy do anything to stop him, even though we insiders are here against him. He will give us a chance, give us a trump card, and then smash us just the same , to win."

"You mean he'd take such a big risk and put aside his plans, his dreams of the Empire, just to get angry at us? It's crazy." "I know," Schwartz said conclusively. "He's crazy." "He thinks he'll succeed?" "good." "Then we have to use you, Schwartz. We need your heart. Listen to me—" But Schechter shook his head. "No, Alvardan, we can't do it. After you left, I woke up Schwartz and we discussed the matter. He has only a vague idea of ​​his own inner strength, but obviously not fully. Control. He can stun a person, paralyze him, even kill him. Going a step further than that, he can even control his larger voluntary muscles against his will, but nothing else. In the case of the secretary He couldn't even get the guy to talk, he couldn't control the little muscles around the vocal cords. He couldn't get his movements perfectly coordinated, so he couldn't make the secretary drive a car; Obviously, we can't control Ennias, let's say let him issue an order, or write an order. I've thought about it all, you see..." Schechter shook his head, his voice slowly fading away .

Alvardan felt disheartened for a moment.Then he suddenly asked with concern: "Where's Paula?" "She was sleeping in the little room." He longed to wake her-- longed--oh, how many things he longed for. Alvardan looked at his watch.It was almost midnight, and there were thirty hours left. After that, he fell asleep for a while, and woke up for a while, and it was already dawn.No one comes, and one's soul grows haggard and pale. Alvardan looked at his watch again.It was almost midnight, and there were six hours left. He looked around, a little dazed, empty and hopeless, and now they were all here—even the Governor had arrived at last.Paula sat next to him, her warm little fingers wrapped around his wrist, the look of terror and exhaustion on her face that, more than anything, caused him to hate the galaxy. Maybe they're all damned, the bunch of idiots, idiots - idiots - He barely saw Schechter and Schwartz.They sat to his left.And Borches, that damned Borches, with his swollen lips and blue cheeks, who must have been in pain when he spoke--Alvardan's own mouth grinned angrily at the thought. With a painful, pained smile, his fists clenched and then relaxed.His own bandaged face seemed to ease the pain at the thought. Facing them all was Ennias, frowning and undecided, looking almost ridiculous in his heavy, bulky, lead-filled suit. He is also a fool.When Alvadan thought of these fencers in the galaxy who only wanted to live a peaceful and comfortable life, he couldn't help feeling a surge of hatred in his heart.Where were the conquerors three centuries ago?Where? ... Six hours left— Ennias had come halfway around the world to get a call from the Chicago garrison about eighteen hours earlier.His motives for doing so were vague but powerful.He thought to himself that it was nothing after all, but a regrettable kidnapping by one of those green-robed monsters on this superstitious, nightmare-ridden earth.Just one thing, plus these crazy accusations that are not documented.Of course, there was nothing that the Colonel present could not handle. And yet there was Schechter—and Schechter was involved—and not the defendant, but the plaintiff.It's a little nerve-wracking. Now he sat there facing them, thinking about the problem, knowing very well that his decision on this matter might hasten a rebellion, perhaps weaken his own position in the court, and ruin his career—as for Alvardan Can he take seriously what he just said about the virus strains and the out-of-control plague?After all, if he acted on this basis, how much would his superiors believe in the whole thing? However, Alvadan is also a famous archaeologist. So he had to delay in the back of his mind, turning to the secretary and saying: "Of course you have something to say about this matter," "Very little," said the secretary, as if confident. "I should like to ask, what evidence is there to support this accusation?" "My lord," said Alvadan, with obvious patience. "I told you already that this man confessed everything the day before yesterday when we were imprisoned." "Perhaps," said the secretary, "you would like to take him at his word, Your Excellency, but that is just another unproved hypothesis. In fact, the only fact an outsider can prove is that I was the one who was roughly treated as a prisoner, and It was not them; it was I, not them, who were in danger. Now I want my plaintiff to explain this: How could he discover all this while he was only nine weeks on this planet, and you, my lord governor, in the It has been serving here for several years, why didn't you find that there is something wrong with me?" "There is some truth in what the brother says," Ennias admitted thoughtfully. "How do you know?" Alvardan said stiffly: "Dr. Schechter revealed this conspiracy to me before the defendant himself confessed." "Is that so, Dr. Schechter?" The governor turned his gaze to the physicist. "That's the way it is, Your Excellency." "And how did you find out?" Schechter said: "Alvadan just talked about how to use the 'learning aid' and what the bacteriologist F. Smitko said before he died. He explained it very thoroughly and correctly. Admired. This Smitko is a member of the cabal. His words have been recorded and the tapes are preserved." "But, Dr. Schechter, if Dr. Alvardan's words are true, the bacteriologist is mad, and a madman's dying words cannot be trusted. Have you nothing else to say?" Alvardan slammed his fist on the arm of the chair and interjected, growling, "Is this a court? Someone violated the traffic rules? We don't have time to weigh evidence with an analytical chemistry scale, or measure it with a micrometer." It is. I tell you, we have until six o'clock in the morning to eliminate this major threat, in other words, only five and a half hours... You used to know Dr. Schechter, Your Excellency. You heard he was a liar Liar?" The secretary cut in at once: "No one accuses Dr. Schechter of knowingly lying, Your Excellency. It's just that the good doctor is getting old, and has been worrying about his sixtieth birthday lately. Age, I suppose. Fear, making him prone to paranoia, things like that are common on Earth...Look at him! Does he look normal to you?" Of course he didn't look normal.He was haggard and tense, terrified of what had happened and what was about to happen. But Schechter tried to sound normal, even composed.He said: "I can say that for the past two months I have been under the watchful eye of the 'Committee of the Ancients'; my letters have been opened and my replies have been censored. Why should this be? Obviously because I Suffering from the paranoia just mentioned. But I still have Joseph Schwartz here, the man who asked to experiment with the 'Learning Aid' when you visited me at the Institute the other day." "I remember." Changing the subject temporarily, Ennias felt a little grateful in his heart. "Is that the man?" "yes." "After testing, he looks fine." "He's doing much better. The 'Learning Aid' experiment was very successful, because from the beginning he had a brain with a very good memory, although I didn't know it at the time. Anyway, now his brain can sense other people's thoughts .” Ennias stooped from his chair, and exclaimed in surprise, "What, you mean he can read other people's minds?" "It can be tested on the spot, my lord. But I think this gentleman of the 'Council of Ancients' will confirm my words." The secretary gave Schwartz a quick look, and a look of hatred flitted across his face.He said, with an almost inaudible tremor in his voice: "That's true, Your Excellency. The man they've brought here does have some hypnotic powers, although I don't know Yes. I would also add that this person's use of the 'learning aid' was not recorded, which, you will probably agree with me, is very questionable in itself." "So it wasn't recorded," Schechter said calmly, "according to the minister's strict orders." But the secretary just shrugged his shoulders. Ennias ordered him to say: "Let's get on with the business, don't argue about such trivial matters... What's the matter with this Schwartz? He can read people's minds, and he has hypnotism. , anyway, what has he to do with the case?" "Schechter wants to explain," interposed the secretary, "Swartz can read my mind." "Really? Well, so what's he thinking right now?" the Governor asked, speaking to Schwartz for the first time. "He's thinking," said Schwartz, "that we can't prove our side of the truth to you in your alleged case." "Exactly," laughed the secretary, "though the reasoning requires little mental strength." "And," Schwartz went on, "he thinks you're a poor fool, afraid of action, seeking nothing but peace, hoping only to win the hearts of the peoples of Earth through your impartiality and impartiality, and such a Come and prove that you are a fool." The secretary blushed. "I deny all this. He wants to bewitch and prejudice you, Your Excellency." But Ennias said, "I'm not that easily seduced," before turning to Schwartz: "So what was I thinking?" Schwartz replied, "You're thinking that even though I can see into the back of a person's mind, I don't have to tell everything I see." The governor raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You're right, very right. Do you think what Dr. Alvardan and Dr. Schechter are accusing is true?" "It's all true!" "Okay! But unless there is another person like you, another person not involved in this matter, your certificate will not be legally valid, even if we all believe that you do have telepathic powers." .” "But this is not a legal issue," Avadan shouted, "it is related to the safety of the entire galaxy." "Your Excellency."—the secretary rose from his seat—"I make a request. I request that this Joseph Schwartz be removed from this room." "why?" "This man has certain other mental powers besides his ability to read other people's minds. It is this Schwartz who once paralyzed me. I am afraid he will now use that power against me, or even against your lord." Your Excellency, that is why I am making such a request." Alvadan stood up, but the secretary raised his voice and yelled: "Schwarz has a recognized spiritual power, which can subtly influence the mind of the judge. With such a person present, the trial cannot be fair." Ennias made up his mind quickly.An orderly came in, and Joseph Schwartz made no protest, nor did he show any disturbed expression on his moonlike face, and he was taken away obediently. For Alvadan, this is the heaviest blow. At this moment, the secretary stood up and stood motionless for a while, a plump figure in a green robe, with a hideous face, but with strong self-confidence. He opened his mouth, with a serious attitude and a serious look: "Your Excellency, all beliefs and statements of Dr. Avadan are based on the testimony of Dr. Schechter. In turn, all of Dr. Schechter's beliefs are based on the testimony of one person. According to the nonsense at the time of death. And all this, Your Excellency, all this was not revealed until Joseph Schwartz used the 'learning aid'. "Then who is Joseph Schwartz? Dr. Schechter was a normal, untroubled man until Joseph Schwartz showed up. Your Excellency, you spent an afternoon with him yourself , the day Schwartz was brought in for treatment. Was he out of his mind then? Did he tell you about a plot to betray the Empire? Some nonsense about a biochemist dying? A little trouble? Or doubt? He now says that he was instructed by the minister to lie about the test results of the 'study aid' and not to record the names of those who were treated. Did he tell you about this at the time? Or He's only telling you now, after the day Schwartz showed up? "Again, who is Joseph Schwartz, when he was sent in, he couldn't speak a language we were familiar with. Later we began to doubt Dr. Schechter's rationality, and finally discovered the above-mentioned circumstances The person who sent Schwartz was a farmer. He didn't know Schwarz's identity at all, in fact he didn't know anything about Schwarz's situation. Up to now, no information about Schwarz has been found. "Yet this man has a strange psychic power. He can paralyze you with just thoughts from a hundred yards away—and kill you at closer range. I've been paralyzed by him myself; my arms and His legs have been manipulated by him; my mind could have been manipulated by him too, if he wanted to. "I believe, of course, that Schwartz did manipulate the minds of these other men. They say I arrested them, threatened them with death, and that I confessed to treason and wanted to overthrow the Empire—but ask them One question, Your Excellency. Have they ever been fully under his influence, a man with the ability to control people's minds, Schwartz?" "Could it be possible that Schwartz was a traitor? Otherwise, who was he?" The secretary sat down, calm, almost amiable. Alvadan felt as if his mind was on a cyclotron, and it was spinning outwards with all its strength, and it was spinning faster and faster. How to answer it?Say Schwartz is from a bygone era?What evidence is there to support this?That the man spoke an entirely primitive language?But only he himself - Alvardan - can prove it.And he, Alvardan, probably had a rigged mind.After all, how could he prove that his mind was not manipulated?Who the hell is Schwartz?How could he be so convinced of this grand plan to conquer the galaxy? He thought again: How could he himself be convinced of this conspiracy?He is an archaeologist, and he usually likes to be skeptical the most, but now—isn't it because of a person?A girl's kiss?Or Joseph Schwartz? He can't think!He tried to think no! "Huh?" Ennias' voice sounded a little impatient. "Have you anything to say, Dr. Schechter? Or you, Dr. Alvardan?" But Paula's voice suddenly broke the silence. "Why are you asking them? Can't you see that it's just a lie? Can't you see that he's trying to bind us all up with lies? Oh, we're all dying, I don't care about anything anymore--but we We could have stopped it, we could have stopped it—and we're doing nothing but sitting here—talking emptiness—” she began sobbing. The secretary said: "That's good, our level has been reduced to hearing a hysterical girl screaming... Your Excellency, I make this suggestion. My accusers say that all this-the so-called virus and their imagination Everything else that came out - was scheduled to happen at a certain time - I believe it was six o'clock in the morning. I propose to keep me in your custody for seven days. If what they say is true, news of a plague outbreak in the galaxy It will reach Earth in a few days. If that happens, Imperial forces still hold Earth—" "That's great, take the earth in exchange for the entire galaxy of humans," Schector muttered with a pale face. "I value my own life, as well as the lives of my people. I am an innocent hostage, and I am going to notify the 'Council of the Ancients' immediately, saying that I voluntarily stay here for a week, so that all possible disturbances can be avoided." He folded his arms. Ennias looked up with a look of anxiety on his face. "I think this guy is right—" Alvadan couldn't hold back anymore.With an air of calm and terrible ferocity, he arose and walked quickly towards the governor.What he was up to was never known.He couldn't remember it afterwards either.It doesn't matter anyway.Ennias carried a nerve whip, and used it just in time. For the third time after landing on Earth, everything around Alvadan became painful like fire, spinning, and then disappeared. While Alvardan was unconscious, the six o'clock deadline came—