Star Trek - Blish, James - 08 Read online

  Spock nodded. "Or by production of a hypnotic screen blinding all but the victim to the killer's presence."

  Awed, Jaris murmured, "Is that possible?"

  "Very possible," McCoy told him. "Even probable. Many examples exist in nature."

  "But I don't hypnotize easily," Scott interjected.

  "We're not talking about a human hypnotist, Scot-ty," Kirk reminded him.

  Hengist, openly furious, rose again from the table. "This is fantasy! We all know the murderer is sitting right here with us! You're trying to muddy the issue. I've got a mind to stop this right now!"

  "Kindly be seated, Mr. Hengist." Jaris sounded un-usually stern. "The course of this investigation seems valid to me."

  Conscious of the glaring Hengist behind him, Kirk said, "What do we have then, Mr. Spock? A creature without stable form that feeds on fear, assuming physi-cal shape to do its killing?"

  "And preys on women because they are more easily terrorized than the male of the species."

  Kirk hit the computer button. "Computer, crimino-logical files. Cases of unsolved multiple murders of women since Jack the Ripper."

  "Working. 1932. Shanghai, China, Earth. Seven women knifed to death. 1974. Kiev, USSR, Earth. Five women knifed to death. 2005. Martian Colonies. Eight women knifed to death. Heliopolis, Alpha Proximi II. Ten women knifed to death. There are additional ex-amples."

  "Captain," Spock said, "all those places are aligned directly between Argelius and Earth."

  "Yes. When men of Earth moved into the galaxy, this thing must have moved with them." He addressed the computer. "Identify the proper names Kesla and Boratis."

  "Working. Kesla: popular name of unidentified mass murderer of women on planet Deneb II. Boratis: popu-lar name of unidentified mass murderer of women on planet Rigel IV. Additional data. Murders on Rigel IV occurred one solar year ago."

  McCoy turned from the table to look at Kirk. Kirk, nodding, spoke to Hengist. "You came to Argelius from Rigel IV," he said.

  "Many people do," Hengist countered. "It's not a crime."

  "No. But we are investigating one. Please take the stand, Mr. Hengist."

  Hengist leaned back in his chair. "I refuse," he said.

  "Mr. Hengist!"

  The jaw in the pudgy face had set hard. "Prefect, I will not take the stand."

  "I see your point, sir," Spock said. "If you are the entity we search for, what better hiding place could you find than the official position you hold?"

  McCoy was on his feet. "And just after you left Jaris's house, we discovered the murder weapon was missing!"

  Kirk pressed on. "You were unaccounted for when Lieutenant Tracy was murdered."

  A nerve under Hengist's eye twitched. "The law is my business!" His voice roughened. "You are engaged in sheer speculation for your own illegal ends!"

  Kirk was not deferred. "Mr. Spock-the weapon."

  "Computer," Spock said. "Report on analysis of Ex-hibit A."

  "Working. Exhibit A on visual."

  The mechanism's triscreen flashed into brightness. As the image of the knife appeared on it, its voice said, "Composition of blade: boridium. Composition of handle: murinite. Details of handle carving conform to folk art indicating place of origin."

  "Specify place of origin," Spock said.

  "Artifact produced by hill people of Argus River region, planet Rigel IV."

  "Mr. Hengist-" Kirk began.

  But Hengist had made a break for the door. Scott tripped him-and Kirk closed with him. There was unexpected muscle in the pudgy body. Screaming wild-ly, Hengist aimed a knee at Kirk's groin. Elbowing up, Kirk swung a fist back and landed a hard right to his jaw. Hengist collapsed. The lights went dim; and at the same moment the room was filled with that rushing sound like the flapping of great wings.

  Kirk got to his feet. McCoy, looking up from Hen-gist's body, said tonelessly, "He's dead, Jim."

  "Dead? But that's impossible! A man doesn't die of a sock on the jaw!"

  The computer crackled. Then the noise subsided. A maniacal laughter burst from its speakers. They chuckled, choking with obscene merriment-and Hen-gist's voice shrieked, "Red Jack! Red Jack! Red Jack!"

  The cackling mirth grew into an insane howl of triumph. Kirk, astounded, stared at Spock. The Vulcan leaped to the computer buttons. But the mad howls of laughter would not be stilled.

  "The computer isn't responding, Captain! The entity has taken possession of it!"

  "But the computer controls the ship!" Kirk cried. "Are you saying that this thing is in possession of the ship?"

  He himself began to wrestle with the computer con-trols. Spock tried to move the switch that fed into its bypass circuits. It swung loose. "It's no use, Captain! The bypass circuits have been blocked, too!"

  The crazy laughter gushed louder from the speakers. "Red Jack!" it screamed again.

  "Audio cutoff, Mr. Spock!"

  The room was suddenly quiet. But Scott, jumping to his feet, yelled, "The screen, Captain! Look at the screen!"

  Kirk whirled. The viewer was a riot of changing colors. Figures began to emerge from them. Serpents writhed through pentagons. Naked women, hair stream-ing behind them, rode astride the shaggy backs of goats. Horned beasts pranced with toads. Rivers boiled, steaming. Above them, embraced bodies drifted down fiery winds. Human shoulders, pinioned under rocks, lifted pleading arms. Then the red glow, shedding its bloody mist over the screen, gave way to the deathly whiteness of a cold, unending snow. Up from the gla-cial landscape rose a towering three-headed shape, its mouths agape with gusts of silent laughter. A cross, upturned, appeared beside it. The shape crawled up it, suspending itself upon it in an unspeakable travesty of the crucifixion. Its vast, leathery wings unfolded...

  "What is it?" Jaris whispered.

  "A vision of hell," Kirk said. He switched off the screen. "This foul thing has shown us the place of its origin. And it is now master of all this ship's oper-ations, including our life support systems."

  "You mean it could kill us all?" gasped Morla.

  "I suspect it will try," Spock said. "But not immedi-ately." He paused. "It feeds on terror. Death is not enough for it. There are nearly four hundred and forty humans aboard this ship. They offer it an unparalleled opportunity to glut itself on the fear it can stimulate in them. Before it kills, it will make the most of its chance."

  Kirk nodded. He moved over to the intercom button. Pressing it, he said, "All hands, this is the Captain speaking. The computers are malfunctioning. Repair efforts are proceeding. Meanwhile, it is of the utmost importance to stay at your posts and remain calm. Captain out."

  He faced around. "Bones, what's your sedative situa-tion?"

  "I've got some stuff that would tranquilize a volcano, Jim."

  "Start distributing it to all hands. The longer we can hold fear down, the more time we'll have to get this hell-born thing out of the computers."

  He swung back to Spock. "Mr. Spock, you have a compulsory scan order built into your computer control banks."

  "Yes, Captain, but with the entity in control..."

  "Even so, it will have to deal with everything pro-grammed into the computers. Aren't there some mathe-matical problems which simply cannot be solved?"

  Spock's somber face lightened. "Indeed there are, Captain. If we can focus all the computers' attention on one of them..."

  "Good. That should do it." Kirk moved over to the table. "The rest of you, stay here," he said. "Bones, get going on that tranquillizer. Let's go, Mr. Spock."

  But the thing had taken over the elevator. Though its door slid open to admit Kirk, it started to slam shut before Spock could enter it. "Spock!" Kirk shouted. He grabbed him, yanking him in just as the door clanged shut. Spock turned to regard the door with interest. "Fascinating," he said. "Our friend learns quickly."

  "Too quickly." Kirk pushed the up button to the bridge. Instead of rising, the elevator sank. Decks flashed by to a whining sound. "Free fall!" Kirk yelled."Put it on manual control!"


  They both seized the manual controls, pulling at them. The whine stopped, and very slowly the elevator began to rise. Then its alarm siren shrieked. "That was due to be next," Kirk said grimly. "Life support mal-function!"

  "We don't have much time, Captain."

  "You said it yourself, Mr. Spock. It wants terror. Death comes second on its list."

  The elevator stopped at the bridge deck, but there was another struggle with its touch plate to get its door open. Nor did they find much cause for cheer as they hurried out of it into the bridge. Sulu, already gasping for breath, was with the technician at the life support station. "Captain, the override is jammed!"

  Spock ran to the station. Ripping off a panel, he exposed its mechanism, and kneeling, went to work on it. He was reaching for a tool when Hengist's voice screamed from the bridge speaker. "You are all about to die! Captain Kirk, you are wasting your time!" The voice broke again into its hideous laughter.

  "Turn that off, Communications!" Kirk wheeled to Sulu. "Man your post, Mr. Sulu! Prepare all your man-ual overrides!"

  Spock got to his feet. "Normal environmental levels restored, Captain. But, as you know, they won't last long. Several hours with luck."

  Sulu asked, "What's going on, Captain?"

  "Man your post, Mr. Sulu!" Kirk, aware of his ten-sion, hastened to meet the nurse who was stepping out of the elevators air hypo in hand. "Is that the tranquil-izer?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Everyone, including yourself."

  The Communications technician had bared his arm for the shot when Hengist's voice spoke once more.

  "You cannot stop me now, Captain!" Kirk reached over the crewman's shoulder to push buttons, but the voice wasn't hushed. "Fool, you cannot silence me! I control all the circuits of this ship! You cannot reach me! Your manual overrides' life is as limited as your own. Soon all controls will be mine!"

  Kirk moved over to Spock at his computer station. He said softly, "Well, Mr. Spock?"

  "Work proceeding, Captain."

  This time Kirk raised his voice. "Destroy us-and you destroy yourself."

  Chuckles bubbled from the bridge speaker. "I am deathless. I have existed from the dawn of time-and I shall live beyond its end. In the meantime I shall feed-and this time I need no knife. In pain unspeak-able you will all die!"

  Spock looked up from his work. "It is preparing its feast on terror."

  "Imbeciles! I can cut off your oxygen and suffocate you! I can crush you all by increasing atmospheric pressure! I can heighten the temperature till the blood boils in your veins!"

  Sulu had received his shot. He turned to Kirk. "Cap-tain," he said cheerfully, "whoever that is, he sure talks gloomy."

  "Yes. Stay at your post, Mr. Sulu. If any more systems go out, switch to manual override. Above all, don't be afraid."

  "With an arm full of this stuff, sir, I wouldn't be scared of a supernova."

  "Ready, Captain," Spock said.

  "Implement."

  Spock addressed his library computer. "This is a compulsory Class 1 direction. Compute to the last digit the value of pi."

  Sharp clicks mingled with an outbreak of buzzing noises. Spock waited. And what he waited for came. Over the speaker Hengist's voice, alarmed, said, "No- not..."

  Spock made his reply. "The value of pi is a transcen-dental number without any resolution. All banks of our computer are now working on it to the exclusion of all else. They will continue to calculate this incalculatable number until we order them to stop."

  "Let's get back to the Briefing Room," Kirk said. "The Argelians will probably be the first to panic."

  Sulu watched them go to the elevator. Then he said happily to himself, "I wonder what I'm supposed to be afraid of."

  In the Briefing Room, the body of Hengist was still slumped in the chair where it had been placed. McCoy was circling the table administering the tranquilizer shots. As Kirk and Spock entered, Scott said, "Well, Captain?"

  "I don't think our computers will be inhabited by anything but a bunch of figures for a while."

  Spock had gone directly to the computer controls. He tested them. "There's some resistance, Captain, but the directive is succeeding. Bank after bank is turning to the problem."

  McCoy paused, his air hypo suspended. "If you drive it out of the computer, Jim, it will have to go some-where else."

  "I doubt if it will move into anyone who's been tranquilized, Bones. How're you coming?"

  "Almost finished. Just Jaris and me..."

  He stopped dead. The lights had dimmed again. And there was that rushing sound of vast wings beating. Very gradually, the lights returned. Spock punched a button on the computer controls.

  "The entity has fled, Captain," he said.

  Kirk had been pondering McCoy's warning. "But where has it fled? Bones-if the thing entered a tran-quilized body, what would happen?"

  "It might take up knitting," McCoy said. "But noth-ing more violent than that."

  "And you say everyone has had a shot except you- and Jaris?"

  Jaris turned in his chair. "You and Mr. Spock have received no shot, Captain."

  Kirk looked at him sharply. "That is true. But I know it- is not in me-and I'm willing to take a chance on Mr. Spock. Bones, give yourself a shot."

  "I ought to stay clear to keep my wits about me," McCoy protested.

  "I gave you an order, Bones!"

  McCoy stared at Kirk. Then he shrugged, bared his arm and plunged the hypo into it.

  "Prefect," Kirk said, "if you will extend your arm, please..."

  Jaris exploded into an insane howl. Out of his mouth Hengist's voice screamed, "No! No!" Leaping from the table, Jaris flung himself on Kirk. Spock raced over to them. The elderly body of Jaris was infused with unbe-lievable strength. It had Kirk by the throat. Spock tore it away. It shrieked, "Kill! Kill you all! Suffer, suffer! Die!" Grappling with Jaris's fiercely powerful body, Spock reached for its neck to apply the Vulcan pinch. Jaris crumpled. And once again the lights dimmed-the vast wings flapped.

  Kirk regained his feet. Around the table its tranquil-ized people, some sitting, some standing, were smiling as though the struggle had been staged for their enter-tainment. Yeoman Tancris, her recording pad dropped to the floor, was regarding Spock with a beautiful admir-ation. From behind her an arm reached out. It encir-cled her neck, pulling her backward. Hengist's body had left its chair. It whipped out a knife and laid it against the girl's throat.

  "Stand away-or I'll kill her!" it said.

  McCoy, thoroughly tranquilized, said mildly, "You'll hurt somebody with that knife," and extended a gentle hand toward the weapon. Hengist took a savage swipe at him. Spock jumped him as Kirk ripped the hypo from McCoy. Spock, closing with the howling mad-man, managed to tear his sleeve. Kirk rammed the hypo home. Hengist wavered in Spock's grasp. "I'll kill you all," he said quietly. "And you shall suffer and I shall feed-" He collapsed.

  Kirk grabbed his shoulders. "The Transporter Room! Quickly!" he shouted to Spock.

  The Transporter technician beamed at them happily as they staggered into the room, the heavy body of Hengist between them.

  Kirk yelled, "Deep space-widest angle of disper-sion-full power-maintain..."

  The Transporter Chief looked at him reproachfully. "No need to get so excited, Captain. I'll take care of it."

  "Spock! Do it! Tranquilizers have their limitations!"

  Alone, Kirk placed Hengist on the platform. The benevolent Transporter Chief was moving casually toward the console when Spock pushed him aside and seized the controls.

  "Energize!" Kirk shouted.

  The motionless figure on the platform broke up into sparkle-and was gone.

  Spock, his elbow on the console, leaned his head on his hand. Kirk laid a hand on his shoulder. "Quite an expensive little foray into the fleshpots-our visit to Argelius," he said. But the Transporter Chiefs feelings were hurt. "You didn't have to shove me, Mr. Spock. I'd have gotten around to it," he said pleasantly. He look
ed up as Scott and McCoy, both grinning con-tentedly, opened the door. "Now there are two officers who know how to take life-easy," he said.

  "Jaris will be all right," McCoy announced sooth-ingly.

  "What did you do with the thing, Captain?" Scott asked. "Send it back to the planet?"