The Thinking Machine Affair - Bernard Joel (читаем книги онлайн .txt) 📗

"I have Professor Novak's thought-transference apparatus. I can make you do anything I want."

"Rubbish!"

The THRUSH executive switched on the closed circuit television system. Instantly the workroom in which Professor Novak and his daughter were busy with a box that looked like a portable radio set appeared on the screen. "Bring the Professor and his apparatus to my office," he ordered.

"Very well," the supervisor acknowledged.

"You will now have the opportunity to learn the efficiency of the thought-transference apparatus," Napoleon was informed.

He stayed silent. He considered the position—"even if the Professor's machine turns me into their tool, Waverly still won't take notice of what I tell him," he thought.

Professor Novak entered the office, the supervisor carrying his apparatus.

"I am happy to see you looking so well, Professor," the Chief Organizing Officer greeted him.

"I'm afraid, sir, the radius is still not unlimited," the scientist said, thinking he had been brought for a progress report.

"This is not my concern at the moment," the THRUSH executive assured him. "I want you to demonstrate your apparatus in my office and to transfer my thoughts to this gentleman to illustrate the effectiveness of your apparatus."

"Very well," the scientist said; "at such short range it will work to full satisfaction."

He positioned the apparatus so that one of the knobs was aimed at Napoleon, then turned some dials, checked an indicator, and finally told the Chief Organizing Office that everything was ready for his experiment.

The THRUSH executive started to condition Napoleon's mind.

"Do you remember what I told you earlier about the message I want you to send to Waverly?" he said as soon as the Professor had departed.

"Yes, sir," Napoleon said. "Can I have the transmitter, please?"

Napoleon asked for Channel D to be opened. When Waverly replied, Napoleon repeated what he had been persuaded to say.

"This is not the time for practical jokes, Mr. Solo," Waverly said dryly.

"It's no joke, sir," Napoleon insisted. "Everything's as I told you and I can only repeat, you must heed my advice."

"Are you out of your mind, Mr. Solo?"

"No, sir. I am at THRUSH European Center E and I have ascertained that everything is as I told you. If you want to survive and save all the others, do as I tell you. There is no alternative."

Waverly closed Channel D. The Chief Organizing Officer was pleased with Napoleon and told him so.

"What do you wish me to do now, sir?" Napoleon asked.

"You can rest now. When you're needed again I'll call you."

Napoleon was led out of the office by a guard and taken to a room similar to the one allocated to Professor Novak. Only the dividing wall separated him from the Czech scientist, but Napoleon did not know this fact.

He looked around the room. It was comfortable, although there were no windows and the door had been locked from the outside. He settled into an armchair and tried to figure out whether Professor Novak's thought-transference apparatus had actually conditioned his mind to think completely on THRUSH lines or whether it had confined itself to his sending the crucial surrender message to Waverly. He decided that the conditioning had only partly influenced him, because he still felt loyal to U.N.C.L.E., determined to play his part in destroying THRUSH. He decided he would utilize the fact that his mind had been conditioned to pretend a devotion to THRUSH.

He was anxious to tell Illya the location of THRUSH European Center E and warn him that the U.N.C.L.E. diversion devices were ineffective on THRUSH'S alarm system. With his ultra-shortwave transmitter out of his possession he hadn't the means of calling Illya, although he still had the emergency short-distance transmitter-receiver safely concealed in his cuff-links. But unless Illya happened to be really near, he still would not be able to make contact.

Napoleon sat in the armchair and repeated patiently into the transmitter:

"Illya, I'm calling you."

Napoleon tried the radio call again and again over a period of hours without result. Illya was probably miles away from the area, he thought.

Before giving up for the night he tried once more. "Illya, I'm calling you."

"I can hear you," Kuryakin's voice replied suddenly.

"Good," Napoleon said. "I've been trying to locate you for hours."

"Where are you?" Illya enquired.

"At THRUSH European Center E. That's why I can't use the normal transmitter. They've got it."

"Are you all right, Napoleon?"

"Yes."

"Waverly told me about your curious radio message."

"Oh that... They conditioned my mind to do it. But that's irrelevant now—I'll explain another time. THRUSH European Center E is close to where you lost contact with the direction finder..."

He described the exact location and then warned Illya not to enter the underground channel.

"Look for a more suitable entrance, and remember that our standard alarm diversion instrument is useless. Use the alternative device, and good luck, Illya."

Napoleon's luck was in. No one at THRUSH European Center E had monitored his broadcast.

CHAPTER EIGHT

ACTION STATIONS!

ILLYA systematically worked his way along the river bank of the Moldau. According to Napoleon's information, he should be in the immediate vicinity of the concealed water entrance to THRUSH European Center E, but he was still unable to re-establish contact with the bugging devices on the coffin and in the agent's belt, or the direction finder concealed in the tooth of the "dead" THRUSH officer.

When he reached the massive rock formation, he examined every inch of it and eventually found the ingenious entrance. He pulled the lever in the crevice and the steel door silently slid aside. But he did not enter the underground passage; instead he fixed a gadget inside the tunnel. This should deceive the electronic eyes and make them shut the door again when he issued the appropriate beam from his transmitter anywhere.

He climbed back along the edge of the rock formation and made his way back inland. He reached a building that looked like a porter's lodge of the mansion house on the hill. There was no sign of life in the building, but he was careful as he approached it silently. It could be a well-camouflaged warning post for THRUSH Headquarters.

As he approached the solid oak door of the building, he suddenly heard a faint signal from the direction finder and knew he was on the right track.

He switched on the multi-beam device to put out of action any alarms, and then opened the door, which he relocked as soon as he was inside. He found himself in a small hall with several doors. As he stood there, considering which door to open first, the signal from the direction finder increased in strength as he leaned towards a door on the right.

He unlocked it and stepped cautiously into the almost dark room. He could see that the windows were shuttered with heavy steel plates. The room was bare and appeared to be deserted, yet the direction finder signal became stronger still as he moved to the middle of the room, otherwise he would have thought he was in the wrong place.

His detector instrument helped him locate a door concealed in a wall. Before attempting to open it, he tested the room thoroughly for alarm traps.

On the wall between the two steel-shuttered windows he found another hidden door, on which he used his unlocking device. It housed a small box that obviously contained alarm controls. He stood his directional torch on the floor and used it to spotlight the control box. Examination indicated that it was a key control box of the alarm system. He disconnected the wiring without sparking the alarm circuit—at least, he felt sure he had managed to do this effectively.