He showed Dan how to use the glider, and several other new items of
equipment, then frowned and sat back. "The worst of this is, we don't
know exactly what to expect on the planet. Some big organization could
even be trying to take over the planetary government. If so, a lot will
depend on what stage things are in when you land. To give you as much
chance as possible, your body has been carefully restructured to give
you exceptional strength and endurance. The neuro-conditioning lab has
recreated in your nervous system the reflexes of one of the deadliest
agents ever known. Don't be surprised if you perform certain actions
almost before you're aware of your own intentions. It has to be that
way to cut down the risks."
Dan and Kielgaard shook hands, and Dan went out to check his equipment.
Early the next day, he was on a fast spaceship to the planet called
Truth.
* * * * *
Dan was dropped low over the night side of the planet in a vaned
capsule that whirled straight down, burst open on contact with the
water, and sank. From this capsule, a small boat nosed out toward the
coast.
In the cramped space inside, Dan checked a little gauge to be sure the
boat's outer layer had adjusted to the water around it, so that there
would be no sharp difference in the radiation of heat to show up on any
infrared detector that might be in range. Then the boat nosed down with
a _suck-swish_ from the water-jet engine and began to pick up speed.
Several hours later, a thin flexible cable shot out from shallow water
at the edge of the junglelike coastline. The cable whipped around the
trunk of a tree well back from the water's edge, there was a faint low
hum, a grating noise, and something slid up over the rocks and pebbles
and came to rest among the tangled trunks and roots of the trees. A
moment later, Dan was out and dragging the boat further inland.
When he was satisfied that the boat was safe, he glanced at his watch.
The planet's large moon should soon be up and he intended to waste no
time making his position more secure.
He broke open a carton of the little mataform transceivers, clipped
several of them on small, almost completely transparent gliders, and
checked to be sure the little auxiliary motors of the gliders were in
working order. He slid on a helmet that fit tightly over his head and
eyes, and sent up the first glider. As the faint whir of the small
engine receded, Dan could see before him in the helmet a clear view of
the sea, with the thin rim of the planet's moon just rising, huge and
blood-red, over the horizon.
The small sensor unit on the glider sent back an image from a safe
height above the forest, and Dan switched the helmet from this glider
long enough to send up another.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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