"Dates. Times. Briefly, I found that the run of accidents has been
building up to a peak. At first, it was just small meters that went
wrong. Then bigger, more complex stuff. And, finally, the Monster
went. See the pattern?"
The other men nodded.
"You're the therapist," Griffin said. "What do you suggest?"
"Shock treatment," said David MacHeath.
* * * * *
Just how Dr. Konrad Bern got wind of the fact that a squad of FBI men
had come to the project to arrest him that evening is something that
MacHeath didn't know until later. He was busy at the time, ignoring
anything but what he was interested in. It always fascinated him to
watch the mind of a psychokinetic expert at work. He couldn't do the
trick himself, and he was always amazed at the ability of anyone who
could.
It was like watching a pianist play a particularly difficult concerto.
A person can watch a pianist, see every move he is making, and why he
is making it. But being able to see what is going on doesn't mean that
one can duplicate the action. MacHeath was in the same position.
Telepathically, he could observe the play of emotions that ran through
a psychokinetic's mind--the combinations of avid desire and the utter
loathing which, playing one against another, could move a brick, a
book, or a Buick if the mind was powerful enough. But he couldn't do
it himself, no matter how carefully he tried to follow the raging
emotions that acted as two opposing jaws of a pair of tongs to lift
and move the object.
And so engrossed was he with the process that he did not notice that
Konrad Bern had eluded the FBI. He was unaware of what had happened
until one of the Federal agents rapped loudly on the workshop door.
Almost instantly, MacHeath picked up the information from the agent's
mind. He glanced at Griffin and Benbow. "You two can handle it. Be
careful you don't overdo it."
Then he went to the door and opened it a trifle. "Yes?"
The man outside showed a gold badge. "Morgan, FBI. You David
MacHeath?"
"Yes." MacHeath stepped outside and showed the FBI man his
identification.
"We were told to co-operate with you in this Konrad Bern case. He's
managed to slip away from us somehow, but we know he's still in the
area. He can't get past the gate."
MacHeath let his mind expand until it meshed with that of Dr. Konrad
Bern.
"There is a way out," MacHeath snapped. "The acceleration tube."
"What?"
"Come on!" He started sprinting toward the elevators. He explained to
the FBI agent as they went.
"The acceleration tube of the ultracosmotron runs due north of here
for two miles underground. The guard at the other end won't be
expecting anyone to be coming from the inside of the target building.
If Bern plays his cards right, he can get away."
"Can't we phone the target building?" the FBI man asked.
"No. We shut off all the electrical equipment and took down some of
the wires so we could balance the acceleration fields."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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