Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
Authors: Arthur C. Clarke
Tags: Fiction, General, Science-Fiction, Fiction - Science Fiction, Space Opera, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction, Space Opera
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covering his retreat.
A minute later he came across a second sphere, waiting for him at a branch in the corridor.
"You've half a kilometre to go," it said. "Keep to the left until we meet again."
Six times he encountered the spheres on his way to the open. At first he wondered if, somehow, the robot was managing to keep ahead of him; then he guessed that there must be a chain of the machines maintaining a complete circuit down into the depths of the mine. At the entrance a group of guards formed a piece of improbable statuary, watched over by yet another of the ubiquitous spheres. On the hillside a few metres away lay the little flying machine in which Stormgren had made all his journeys toKarellen.
He stood for a moment blinking in the sunlight. Then he saw the ruined mining machinery around hint, and beyond that a derelict railway stretching down the mountainside. Several kilometres away a dense forest lapped at the base of the mountain, and very far off Stormgren could see the gleam of water from a great lake. He guessed that he was somewhere in South America, though it was not easy to say exactly what gave him that impression.
As he climbed into the little flying machine, Stormgren had a last glimpse of the mine entrance and the men frozen around
it. Then the door sealed behind him and with a sigh of relief
he sank back upon the familiar couch.
For a while he waited until he had recovered his breath; then he uttered a single, heart-felt syllable:
"Well?"
"I'm sorry I couldn't rescue you before. But you see how very important it was to wait until all the leaders bad gathered here."
"Do you mean to say," spluttered Stormgren, "that you knew where I was all the time? If I thought-"
39
"Don't be too hasty," answered Karellen, "at least, let me 6nish exp1~iining."
"Very well," said Stormgren darkly, "I'm listening." He was beginning to suspect that he had been no more than bait In an elaborate trap.
"I've had a-perhaps 'tracer' is the best word for it-on you For some time," began Karellen. "Though your late friends were correct in thinking that I couldn't follow you underground, I was able to keep track until they brought you to the nine. That transfer in the tunnel was ingenious, but when the first car ceased to react it gave the plan away and I soon located you again. Then it was merely a matter of waiting. I knew that once they were certain I'd lost you, the leaders would come here and I'd be able to~p them all."
"But you're letting them go!"
"Until now," said Karellen, "I had no way of telling who of the two and a half billion men on this planet were the real heads of the organization. Now that they're located, I can trace their movements anywhere on Earth, and can watch their actions in detail if I want to. That's far better than locking them up. If they make any moves, they'll betray their remaining comrades.
They're effectively neutralized, and they know it. Your rescue will be completely inexplicable to them, for you must have vanished before their eyes."
That rich laugh echoed round the tiny room.
"In some ways the whole affair was a comedy, but it had a serious purpose. I'm not merely concerned with the few score men in this organization-I have to think of the moral effect on other groups that exist elsewhere."
Stormgren was silent for a while. He was not altogether satisfied, but he could see Karellen's point of view, and some of his anger had evaporated.
"It's a pity to do it in my last few weeks of office," he said finally, "but from now on I'm going to have a guard on my house. Pieter can be kidnapped next time. How has he managed, by the way?"
"I've watched him carefWly this last week, and have deliberately avoided helping him. On the whole he's done very well- but he's not the man to take your place."
"That's lucky for him," said Stormgren, still somewhat aggrieved. "And by the way, have you had any word yet from your superiors-about showing yourself to us? I'm sure now
40
that
A minute later he came across a second sphere, waiting for him at a branch in the corridor.
"You've half a kilometre to go," it said. "Keep to the left until we meet again."
Six times he encountered the spheres on his way to the open. At first he wondered if, somehow, the robot was managing to keep ahead of him; then he guessed that there must be a chain of the machines maintaining a complete circuit down into the depths of the mine. At the entrance a group of guards formed a piece of improbable statuary, watched over by yet another of the ubiquitous spheres. On the hillside a few metres away lay the little flying machine in which Stormgren had made all his journeys toKarellen.
He stood for a moment blinking in the sunlight. Then he saw the ruined mining machinery around hint, and beyond that a derelict railway stretching down the mountainside. Several kilometres away a dense forest lapped at the base of the mountain, and very far off Stormgren could see the gleam of water from a great lake. He guessed that he was somewhere in South America, though it was not easy to say exactly what gave him that impression.
As he climbed into the little flying machine, Stormgren had a last glimpse of the mine entrance and the men frozen around
it. Then the door sealed behind him and with a sigh of relief
he sank back upon the familiar couch.
For a while he waited until he had recovered his breath; then he uttered a single, heart-felt syllable:
"Well?"
"I'm sorry I couldn't rescue you before. But you see how very important it was to wait until all the leaders bad gathered here."
"Do you mean to say," spluttered Stormgren, "that you knew where I was all the time? If I thought-"
39
"Don't be too hasty," answered Karellen, "at least, let me 6nish exp1~iining."
"Very well," said Stormgren darkly, "I'm listening." He was beginning to suspect that he had been no more than bait In an elaborate trap.
"I've had a-perhaps 'tracer' is the best word for it-on you For some time," began Karellen. "Though your late friends were correct in thinking that I couldn't follow you underground, I was able to keep track until they brought you to the nine. That transfer in the tunnel was ingenious, but when the first car ceased to react it gave the plan away and I soon located you again. Then it was merely a matter of waiting. I knew that once they were certain I'd lost you, the leaders would come here and I'd be able to~p them all."
"But you're letting them go!"
"Until now," said Karellen, "I had no way of telling who of the two and a half billion men on this planet were the real heads of the organization. Now that they're located, I can trace their movements anywhere on Earth, and can watch their actions in detail if I want to. That's far better than locking them up. If they make any moves, they'll betray their remaining comrades.
They're effectively neutralized, and they know it. Your rescue will be completely inexplicable to them, for you must have vanished before their eyes."
That rich laugh echoed round the tiny room.
"In some ways the whole affair was a comedy, but it had a serious purpose. I'm not merely concerned with the few score men in this organization-I have to think of the moral effect on other groups that exist elsewhere."
Stormgren was silent for a while. He was not altogether satisfied, but he could see Karellen's point of view, and some of his anger had evaporated.
"It's a pity to do it in my last few weeks of office," he said finally, "but from now on I'm going to have a guard on my house. Pieter can be kidnapped next time. How has he managed, by the way?"
"I've watched him carefWly this last week, and have deliberately avoided helping him. On the whole he's done very well- but he's not the man to take your place."
"That's lucky for him," said Stormgren, still somewhat aggrieved. "And by the way, have you had any word yet from your superiors-about showing yourself to us? I'm sure now
40
that
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