Stan Mason - Stopping World War Three

I stared at her with a certain amount of dismay. ‘You know, if it wasn’t for Jan’s abduction, I would let the whole thing drop.

This is not really my game. I know nothing about the 21st Century Crusaders… let alone risk my life for them.’

‘They want the plans… nothing more,’ stated Penny bluntly. ‘If you get them, the matter will end there as far as you’re concerned.’

‘And if I can’t get them?’

‘We could have another world war. One more horrifying than all the wars in the past put together. And you any never see Jan again. I don’t think you want either of those things on your conscience, do you?’

Suddenly, the whole future of the world seemed to rest on me successfully gaining the plans of the prototype laser gun developed by the company for whom I worked. How did I become so responsible in such a short time. I fell silent for a while, fighting the battle in my mind. Should I continue to risk life and limb or would it be more expedient not to help anyone? Was it worth risking my appointment at Dandy Advanced Electronics by becoming an industrial spy trying to steal the plans owned by them, or would it be more sensible to resign from the company and disappear deep into the countryside away from it all? What I really wanted is for no one to take any further interest in me but then what would happen to Jan? Penny was right. It would remain for ever on my conscience!

As soon as we landed Penny headed for a telephone booth. ‘I have to make a call to my mother, she told me. ‘She never stops worrying about me.’

I nodded and waited at the exit waiting for her to complete the call. As soon as she rejoined me, we made our way to her apartment. As we entered I had a strange sensation that someone had been there in the past few days. The staleness that exists when a place is left unoccupied for a while was absent. I helped myself to a drink and sat down on the settee while Penny brought a large cardboard box into the lounge from her bedroom, leaving the door open behind her.

‘Much of the information is general,’ she began, lifting the lid to show that it was almost filled with papers, ‘but together it offers a reasonable account of what goes on in the weaponry division and its operations.’ She lifted out a whole sheaf of papers and started to sort them into separate piles on the carpet.

‘You’ll be disappointed when I tell you that I know nothing about lasers,’ I admitted. ‘As you know, my field is commercial computers. For the rest of the time I concentrate on bridge. I focus my mind only on the things in which I’m successful. Everything else gets blotted out.’

She looked at me as though I had commented casually about the weather. ‘You don’t have to know anything about lasers. All you have to do is to get the plans. Don’t worry… we’ll go through all this together. It should be interesting to say the least.’

I stared at her in amazement. ‘You’ve accumulated all this information on that division?’

‘I had five years to do it. Now… as you know the head of the division is John Packman. The company allows three years tenure in the weapons division for security reasons. He’s been there for almost that period of time and is about to move shortly. Why don’t you contact him and take him to lunch?’

‘Won’t he become suspicious?’

‘Not if you tell him that you’re on the short list to replace him. Even better, you can arrange to visit the division but you’ll have to obtain a pass-card for access. If you contact Packman on some pretext… like an excuse that you’re working on a new idea for commercial computers to be manufactured by laser beam operation or of some development relating to lasers, he may invite you there.’

‘More likely he would try to talk it down by telephone. Do you really want me to lie to him for the sake of getting those plans?’

‘I don’t really care what you have to do to get them. We’re dealing with World War Three here, Jason. It’s not a matter of what I want you to do… it’s a case of saving millions of lives. And you can do it. As the clown said in Twelfth Night: “Some men are born great, some achieve greatness, while some have greatness thrust upon them.” You’ve been chosen for this role. Be it angel or Devil! You don’t have a choice, especially where Jan’s concerned.’

She wasn’t pulling any punches either and in my mind’s eye I could see her dressed in that brown uniform. ‘All right,’ I conceded. ‘Tell me about lasers!’

She picked up the first pile of papers and raised them to reading height before reading out aloud. ‘A laser is a device that strengthens light. It can burn a hole in a diamond or carry signals of numerous television pictures at the same time. Unlike other forms of light, laser light travels in one direction only. Lasers are used in communications such as radio and television, in industry for cutting and inspection, in medicine for use in surgical operations, in scientific research, and in military operations. In the past, laser beams have measured the distance and speed of enemy planes and ships. They’ve guided shells and bombs to their targets and have been used as navigational devices. Military research has been underway for many years to develop high-energy lasers that could destroy enemy aircraft, tanks and missiles. Such development would also include the destruction of ground troops. A number of organisation in the United States have been working on military research for the Star Wars programme which put such fear in the Soviet Union. The idea was to threaten everyone from satellites in space but no one seems to have emerged with a satisfactory solution. British ingenuity has come to the forefront again at Dandy’s weaponry division. Such an advanced laser gun is being developed there and a prototype is being tested albeit at the moment it is imperfect and erratic.’

I held up my hand to stop her, ‘Hold it… hold it there! If it’s imperfect and erratic why should Commander Yasood and the rest of the gang, whoever they are, want it? After all, if Penny Smith knows it doesn’t work properly, they must know it too.’

‘I think that’s where Schmuel Musaphia and Menel come in,’ she answered.

‘Really!’ I spluttered with surprise. ‘Would you tell me where they fit into all this?

She ignored my question and looked down at the papers again to start to read again. ‘There are many kinds of lasers but the one Dandy’s dealing with is a crystal laser. It employs a fluorescent crystal such as a ruby as its light amplifying substance. The power for a ruby laser comes from a flash tube often coiled around the ruby. The flash tube excites a large number of chromium ions which are electrically charged atoms in the ruby allowing it to melt hard materials. Such streams of light can burn through thin steel in short bursts because the flash tube can generate such intense heat in the ruby. There’s a garnet called neodymium yttrium aluminium which produces a continuous beam of light. This occurs because it uses less power to operate than a ruby laser and it can be cooled by water. It’s used generally as a drill. The first laser was built in 1960 and people have been researching laser guns since that time all over the world. But still they haven’t come up with the death-ray machine everyone’s after.’

‘If I could remember a quarter of what you told me I’d be happy,’ I told her. ‘Do you realise what would happen if such a weapon fell into the wrong hands. Imagine if Menel decided to auction it to a number of buyers.’

‘He told you he wanted to preserve a decent and safe life for his children and grandchildren… the whole family.’

‘That’s what he said but can anyone believe him? It sounded very much like bull-shit to me.’