Ben Bova: The Dueling Machine

Leoh suddenly found that he had run out of words. It seemed clear that Odal was not going to volunteer to help anyone except himself.

Rising, he said, “I’d like you to think about these matters. There are many lives at stake, and you could help to save them.”

“And lose my own,” Odal said as he politely stood up.

Leoh cocked his head to one side. “Very possibly, I must admit.”

“You regard Hector’s life more highly than my own. I don’t.”

“All right then, stalemate. But there are a few billion Kerak and Acquatainian lives at stake, you know.”

Leoh started for the door. Odal remained standing in front of the lounge. Then he called:

“Professor. That girl… the one who was so startled when I arrived at your dueling machine. Who is she?”

Leoh turned. “Geri Dulaq. The late Prime Minister’s daughter.”

“Oh, I see.” For an instant, Odal’s nearly expressionless face seemed to show something: disappointment, regret?

“She hates me, doesn’t she?” he asked.

“To use your own words,” said Leoh, “why not?”

Hector scratched his head thoughtfully and said, “This sort of, well, puts me in a… um, funny position.”

The Kerak captain shrugged. “We are all in an extremely delicate position.”

“Well, I suppose so, if… that is, I mean… how do I know you’re telling me the truth?”

The captain’s blunt, seamed face hardened angrily for a moment. They were sitting on the bridge of the orbiting star ship to which Hector had been brought. Beyond the protective rail, on the level below, was the control center of the mammoth vessel. The captain controlled his rage and replied evenly:

“A Kerak officer does not tell lies. Under any circumstances. My—superior, let us say—has spoken to the Star Watch Commander, as I explained to you. They reached an agreement whereby you are to remain on this ship until further notice. I am willing to allow you free rein of the ship, exclusive of the control center itself, the power plant, and the air locks. I believe that this is more than fair.”

Hector drummed his fingers on the chart table next to him. “Guess I’ve got no choice, really. I’m sort of, well, halfway between a prisoner and, um, a cultural exchange tourist.”

The captain smiled mechanically, trying to ignore the maddening finger-drumming.

“And I’ll be staying with you,” Hector went on, “until you assassinate Kanus.”

“DON’T SAY THAT!” The Captain almost leaped into Hector’s lap and clapped a hand over the Watchman’s mouth.

“Oh. Doesn’t the crew know about it?”

The captain rubbed his forehead with a shaky hand. “How… who… whatever gave you the idea that we would… contemplate such a thing?”

Hector frowned in puzzlement. “I don’t really know. Just odds and ends. You know. A few things my guards have said. And I figure that Kanus would have pickled my brain by now. You haven’t. I’m being treated almost like a guest. So you’re not working for Kanus. Yet you’re wearing Kerak insignia. Therefore you must be…”

“Enough! Please, it is not necessary to go into any more detail.”

“Okay.” Hector got to his feet “It’s all right for me to walk through the ship?”

“Yes; with the exceptions I mentioned.” The captain rose also. “Oh, yes, there is one other forbidden area: the computers. I understand you were in there this morning.”

Hector nodded. “The guards let me go in. I was taking my after-breakfast exercise. The guards insisted on it. The exercise, that is.”

“That is irrelevant! You discussed computation methods with one of our junior programmers…”

“Yes. I’m pretty good at math, you see and…”

“Please! I don’t know what you told him, but in attempting to put your so-called ‘improvements’ into the computer program, he blew out three banks of logic circuits and caused a shutdown of the computer for several hours.”

“Oh? That’s funny.”

“Funny?” the captain snapped.

“I mean odd.”

“I quite agree. Do not enter the computer area again.”

Hector shrugged. “Okay. You’re the captain.”

The young Star Watchman turned and walked away, leaving the captain seething with frustration. He had not saluted; he had not waited until dismissed by the superior officer; he just slouched off like… like a civilian! And now he was whistling! Aboard ship! The captain sank back into his chair. That computer programmer was only the first casualty, he suddenly realized. Romis had better act quickly. It is only a matter of time before this Watchman drives us all insane.

The bridge, Hector found, connected to a series of technical stations, such as the navigation section (idle now that the ship was parked in orbit), the communications center (well guarded) and—most interesting of all—the observation center.

Here Hector found a fair-sized compartment crammed with view screens showing almost every section of the ship’s interior, and also looking outside in various directions around the ship. Since they were orbiting Kerak’s capital planet, most of the exterior views were turned on the ground below.

Hector soon struck up an acquaintance with the men on duty. Despite the Star Watch emblem on his cover-alls, they seemed to accept him as a fellow-sufferer in the military system, rather than a potential enemy.

“That’s the capital city,” one of them pointed out.

Hector nodded, impressed. “Is that where they have the dueling machine?”

“You mean the one at the Ministry of Intelligence?

That’s over on the other side of the planet. I’ll show it to you when we swing over that way.”

“Thanks,” Hector said. “I’d like to see it… very much.”

Every morning Odal was taken from his underground suite of rooms to the enclosed courtyard of the Justice building for an hour of sunshine and exercise. Under the cold eyes of the guards he ran endless circles around the courtyard’s manicured grass, or did push-ups, knee-bends, sit-ups… anything to break the monotony and prevent the guards from seeing how miserable and lonely he really felt.

Romis, he thought, is no fool. He won’t need me until all his plans are finished, until the actual moment to kill the Leader arrives. What could be better for him than to leave me here, and then offer the Watchman — at precisely the right moment — in trade for me? Spencer will have me shipped back to Kerak, too late to do anything but Romis’ bidding.

There were stately, pungent trees lining the four sides of the courtyard, and in the middle a full, wide-spreading wonder with golden, stiff leaves that tinkled like glass chimes whenever a breeze wafted them. As Odal got up, puffing and hot, from a long set of push-ups, he saw Geri Dulaq sitting on the bench under that tree.

He wiped his brow with a towel and, tossing it over his shoulder, walked slowly to her. He hadn’t noticed before how beautiful she was. Her face looked calm, but he could sense that she was working hard to keep control of herself.

“Good morning,” he said evenly.

She nodded but said nothing. Not even a smile or a frown. He gestured toward the bench, and when she nodded again, he sat down beside her.

“You’re my second visitor,” said Odal.

“I know,” Geri replied. “Professor Leoh told me about his visit to you. How you refused to try to help Hector.”

Allowing himself a smile, Odal said, “I thought that’s what you’d be here for.”

She turned to face him. “You can’t leave him in Kerak! If Kanus…”

“Hector is with Romis. He’s safe enough.”

“For how long?”

“As long as any of us,” Odal said.