Arthur Clarke - Cradle

“What kind of dope have you been smoking, Commander?” Carol replied. “We freely admit that we’ve been looking for your missile. But that doesn’t make us spies. You have no case against us.” She glanced at Nick. He was admiring her performance. “I’m simply a reporter covering a story. This treason business of yours is pure fabricated bullshit.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Lieutenant Todd, unable to restrain himself. “Then where were these pictures taken?” He showed the photo of Troy in full diving regalia in the initial underwater room with the red and blue walls. He then turned and pointed to the backpacks sitting in the opposite corner of the room. “And what were your two friends doing with fifty pounds of gold after their dive tonight?”

“All right, man,” Troy remarked in an exaggerated manner. He took a step toward Lieutenant Todd. “All right. You’ve figured it out, haven’t you? We found the missile and sold it to the Russians for fifty pounds of gold.” His eyes widened as he looked at Todd. “And now the missile is onboard a submarine on its way to Moscow or wherever… Come on, man, get serious. We’re not that stupid.”

Lieutenant Todd’s temper flared up. “You black bastard—” he muttered before Commander Winters jumped between them. Winters needed some time to think. Todd’s questions were after all. still unanswered. Even if there were good answers, it was not difficult to understand how someone could have come to the conclusion, based on the photographs, that there might be a conspiracy involved.

In addition, there was the issue of defending the actions of his junior officers and the investigating team. If I let these three go now, thought Winters, then we are essentially admitting that we made an error in the first place… Ramirez was gesturing at the commander. He nodded outside with his head. Winters did not understand at first, but Ramirez repeated the motion.

“Excuse us a second,” Winters said. The two officers walked out on the porch above the steps, leaving Todd with Nick and Carol and Troy. “What is it, Lieutenant?” Winters asked.

“Commander, sir,” Ramirez answered, “my career is the Navy. If we release these three now, after no formal questioning—”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Winters interrupted abruptly. “I wish that none of this today had happened. But it did. Now we must finish it up properly and thoroughly or we have no defense for what we did.” He thought for a minute. “How long would it take you to get the video and sound equipment set up for a formal interrogation?”

“About thirty minutes,” Ramirez replied. “Maybe forty-five at the most.”

“Let’s do it. While you’re getting ready, I’ll prepare the list of questions.”

Shit, said Winters to himself as he watched Ramirez walk briskly toward his office on the other side of the base. I am indeed going to be here all night. He thought of his missed chance with Tiffani. I’d better call her and explain while I’m drafting these questions. He felt a sudden burst of anger toward Lieutenant Todd. As for you, he thought, if we come out of this unscathed, I will personally see to it that you are transferred to Lower Slobbovia.

It was after eleven o’clock. Lieutenant Todd stood near the front door. He was holding a billy club in his hand. Once before in the evening, just after Nick and Troy had reached the Pelican Resort parking lot, Todd had used the club on Nick’s back to coerce him into the car. Nick could still feel the welt.

“How long is all this going to take?” Troy asked. He was standing near the desk. “Can’t we go home now and get some sleep and come back on Monday morning…”

“You heard what the man said,” Todd replied. He was definitely gloating. “They’ve gone off to prepare for a formal interrogation. You should be using this time to get your story straight.” Todd pounded his palm with the billy club.

Troy turned to his companions. “All right, team,” he said with a wink. “I move we blow this joint. Let’s overpower this geek and blast out of here.”

“Just try it, you shits,” Todd rejoined. He smacked one of the empty folding chairs with his club for emphasis. “I’d like nothing better than to report that you tried to escape.”

Nick had not said much since Winters and Ramirez had left. He now looked across the room at Todd. “You know what annoys me the most about this, Lieutenant?” he said to his captor. “It’s that people like you,” he continued, without waiting for an answer, “end up in positions of power or authority all over the world. Look at you. You think that because you have us under your control, that makes you somebody. Let me tell you something. You aren’t shit.”

Todd did not try to hide his dislike for Nick. “At least I can find white men to be my friends,” he replied sarcastically.

“I do declare,” Troy chimed in swiftly. “I believe our associate Lieutenant Todd may be a bigot. We may be talking to a true life honky. Let’s see if ‘nigger’ is his next—”

“Boys, boys,” Carol interceded as Todd started to move toward Troy. “Enough is enough. “The room became quiet. Troy walked back over to his friends and sat down in his chair.

A minute later Troy leaned over to Nick and Carol. As he was whispering to them, he put the gold bracelet right next to his mouth. “You know, folks,” he said, “if we don’t get out of here soon, we may be here all night. I can well imagine the questions taking three or four hours. And that means the Navy will get to the dive site before us in the morning.”

“But what can we do?” Carol asked. “It would be a miracle if they let us just walk out without any questions.”

“A miracle, angel.” said Troy with a grin, “is just what we need. A good old-fashioned miracle. Like the blue fairy.”

“What are you shits whispering about over there?” The truculent Lieutenant Todd began to walk toward the bathroom at the west end of the long room. “Knock it off. And don’t try anything. The outside door is locked and I have the key.” He didn’t close the bathroom door. The urinal was fortunately out of view to the right.

There was not much light in the back of the small bathroom. As Todd was finishing his piss, he became aware of a strange sensation all over his right side, as if a thousand very small needles were sticking in him. Puzzled, he turned toward the corner. What he saw there sent an incredible shock of terror racing through his system.

In the corner, partially hidden in the poor light, was what could only be described as a six-foot carrot. The thicker end of the creature was balanced on four webbed pads planted on the floor. There were no arms, but about five feet above the ground, just under a maze of blue spaghetti of unknown purpose on top of its “head,” four vertical slits, each a foot long, were cut in what might have been its face. Out of each of these slits something strange was hanging. Troy would later explain to Nick and Carol that these were sensors, that the carrot saw, heard, smelled, and tasted with these dangling extensions.

Lieutenant Todd did not wait to study the creature. He let out a whoop and backed quickly out of the bathroom. He did not stop to retract his penis or zip his fly. When the weird orange thing next appeared in the light at the door to the bathroom, The lieutenant was certain it was going to follow him. He stared at it, petrified and immobile, for half a second. Then, when it did indeed move toward him, Todd immediately turned around, unlocked the front door, and burst through it.

Unfortunately he forgot about the eight concrete steps. In his panic he tripped and fell. He smacked his head hard on the second step and tumbled down to the bottom. He lay unconscious on his back on the sidewalk in front of the building.