Аркадий Стругацкий: Six Matches

"You astound me, Gorchinsky," he said softly. "You seem to think I'm trying to pump you for information that might compromise Komlin... or yourself, or your colleagues. But it is all far simpler than that. You see, I am not a specialist in the central nervous system. Radio-optics is my line. That's all. What's more, I have no right to judge by my own personal impressions. I am not here to weave elaborate theories. I am here to discover the truth. And instead of helping me you behave like a hysterical woman. You ought to be ashamed of yourself."

There was a silence. The Director looked at Rybnikov. He began to understand the secret of this man's power. Gorchinsky evidently felt it too, because finally he blurted out, avoiding everyone's eyes:

"What is it you want to know?"

"I want to know more about this neutrino acupuncture, for one thing."

"It is Andrei Andreyevich's idea," Gorchinsky began in a weary voice. "Bombardment of certain regions of the cortex with streams of neutrinos induces resistance to various chemical poisons or toxins, or, to be more exact, sharply increases it. Infected or poisoned dogs recovered completely after two or three neutrino punctures, as we call it by analogy with the old method of inserting needles into the tissue. You see, the role of the needles is played by neutrino beams. Of course the analogy is purely superficial..."

"How is it done practically?" asked the Inspector.

"The scalp is shaved and compact devices for focussing the neutrino beams are attached to the bare skin by means of suction discs. To aim the beam at the required stratum of grey matter is not easy, but to locate the exact regions of the cortex that would stimulate phagocyte activity in the required direction is even harder."

"That is very interesting indeed," said the Inspector and this time he meant it. "What diseases could be cured by this method?"

Gorchinsky was silent for a few moments.

"A great many," he said finally. "Andrei Andreyevich believes that neutrino acupuncture has the effect of mobilizing, as it were, some unknown forces of the organism. Not only phagocytes, or nervous stimuli, but something far more powerful. But he did not complete his research... He said neutrino bombardment would be able to cure any disease-toxic poisoning, heart disease, malignant tumours..."

"Cancer?"

"Yes. And burns... It might even be able to restore dead organs. He said that the stabilizing forces of the human body are tremendous, and that the key to them is in the cortex. One has only to find the exact points in the cortex for the punctures."

"Neutrino acupuncture," the Inspector said slowly, savouring the peculiar flavour of the words. Then he caught himself. "Very good, Comrade Gorchinsky. I am much obliged to you." (Gorchinsky smiled ruefully.) "And now be so kind as to tell us how you found Komlin on the morning of the accident. I gather you were the first to see him?"

"Yes. When I came to work I found him sitting, or rather lying in his armchair at the desk... "

"In the generator room?"

"Yes. The focussing devices were attached to his skull with suction discs and the generator was switched on. I thought at first that he was dead. I ran for the doctor. That's all."

His voice shook. The Inspector looked up quickly in surprise. He paused for a moment before asking the next question. The Director drummed loudly on the desk, staring into space.

"You say you don't know what Komlin's experiment was?"

"No," replied the laboratory assistant hoarsely. "I don't know. The laboratory scales and two boxes of matches stood on the table in front of him. The matches had fallen out of one of the boxes."

"One moment." The Inspector glanced at the Director and turned back to Gorchinsky. "Matches, you say? What could he have been doing with matches?"

"I don't know," said Gorchinsky. "There was a heap of them. Some were glued together in twos and threes. There were six matches lying on the scales. And a sheet of paper with figures. He had been weighing the matches. I know, because I checked the figures."

"Matches," murmured the Inspector. "Now why matches? Any idea, Comrade Gorchinsky?"

"No."

"Your colleagues mentioned something about matches too," said the Inspector, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Those tricks he performed... with fire... and matches... Evidently he was working on some other problems besides neutrino acupuncture. But what?"

Gorchinsky said nothing.

"He frequently experimented on himself, didn't he? The skin on his skull is covered with the marks of those suction discs you spoke of."

Gorchinsky remained silent.

"Had Komlin ever displayed an ability to make rapid calculations in his head? Before he demonstrated those conjuring tricks, I mean?"

"No," said Gorchinsky. "I hadn't noticed anything of that kind. Well, now you know all that I know myself. Yes, it is true that Andrei Andreyevich experimented with neutrino bombardment on himself. He cut his hand with a razor deliberately. He wanted to see how quickly neutrino acupuncture could heal wounds. It didn't work... that time. He was doing a parallel piece of research which he kept a secret from everyone. Myself included. I do not know what it was. I only know it had also something to do with neutrino radiation. And that's all."

"Did anyone know of this besides yourself?" the Inspector asked.

"No. Not a soul."

"And you know nothing about the experiments Komlin performed without your assistance?"

"Nothing."

"Well, that will be all," said the Inspector. "You may go."

Gorchinsky rose and strode to the door without looking up. Watching him go, the Inspector noticed again the bald spots on his scalp.

The Director stared out of the window. A small helicopter was hovering low over the square. Its silvery body gleamed in the sunlight as, swaying gently, it turned slowly around its axis and touched down. The door opened and the pilot in a suit of grey overalls jumped lightly on the pavement and walked briskly toward the institute, lighting a cigarette as he went. The Director recognized the helicopter. It was the Inspector's. The pilot had evidently been refuelling.

"Is there no danger of neutrino acupuncture affecting the mind?" the Inspector asked.

"No," replied the Director. "Komlin was quite emphatic on that point."

The Inspector leaned back in his chair and gazed at the ceiling.

"You shouldn't have been so hard on Gorchinsky. He won't be able to do a stroke of work today," said the Director in a low tone.

"Nonsense," said the Inspector. "I'm surprised at you, Comrade Leman. Tell me, how many bald spots is it normal for a man to have? And all those scars on his hands.

... If you ask me, Komlin has an extremely apt pupil in Gorchinsky."

"These men are passionately devoted to their work," said the Director.

The Inspector regarded him for a few minutes without speaking, his facial muscles working.

"I do not doubt that," he said. "Nevertheless, they still work in the old way, Comrade Leman. And, unfortunately, you encourage them. Look here, we are a rich country, the richest in the world. We give you scientists any amount of apparatus, all the experimental animals you want and everything else you need for your work. Then why do you permit your people to take such risks? You have no right to be so careless about human life."

"Why are you not fulfilling the April Directives of the Central Committee? Why are you not carrying out the decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet? When will these scandalous practices stop?"

"This is the first time anything like this has happened at our institute," the Director said resentfully.

The Inspector shook his head.

"At your institute, perhaps. But what about other institutes? What about the factories? This is the eighth accident in the past six months. It's barbarous! Barbarous heroism! You can't keep them out of automatic rockets, out of autobathyspheres or reactors..." He laughed drily. "They are trying to take a short cut to the Truth, to victory over Nature. But too often they pay with their lives. And now your Komlin has done the same thing. How could you have allowed it, Professor?"