XIII + 

A Bag of Tricks We DonтАЩt Have + 

He flinched inwardly, and tightened his eye-muscles on the edge of the monocle to keep from flinching physically as well, trying to freeze out of his face the consternation he felt. + 

тАЬThatтАЩs bad, Kent,тАЭ he said. тАЬVery bad. IтАЩd been counting heavily on Dr.┬аGomes to design a bomb of our own.тАЭ + 

тАЬWell, general, if you please.тАЭ That was Air-Commodore Leslie Hargreaves. тАЬYou say you suspect that King Orgzild has developed a nuclear bomb. If thatтАЩs true, itтАЩs a horrible danger to all of us. But I find it hard to believe that the Keegarkans could have done so, with their resources and at their technological level. Now, if it had been the Kragans, that would have been different, but.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

тАЬPaula, youтАЩd better carry on and explain what you told me, and add anything else you can think of that might be relevant.тБатАКтБатАж Is that sound-recorder turned on? Then turn it on, somebody; we want this taped.тАЭ + 

Paula rose and began talking: тАЬI suppose you all understand what conditions are on Niflheim, and how these Ulleran native workers are employed; however, IтАЩd better begin by explaining the purpose for which these nuclear bombs were designed and used.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

He smiled; she realized that he needed time to think, and she was stalling to provide it. He drew a pencil and pad toward him and began doodling in a bored manner, deliberately closing his mind to what she was saying. There were two assumptions, he considered: first, that King Orgzild already possessed a nuclear bomb which he could use when he chose, and, second, that in the absence of Dr.┬аGomes, such a bomb could only be produced on Gongonk Island after lengthy experimental work. If both of these assumptions were true, he had just heard the death-sentence of every Terran on Uller. The first he did not for a moment doubt. The reasons for making it were too good. He dismissed it from further consideration and concentrated on the second. + 

тАЬтАж┬аwhatтАЩs known as a Nagasaki-type bomb, the first type of plutonium-bomb developed,тАЭ Paula was saying. тАЬReally, itтАЩs a technological antique, but it was good enough for the purpose, and Dr.┬аGomes could build it with locally available materials.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

That was the crux of it. The plutonium bomb, from a military standpoint, was as obsolete as the flintlock musket had been at the time of the Second World War. He reviewed, quickly, the history of weapons-development since the beginning of the Atomic Era. The emphasis, since the end of the Second World War, had all been on nuclear weapons and rocket-missiles. There had been the H-bomb, itself obsolescent, and the Bethe-cyle bomb, and the subneutron bomb, and the omega-ray bomb, and the nega-matter bomb, and then the end of civilization in the Northern Hemisphere and the rise of the new civilization in South America and South Africa and Australia. Today, the small-arms and artillery his troops were using were merely slight refinements on the weapons of the First Century, and all the modern nuclear weapons used by the Terran Federation were produced at the Space Navy base on Mars, by a small force of experts whose skills were almost as closed to the general scientific and technical world as the secrets of a medieval guild. The old A-bomb was an historical curiosity, and there was nobody on Uller who had more than a laymanтАЩs knowledge of the intricate technology of modern nuclear weapons. There were plenty of good nuclear-power engineers on Gongonk Island, but how long would it take them to design and build a plutonium bomb? + 

тАЬтАж┬аalso has a good understanding of Lingua Terra,тАЭ Paula was saying. тАЬHe and Dr.┬аMurillo conversed bilingually, just as IтАЩve heard General von Schlichten and King Kankad talking to one another. I havenтАЩt any idea whether or not Gorkrink could read Lingua Terra, or, if so, what papers or plans he might have seen.тАЭ + 

тАЬJust a minute, Paula,тАЭ he said. тАЬColonel Grinell, what does your branch have on this Gorkrink?тАЭ + 

тАЬHeтАЩs the son of King Orgzild, and the daughter of Prince Jurnkonk,тАЭ Grinell said. тАЬWe knew heтАЩd signed on for Nif, two years ago, but the story we got was that heтАЩd fallen out of favor at court and had been exiled. I can see, now, that that was planted to mislead us. As to whether or not he can read Lingua Terra, my belief is that he can. We know that he can understand it when spoken. He could have learned to read at one of those schools Mohammed Ferriera set up, ten or fifteen years ago.тАЭ + 

тАЬAnd Dr.┬аGomes and Dr.┬аMurillo and Dr.┬аLivesey left papers and plans lying around all over the place,тАЭ Paula added. тАЬIf he went to Niflheim as a spy, he could have copied almost anything.тАЭ + 

тАЬWell, there you have it,тАЭ von Schlichten said. тАЬWhen Gorkrink found out that plutonium can be used for bombs, he began gathering all the information he could. And as soon as he got home, he turned it all over to Pappy Orgzild.тАЭ + 

тАЬThat still doesnтАЩt mean that the Kee-geeks were able to do anything with it,тАЭ Air-Commodore Hargreaves argued. + 

тАЬI think it does,тАЭ von Schlichten differed. тАЬAs soon as Orgzild would hear about the possibility of making a plutonium bomb, heтАЩd set up an A-bomb project, and donтАЩt think of it in terms of the old First Century Manhattan Project. There would be no problem of producing fissionablesтБатАФweтАЩve been scattering refined plutonium over this planet like confetti.тАЭ + 

тАЬWell, an A-bombтАЩs a pretty complicated piece of mechanism, even if you have the plans for it,тАЭ Kent Pickering said. тАЬAs I recall, there have to be several subcritical masses of plutonium, or U-235, or whatever, blown together by shaped charges of explosive, all of which have to be fired simultaneously. That would mean a lot of electrical fittings that I canтАЩt see these geeks making by hand.тАЭ + 

тАЬI can,тАЭ Paula said. тАЬHave you ever seen the work these native jewelers do? And didnтАЩt you tell me about a clockwork thing they have at the university here, to show the apparent movements of the sun.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

тАЬThatтАЩs right,тАЭ von Schlichten said. тАЬAnd what they couldnтАЩt make, they could have bought from us; weтАЩve sold them a lot of electrical equipment.тАЭ + 

тАЬAll right, they could have built an A-bomb,тАЭ Buhrmann said. тАЬBut did they?тАЭ + 

тАЬWe assume they tried to. Gorkrink got back from Nif on the Canberra, three months ago,тАЭ von Schlichten said. тАЬIf Orgzild decided to build an A-bomb, he wouldnтАЩt give the signal for this uprising until he either had one or knew he couldnтАЩt make one, and he wouldnтАЩt give up trying in only three months. Therefore, I think we can assume that he succeeded, and had succeeded at the time he sent Gorkrink here to get that four tons of plutonium we let him have, and, incidentally, to tell Ghroghrank to pass the word to have Sid Harrington poisoned according to plan.тАЭ + 

тАЬThen why didnтАЩt he just use it on us at the start of the uprising?тАЭ Meyerstein wanted to know. + 

тАЬWhy should he? Getting rid of us is only the first step in OrgzildтАЩs plan,тАЭ Grinell said. тАЬBack as far as geek history goes, the Kings of Keegark have been trying to conquer Konkrook and the Free Cities and make themselves masters of the whole Takkad Sea area. Let Konkrook wipe us out, and then he can move in his troops and take Konkrook. Or, if we beat off the geeks here, as we seem to be doing, he can bomb us out and then move in on Konkrook. I think that as long as weтАЩre fighting here, heтАЩll wait. The more damage we do to Konkrook, the easier itтАЩll be for him.тАЭ + 

тАЬThen weтАЩd better start dragging our feet on the Konkrook front,тАЭ Laviola said. тАЬAnd get busy trying to build a bomb of our own.тАЭ + 

Von Schlichten looked up at the big screen, on which the battle of Konkrook was being projected from an overhead pickup. + 

тАЬIтАЩll agree on the second half of it,тАЭ von Schlichten said. тАЬAnd weтАЩll also have to set up some kind of security-patrol system against bombers from Keegark. And as soon as Procyon gets here, weтАЩll have to send her out to hunt down and destroy those two Boer-class freighters, the Jan Smuts and the Kruger. And weтАЩll have to arrange for protection of KankadтАЩs Town; thatтАЩs sure to be another of OrgzildтАЩs high-priority targets. As to the action against Konkrook, IтАЩll rely on your advice, Them. Can we delay the fall of the city for any length of time?тАЭ + 

MтАЩzangwe shook his head. тАЬWhen we divert contragravity to security-patrol work, the ground actionтАЩll slow up a little, of course. But the geeks are about knocked out, now.тАЭ + 

тАЬThe hell with it, then. I doubt if weтАЩd be able to buy much time from Orgzild by delaying victory in the city, and weтАЩll probably need the troops as workers over here.тАЭ He turned to Pickering. тАЬDr.┬аPickering, what sort of a crew can you scrape together to design a bomb for us?тАЭ he asked. + 

тАЬWell, thereтАЩs Martirano, and Sternberg, and Howard Fu-Chung, and Piet van Reenen, and.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ He nodded to himself. тАЬI can get six or eight of them in here in about twenty minutes; IтАЩll have a project set up and working in a couple of hours. There has to be somebody qualified on duty at the plant, all the time, of course, but.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

тАЬAll right, call them in. I want the bomb finished by yesterday afternoon. And everybody with you, and you, yourself, had better revert to civilian status. This isnтАЩt something you can do by the numbers, and I donтАЩt want anybody who doesnтАЩt know what itтАЩs all about pulling rank on your outfit. Go ahead, call in your gang, and let me know what youтАЩll be able to do, as soon as possible.тАЭ + 

He turned to Hargreaves. тАЬLes, youтАЩll have charge of flying the security patrols, and doing anything else you can to keep Orgzild from bombing us before we can bomb him. YouтАЩll have priority on everything second only to Pickering.тАЭ + 

Hargreaves nodded. тАЬAs you say, general, weтАЩll have to protect KankadтАЩs, as well as this place. ItтАЩs about five hundred miles from here to KankadтАЩs, and eight-fifty miles from KankadтАЩs to Keegark.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

He stopped talking to von Schlichten, and began muttering to himself, running over the names of ships, and the speeds and payload capacities of airboats, and distances. In about five minutes, he would have a programme worked out; in the meantime, von Schlichten could only be patient and contain himself. He looked along the table, and caught sight of a thin-faced, saturnine-looking man in a green shirt, with a colonelтАЩs three concentric circles marked on the shoulders in silver-paint. Emmett Pearson, the communications chief. + 

тАЬEmmett,тАЭ he said, тАЬthose orbiters you have strung around this planet, two thousand miles out, for telecast rebroadcast stations. How much of a crew could be put on one of them?тАЭ + 

Pearson laughed. тАЬCrew of what, general? White mice, or trained cockroaches? There isnтАЩt room inside one of those things for anything bigger to move around.тАЭ + 

тАЬWell, I know theyтАЩre automatic, but how do you service them?тАЭ + 

тАЬFrom the outside. TheyтАЩre only ten feet through, by about twenty in length, with a fifteen-foot ball at either end, and everythingтАЩs in sections, which can be taken out. Our maintenance-gang goes up in a thing like a small spaceship, and either works on the outside in spacesuits, or puts in a new section and brings the unserviceable one down here to the shops.тАЭ + 

тАЬAh, and what sort of a thing is this small spaceship, now?тАЭ + 

тАЬA thing like a pair of fifty-ton lorries, with airlocks between, and connected at the middle; airtight, of course, and pressurized and insulated like a spaceship. One sideтАЩs living quarters for a six-man crewтБатАФsometimes the gangтАЩs out for as long as a week at a timeтБатАФand the other sideтАЩs a workshop.тАЭ + 

That sounded interesting. With contragravity, of course, terms like тАЬescape-velocityтАЭ and тАЬmass-ratioтАЭ were of purely antiquarian interest. + 

тАЬHow long,тАЭ he asked Pearson, тАЬwould it take to fit that vehicle with a full set of detection instrumentsтБатАФradar, infrared and ultraviolet vision, electron-telescope, heat and radiation detectors, the whole worksтБатАФand spot it about a hundred to a hundred and fifty miles above Keegark?тАЭ + 

тАЬThat I couldnтАЩt say, general,тАЭ Emmett Pearson replied. тАЬItтАЩd have to be a shipyard job, and a lot of that stuffтАЩs clear outside my department. Ask Air-Commodore Hargreaves.тАЭ + 

тАЬLes!тАЭ he called out. тАЬWake up, Les!тАЭ + 

тАЬJust a second, general.тАЭ Hargreaves scribbled frantically on his pad. тАЬNow,тАЭ he said, raising his head. тАЬWhat is it, sir?тАЭ + 

тАЬEmmett, here, has a junior-grade spaceship that he uses to service those orbital telecast-relay stations of his. HeтАЩll tell you what itтАЩs like. I want it fitted with every sort of detection device that can be crammed into or onto it, and spotted above Keegark. It should, of course, be high enough to cover not only the Keegark area, but Konkrook, KankadтАЩs, and the lower Hoork and Konk river-valleys.тАЭ + 

тАЬYes, I get it.тАЭ Hargreaves snatched up a phone, punched out a combination, and began talking rapidly into it in a low voice. After a while, he hung up. тАЬAll right, Mr.┬аPearsonтБатАФColonel Pearson, I mean. Have your space-buggy sent around to the shipyard. My boysтАЩll fix it up.тАЭ He made a note on another piece of paper. тАЬIf we live through this, IтАЩm going to have a couple of supra-atmosphere ships in service on this planet.тБатАКтБатАж Now, general, I have a tentative setup. WeтАЩre going to need the Elmoran for patrol work south and east of Konkrook, and the Gaucho and Bushranger to the north and northeast, based on KankadтАЩs. WeтАЩll keep the Aldebaran at KankadтАЩs, and use her for emergencies. And weтАЩll have patrols of light contragravity like this.тАЭ He handed a map, with red-pencil and blue-pencil markings, along to von Schlichten. тАЬRed are Kankad-based; blue are Konkrook-based.тАЭ + 

тАЬThat looks all right,тАЭ von Schlichten said. тАЬThereтАЩs another thing, though. We want scout-vehicles to cover the Keegark area with radiation-detectors. These geeks are quite well aware of radiation-danger from fissionables, but theyтАЩre accustomed to the ordinary industrial-power reactors, which are either very lightly shielded or unshielded on top. We want to find out where OrgzildтАЩs bomb-plant is.тАЭ + 

тАЬYes, general, as soon as we can get radiation detectors sent out to KankadтАЩs, weтАЩll have a couple of fast aircars fitted with them for that job.тАЭ + 

тАЬWe have detectors, at our laboratory and reaction-plant,тАЭ Kankad said. тАЬAnd my people can make more, as soon as you want them.тАЭ He thought for a moment. тАЬPerhaps I should go to the town, now. I could be of more use there than here.тАЭ + 

Kent Pickering, who had been talking with his experts at a table apart, returned. + 

тАЬWeтАЩve set up a programme, general,тАЭ he said. тАЬItтАЩs going to be a lot harder than IтАЩd anticipated. None of us seem to know exactly what we have to do in building one of those things. You see, the uranium or plutonium fission-bombтАЩs been obsolete for over four hundred years. It was a classified-secret matter long after its obsolescence, because it hadnтАЩt been rendered any the less deadly by being supersededтБатАФthere was that A-bomb that the Christian Anarchist Party put together at Buenos Aires in 378┬аAE, for instance. And then, after it was declassified, it had been so far superseded that it was of only antiquarian interest; the textbooks dealt with it only in general terms. The principles, of course, are part of basic nuclear science; the тАШsecret of the A-bombтАЩ was just a bag of engineering tricks that we donтАЩt have, and which we will have to rediscover. Design of tampers, design of the chemical-explosive charges to bring subcritical masses together, case-design, detonating mechanism, things like that. + 

тАЬThe complete data on even the old Hiroshima and Nagasaki types is still in existence, of course. You can get it at places like the University of Montevideo Library, or Jan Smuts Memorial Library at Cape Town. But we donтАЩt have it here. WeтАЩre detailing a couple of junior technicians to make a search of the library here on Gongonk Island, but weтАЩre not optimistic. We just canтАЩt afford to pass up any chance, even when it approaches zero-probability.тАЭ + 

Von Schlichten nodded. тАЬThatтАЩs about what IтАЩd expected,тАЭ he said. тАЬI suppose Gomes got his data out of one of the dustier storage-stacks at Jan Smuts or Montevideo, in the first place.тБатАКтБатАж Well, I still want that bomb finished by yesterday afternoon, but since thatтАЩs impractical, youтАЩll have to take a littleтБатАФbut as little as possibleтБатАФlonger.тАЭ + 

тАЬWhat are we going to do about publicity on this?тАЭ Howlett, the personnel man, asked. тАЬWe donтАЩt want this getting out in garbled formтБатАФthough how it could be made worse by garbling I couldnтАЩt guessтБатАФand having the troops watching the sky over their shoulders and going into a panic as soon as they saw something they didnтАЩt understand.тАЭ + 

тАЬNo, we donтАЩt. IтАЩve seen a couple of troop-panics,тАЭ von Schlichten said. тАЬThere canтАЩt be anything much worse than a panic.тАЭ + 

тАЬI think the Terrans ought to be told the worst,тАЭ Hargreaves said. тАЬAnd told that our only hope is to get a bomb of our own built and dropped first. As to the Kragans.тБатАКтБатАж What do you think, King Kankad?тАЭ + 

тАЬTell them that we are building a bomb to destroy Keegark; that we are running short of ammunition, and that it is our only hope of finishing the war before the ammunition is gone,тАЭ Kankad said. тАЬTell them something of what sort of a bomb it is. But do not tell them that King Orgzild already has such a bomb. Old Kankad, who made me out of himself, told me about how our people fled in panic from the weapons of the Terrans, when your people and mine were still enemies. This thing is to the weapons they faced then as those weapons were to the old KragansтАЩ spears and bows.тБатАКтБатАж And when the geeks from Grank come here, tell them that we are winning and that if they fight well, they can share the loot of Konkrook and Keegark.тАЭ + 

Von Schlichten looked up at the big screen. Already, Themistocles MтАЩzangwe had ordered the Channel Battery to reduce fire; the big guns were firing singly, in thirty-second-interval salvos. There was less bombing, too; contragravity was being drawn out of the battle. + 

тАЬWell, we all have things to do,тАЭ he said, тАЬand I think weтАЩve discussed everything there is to discuss. Anybody think of anything weтАЩve forgotten?тБатАКтБатАж Then weтАЩre adjourned.тАЭ + 

He and Paula Quinton took the elevator to the roof, and sat side by side, silently watching the conflagration that was raging across the channel and the nearer flashes of the big guns along the islandтАЩs city side. + 

тАЬWednesday night, I thought we were all cooked,тАЭ Paula told him. тАЬCleaning up the north in two days seemed like an impossibility, too. Maybe youтАЩll do it again.тАЭ + 

тАЬIf I pull this one out of the fire, I wonтАЩt be a general; IтАЩll be a magician,тАЭ he said. тАЬPickeringтАЩll be a magician, I mean; heтАЩs the boy whoтАЩll save our bacon, if itтАЩs saveable.тАЭ He looked somberly across the flame-reflecting water. тАЬLetтАЩs not kid ourselves; weтАЩre just kicking and biting at the guards on the way up the gallows-steps.тАЭ + 

тАЬWell, why stop till the trapтАЩs sprung?тАЭ she asked. тАЬWhatтАЩll happen to these people on this planet, after weтАЩre atomized?тАЭ + 

тАЬThat I donтАЩt want to think about. KankadтАЩs Town will get the second bomb; Orgzild wonтАЩt dare leave the Kragans after heтАЩs wiped us out. Yoorkerk and Jonkvank, in the north, will turn on Keaveney and Shapiro and Karamessinis and Hid OтАЩLeary and wipe them out. And when the next ship gets in here and they find out what happened, theyтАЩll send the Federation Space Navy, and this planetтАЩll get it worse than Fenris did. TheyтАЩll blast anything that has four arms and a face like a lizard.тБатАКтБатАжтАЭ + 

Half a dozen aircars lifted suddenly from the airport and streaked away to the northeast. As they went past, in the light of the burning city, he could see that at least three of them had multiple rocket-launchers on top. In a matter of seconds, a gun-cutter raced after them, and a second, which had been over Konkrook, jettisoned a bomb and turned away to follow. + 

тАЬMaybe thatтАЩs it,тАЭ Paula said. + 

тАЬWell, if it is, we wonтАЩt be any better off anywhere else than here,тАЭ he told her. тАЬLetтАЩs stay and watch.тАЭ + 

After what seemed like a long time, however, a twinkle of lights showed over the East Konk Mountains. They werenтАЩt the flashes of explosions; some were magnesium flares, and some were the lights of a ship. + 

тАЬThatтАЩs Procyon, from Grank,тАЭ he said. тАЬEverybody gets a good mark for thisтБатАФdetection stations, interceptors, gun-cutters. If that had been it, thereтАЩd have been a good chance of stopping it.тАЭ He felt better than he had since Pickering had told him that Louren├зo Gomes was dead. тАЬItтАЩs a good thing Gorkrink didnтАЩt pick up any dope on guided missiles, while he was at it. As long as they have to deliver it with contragravity, we have a chance.тАЭ + 

They rose from the balustrade where they had been sitting, and, for the first time, he discovered that he had had his left arm over her shoulder and that she had had her right hand resting on the point of his right hip, just above his pistol. He picked up the folder of papers she had been carrying, and put her into the elevator ahead of him, and it was only when they parted on the living-quarters level that he recalled having followed the older protocol of gallantry rather than the precedence of military rank. + 