The Micro-Techs Page 5

  "I seldom make mistakes but this wasn't my day," Pucky brushed it off.

  "So we noticed," the Japanese grumbled, trying to orient himself. He stared at the arched tunnel wall and penetrated it with his 'farsighted' eyes. "This is a very interesting neighborhood."

  "I'd like to know what's so interesting around here," Pucky said. "All I can see is that we sit in a hole in the ground."

  "This isn't the only tunnel," Sengu contradicted him without letting up on his concentration. He sat with his back leaning against the wall and gazing at the opposite side. "There must be a whole system of passages which connect the cities and factories. If I hadn't been on the surface I'd have thought that the Swoons always live underground."

  "Some of their nations really do," Kulman interposed. He was the one to know. "Especially those who live too far north or south of the equator. All their factories are located underground. Sometimes I have the impression that this was done to impede espionage."

  "That's a good reason," Sengu agreed and concentrated on another sector of the region invisible to his companions. "Who could bother them here? It was difficult enough for us to get in."

  In the meantime Pucky's eyes got used to the darkness. It was not completely dark since a weak ceiling light glimmered in the distance. Apparently it was considered unnecessary to illuminate the tunnel because nobody was expected to trespass.

  Suddenly Pucky thought he heard a noise. He pricked up his ears and listened in the direction of the ceiling lamp which was at least 300 meters away. There was a bend in the tunnel farther back. He picked up a slight rumbling sound in the somewhat musty air and began to feel a faint vibration of the rails under his feet.

  "There's a train coming!" Sengu suddenly called out after looking into the tunnel. "It's still two kilometers away but it's approaching at considerable velocity. We've got to get out of here. Pucky, let's take another jump!"

  "Where to?" Pucky inquired calmly. "The train will be here before I can figure out where to go. I don't want to take the chance of winding up in a sewer or a blast furnace. It was bad enough to land in this tunnel."

  "But the train... "

  "Let me handle it," Pucky answered. "The Swoons are so little, their locomotives can't be so big either. I can stop the train with one hand if necessary. But I've better ways: I can do it telekinetically. Sengu, tell me when the train is getting close!"

  Sengu saw the ceiling lamp growing dim and shouted: "Now! It's coming fast. The locomotive is at least one meter long. Can you stop it?"

  Pucky had held back more than that. Once he managed to make an atomic-powered space-pursuitship perform wild manoeuvres in the air against the will of its pilot.

  And Sengu asked if he could stop a toy locomotive!

  • • •

  Rulf-On, who for 10 years regularly made the run between the factories in the north and the city of Gorla, gradually stepped up to full speed. He still had a distance of 200 kilometers to go. Of course the Swoons used other length-units than the Terrans or the Arkonides but it was 200 kilometers if the units were converted.

  One last curve and then it was straight home. Rulf-On glanced at his velocity indicator and became puzzled. What was wrong with it? He should have been going much faster. Instead, his velocity dropped at a troublesome rate. A breakdown in the tunnel was not the most pleasant thing.

  Rulf-On pulled back the drive-lever and pushed it forward again for acceleration, expecting a surge of power and a leap ahead.

  But nothing happened! On the contrary, the train stopped and started to move in reverse. Not particularly fast or evenly but with a jerk as if reluctantly.

  When Ruff-On happened to look forward instead of backward at this moment, he thought he saw a huge shadow on the rails in front of his train. In fact his locomotive's strong headlamp seemed to reveal not one but more shadows; 3, if he was not mistaken.

  Judging by their size, they could only be made by the Galactic Traders, the Springers. But what business did they have down here? And how did they get in? The tunnel stretched without a break all the way to Gorla. Would the Springers—if that's who they were—have crawled such a long distance on their knees? And if so, why did they do it? Many of them were authorized to enter the subterranean plants and there was no reason to take such a roundabout way.

  Of course Rulf-On found no answers to his questions. Besides he had another problem which occupied his attention even more urgently: what made his train suddenly reverse?

  Unfortunately he was also unable to solve this problem because he collided a few minutes later with a freight train going in his original direction. Luckily it had just started to move. Nevertheless the impact was violent enough to knock him out and he awakened some time later in the hospital.

  There he was asked why he was driving backward. This was exactly the question he asked himself.

  • • •

  "I don't know," Sengu questioned, "if this was the right thing to do."

  "What else did you want me to do?" Pucky asked a little indignantly. "You ought to be glad that you weren't run over by the cucumber transport. The least I could do was to send it back."

  "We'll never reach our goal this way," Kulman objected. "We must talk to the Swoons' scientists to obtain some information about the planned project. We could pose as agents of Arkon. How about it?"

  "OK, let's try it," Sengu said. "The station from which the train left is only three kilometers from here. Start crawling!"

  "Thanks," Kulman said without making a move. He looked at Pucky.

  The mouse-beaver sighed. "I'll have to do some accurate telepathic reconnaissance, then we'll jump. I don't care to take a long walk around here either."

  Five minutes later they materialized in the middle of an immense factory yard which was brightly illuminated. There were long flat buildings all over the place. They almost touched the 10-meter-high ceiling of the vast excavation. Keeping in mind how small the Swoons were, they had accomplished a gigantic feat with their subterranean installations. There were regular streets with many types of vehicles driven at high speeds. Transport belts carried the Swoons to their work. An elaborate rail system was an indication of the heavy traffic between factories and other cities. Yet it gave them the impression that a huge toy world had been built deep below the surface.

  "I've never been down this far," Kulman admitted. "They didn't want to show me their factories."

  "That's understandable," Sengu said. "They must be afraid that we giants will trample down their installations. After all we're six times as big as they are and that's a lot."

  "I'm only three times bigger," Pucky murmured. He seemed to be a little miffed. "I hope they won't be astounded to see me. They are only used to the looks of Arkonides or Springers."

  In the meantime they had already been noticed by some passersby. One would have thought that their appearance down here would have caused a great sensation since there was no direct connection to the surface. Kulman had reported that only a very few Springers had managed to visit the underground factories by using freight elevators.

  However the Swoons remained cool as cucumbers. Some of them jumped off the transport belts and ducked into the nearest buildings but others came closer and stopped at a respectful distance as if they had never before seen human beings. Their faces mirrored only intense interest, no panic. They evidently wanted to know what the Springers wanted here.

  A somewhat taller Swoon, who must have measured all of 35 centimeters, stepped forward and waved his four arms. Kulman pulled out his translator and bent down. With a prudent gesture he picked up the Swoon, who seemed to be treated like a superior by his companions.

  When the Swoon sat comfortably on Kulman's arm, the agent said: "May I assure you of my highest esteem. I beg your forgiveness if we've startled you by our sudden appearance. However we had good reasons for coming here without having announced ourselves first."

  "What entrance did you use?" the Swoon asked. "The freight elevator stopped
working a few hours ago due to a power failure. Therefore it was impossible for you to come... "

  "We found another way," Kulman said evasively. "We must search every place for the criminal. I assume you're informed about the Imperium's warrant for his arrest."

  "Only vaguely." The Swoon's squeaky voice seemed to express regret. "All I know is that three ships of the Imperium have landed on our planet and have blockaded it. The reasons are unknown to me."

  "We're looking for a man whom we believe to be on Swoofon," Kulman explained. "As soon as we've apprehended him, our measures will be canceled and everything can go on its regular way again. Can you take us to the leading scientist and technician in your city? We need some information which you may be unable or unwilling to give us."

  "I'm an electronics engineer and I can't act in an official capacity. Perhaps I could take you to the mayor of our city which is located above us. I'm sure he can be more helpful than I."

  "But the freight elevators... " Kulman reminded.

  The Swoon seemed to grin. "The connection to the city is intact. The breakdown occurred in the elevators to the surface. Will you please go over to these two doors."

  Kulman and Sengu walked ahead followed by Pucky who waddled through the one-meter-wide street and carefully tried to avoid brushing against the Swoons who stood everywhere, gazing with curiosity.

  Pucky probed their thoughts but they didn't reveal anything that was new. The Swoons harbored no suspicions, they merely tried to figure out what these big strangers were after. They had hoped to be left alone below the ground. On the surface the giants would have caused no amazement.

  "Here we are," the Swoon pointed to the elevator cabin with his thin arms. "It'll take only a few minutes to get to the city."

  The cabin was big enough to accommodate one of them at a time. Pucky was last with the Swoon. The mouse-beaver read the thoughts of his little guide and learned that he took him for some kind of a watchdog. It never occurred to the Swoon that he might be an intelligent being.

  This annoyed Pucky considerably and he decided to use the next opportunity to close this gap in his education in a spectacular fashion.

  As the Swoon had said, they quickly arrived in the city, which was crowded with traffic to a much greater degree than the lower factories. The narrow streets were so jammed with vehicles and pedestrians that their guide had to ask the police to block the street to the city hall. The pedestrians retreated into the houses and all vehicles were banned from the street.

  "Now we can proceed," the Swoon said to Kulman and took up his seat on his arm again, which he seemed to enjoy greatly. "May I introduce myself: my name is Engineer Waff. The mayor has been advised of our visit."

  "How far is it, Waff?" Kulman asked.

  "We'll be at the residence of the mayor in a few minutes. Please be careful not to do any damage. It's best if you walk in the middle of the street. The mayor will receive you in his garden."

  "Garden?" Sengu repeated. "You've got gardens down here?"

  "Don't forget," Kulman pointed out, "that our translator merely gives us the corresponding meanings of foreign words. For example, the Swoons don't have mayors in the same sense we do. Neither is 'garden' our correct nomenclature for an artificially created world. We'll probably get to see nothing but bare rocks and sandy desert in the so-called 'garden' but it is a strong reminder of the Swoofon's natural environment, which is all that counts."

  His prediction turned out to be true. They entered the garden of the mayor through a narrow gate which was only half a meter wide and one meter high. They saw a surprisingly blue sky which was a good imitation of the real thing. Even the sun was reproduced. A little creek meandered through sand in tight curves around steep cliffs. The free space was bordered by the walls of the surrounding houses.

  The mayor, a slightly built Swoon, was already waiting for them. He sat on a little bench and eyed them with great interest. The ensuing conversation was mainly conducted by Kulman, who had the greatest experience with the inhabitants of Swoofon.

  Sengu sat down on a boulder, which must have looked like a mountain to the mayor, and Pucky chose a place near the little brook. He couldn't take his eyes off the Swoon. One could tell what went on in his brain. He was enamored of the droll creatures and would have liked nothing better than to take two or three of the peculiar cucumber beings with him.

  However there was nothing to indicate at the moment that the Swoons had any interest in leaving their own world. They were happy to live in their home and enjoyed their work which netted them a comfortable income and—most of all—earned them the respect of the intelligent communities in the Imperium.

  Kulman, who was also sitting on a rock, talked to the mayor. He tried to explain to him that they were looking for a man whom he could not describe because he constantly changed his appearance. Sometimes he looked like a Springer but he also could look like an Arkonide or Ara. He was a master of disguise and a skilful impostor who could personify anyone he chose. His ambition was to set himself up as Lord of the Galaxy, Kulman assured him with a straight face.

  "Of course I'll be glad to help you any way I can but frankly I don't know why a man like that would come to Swoofon. Furthermore I expect you to finish your mission here in a very short time because there are very few humanoids present in our world. It shouldn't take you long to investigate all of them."

  "You're absolutely right," Kulman agreed, pretending to show relief. "However we're up against a difficulty here on Swoofon: It is easy for a fugitive to hide in one of your subterranean cities and it'd be hardly practical for us to search each one of them. It was already a problem for us to come here."

  "How did you do it?" the Swoon wanted to know.

  "We happened to be lucky," Kulman ducked the question. "Could you give me some advice where I can locate those Springers who are in your cities and factories right now?"

  He managed to divert the Swoon by his own question. "There's really only one Springer residing with us down here, a technician by the name of Drog. He's been here a long time and can hardly be identical with the man you want. Am I right?"

  "Of course. But we can't afford to miss anybody. He might be able to give us some useful information. Where can we find Drog?"

  "He's usually in one of the plants. Waff should be able to help you to get in touch with Markas."

  "Who is Markas?"

  "He's one of our best scientists in the field of microelectronics. He conducts the negotiations with Drog and the other Springers who come here to buy our wares. I'm afraid this is all I can do for you. Waff will show you the way. Come to think of it... " He paused for a moment with a worried look in his eyes. "The strangest thing has happened. There must be other Springers in our town. One of our trains met with a strange accident. It caused a collision which could've been very serious. The locomotive engineer claims to have seen two or three Springers in the tunnel."

  He looked sharply at Kulman, who maintained his air of innocence. "Hm, maybe we're on the right track," he said gratefully. "We're going to ask Markas whether he knows something about these friends of Drog. Please accept our sincere expression of gratitude and highest regard, mayor. We'd be happy if your assistance would enable us to... "

  After exchanging polite pleasantries and flowery phrases for 10 minutes they took their leave. The way back to the elevator created another small sensation for the citizens but due to the vigorous support of the police the three visitors and Waff quickly reached their destination and went back down again.

  After they reached the square at the exit where numerous streets branched out to the various factories, Waff said: "I'd like to ask you to wait here. It'd cause too much confusion if you'd go with me. I'll go and find Markas and bring him back with me."

  Pucky read in the thoughts of the engineer that he was speaking the truth and discreetly gave the nod to Kulman.

  "We'll wait here," Kulman assured him and sat down on a stack of plastic sheets with a sigh. His eyes fo
llowed Waff as he left. "I'm mystified. I don't know what we're doing here. We're trying to find somebody who doesn't exist."

  Pucky stretched out on the concrete floor and corrected him in a shrill and excited tone. "But we're looking for something that does exist. Well have to find the Swoon and the Springer who are behind this deal about the compensator-detector. We're on the right track, Kulman. All you have to do is follow it up."

  "I know that all clues point to this city," Kulman replied slowly. "I've already talked to some technicians on the surface. They claimed that the person who is seeking the contract lives somewhere around here and often visits Gorla. It could very well be Drog and it could be someone else. The same technicians I've talked to also mentioned something about a totally new and self-contained complex of caves to be built in this neighborhood but I've no idea how far they got with it."

  "It shouldn't be very difficult for me to find out, Kulman. The Springers and the Swoons can't keep any mental secrets from me." The mouse-beaver looked in the direction of the building which Waff had entered. "Here they come all together."

  Sengu and Kulman saw Waff and a slim Swoon come out of a door which was unusually high for the normal proportions of the buildings. The Swoons were followed by the figure of a tall man who, they guessed, must be Drog.

  Pucky sat motionless and listened. He picked up their thought impulses as they approached, and analyzed them. He winked an eye at Kulman.

  "I hear," Drog said, "that you're looking for a criminal. My name is Drog and I've been here on Swoofon for 10 Swaft-years on official business for my clan. I can't understand what connection I'm supposed to have with the man you want."

  "Nobody said you did," Kulman replied, "and you're not under suspicion. We've orders to make spot-checks and if your statements are correct, you've nothing to fear."

  Kulman acted as if the investigation had already ended but the relief of the Springer was so great that he seemed to regard the disturbance as a welcome diversion. He smiled. "Are you leaving already? Tell me what's new in the Imperium."