The Dueling Machine Read online

moremenacing.

  He looked up the face of the ice cliff and saw a small avalanche ofice tumbling, sliding, growling toward him. _That devil set off a bombat the top of the cliff!_

  Massan tried to back out of the way, but it was too late. The firstchunk of ice bounced harmlessly off his helmet, but the others knockedhim off-balance so repeatedly that the servos had no chance torecover. He staggered blindly for a few moments, as more and more icecascaded down on him, and then toppled off the ledge into the boilingsea.

  Relax! he ordered himself. _Do not panic! The suit will float you. Theservos will keep you right-side-up. You cannot be killed accidentally;Odal must perform the coup-de-grace himself._

  Then he remembered the emergency rocket units in the back of his suit.If he could orient himself properly, a touch of a control stud on hisbelt would set them off, and he would be boosted back onto theiceberg. He turned slightly inside the suit and tried to judge theiceberg's distance through the infrared detector. It was difficult,especially since he was bobbing madly in the churning currents.

  Finally he decided to fire the rocket and make final adjustments ofdistance and landing site after he was safely out of the sea.

  But he could not move his hand.

  He tried, but his entire right arm was locked fast. He could not budgeit an inch. And the same for the left. Something, or someone, wasclamping his arms tight. He could not even pull them out of theirsleeves.

  Massan thrashed about, trying to shake off whatever it was. No use.

  Then his detector screen was lifted slowly from the viewplate. Hefelt something vibrating on his helmet. The oxygen tubes! They werebeing disconnected.

  He screamed and tried to fight free. No use. With a hiss, the oxygentubes pulled free of his helmet. Massan could feel the blood poundingthrough his veins as he fought desperately to free himself.

  Now he was being pushed down into the sea. He screamed again and triedto wrench his body away. The frothing sea filled his viewplate. He wasunder. He was being held under. And now ... now the viewplate itselfwas being loosened.

  _No! Don't!_ The scalding cold methane ammonia sea seeped in throughthe opening viewplate.

  "It's only a dream!" Massan shouted to himself. "Only a dream. Adream. A--"

  XI

  Dr. Leoh stared at the dinner table without really seeing it. Comingto the restaurant had been Hector's idea. Three hours earlier, Massanhad been removed from the dueling machine--dead.

  Leoh sat stolidly, hands in lap, his mind racing in many differentdirections at once. Hector was off at the phone, getting the latestinformation from the meditechs. Odal had expressed his regretsperfunctorily, and then left for the Kerak Embassy, under a heavyescort of his own plainclothes guards. The government of theAcquataine Cluster was quite literally falling apart, with no manwilling to assume responsibility ... and thereby expose himself. Onehour after the duel, Kanus' troops had landed on all the major planetsof the Szarno Confederacy; the annexation was a _fait accompli_.

  _And what have I done since I arrived on Acquatainia?_ Leoh demandedof himself. _Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I have sat back like adoddering old professor and played academic games with the machine,while younger, more vigorous men have USED the machine to suit theirpurposes._

  Used the machine. There was a fragment of an idea in that phrase.Something nebulous, that must be approached carefully or it will fadeaway. Used the machine, ... used it ... Leoh toyed with the phrase fora few moments then gave it up with a sigh of resignation. _Lord, I'mtoo tired even to think._

  Leoh focused his attention on his surroundings and scanned the busydining room. It was a beautiful place, really; decorated with crystaland genuine woods and fabric draperies. Not a synthetic in sight. Thewaiters and cooks and busboys were humans, not the autocookers andservers that most restaurants employed. Leoh suddenly felt touched atHector's attempt to restore his spirits--even if it was being done atStar Watch expense.

  He saw the young Watchman approaching the table, coming back from thephone. Hector bumped two waiters and stumbled over a chair beforereaching the relative safety of his own seat.

  "What's the verdict?" Leoh asked.

  Hector's lean face was bleak. "Couldn't revive him. Cerebralhemorrhage, the meditechs said--induced by shock."

  "Shock?"

  "That's what they said. Something must've, uh, overloaded his nervoussystem ... I guess."

  Leoh shook his head. "I just don't understand any of this. I might aswell admit it. I'm no closer to an answer now than I was when Iarrived here. Perhaps I should have retired years ago, before thedueling machine was invented."

  "Nonsense."

  "No, I mean it." Leoh said. "This is the first real intellectualpuzzle I've had to contend with in years. Tinkering with machinery ...that's easy. You know what you want, all you need is to make themachinery perform properly. But this ... I'm afraid I'm too old tohandle a real problem like this."

  Hector scratched his nose thoughtfully, then answered, "If you can'thandle the problem, sir, then we're going to have a war on our handsin a matter of weeks. I mean, Kanus won't be satisfied with swallowingthe Szarno group ... the Acquataine Cluster is next ... and he'll haveto fight to get it."

  "Then the Star Watch can step in," Leoh said, resignedly.

  "Maybe ... but it'll take time to mobilize the Star Watch ... Kanuscan move a lot faster than we can. Sure, we could throw in a taskforce ... a token group, that is. But Kanus' gang will chew them uppretty quick. I ... I'm no politician, sir, but I think I can see whatwill happen. Kerak will gobble up the Acquataine Cluster ... a StarWatch task force will be wiped out in the battle ... and we'll end upwith Kerak at war with the Terran Commonwealth. And it'll be a realwar ... a big one."

  Leoh began to answer, then stopped. His eyes were fixed on the farentrance of the dining room. Suddenly every murmur in the busy roomstopped dead. Waiters stood still between tables. Eating, drinking,conversation hung suspended.

  Hector turned in his chair and saw at the far entrance the slim,stiff, blue-uniformed figure of Odal.

  The moment of silence passed. Everyone turned to his own business andavoided looking at the Kerak major. Odal, with a faint smile on histhin face, made his way slowly to the table where Hector and Leoh weresitting.

  They rose to greet him and exchanged perfunctory salutations. Odalpulled up a chair and sat with them.

  "I assume that you've been looking for me," Leoh said. "What do youwish to say?"

  Before Odal could answer, the waiter assigned to the table walked up,took a position where his back would be to the Kerak major, and askedfirmly, "Your dinner is ready gentlemen. Shall I serve it now?"

  Leoh hesitated a moment, then asked Odal, "Will you join us?"

  "I'm afraid not."

  "Serve it now," Hector said. "The major will be leaving shortly."

  Again the tight grin broke across Odal's face. The waiter bowed andleft.

  "I have been thinking about our conversation of last night," Odal saidto Leoh.

  "Yes?"

  "You accused me of cheating in my duels."

  Leoh's eyebrows arched. "I said someone was cheating, yes--"

  "An accusation is an accusation."

  Leoh said nothing.

  "Do you withdraw your words, or do you still accuse me of deliberatemurder? I am willing to allow you to apologize and leave Acquatainiain peace."

  Hector cleared his throat noisily. "This is no place to have anargument ... besides, here comes our dinner."

  Odal ignored the Watchman. "You heard me, professor. Will you leave?Or do you accuse me of murdering Massan this afternoon?"

  "I--"

  Hector banged his fist on the table and jerked up out of hischair--just as the waiter arrived with a large tray of food. There wasa loud crash. A tureen of soup, two bowls of salad, glasses, assortedrolls, vegetables, cheeses and other delicacies cascaded over Odal.

  The Kerak major leaped to his feet, swearing violently in his nativetongue. He sputtered
back into basic Terran: "You clumsy, stupid oaf!You maggot-brained misbegotten peasant-faced--"

  Hector calmly picked a salad leaf from the sleeve of his tunic. Odalabruptly stopped his tirade.

  "I am clumsy," Hector said, grinning. "As for being stupid, and therest of it, I resent that. I am highly insulted."

  A flash of recognition lighted Odal's eyes. "I see. Of course. Myquarrel here is not with you. I apologize." He turned back to Leoh,who was also standing now.

  "Not good enough," Hector said. "I don't, uh, like the ... tone ofyour apology."

  Leoh raised a hand, as if to silence the younger man.

  "I apologized; that is sufficient." Odal warned.

  Hector took a step toward Odal. "I