The Dueling Machine Read online

guess I could insult your gloriousleader, or something like that ... but this seems more direct." Hetook the water pitcher from the table and poured it calmly andcarefully over Odal's head.

  A wave of laughter swept the room. Odal went white. "You aredetermined to die." He wiped the dripping water from his eyes. "I willmeet you before the week is out. And you have saved no one." He turnedon his heel and stalked out.

  "Do you realize what you've done?" Leoh asked, aghast.

  Hector shrugged. "He was going to challenge you--"

  "He will still challenge me, after you're dead."

  "Uu-m-m, yes, well, maybe so. I guess you're right--Well, anyway,we've gained a little more time."

  "Four days." Leoh shook his head. "Four days to the end of the week.All right, come on, we have work to do."

  Hector was grinning broadly as they left the restaurant. He began towhistle.

  "What are you so happy about?" Leoh grumbled.

  "About you, sir. When we came in here, you were, uh, well ... almostbeaten. Now you're right back in the game again."

  Leoh glanced at the Star Watchman. "In your own odd way, Hector,you're quite a boy ... I think."

  XII

  Their groundcar glided from the parking building to the restaurant'sentrance ramp, at the radio call of the doorman. Within minutes,Hector and Leoh were cruising through the city, in the deepeningshadows of night.

  "There's only one man," Leoh said, "who has faced Odal and livedthrough it."

  "Dulaq," Hector agreed. "But ... for all the information the medicalpeople have been able to get from him, he might as well be, uh, dead."

  "He's still completely withdrawn?"

  Hector nodded. "The medicos think that ... well, maybe in a fewmonths, with drugs and psychotherapy and all that ... they might beable to bring him back."

  "It won't be soon enough. We've only got four days."

  "I know."

  Leoh was silent for several minutes. Then: "Who is Dulaq's closestliving relative? Does he have a wife?"

  "I think his wife is, uh, dead. Has a daughter though. Pretty girl.Bumped into her in the hospital once or twice--"

  Leoh smiled in the darkness. Hector's term, "bumped into" was probablycompletely literal.

  "Why are you asking about Dulaq's next-of-kin?"

  "Because," Leoh replied, "I think there might be a way to make Dulaqtell us what happened during his duel. But it is a very dangerous way.Perhaps a fatal way."

  "Oh."

  They lapsed into silence again. Finally he blurted, "Come on, my boy,let's find the daughter and talk to her."

  "Tonight?"

  "Now."

  * * * * *

  _She certainly is a pretty girl_, Leoh thought as he explained verycarefully to Geri Dulaq what he proposed to do. She sat quietly andpolitely in the spacious living room of the Dulaq residence. Theglittering chandelier cast touches of fire on her chestnut hair. Herslim body was slightly rigid with tension, her hands were clasped inher lap. Her face--which looked as though it could be veryexpressive--was completely serious now.

  "And that is the sum of it," Leoh concluded. "I believe that it willbe possible to use the dueling machine itself to examine your father'sthoughts and determine exactly what took place during his duel againstMajor Odal!"

  She asked softly, "But you are afraid that the shock might berepeated, and this could be fatal to my father?"

  Leoh nodded wordlessly.

  "Then I am very sorry, sir, but I must say no." Firmly.

  "I understand your feelings," Leoh replied, "but I hope you realizethat unless we can stop Odal and Kanus immediately, we may very wellbe faced with war."

  She nodded. "I know. But you must remember that we are speaking of myfather, of his very life. Kanus will have his war in any event, nomatter what I do."

  "Perhaps," Leoh admitted. "Perhaps."

  Hector and Leoh drove back to the University campus and their quartersin the dueling machine chamber. Neither of them slept well that night.

  The next morning, after an unenthusiastic breakfast, they foundthemselves standing in the antiseptic-white chamber, before thelooming, impersonal intricacy of the machine.

  "Would you like to practice with it?" Leoh asked.

  Hector shook his head. "Maybe later."

  The phone chimed in Leoh's office. They both went in. Geri Dulaq'sface showed on the tri-di screen.

  "I have just heard the news. I did not know that Lieutenant Hector haschallenged Odal." Her face was a mixture of concern and reluctance.

  "He challenged Odal," Leoh answered, "to prevent the assassin fromchallenging me."

  "Oh--You are a very brave man, lieutenant."

  Hector's face went through various contortions and slowly turned adefinite red, but no words issued from his mouth.

  "Have you reconsidered your decision?" Leoh asked.

  The girl closed her eyes briefly, then said flatly, "I am afraid Icannot change my decision. My father's safety is my firstresponsibility. I am sorry."

  They exchanged a few meaningless trivialities--with Hector stillthoroughly tongue-tied and ended the conversation on a polite butstrained note.

  Leoh rubbed his thumb across the phone switch for a moment, thenturned to Hector. "My boy, I think it would be a good idea for you togo straight to the hospital and check on Dulaq's condition."

  "But ... why--"

  "Don't argue, son. This could be vitally important."

  Hector shrugged and left the office. Leoh sat down at his desk anddrummed his fingers on the top of it. Then he burst out of the officeand began pacing the big chamber. Finally, even that was tooconfining. He left the building and started stalking through thecampus. He walked past a dozen buildings, turned and strode as far asthe decorative fence that marked the end of the main campus, ignoringstudents and faculty alike.

  _Campuses are all alike_, he muttered to himself, _on every humanplanet, for all the centuries there have been universities. There mustbe some fundamental reason for it._

  Leoh was halfway back to the dueling machine facility when he spottedHector walking dazedly toward the same building. For once, theWatchman was not whistling. Leoh cut across some lawn and pulled upbeside the youth.

  "Well?" he asked.

  Hector shook his head, as if to clear away an inner fog. "How did youknow she'd be at the hospital?"

  "The wisdom of age. What happened?"

  "She kissed me. Right there in the hallway of the--"

  "Spare me the geography," Leoh cut in. "What did she say?"

  "I bumped into her in the hallway. We, uh, started talking ... sortof. She seemed, well ... worried about me. She got upset. Emotional.You know? I guess I looked pretty forlorn and frightened. I am ... Iguess. When you get right down to it, I mean."

  "You aroused her maternal instinct."

  "I ... I don't think it was that ... exactly. Well, anyway, she saidthat if I was willing to risk my life to save yours, she couldn'tprotect her father any more. Said she was doing it out of selfishness,really, since he's her only living relative. I don't believe she meantthat, but she said it anyway."

  They had reached the building by now. Leoh grabbed Hector's arm andsteered him clear of a collision with the half-open door.

  "She's agreed to let us put Dulaq in the dueling machine?"

  "Sort of."

  "Eh?"

  "The medical staff doesn't want him to be moved from the hospital ...especially not back to here. She agrees with them."

  Leoh snorted. "All right. In fact, so much the better. I'd rather nothave the Kerak people see us bring Dulaq to the dueling machine. Soinstead, we shall smuggle the dueling machine to Dulaq!"

  XIII

  They plunged to work immediately. Leoh preferred not to inform theregular staff of the dueling machine about their plan, so he andHector had to work through the night and most of the next morning.Hector barely understood what he was doing, but with Leoh'ssupervision, he managed to dismantle part
of the dueling machine'scentral network, insert a few additional black boxes that theprofessor had conjured up from the spare parts bins in the basement,and then reconstruct the machine so that it looked exactly the same asbefore they had started.

  In between his frequent trips to oversee Hector's work, Leoh hadjury-rigged a rather bulky headset and a hand-sized override controlcircuit.

  The late morning sun was streaming through the tall windows when Leohfinally explained it all to Hector.

  "A simple matter of technological improvisation," he