too, that
their Radiological Squads have found no sign of deadly radiation. I
repeat -- there is no indication of any lethal particles in the air.
"Seismologists are at a loss to explain the strange vibrations. They
point out that New York has always been considered tremor-proof and
earthquake-proof, that it stands on solid bedrock, and that it would
take a tremendous internal force to cause a fault in the rock.
"Meanwhile, the entire nation is being swept by the rumor that the Soviet
Union has a secret weapon quite different from but more potent than the
atom bomb. The rumor states that the Reds have used the weapon before,
and used it to create a tremor in New York this morning as one of the
final stages in the war of nerves. The Department of Defense has not
confirmed or denied this.
"A sensational story is now going the rounds that America's top-ranking
military men, at a special meeting this morning, have confirmed the
existence of this secret weapon. This story, entirely without confirmation
from any official source, states that the decision has been made to attack
the Soviet Union in self-defense, that tremendous pressure is being
brought on the President as Commander in Chief to give the signal. The
story goes on to say that he is, at the moment, resisting all pressures
and awaiting a fuller and more complete seismological report, on the
off-chance that the tremor may have been a natural phenomenon.
"There is even a wilder story, put forth by a former Washington
correspondent now at the temporary capital, that the President was about
to yield to the advice of his military advisers, when he received a
mysterious long-distance phone call from California. According to Frank
Landon, the newspaperman responsible, the President was on the phone
a half-hour. When he emerged from his office he was deathly pale and
changed his point of view abruptly, refusing to order the attack.
"I repeat, these are only rumors; there is no official confirmation from
any responsible quarter."
The stewardess came in and turned off the radio. "Please go back to
your seats and fasten your safety belts," she said. "We'll be coming
into San Diego in a few minutes."
At Lindbergh Field, David immediately went to a phone booth and called
Palomar.
It was Francis who answered. "Dr. Hughes! Where are you, sir?"
"In San Diego. I've got Miss Kenny with me, Francis."
"Oh. Dr. Dawson was worried about you, sir. We all were. After hearing
what had happened in New York -- well, you understand, Dr. Hughes. Was
it very bad?"
"Bad enough. Tell you more about it later, Francis "
"They say the Russians -- "
"Yes, I know," interrupted David impatiently. He wanted to know, he
wanted to find out fast. Everything. The phone calls. The urgent order
from the Old Man to return. "Francis, what's going on at the observatory?"
"I don't know. Dr. Hughes." Francis sounded dead tired. "All I know is
that I've been on the phone, calling astronomers from all over the world,
ever since yesterday evening, asking them to come to Palomar at once."
David remembered the operator's remote voice the night before, as he
had tried to get Francis, calling Rio, Amsterdam. . . .
"They've been coming in ever since last night and early this morning,"
continued the steward. "There must be twenty of them in all. Dr. Dawson's
been locked in his study with them for hours. They're in there now."
"Francis, who are they? What are their names?"
"Well, Dr. Hughes, there's a Professor Ellender of Harvard, Professor
Manning of Mount Wilson, Van Vreeden of Leyden, in Holland, Dr. Perez of
Rio de Janeiro, Bornson of Stockholm, Professor Varanov of the Pulkovo
Observatory in Leningrad, Dr. Graves of Cambridge Observatory in England,
Dr. Smythe of the Royal Astronomical Society, and oh -- several others."
David hung on the phone,
their Radiological Squads have found no sign of deadly radiation. I
repeat -- there is no indication of any lethal particles in the air.
"Seismologists are at a loss to explain the strange vibrations. They
point out that New York has always been considered tremor-proof and
earthquake-proof, that it stands on solid bedrock, and that it would
take a tremendous internal force to cause a fault in the rock.
"Meanwhile, the entire nation is being swept by the rumor that the Soviet
Union has a secret weapon quite different from but more potent than the
atom bomb. The rumor states that the Reds have used the weapon before,
and used it to create a tremor in New York this morning as one of the
final stages in the war of nerves. The Department of Defense has not
confirmed or denied this.
"A sensational story is now going the rounds that America's top-ranking
military men, at a special meeting this morning, have confirmed the
existence of this secret weapon. This story, entirely without confirmation
from any official source, states that the decision has been made to attack
the Soviet Union in self-defense, that tremendous pressure is being
brought on the President as Commander in Chief to give the signal. The
story goes on to say that he is, at the moment, resisting all pressures
and awaiting a fuller and more complete seismological report, on the
off-chance that the tremor may have been a natural phenomenon.
"There is even a wilder story, put forth by a former Washington
correspondent now at the temporary capital, that the President was about
to yield to the advice of his military advisers, when he received a
mysterious long-distance phone call from California. According to Frank
Landon, the newspaperman responsible, the President was on the phone
a half-hour. When he emerged from his office he was deathly pale and
changed his point of view abruptly, refusing to order the attack.
"I repeat, these are only rumors; there is no official confirmation from
any responsible quarter."
The stewardess came in and turned off the radio. "Please go back to
your seats and fasten your safety belts," she said. "We'll be coming
into San Diego in a few minutes."
At Lindbergh Field, David immediately went to a phone booth and called
Palomar.
It was Francis who answered. "Dr. Hughes! Where are you, sir?"
"In San Diego. I've got Miss Kenny with me, Francis."
"Oh. Dr. Dawson was worried about you, sir. We all were. After hearing
what had happened in New York -- well, you understand, Dr. Hughes. Was
it very bad?"
"Bad enough. Tell you more about it later, Francis "
"They say the Russians -- "
"Yes, I know," interrupted David impatiently. He wanted to know, he
wanted to find out fast. Everything. The phone calls. The urgent order
from the Old Man to return. "Francis, what's going on at the observatory?"
"I don't know. Dr. Hughes." Francis sounded dead tired. "All I know is
that I've been on the phone, calling astronomers from all over the world,
ever since yesterday evening, asking them to come to Palomar at once."
David remembered the operator's remote voice the night before, as he
had tried to get Francis, calling Rio, Amsterdam. . . .
"They've been coming in ever since last night and early this morning,"
continued the steward. "There must be twenty of them in all. Dr. Dawson's
been locked in his study with them for hours. They're in there now."
"Francis, who are they? What are their names?"
"Well, Dr. Hughes, there's a Professor Ellender of Harvard, Professor
Manning of Mount Wilson, Van Vreeden of Leyden, in Holland, Dr. Perez of
Rio de Janeiro, Bornson of Stockholm, Professor Varanov of the Pulkovo
Observatory in Leningrad, Dr. Graves of Cambridge Observatory in England,
Dr. Smythe of the Royal Astronomical Society, and oh -- several others."
David hung on the phone,
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