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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8e37563 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50835 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50835) diff --git a/old/50835-h.zip b/old/50835-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d248348..0000000 --- a/old/50835-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50835-h/50835-h.htm b/old/50835-h/50835-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 328909d..0000000 --- a/old/50835-h/50835-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1123 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Luckiest Man in Denv, by Simon Eisner. - </title> - - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Luckiest Man in Denv, by Simon Eisner - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Luckiest Man in Denv - -Author: Simon Eisner - -Release Date: January 3, 2016 [EBook #50835] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LUCKIEST MAN IN DENV *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="362" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>The Luckiest Man in Denv</h1> - -<p>By SIMON EISNER</p> - -<p>Illustrated by EMSH</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Galaxy Science Fiction June 1952.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>To get the break of his life, all Reuben had to<br /> -do was turn the death trap into a jackpot!</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>May's man Reuben, of the eighty-third level, Atomist, knew there was -something wrong when the binoculars flashed and then went opaque. -Inwardly he cursed, hoping that he had not committed himself to -anything. Outwardly he was unperturbed. He handed the binoculars back -to Rudolph's man Almon, of the eighty-ninth level, Maintainer, with a -smile.</p> - -<p>"They aren't very good," he said.</p> - -<p>Almon put them to his own eyes, glanced over the parapet and swore -mildly. "Blacker than the heart of a crazy Angel, eh? Never mind; -here's another pair."</p> - -<p>This pair was unremarkable. Through it, Reuben studied the thousand -setbacks and penthouses, of Denv that ranged themselves below. He was -too worried to enjoy his first sight of the vista from the eighty-ninth -level, but he let out a murmur of appreciation. Now to get away from -this suddenly sinister fellow and try to puzzle it out.</p> - -<p>"Could we—?" he asked cryptically, with a little upward jerk of his -chin.</p> - -<p>"It's better not to," Almon said hastily, taking the glasses from his -hands. "What if somebody with stars happened to see, you know? How'd -<i>you</i> like it if you saw some impudent fellow peering up at you?"</p> - -<p>"He wouldn't dare!" said Reuben, pretending to be stupid and indignant, -and joined a moment later in Almon's sympathetic laughter.</p> - -<p>"Never mind," said Almon. "We are young. Some day, who knows? Perhaps -we shall look from the ninety-fifth level, or the hundredth."</p> - -<p>Though Reuben knew that the Maintainer was no friend of his, the -generous words sent blood hammering through his veins; ambition for a -moment.</p> - -<p>He pulled a long face and told Almon: "Let us hope so. Thank you for -being my host. Now I must return to my quarters."</p> - -<p>He left the windy parapet for the serene luxury of an -eighty-ninth-level corridor and descended slow moving stairs through -gradually less luxurious levels to his own Spartan floor. Selene was -waiting, smiling, as he stepped off the stairs.</p> - -<p>She was decked out nicely—too nicely. She wore a steely hued corselet -and a touch of scent; her hair was dressed long. The combination -appealed to him, and instantly he was on his guard. Why had she gone to -the trouble of learning his tastes? What was she up to? After all, she -was Griffin's woman.</p> - -<p>"Coming <i>down</i>?" she asked, awed. "Where have you been?"</p> - -<p>"The eighty-ninth, as a guest of that fellow Almon. The vista is -immense."</p> - -<p>"I've never been...." she murmured, and then said decisively: "You -belong up there. And higher. Griffin laughs at me, but he's a fool. -Last night in chamber we got to talking about you, I don't know how, -and he finally became quite angry and said he didn't want to hear -another word." She smiled wickedly. "I was revenged, though."</p> - -<p>Blank-faced, he said: "You must be a good hand at revenge, Selene, and -at stirring up the need for it."</p> - -<p>The slight hardening of her smile meant that he had scored and he -hurried by with a rather formal salutation.</p> - -<p>Burn him for an Angelo, but she was easy enough to take! The contrast -of the metallic garment with her soft, white skin was disturbing, and -her long hair suggested things. It was hard to think of her as scheming -something or other; scheming Selene was displaced in his mind by -Selene in chamber.</p> - -<p>But what was she up to? Had she perhaps heard that he was to be -elevated? Was Griffin going to be swooped on by the Maintainers? Was he -to kill off Griffin so she could leech onto some rising third party? -Was she perhaps merely giving her man a touch of the lash?</p> - -<p>He wished gloomily that the binoculars-problem and the Selene-problem -had not come together. That trickster Almon had spoken of youth as -though it were something for congratulation; he hated being young and -stupid and unable to puzzle out the faulty binoculars and the warmth of -Griffin's woman.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The attack alarm roared through the Spartan corridor. He ducked through -the nearest door into a vacant bedroom and under the heavy steel table. -Somebody else floundered under the table a moment later, and a third -person tried to join them.</p> - -<p>The firstcomer roared: "Get out and find your own shelter! I don't -propose to be crowded out by you or to crowd you out either and see -your ugly blood and brains if there's a hit. Go, now!"</p> - -<p>"Forgive me, sir! At once, sir!" the latecomer wailed; and scrambled -away as the alarm continued to roar.</p> - -<p>Reuben gasped at the "sirs" and looked at his neighbor. It was May! -Trapped, no doubt, on an inspection tour of the level.</p> - -<p>"Sir," he said respectfully, "if you wish to be alone, I can find -another room."</p> - -<p>"You may stay with me for company. Are you one of mine?" There was -power in the general's voice and on his craggy face.</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir. May's man Reuben, of the eighty-third level, Atomist."</p> - -<p>May surveyed him, and Reuben noted that there were pouches of skin -depending from cheekbones and the jaw line—dead-looking, coarse-pored -skin.</p> - -<p>"You're a well-made boy, Reuben. Do you have women?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir," said Reuben hastily. "One after another—I <i>always</i> have -women. I'm making up at this time to a charming thing called Selene. -Well-rounded, yet firm, soft but supple, with long red hair and long -white legs—"</p> - -<p>"Spare me the details," muttered the general. "It takes all kinds. -An Atomist, you said. That has a future, to be sure. I myself was a -Controller long ago. The calling seems to have gone out of fashion—"</p> - -<p>Abruptly the alarm stopped. The silence was hard to bear.</p> - -<p>May swallowed and went on: "—for some reason or other. Why don't -youngsters elect for Controller any more? Why didn't you, for instance?"</p> - -<p>Reuben wished he could be saved by a direct hit. The binoculars, -Selene, the raid, and now he was supposed to make intelligent -conversation with a general.</p> - -<p>"I really don't know, sir," he said miserably. "At the time there -seemed to be very little difference—Controller, Atomist, Missiler, -Maintainer. We have a saying, 'The buttons are different,' which -usually ends any conversation on the subject."</p> - -<p>"Indeed?" asked May distractedly. His face was thinly filmed with -sweat. "Do you suppose Ellay intends to clobber us this time?" he -asked almost hoarsely. "It's been some weeks since they made a maximum -effort, hasn't it?"</p> - -<p>"Four," said Reuben. "I remember because one of my best Servers was -killed by a falling corridor roof—the only fatality and it had to -happen to my team!"</p> - -<p>He laughed nervously and realized that he was talking like a fool, but -May seemed not to notice.</p> - -<p>Far below them, there was a series of screaming whistles as the -interceptors were loosed to begin their intricate, double basketwork -wall of defense in a towering cylinder about Denv.</p> - -<p>"Go on, Reuben," said May. "That was most interesting." His eyes were -searching the underside of the steel table.</p> - -<p>Reuben averted his own eyes from the frightened face, feeling some -awe drain out of him. Under a table with a general! It didn't seem so -strange now.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps, sir, you can tell me what a puzzling thing, that happened -this afternoon, means. A fellow—Rudolph's man Almon, of the -eighty-ninth level—gave me a pair of binoculars that flashed in my -eyes and then went opaque. Has your wide experience—"</p> - -<p>May laughed hoarsely and said in a shaky voice: "That old trick! He -was photographing your retinas for the blood-vessel pattern. One of -Rudolph's men, eh? I'm glad you spoke to me; I'm old enough to spot a -revival like that. Perhaps my good friend Rudolph plans—"</p> - -<p>There was a thudding volley in the air and then a faint jar. One had -got through, exploding, from the feel of it, far down at the foot of -Denv.</p> - -<p>The alarm roared again, in bursts that meant all clear; only one flight -of missiles and that disposed of.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Atomist and the general climbed out from under the table; May's -secretary popped through the door. The general waved him out again and -leaned heavily on the table, his arms quivering. Reuben hastily brought -a chair.</p> - -<p>"A glass of water," said May.</p> - -<p>The Atomist brought it. He saw the general wash down what looked like a -triple dose of XXX—green capsules which it was better to leave alone.</p> - -<p>May said after a moment: "That's better. And don't look so shocked, -youngster; you don't know the strain we're under. It's only a temporary -measure which I shall discontinue as soon as things ease up a bit. I -was saying that perhaps my good friend Rudolph plans to substitute one -of his men for one of mine. Tell me, how long has this fellow Almon -been a friend of yours?"</p> - -<p>"He struck up an acquaintance with me only last week. I should have -realized—"</p> - -<p>"You certainly should have. One week. Time enough and more. By now -you've been photographed, your fingerprints taken, your voice recorded -and your gait studied without your knowledge. Only the retinascope is -difficult, but one must risk it for a real double. Have you killed your -man, Reuben?"</p> - -<p>He nodded; It had been a silly brawl two years ago over precedence at -the refectory; he disliked being reminded of it.</p> - -<p>"Good," said May grimly. "The way these things are done, your double -kills you in a secluded spot, disposes of your body and takes over your -role. We shall reverse it. You will kill the double and take over <i>his</i> -role."</p> - -<p>The powerful, methodical voice ticked off possibilities and -contingencies, measures, and countermeasures. Reuben absorbed them -and felt his awe return. Perhaps May had not really been frightened -under the table; perhaps it had been he reading his own terror in the -general's face. May was actually talking to him of backgrounds and -policies. "Up from the eighty-third level!" he swore to himself as the -great names were uttered.</p> - -<p>"My good friend Rudolph, of course, wants the five stars. You would -not know this, but the man who wears the stars is now eighty years old -and failing fast. I consider myself a likely candidate to replace him. -So, evidently, must Rudolph. No doubt he plans to have your double -perpetrate some horrible blunder on the eve of the election, and the -discredit would reflect on me. Now what you and I must do—"</p> - -<p>You and I—May's man Reuben and May—up from the eighty-third! Up from -the bare corridors and cheerless bedrooms to marble halls and vaulted -chambers! From the clatter of the crowded refectory to small and -glowing restaurants where you had your own table and servant and where -music came softly from the walls! Up from the scramble to win this -woman or that, by wit or charm or the poor bribes you could afford, -to the eminence from which you could calmly command your pick of the -beauty of Denv! From the moiling intrigue of tripping your fellow -Atomist and guarding against him tripping you to the heroic thrust and -parry of generals!</p> - -<p>Up from the eighty-third!</p> - -<p>Then May dismissed him with a speech whose implications were -deliriously exciting. "I need an able man and a young one, Reuben. -Perhaps I've waited too long looking for him. If you do well in this -touchy business, I'll consider you very seriously for an important task -I have in mind."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Late that night, Selene came to his bedroom.</p> - -<p>"I know you don't like me," she said pettishly, "but Griffin's such a -fool and I wanted somebody to talk to. Do you mind? What was it like up -there today? Did you see carpets? I wish I had a carpet."</p> - -<p>He tried to think about carpets and not the exciting contrast of -metallic cloth and flesh.</p> - -<p>"I saw one through an open door," he remembered. "It looked odd, but I -suppose a person gets used to them. Perhaps I didn't see a very good -one. Aren't the good ones very thick?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," she said. "Your feet sink into them. I wish I had a <i>good</i> -carpet and four chairs and a small table as high as my knees to put -things on and as many pillows as I wanted. Griffin's such a fool. Do -you think I'll ever get those things? I've never caught the eye of a -general. Am I pretty enough to get one, do you think?"</p> - -<p>He said uneasily: "Of course you're a pretty thing, Selene. But carpets -and chairs and pillows—" It made him uncomfortable, like the thought -of peering up through binoculars from a parapet.</p> - -<p>"I want them," she said unhappily. "I like you very much, but I want so -many things and soon I'll be too old even for the eighty-third level, -before I've been up higher, and I'll spend the rest of my life tending -babies or cooking in the creche or the refectory."</p> - -<p>She stopped abruptly, pulled herself together and gave him a smile that -was somehow ghastly in the half-light.</p> - -<p>"You bungler," he said, and she instantly looked at the door with the -smile frozen on her face. Reuben took a pistol from under his pillow -and demanded, "When do you expect him?"</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?" she asked shrilly. "Who are you talking about?"</p> - -<p>"My double. Don't be a fool, Selene. May and I—" he savored it—"May -and I know all about it. He warned me to beware of a diversion by a -woman while the double slipped in and killed me. When do you expect -him?"</p> - -<p>"I really <i>do</i> like you," Selene sobbed. "But Almon promised to take -me up there and I <i>knew</i> when I was where they'd see me that I'd meet -somebody really important. I really do like you, but soon I'll be too -old—"</p> - -<p>"Selene, listen to me. Listen to me! You'll get your chance. Nobody but -you and me will know that the substitution didn't succeed!"</p> - -<p>"Then I'll be spying for you on Almon, won't I?" she asked in a choked -voice. "All I wanted was a few nice things before I got too old. All -right, I was supposed to be in your arms at 2350 hours."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was 2349. Reuben sprang from bed and stood by the door, his pistol -silenced and ready. At 2350 a naked man slipped swiftly into the room, -heading for the bed as he raised a ten-centimeter poignard. He stopped -in dismay when he realized that the bed was empty.</p> - -<p>Reuben killed him with a bullet through the throat.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="650" height="222" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"But he doesn't look a bit like me," he said in bewilderment, closely -examining the face. "Just in a general way."</p> - -<p>Selene said dully: "Almon told me people always say that when they see -their doubles. It's funny, isn't it? He looks just like you, really."</p> - -<p>"How was my body to be disposed of?"</p> - -<p>She produced a small flat box. "A shadow suit. You were to be left here -and somebody would come tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"We won't disappoint him." Reuben pulled the web of the shadow suit -over his double and turned on the power. In the half-lit room, it was a -perfect disappearance; by daylight it would be less perfect. "They'll -ask why the body was shot instead of knifed. Tell them you shot me with -the gun from under the pillow. Just say I heard the double come in and -you were afraid there might have been a struggle."</p> - -<p>She listlessly asked: "How do you know I won't betray you?"</p> - -<p>"You won't, Selene." His voice bit. "You're <i>broken</i>."</p> - -<p>She nodded vaguely, started to say something and then went out without -saying it.</p> - -<p>Reuben luxuriously stretched in his narrow bed. Later, his beds would -be wider and softer, he thought. He drifted into sleep on a half-formed -thought that some day he might vote with other generals on the man to -wear the five stars—or even wear them himself, Master of Denv.</p> - -<p>He slept healthily through the morning alarm and arrived late at his -regular twentieth-level station. He saw his superior, May's man Oscar -of the eighty-fifth level, Atomist, ostentatiously take his name. Let -him!</p> - -<p>Oscar assembled his crew for a grim announcement: "We are going to even -the score, and perhaps a little better, with Ellay. At sunset there -will be three flights of missiles from Deck One."</p> - -<p>There was a joyous murmur and Reuben trotted off on his task.</p> - -<p>All forenoon he was occupied with drawing plutonium slugs from -hyper-suspicious storekeepers in the great rock-quarried vaults, and -seeing them through countless audits and assays all the way to Weapons -Assembly. Oscar supervised the scores there who assembled the curved -slugs and the explosive lenses into sixty-kilogram warheads.</p> - -<p>In mid-afternoon there was an incident. Reuben saw Oscar step aside -for a moment to speak to a Maintainer whose guard fell on one of the -Assembly Servers, and dragged him away as he pleaded innocence. He had -been detected in sabotage. When the warheads were in and the Missilers -seated, waiting at their boards, the two Atomists rode up to the -eighty-third's refectory.</p> - -<p>The news of a near-maximum effort was in the air; it was electric. -Reuben heard on all sides in tones of self-congratulation: "We'll -clobber them tonight!"</p> - -<p>"That Server you caught," he said to Oscar. "What was he up to?"</p> - -<p>His commander stared. "Are you trying to learn my job? Don't try it, I -warn you. If my black marks against you aren't enough, I could always -arrange for some fissionable material in your custody to go astray."</p> - -<p>"No, no! I was just wondering why people do something like that."</p> - -<p>Oscar sniffed doubtfully. "He's probably insane, like all the Angelos. -I've heard the climate does it to them. You're not a Maintainer or a -Controller. Why worry about it?"</p> - -<p>"They'll brainburn him, I suppose?"</p> - -<p>"I suppose. <i>Listen!</i>"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Deck One was firing. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, -four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six.</p> - -<p>People turned to one another and shook hands, laughed and slapped -shoulders heartily. Eighteen missiles were racing through the -stratosphere, soon to tumble on Ellay. With any luck, one or two would -slip through the first wall of interceptors and blast close enough to -smash windows and topple walls in the crazy city by the ocean. It would -serve the lunatics right.</p> - -<p>Five minutes later an exultant voice filled most of Denv.</p> - -<p>"Recon missile report," it said. "Eighteen launched, eighteen perfect -trajectories. Fifteen shot down by Ellay first-line interceptors, three -shot down by Ellay second-line interceptors. Extensive blast damage -observed in Griffith Park area of Ellay!"</p> - -<p>There were cheers.</p> - -<p>And eight Full Maintainers marched into the refectory silently, and -marched out with Reuben.</p> - -<p>He knew better than to struggle or ask futile questions. Any question -you asked of a Maintainer was futile. But he goggled when they marched -him onto an upward-bound stairway.</p> - -<p>They rode past the eighty-ninth level and Reuben lost count, seeing -only the marvels of the upper reaches of Denv. He saw carpets that ran -the entire length of corridors, and intricate fountains, and mosaic -walls, stained-glass windows, more wonders than he could recognize, -things for which he had no name.</p> - -<p>He was marched at last into a wood-paneled room with a great polished -desk and a map behind it. He saw May, and another man who must have -been a general—Rudolph?—but sitting at the desk was a frail old man -who wore a circlet of stars on each khaki shoulder.</p> - -<p>The old man said to Reuben: "You are an Ellay spy and saboteur."</p> - -<p>Reuben looked at May. Did one speak directly to the man who wore the -stars, even in reply to such an accusation?</p> - -<p>"Answer him, Reuben," May said kindly.</p> - -<p>"I am May's man Reuben, of the eighty-third level, an Atomist," he said.</p> - -<p>"Explain," said the other general heavily, "if you can, why all -eighteen of the warheads you procured today failed to fire."</p> - -<p>"But they did!" gasped Reuben. "The Recon missile report said there -was blast damage from the three that got through and it didn't say -anything about the others failing to fire."</p> - -<p>The other general suddenly looked sick and May looked even kindlier. -The man who wore the stars turned inquiringly to the chief of the -Maintainers, who nodded and said: "That was the Recon missile report, -sir."</p> - -<p>The general snapped: "What I said was that he would <i>attempt</i> to -sabotage the attack. Evidently he failed. I also said he is a faulty -double, somehow slipped with great ease into my good friend May's -organization. You will find that his left thumb print is a clumsy -forgery of the real Reuben's thumb print and that his hair has been -artificially darkened."</p> - -<p>The old man nodded at the chief of the Maintainers, who said: "We have -his card, sir."</p> - -<p>Reuben abruptly found himself being fingerprinted and deprived of some -hair.</p> - -<p>"The f.p.s check, sir," one Maintainer said. "He's Reuben."</p> - -<p>"Hair's natural, sir," said another.</p> - -<p>The general began a rear-guard action: "My information about his hair -seems to have been inaccurate. But the fingerprint means only that -Ellay spies substituted his prints for Reuben's prints in the files—"</p> - -<p>"Enough, sir," said the old man with the stars. "Dismissed. All of you. -Rudolph, I am surprised. All of you, go."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Reuben found himself in a vast apartment with May, who was bubbling and -chuckling uncontrollably until he popped three of the green capsules -into his mouth hurriedly.</p> - -<p>"This means the eclipse for years of my good friend Rudolph," he -crowed. "His game was to have your double sabotage the attack warheads -and so make it appear that my organization is rotten with spies. The -double must have been under post-hypnotic, primed to admit everything. -Rudolph was so sure of himself that he made his accusations before the -attack, the fool!"</p> - -<p>He fumbled out the green capsules again.</p> - -<p>"Sir," said Reuben, alarmed.</p> - -<p>"Only temporary," May muttered, and swallowed a fourth. "But you're -right. You leave them alone. There are big things to be done in your -time, not in mine. I told you I needed a young man who could claw his -way to the top. Rudolph's a fool. He doesn't need the capsules because -he doesn't ask questions. Funny, I thought a coup like the double -affair would hit me hard, but I don't feel a thing. It's not like the -old days. I used to plan and plan, and when the trap went <i>snap</i> it was -better than this stuff. But now I don't feel a thing."</p> - -<p>He leaned forward from his chair; the pupils of his eyes were black -bullets.</p> - -<p>"Do you want to <i>work</i>?" he demanded. "Do you want your world stood on -its head and your brains to crack and do the only worthwhile job there -is to do? Answer me!"</p> - -<p>"Sir, I am a loyal May's man. I want to obey your orders and use my -ability to the full."</p> - -<p>"Good enough," said the general. "You've got brains, you've got push. -I'll do the spade work. I won't last long enough to push it through. -You'll have to follow. Ever been outside of Denv?"</p> - -<p>Reuben stiffened.</p> - -<p>"I'm not accusing you of being a spy. It's really all right to go -outside of Denv. I've been outside. There isn't much to see at first—a -lot of ground pocked and torn up by shorts and overs from Ellay and us. -Farther out, especially east, it's different. Grass, trees, flowers. -Places where you could grow food.</p> - -<p>"When I went outside, it troubled me. It made me ask questions. I -wanted to know how we started. Yes—started. <i>It wasn't always like -this.</i> Somebody built Denv. Am I getting the idea across to you? <i>It -wasn't always like this!</i></p> - -<p>"Somebody set up the reactors to breed uranium and make plutonium. -Somebody tooled us up for the missiles. Somebody wired the boards to -control them. Somebody started the hydroponics tanks.</p> - -<p>"I've dug through the archives. Maybe I found something. I saw -mountains of strength reports, ration reports, supply reports, and yet -I never got back to the beginning. I found a piece of paper and maybe -I understood it and maybe I didn't. It was about the water of the -Colorado River and who should get how much of it. How can you divide -water in a river? But it could have been the start of Denv, Ellay, and -the missile attacks."</p> - -<p>The general shook his head, puzzled, and went on: "I don't see clearly -what's ahead. I want to make peace between Denv and Ellay, but I don't -know how to start or what it will be like. I think it must mean not -firing, not even making any more weapons. Maybe it means that some of -us, or a lot of us, will go out of Denv and live a different kind of -life. That's why I've clawed my way up. That's why I need a young man -who can claw with the best of them. Tell me what you think."</p> - -<p>"I think," said Reuben measuredly, "it's magnificent—the salvation of -Denv. I'll back you to my dying breath if you'll let me."</p> - -<p>May smiled tiredly and leaned back in the chair as Reuben tip-toed out.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>What luck, Reuben thought—what unbelievable luck to be at a fulcrum of -history like this!</p> - -<p>He searched the level for Rudolph's apartment and gained admission.</p> - -<p>To the general, he said: "Sir, I have to report that your friend May is -insane. He has just been raving to me, advocating the destruction of -civilization as we know it, and urging me to follow in his footsteps. I -pretended to agree—since I can be of greater service to you if I'm in -May's confidence."</p> - -<p>"So?" said Rudolph thoughtfully. "Tell me about the double. How did -that go wrong?"</p> - -<p>"The bunglers were Selene and Almon. Selene because she alarmed me -instead of distracting me. Almon because he failed to recognize her -incompetence."</p> - -<p>"They shall be brainburned. That leaves an eighty-ninth-level vacancy -in my organization, doesn't it?"</p> - -<p>"You're very kind, sir, but I think I should remain a May's -man—outwardly. If I earn any rewards, I can wait for them. I presume -that May will be elected to wear the five stars. He won't live more -than two years after that, at the rate he is taking drugs."</p> - -<p>"We can shorten it," grinned Rudolph. "I have pharmacists who can see -that his drugs are more than normal strength."</p> - -<p>"That would be excellent, sir. When he is too enfeebled to discharge -his duties, there may be an attempt to rake up the affair of the double -to discredit you. I could then testify that I was your man all along -and that May coerced me."</p> - -<p>They put their heads together, the two saviors of civilization as they -knew it, and conspired ingeniously long into the endless night.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Luckiest Man in Denv, by Simon Eisner - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LUCKIEST MAN IN DENV *** - -***** This file should be named 50835-h.htm or 50835-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/8/3/50835/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Luckiest Man in Denv - -Author: Simon Eisner - -Release Date: January 3, 2016 [EBook #50835] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LUCKIEST MAN IN DENV *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - - The Luckiest Man in Denv - - By SIMON EISNER - - Illustrated by EMSH - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Science Fiction June 1952. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - To get the break of his life, all Reuben had - to do was turn the death trap into a jackpot! - - -May's man Reuben, of the eighty-third level, Atomist, knew there was -something wrong when the binoculars flashed and then went opaque. -Inwardly he cursed, hoping that he had not committed himself to -anything. Outwardly he was unperturbed. He handed the binoculars back -to Rudolph's man Almon, of the eighty-ninth level, Maintainer, with a -smile. - -"They aren't very good," he said. - -Almon put them to his own eyes, glanced over the parapet and swore -mildly. "Blacker than the heart of a crazy Angel, eh? Never mind; -here's another pair." - -This pair was unremarkable. Through it, Reuben studied the thousand -setbacks and penthouses, of Denv that ranged themselves below. He was -too worried to enjoy his first sight of the vista from the eighty-ninth -level, but he let out a murmur of appreciation. Now to get away from -this suddenly sinister fellow and try to puzzle it out. - -"Could we--?" he asked cryptically, with a little upward jerk of his -chin. - -"It's better not to," Almon said hastily, taking the glasses from his -hands. "What if somebody with stars happened to see, you know? How'd -_you_ like it if you saw some impudent fellow peering up at you?" - -"He wouldn't dare!" said Reuben, pretending to be stupid and indignant, -and joined a moment later in Almon's sympathetic laughter. - -"Never mind," said Almon. "We are young. Some day, who knows? Perhaps -we shall look from the ninety-fifth level, or the hundredth." - -Though Reuben knew that the Maintainer was no friend of his, the -generous words sent blood hammering through his veins; ambition for a -moment. - -He pulled a long face and told Almon: "Let us hope so. Thank you for -being my host. Now I must return to my quarters." - -He left the windy parapet for the serene luxury of an -eighty-ninth-level corridor and descended slow moving stairs through -gradually less luxurious levels to his own Spartan floor. Selene was -waiting, smiling, as he stepped off the stairs. - -She was decked out nicely--too nicely. She wore a steely hued corselet -and a touch of scent; her hair was dressed long. The combination -appealed to him, and instantly he was on his guard. Why had she gone to -the trouble of learning his tastes? What was she up to? After all, she -was Griffin's woman. - -"Coming _down_?" she asked, awed. "Where have you been?" - -"The eighty-ninth, as a guest of that fellow Almon. The vista is -immense." - -"I've never been...." she murmured, and then said decisively: "You -belong up there. And higher. Griffin laughs at me, but he's a fool. -Last night in chamber we got to talking about you, I don't know how, -and he finally became quite angry and said he didn't want to hear -another word." She smiled wickedly. "I was revenged, though." - -Blank-faced, he said: "You must be a good hand at revenge, Selene, and -at stirring up the need for it." - -The slight hardening of her smile meant that he had scored and he -hurried by with a rather formal salutation. - -Burn him for an Angelo, but she was easy enough to take! The contrast -of the metallic garment with her soft, white skin was disturbing, and -her long hair suggested things. It was hard to think of her as scheming -something or other; scheming Selene was displaced in his mind by -Selene in chamber. - -But what was she up to? Had she perhaps heard that he was to be -elevated? Was Griffin going to be swooped on by the Maintainers? Was he -to kill off Griffin so she could leech onto some rising third party? -Was she perhaps merely giving her man a touch of the lash? - -He wished gloomily that the binoculars-problem and the Selene-problem -had not come together. That trickster Almon had spoken of youth as -though it were something for congratulation; he hated being young and -stupid and unable to puzzle out the faulty binoculars and the warmth of -Griffin's woman. - - * * * * * - -The attack alarm roared through the Spartan corridor. He ducked through -the nearest door into a vacant bedroom and under the heavy steel table. -Somebody else floundered under the table a moment later, and a third -person tried to join them. - -The firstcomer roared: "Get out and find your own shelter! I don't -propose to be crowded out by you or to crowd you out either and see -your ugly blood and brains if there's a hit. Go, now!" - -"Forgive me, sir! At once, sir!" the latecomer wailed; and scrambled -away as the alarm continued to roar. - -Reuben gasped at the "sirs" and looked at his neighbor. It was May! -Trapped, no doubt, on an inspection tour of the level. - -"Sir," he said respectfully, "if you wish to be alone, I can find -another room." - -"You may stay with me for company. Are you one of mine?" There was -power in the general's voice and on his craggy face. - -"Yes, sir. May's man Reuben, of the eighty-third level, Atomist." - -May surveyed him, and Reuben noted that there were pouches of skin -depending from cheekbones and the jaw line--dead-looking, coarse-pored -skin. - -"You're a well-made boy, Reuben. Do you have women?" - -"Yes, sir," said Reuben hastily. "One after another--I _always_ have -women. I'm making up at this time to a charming thing called Selene. -Well-rounded, yet firm, soft but supple, with long red hair and long -white legs--" - -"Spare me the details," muttered the general. "It takes all kinds. -An Atomist, you said. That has a future, to be sure. I myself was a -Controller long ago. The calling seems to have gone out of fashion--" - -Abruptly the alarm stopped. The silence was hard to bear. - -May swallowed and went on: "--for some reason or other. Why don't -youngsters elect for Controller any more? Why didn't you, for instance?" - -Reuben wished he could be saved by a direct hit. The binoculars, -Selene, the raid, and now he was supposed to make intelligent -conversation with a general. - -"I really don't know, sir," he said miserably. "At the time there -seemed to be very little difference--Controller, Atomist, Missiler, -Maintainer. We have a saying, 'The buttons are different,' which -usually ends any conversation on the subject." - -"Indeed?" asked May distractedly. His face was thinly filmed with -sweat. "Do you suppose Ellay intends to clobber us this time?" he -asked almost hoarsely. "It's been some weeks since they made a maximum -effort, hasn't it?" - -"Four," said Reuben. "I remember because one of my best Servers was -killed by a falling corridor roof--the only fatality and it had to -happen to my team!" - -He laughed nervously and realized that he was talking like a fool, but -May seemed not to notice. - -Far below them, there was a series of screaming whistles as the -interceptors were loosed to begin their intricate, double basketwork -wall of defense in a towering cylinder about Denv. - -"Go on, Reuben," said May. "That was most interesting." His eyes were -searching the underside of the steel table. - -Reuben averted his own eyes from the frightened face, feeling some -awe drain out of him. Under a table with a general! It didn't seem so -strange now. - -"Perhaps, sir, you can tell me what a puzzling thing, that happened -this afternoon, means. A fellow--Rudolph's man Almon, of the -eighty-ninth level--gave me a pair of binoculars that flashed in my -eyes and then went opaque. Has your wide experience--" - -May laughed hoarsely and said in a shaky voice: "That old trick! He -was photographing your retinas for the blood-vessel pattern. One of -Rudolph's men, eh? I'm glad you spoke to me; I'm old enough to spot a -revival like that. Perhaps my good friend Rudolph plans--" - -There was a thudding volley in the air and then a faint jar. One had -got through, exploding, from the feel of it, far down at the foot of -Denv. - -The alarm roared again, in bursts that meant all clear; only one flight -of missiles and that disposed of. - - * * * * * - -The Atomist and the general climbed out from under the table; May's -secretary popped through the door. The general waved him out again and -leaned heavily on the table, his arms quivering. Reuben hastily brought -a chair. - -"A glass of water," said May. - -The Atomist brought it. He saw the general wash down what looked like a -triple dose of XXX--green capsules which it was better to leave alone. - -May said after a moment: "That's better. And don't look so shocked, -youngster; you don't know the strain we're under. It's only a temporary -measure which I shall discontinue as soon as things ease up a bit. I -was saying that perhaps my good friend Rudolph plans to substitute one -of his men for one of mine. Tell me, how long has this fellow Almon -been a friend of yours?" - -"He struck up an acquaintance with me only last week. I should have -realized--" - -"You certainly should have. One week. Time enough and more. By now -you've been photographed, your fingerprints taken, your voice recorded -and your gait studied without your knowledge. Only the retinascope is -difficult, but one must risk it for a real double. Have you killed your -man, Reuben?" - -He nodded; It had been a silly brawl two years ago over precedence at -the refectory; he disliked being reminded of it. - -"Good," said May grimly. "The way these things are done, your double -kills you in a secluded spot, disposes of your body and takes over your -role. We shall reverse it. You will kill the double and take over _his_ -role." - -The powerful, methodical voice ticked off possibilities and -contingencies, measures, and countermeasures. Reuben absorbed them -and felt his awe return. Perhaps May had not really been frightened -under the table; perhaps it had been he reading his own terror in the -general's face. May was actually talking to him of backgrounds and -policies. "Up from the eighty-third level!" he swore to himself as the -great names were uttered. - -"My good friend Rudolph, of course, wants the five stars. You would -not know this, but the man who wears the stars is now eighty years old -and failing fast. I consider myself a likely candidate to replace him. -So, evidently, must Rudolph. No doubt he plans to have your double -perpetrate some horrible blunder on the eve of the election, and the -discredit would reflect on me. Now what you and I must do--" - -You and I--May's man Reuben and May--up from the eighty-third! Up from -the bare corridors and cheerless bedrooms to marble halls and vaulted -chambers! From the clatter of the crowded refectory to small and -glowing restaurants where you had your own table and servant and where -music came softly from the walls! Up from the scramble to win this -woman or that, by wit or charm or the poor bribes you could afford, -to the eminence from which you could calmly command your pick of the -beauty of Denv! From the moiling intrigue of tripping your fellow -Atomist and guarding against him tripping you to the heroic thrust and -parry of generals! - -Up from the eighty-third! - -Then May dismissed him with a speech whose implications were -deliriously exciting. "I need an able man and a young one, Reuben. -Perhaps I've waited too long looking for him. If you do well in this -touchy business, I'll consider you very seriously for an important task -I have in mind." - - * * * * * - -Late that night, Selene came to his bedroom. - -"I know you don't like me," she said pettishly, "but Griffin's such a -fool and I wanted somebody to talk to. Do you mind? What was it like up -there today? Did you see carpets? I wish I had a carpet." - -He tried to think about carpets and not the exciting contrast of -metallic cloth and flesh. - -"I saw one through an open door," he remembered. "It looked odd, but I -suppose a person gets used to them. Perhaps I didn't see a very good -one. Aren't the good ones very thick?" - -"Yes," she said. "Your feet sink into them. I wish I had a _good_ -carpet and four chairs and a small table as high as my knees to put -things on and as many pillows as I wanted. Griffin's such a fool. Do -you think I'll ever get those things? I've never caught the eye of a -general. Am I pretty enough to get one, do you think?" - -He said uneasily: "Of course you're a pretty thing, Selene. But carpets -and chairs and pillows--" It made him uncomfortable, like the thought -of peering up through binoculars from a parapet. - -"I want them," she said unhappily. "I like you very much, but I want so -many things and soon I'll be too old even for the eighty-third level, -before I've been up higher, and I'll spend the rest of my life tending -babies or cooking in the creche or the refectory." - -She stopped abruptly, pulled herself together and gave him a smile that -was somehow ghastly in the half-light. - -"You bungler," he said, and she instantly looked at the door with the -smile frozen on her face. Reuben took a pistol from under his pillow -and demanded, "When do you expect him?" - -"What do you mean?" she asked shrilly. "Who are you talking about?" - -"My double. Don't be a fool, Selene. May and I--" he savored it--"May -and I know all about it. He warned me to beware of a diversion by a -woman while the double slipped in and killed me. When do you expect -him?" - -"I really _do_ like you," Selene sobbed. "But Almon promised to take -me up there and I _knew_ when I was where they'd see me that I'd meet -somebody really important. I really do like you, but soon I'll be too -old--" - -"Selene, listen to me. Listen to me! You'll get your chance. Nobody but -you and me will know that the substitution didn't succeed!" - -"Then I'll be spying for you on Almon, won't I?" she asked in a choked -voice. "All I wanted was a few nice things before I got too old. All -right, I was supposed to be in your arms at 2350 hours." - - * * * * * - -It was 2349. Reuben sprang from bed and stood by the door, his pistol -silenced and ready. At 2350 a naked man slipped swiftly into the room, -heading for the bed as he raised a ten-centimeter poignard. He stopped -in dismay when he realized that the bed was empty. - -Reuben killed him with a bullet through the throat. - -"But he doesn't look a bit like me," he said in bewilderment, closely -examining the face. "Just in a general way." - -Selene said dully: "Almon told me people always say that when they see -their doubles. It's funny, isn't it? He looks just like you, really." - -"How was my body to be disposed of?" - -She produced a small flat box. "A shadow suit. You were to be left here -and somebody would come tomorrow." - -"We won't disappoint him." Reuben pulled the web of the shadow suit -over his double and turned on the power. In the half-lit room, it was a -perfect disappearance; by daylight it would be less perfect. "They'll -ask why the body was shot instead of knifed. Tell them you shot me with -the gun from under the pillow. Just say I heard the double come in and -you were afraid there might have been a struggle." - -She listlessly asked: "How do you know I won't betray you?" - -"You won't, Selene." His voice bit. "You're _broken_." - -She nodded vaguely, started to say something and then went out without -saying it. - -Reuben luxuriously stretched in his narrow bed. Later, his beds would -be wider and softer, he thought. He drifted into sleep on a half-formed -thought that some day he might vote with other generals on the man to -wear the five stars--or even wear them himself, Master of Denv. - -He slept healthily through the morning alarm and arrived late at his -regular twentieth-level station. He saw his superior, May's man Oscar -of the eighty-fifth level, Atomist, ostentatiously take his name. Let -him! - -Oscar assembled his crew for a grim announcement: "We are going to even -the score, and perhaps a little better, with Ellay. At sunset there -will be three flights of missiles from Deck One." - -There was a joyous murmur and Reuben trotted off on his task. - -All forenoon he was occupied with drawing plutonium slugs from -hyper-suspicious storekeepers in the great rock-quarried vaults, and -seeing them through countless audits and assays all the way to Weapons -Assembly. Oscar supervised the scores there who assembled the curved -slugs and the explosive lenses into sixty-kilogram warheads. - -In mid-afternoon there was an incident. Reuben saw Oscar step aside -for a moment to speak to a Maintainer whose guard fell on one of the -Assembly Servers, and dragged him away as he pleaded innocence. He had -been detected in sabotage. When the warheads were in and the Missilers -seated, waiting at their boards, the two Atomists rode up to the -eighty-third's refectory. - -The news of a near-maximum effort was in the air; it was electric. -Reuben heard on all sides in tones of self-congratulation: "We'll -clobber them tonight!" - -"That Server you caught," he said to Oscar. "What was he up to?" - -His commander stared. "Are you trying to learn my job? Don't try it, I -warn you. If my black marks against you aren't enough, I could always -arrange for some fissionable material in your custody to go astray." - -"No, no! I was just wondering why people do something like that." - -Oscar sniffed doubtfully. "He's probably insane, like all the Angelos. -I've heard the climate does it to them. You're not a Maintainer or a -Controller. Why worry about it?" - -"They'll brainburn him, I suppose?" - -"I suppose. _Listen!_" - - * * * * * - -Deck One was firing. One, two, three, four, five, six. One, two, three, -four, five, six. One, two, three, four, five, six. - -People turned to one another and shook hands, laughed and slapped -shoulders heartily. Eighteen missiles were racing through the -stratosphere, soon to tumble on Ellay. With any luck, one or two would -slip through the first wall of interceptors and blast close enough to -smash windows and topple walls in the crazy city by the ocean. It would -serve the lunatics right. - -Five minutes later an exultant voice filled most of Denv. - -"Recon missile report," it said. "Eighteen launched, eighteen perfect -trajectories. Fifteen shot down by Ellay first-line interceptors, three -shot down by Ellay second-line interceptors. Extensive blast damage -observed in Griffith Park area of Ellay!" - -There were cheers. - -And eight Full Maintainers marched into the refectory silently, and -marched out with Reuben. - -He knew better than to struggle or ask futile questions. Any question -you asked of a Maintainer was futile. But he goggled when they marched -him onto an upward-bound stairway. - -They rode past the eighty-ninth level and Reuben lost count, seeing -only the marvels of the upper reaches of Denv. He saw carpets that ran -the entire length of corridors, and intricate fountains, and mosaic -walls, stained-glass windows, more wonders than he could recognize, -things for which he had no name. - -He was marched at last into a wood-paneled room with a great polished -desk and a map behind it. He saw May, and another man who must have -been a general--Rudolph?--but sitting at the desk was a frail old man -who wore a circlet of stars on each khaki shoulder. - -The old man said to Reuben: "You are an Ellay spy and saboteur." - -Reuben looked at May. Did one speak directly to the man who wore the -stars, even in reply to such an accusation? - -"Answer him, Reuben," May said kindly. - -"I am May's man Reuben, of the eighty-third level, an Atomist," he said. - -"Explain," said the other general heavily, "if you can, why all -eighteen of the warheads you procured today failed to fire." - -"But they did!" gasped Reuben. "The Recon missile report said there -was blast damage from the three that got through and it didn't say -anything about the others failing to fire." - -The other general suddenly looked sick and May looked even kindlier. -The man who wore the stars turned inquiringly to the chief of the -Maintainers, who nodded and said: "That was the Recon missile report, -sir." - -The general snapped: "What I said was that he would _attempt_ to -sabotage the attack. Evidently he failed. I also said he is a faulty -double, somehow slipped with great ease into my good friend May's -organization. You will find that his left thumb print is a clumsy -forgery of the real Reuben's thumb print and that his hair has been -artificially darkened." - -The old man nodded at the chief of the Maintainers, who said: "We have -his card, sir." - -Reuben abruptly found himself being fingerprinted and deprived of some -hair. - -"The f.p.s check, sir," one Maintainer said. "He's Reuben." - -"Hair's natural, sir," said another. - -The general began a rear-guard action: "My information about his hair -seems to have been inaccurate. But the fingerprint means only that -Ellay spies substituted his prints for Reuben's prints in the files--" - -"Enough, sir," said the old man with the stars. "Dismissed. All of you. -Rudolph, I am surprised. All of you, go." - - * * * * * - -Reuben found himself in a vast apartment with May, who was bubbling and -chuckling uncontrollably until he popped three of the green capsules -into his mouth hurriedly. - -"This means the eclipse for years of my good friend Rudolph," he -crowed. "His game was to have your double sabotage the attack warheads -and so make it appear that my organization is rotten with spies. The -double must have been under post-hypnotic, primed to admit everything. -Rudolph was so sure of himself that he made his accusations before the -attack, the fool!" - -He fumbled out the green capsules again. - -"Sir," said Reuben, alarmed. - -"Only temporary," May muttered, and swallowed a fourth. "But you're -right. You leave them alone. There are big things to be done in your -time, not in mine. I told you I needed a young man who could claw his -way to the top. Rudolph's a fool. He doesn't need the capsules because -he doesn't ask questions. Funny, I thought a coup like the double -affair would hit me hard, but I don't feel a thing. It's not like the -old days. I used to plan and plan, and when the trap went _snap_ it was -better than this stuff. But now I don't feel a thing." - -He leaned forward from his chair; the pupils of his eyes were black -bullets. - -"Do you want to _work_?" he demanded. "Do you want your world stood on -its head and your brains to crack and do the only worthwhile job there -is to do? Answer me!" - -"Sir, I am a loyal May's man. I want to obey your orders and use my -ability to the full." - -"Good enough," said the general. "You've got brains, you've got push. -I'll do the spade work. I won't last long enough to push it through. -You'll have to follow. Ever been outside of Denv?" - -Reuben stiffened. - -"I'm not accusing you of being a spy. It's really all right to go -outside of Denv. I've been outside. There isn't much to see at first--a -lot of ground pocked and torn up by shorts and overs from Ellay and us. -Farther out, especially east, it's different. Grass, trees, flowers. -Places where you could grow food. - -"When I went outside, it troubled me. It made me ask questions. I -wanted to know how we started. Yes--started. _It wasn't always like -this._ Somebody built Denv. Am I getting the idea across to you? _It -wasn't always like this!_ - -"Somebody set up the reactors to breed uranium and make plutonium. -Somebody tooled us up for the missiles. Somebody wired the boards to -control them. Somebody started the hydroponics tanks. - -"I've dug through the archives. Maybe I found something. I saw -mountains of strength reports, ration reports, supply reports, and yet -I never got back to the beginning. I found a piece of paper and maybe -I understood it and maybe I didn't. It was about the water of the -Colorado River and who should get how much of it. How can you divide -water in a river? But it could have been the start of Denv, Ellay, and -the missile attacks." - -The general shook his head, puzzled, and went on: "I don't see clearly -what's ahead. I want to make peace between Denv and Ellay, but I don't -know how to start or what it will be like. I think it must mean not -firing, not even making any more weapons. Maybe it means that some of -us, or a lot of us, will go out of Denv and live a different kind of -life. That's why I've clawed my way up. That's why I need a young man -who can claw with the best of them. Tell me what you think." - -"I think," said Reuben measuredly, "it's magnificent--the salvation of -Denv. I'll back you to my dying breath if you'll let me." - -May smiled tiredly and leaned back in the chair as Reuben tip-toed out. - - * * * * * - -What luck, Reuben thought--what unbelievable luck to be at a fulcrum of -history like this! - -He searched the level for Rudolph's apartment and gained admission. - -To the general, he said: "Sir, I have to report that your friend May is -insane. He has just been raving to me, advocating the destruction of -civilization as we know it, and urging me to follow in his footsteps. I -pretended to agree--since I can be of greater service to you if I'm in -May's confidence." - -"So?" said Rudolph thoughtfully. "Tell me about the double. How did -that go wrong?" - -"The bunglers were Selene and Almon. Selene because she alarmed me -instead of distracting me. Almon because he failed to recognize her -incompetence." - -"They shall be brainburned. That leaves an eighty-ninth-level vacancy -in my organization, doesn't it?" - -"You're very kind, sir, but I think I should remain a May's -man--outwardly. If I earn any rewards, I can wait for them. I presume -that May will be elected to wear the five stars. He won't live more -than two years after that, at the rate he is taking drugs." - -"We can shorten it," grinned Rudolph. "I have pharmacists who can see -that his drugs are more than normal strength." - -"That would be excellent, sir. When he is too enfeebled to discharge -his duties, there may be an attempt to rake up the affair of the double -to discredit you. I could then testify that I was your man all along -and that May coerced me." - -They put their heads together, the two saviors of civilization as they -knew it, and conspired ingeniously long into the endless night. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Luckiest Man in Denv, by Simon Eisner - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LUCKIEST MAN IN DENV *** - -***** This file should be named 50835.txt or 50835.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/8/3/50835/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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