Part 24 (1/2)
He slid into the pilot seat and pressed the starter b.u.t.ton. ”I'll be in Mexico City at dawn,” he thought, ”just in time to catch the Sidney-Clipper.”
On the first of December, 1960, Dr. Howard K. Scriven, Braintrust Czar, held a historic press conference in which he revealed the inside story behind the ”Paranoia of The Brain”.
Following the pattern set by the Bikini tests, only a select score of press and radio representatives were admitted. Having been duly sworn not to reveal any matter of military secrecy, the partic.i.p.ants could even be received at the grand a.s.sembly hall of the murals, the vast antechamber of The Brain.
As they descended from their blacked-out busses they were led to the center of the dome where the Thinker's giant head looked down upon them with Olympic calm. At eleven-fifteen, exactly as scheduled, the great Scriven dramatically mounted the steps of the monument's pedestal. Pens hastily scribbled notes for future reference:
”S. tall and erect” ”Unbroken by the blow” ”Deep lines of strain and suffering add dignity to magnificent figure of a man” ”Very solemn; leonine head slightly bowed under the burden of responsibility.”
With meticulous exact.i.tude of speech, with rolling echoes accentuating every syllable Scriven began:
”In this solemn and tragic hour as a great storm has pa.s.sed over our land and many of our cities are slowly digging out from the ruin which has been wreaked, it is my duty to give you the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And in order that you might completely understand the underlying cause of the catastrophe, I have to begin at the beginning....”
For about thirty minutes Scriven lectured with lucidity upon the basic idea, the history, the functions of The Brain. He underlined the close relations.h.i.+p between its engineering features and the physiology of the human brain. He stressed the elaborate precautions which the government had taken for The Brain's protection. He did not conceal The Brain's role as a strategic weapon; but, pointing to the future, he painted an inspiring picture of peace on earth and human problems solved with the aid of this tool supreme of science and technology.
Then, lowering his voice, he went into the explanation of the tragedy:
”Six months ago, on my personal initiative and responsibility, I invited a noted scientist from a foreign land to collaborate with the Braintrust on a great humanitarian experiment. The exigencies of military secrecy do not permit me to give you his name nor that of the country from whence he came. Needless to say, that man was carefully investigated--submitted to the same character and apt.i.tude tests as all our employees were. He was admitted to work in one of The Brain's apperception centers where he installed the objects of his studies: certain species of ants and termites of the most destructive kind....”
Now that he had come down to the bra.s.s tacks, the journalists' pens went galloping over the pads:
”Criminal negligence,” they scribbled. ”Millions permitted to escape.”
”Probably over period of months.” ”Wormed their way into the nerve paths of The Brain.” ”Large scale destruction of nerve substance.” ”Effects tantamount to that of a large brain tumor.” ”Spearhead severs vital a.s.sociation-paths.” ”No immediate effects of undermining work because of ingenious engineering features of The Brain.” ”Just as in human brain, functions of impaired cell group automatically transferred to other groups of healthy cells.” ”No means to detect devastation; termites invisible, embedded in nerve paths' insulation.” ”Comparison with termite-eaten structures which suddenly collapse.” ”First outward signs of tumors in human brains: lack of coordination in movement, loss of mastery over muscular action.” ”This phenomenon first manifested Nov.