Part 8 (2/2)

'You mean they think Oppenheimer might be a spy for the Russians?'

'Ridiculous as it seems, yes. Although Major Butcher would be better off devoting some of his time to snooping around some of the other personnel on the Hill. Our friend, Klaus Fuchs, the Wagner buff, for example.' But Ace was hardly listening. She hefted the basket, feeling the warmth coming off the container and smelling the chilli inside.

'Where are we going to eat? In your room?'55.

'No. I'm afraid in this period people would look askance at your presence in my room, to say the least.'

'Then where are we going to eat?'

Cosmic Ray Morita looked up from the large earthenware pot they had set on one of the small tables in his front room. 'This is very groovy of you cats,' he said, holding his face in the aromatic steam that rose as he tilted the lid. 'Sure smells good.'

'You're sure you haven't eaten already?' said the Doctor politely.

'Oh I've eaten already,' said Ray. 'But so what, daddy-o, so what?' He patted the comfortable swell of his paunch, then dug out some chipped bowls and spoons. Ace discreetly polished hers on her s.h.i.+rt-tail and made certain she got a large serving of the chilli right away. This proved to be a sensible manoeuvre, as Ray proceeded to devour the bulk of the pot with gluttonous speed and gusto. The Doctor only had a token serving, sitting and watching the others.

Finally Ray wiped his face on his s.h.i.+rt sleeve, put his bowl aside, and lurched over to the record player. He set about the laborious business of changing needles on the tone arm. 'Are those cactus needles?' said the Doctor, as Ray opened the tin.

Ray grunted an affirmative as he concentrated on fitting the new needle.

'How fascinating.'

Ray finished with the tone arm and set about selecting a record from his large collection. The Doctor inspected the tin of cactus needles. Ray regarded him benignly, as though he was a fellow enthusiast. Ace decided that a belly full of excellent chilli, at the Doctor's expense, had a lot to do with that benign expression. Ray said, 'And you can only use each one just one time, baby.'

The Doctor lifted his eyebrows in polite surprise. 'Really?'

'Really man.' A hunted expression crossed Ray's face. 'Out here in the middle of the desert and can I get a cactus needle?' He took the tin from the Doctor. It's unbelievable, baby.'

'You seem to be doing quite well,' said the Doctor.

'But I might run out, daddy-o, I might run out.' Cosmic Ray's eyes glittered anxiously. 'I might run out at any time.'

'Ray,' said the Doctor. 'Do you mind if I ask you a question?' Ray shrugged, his back to them, as he put on a record. 'Transblucency' by Duke Ellington.

The music blasted and surged. When it was over, Ray turned to the Doctor and spoke as if the conversation hadn't been interrupted.

'What question, man?'

'Why did Major Butcher go to all the trouble of appearing here in person yesterday, brandis.h.i.+ng a gun, just to confiscate a record by Lady Silk?'56.

'Well it's like this. Butcher baby is a stickler for the rules and the rules say that it's against the law to listen to Silk sing. She might subvert us or convert us or divert us. From our appointed task. She's in the employ of the enemy, so listening to her is disloyal and un-American and all that jive.'

'But even so, that hardly justifies turning up with a gun in his hand.

Wouldn't his time be better employed looking for spies?'

Ray lifted the tone arm, discarding the old cactus needle and inserting a new one. Ace could see a sly grin on his face. 'That's exactly what he thought he was was doing.' doing.'

'But even if he suspects you of being a spy, why should he be concerned about what music you listen to?'

Ray's grin widened. 'He thinks they're sending me coded messages.'

'Coded messages?'

'That's it baby, in the songs. The songs Lady Silk sings. Butcher thinks j.a.p high command is sending me messages in the songs.'

It was after midnight by the time they left Ray's apartment and the moon was high over the mesa, s.h.i.+ning on the distant mountains, its white light detailing the unearthly landscape. The Doctor and Ace walked along carrying the basket with the empty ca.s.serole in it. 'You know what Ray said,' said Ace.

'About the songs having coded messages in them?'

'Sounds like a cla.s.sic paranoid delusion, doesn't it?'

'It does a bit. Does that mean that Major Butcher is a nutcase?'

The Doctor sighed. 'I keep telling everyone not to underestimate Butcher.'

'But he thinks Oppy is some kind of Russian spy, doesn't he? And that's not true at all, is it?'

'No,' said the Doctor. 'Not at all.' His voice was strangely sad, and after a moment he went on. 'But despite successfully building the atomic bomb for them, our friend Oppenheimer never wins the trust of his own government. In a few years' time he is going to be brought to trial over his security clearance.

And guess who will be testifying against him. I'll give you a clue. You've already seen him having a furious argument with Oppy.'

'Teller?'

'Yes. Edward Teller. He and Oppenheimer will become mortal enemies.'

Ace looked up at the fragments of moonlight falling through the trees. A cool breeze wove past them and she suppressed a s.h.i.+ver. 'But I thought they were only disagreeing about the chain reaction.'

'Just the small matter of whether the world is going to blow up, yes.'

Ace glanced at him but she couldn't make out his face in the darkness. 'Did you talk to Teller? Did you manage to convince him his equations are wrong?'57.

'Yes and no. Yes, I spoke to him. No, I couldn't convince him. But I will persist in trying. It won't be easy. He's a complex fellow, Teller.'

'You did a lot of research on these people before we came here.'

'Yes I did,' said the Doctor. 'And I discovered some startling facts.'

'For instance?'

'For instance, discovering that in the early part of his career Raymond Morita was a mediocrity with a poor academic record and showed no promise whatsoever.'

'You could say the same thing about Einstein.'

'Why, Ace,' said the Doctor delightedly. 'Yes, indeed you could. Cosmic Ray was teaching in a high school. Then something happened to him. He turned into one of the brightest stars in the field of advanced physics.'

'Maybe someone gave him some of your fish oil capsules.'

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