Part 4 (1/2)

The field leader's eyebrows raised a little. ”Bond, sir? He's one of--”

”Bond. Yes.” His superior interrupted forcefully. ”And tighten down on all your men. You know how I feel about laxity.”

He snapped the communicator off and gathered Bond's report together. For a few seconds, he looked at the neat stack of paper, then he slipped a paper clamp on it and punched his call b.u.t.ton.

”There!” Paul Graham straightened from his hunched-over position at the desk. He laid his soldering iron down and ma.s.saged the small of his back, grimacing slightly.

”Oh, me! I'll swear my back'll never be the same again. But that ought to do it, at last.” He looked at the equipment before him and grinned ruefully.

”Of all the haywire messes. It started out so nice. And it ended up so awful.”

The device _had_ started out as a fairly neat a.s.sembly, using a headband as a cha.s.sis. But the circuitry seemed to have gone out of control.

Miniature sub-a.s.semblies hung at all angles from their wires and tiny components were interlaced through the unit, till the entire a.s.sembly looked like a wig from a horror play. Graham shook his head, picked up the band; and carefully fitted it, being careful that the contacts touched his forehead and temples properly.

For an instant, he looked a little dazed. Then, he reached up and fumbled for a moment with the controls at the front of the headband.

Suddenly, he stopped, an expression of pleasure on his face. He stood for a time, looking at the wall, then looked up at the ceiling. He frowned and looked at his wife, who was anxiously watching him. A smile grew on his face, and she was clearly conscious of the projected thought.

”_I told you, Elaine, it can't possibly hurt anyone. Stop worrying about me._”

Elaine Graham looked startled. ”I didn't, say anything, darling.”

Her husband looked at her with an impish grin. She frowned a little, then her eyes widened and her mouth opened a little. She ran at him indignantly.

”It simply isn't decent! You take that thing off, Paul Graham, right now. I won't have you reading my mind!”

Graham laughingly fended her off with one hand as he carefully removed the headband with the other. He set the device gently on the desk, then seized his wife about the waist.

”It works, honey,” he said jubilantly. ”It really works.” He waltzed her away from the desk, to the middle of the living room.

”Of course, I couldn't get anything from anyone but you. It seems to work just as I thought it might--only if you can see the person you want to contact. But I'll bet two people who were acquainted could use two of these things to communicate with each other at any distance. And it may be possible to work out the problem of single-device communication at distance and through obstacles. But that'll have to come later. Right now, this thing works.”

”But Paul. I'm afraid. What will _they_ do with something like this? We have so little freedom left now. Why, they won't even let us think privately.” She paused, her head turning from side to side as she looked about the apartment.

”You know, Paul, I hardly ever dare go out of this apartment now, they upset me so. And if they're able to read my thoughts, I shan't be safe, even here.”

Graham frowned. ”True,” he admitted. ”But somehow, when I had the thing on, I got some funny ideas. I wonder if anyone could really oppress someone he fully understood. I wonder if two people who could fully comprehend each other's point of view could have a really serious disagreement.” He picked up the headband, looking at it searchingly.

”And there's another thing,” he added. ”Unless both parties are wearing the things, vision seems to be essential to any reaction, at least in this model. I tried to get thoughts from the kids and from the Moreno's, upstairs. But there wasn't a thing. And yet, I could get you clearly.

Apparently this thing won't work out as a spy device.”

”But, are you sure?”

Graham shrugged wryly. ”Well ... no,” he admitted. ”I'll have to finish wiring the other set and try 'em both out before I'll be sure of anything. And it'll take a lot of tests before I'm sure of very much.

Now, I've just got some ideas.” He frowned thoughtfully.