Page 60 - Astounding Pulp V2

THE SMALLEST GOD 61
60 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FI CTION
little figure. "That would account for Brugh wrote it to th'row me off the trail."
worn for the la:;t six years. As quietly ing. "Come to think of it, maybe You the exposed film. Suppose you come ''Hatred had nothing to do with it, I
as he could, he slipped across to the other shape isn't real. \Vhich is it~ With me while I get dressed and try suppose?" ,
study door, th-rew it open, and snapJ?ed my nephew or Brugh?" teading my mind. You might be sur~ "I don't hate Brugh, and if his con-
on the light switch, just as the rustling H ermes ~ave up_ and w~nt over the prised." · science didn't bother him, he wouldn't
sound stopped. Probably his nephew up story of his creation agam, point b hate me. vVe used to be fairly good
to some trick- point, while d~wn crept up over tl/ HER:-.rns was surprised, definitely. In friends. 'vVe could still be if we weren't
But the room contained neither a roofs of the adJacent houses and Lt e the professor's mind there had been so darned stubborn." The professor
nephew- nor any ot}-ier man._ Ho~ges him to hurry. Hodges' first incFed ry.ed complete conviction of Brugh's guilt, grinned as he picked up the s111all fig-
blinked, adjusting his eyes to the light, turned .to doubt, and doubt gave pla Lt tty shaken somewhat n~ by the story trans- ure and ·moved toward· the kitchen.
and stared at his desk. It had been half belief. . ce to ferred by H ermes: Instead of being a ''You don't eat, do you ? \i\T ~II; I do.
closed when he went to bed, he was sure "So that's the way it is? A ll . h cooked-up scheme to ruin his rival, the Brt1gh played a dirty trick on me, but
of that. · Now it was open, and ,a litter I'll_ believe you, provided you ca: •~ xt, theft of the synthetic man was unques- I'Ye put over a few of them myself to
of papers was strewn across it tn hap- plam how you see without the -d - tionably genuine. The god fi.,ed on one get money for my department. At Cor-
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hazard fashion. Someone must have a ens to 1rect the light against detail, trying to solye the riddle. ton, it's always been dog e:i.t dog when
been there and disappeared in the split .sensory surface." Your A note received the night before had appropriations were under debate." ·
sec:ond it took to snap on the lights. Hennes had overlooked that d . first apprised the· biochemis_t of the ?is- .. But did you think he'd lea Ye his key
eta1!
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Hodges moved over to the desk, stop- an d t I . ff to mvestigate l · ' appearance of his pet creat10~ and_ sent lying around for evidence?"
oo c tune o
ping to pick up a few scraps of paper If "A I I 1 1111-
s~ . pp~1_-e~t y t 1e surface is sensi- h im to the laboratory to mvest1gate. "People do funny things, and only
that had fallen on the floor, then reached tl~e on y t~ 1gdt t_ld1atdst;ikes it at a cer- "\Vhat happened to that ransom note?" the department heads are permitted mas-
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up to close the roll top. As he did so, t am ~ng e, 1e ec1 e . 'And my mouth H ennes asked. ter keys. It had his number." Hodges
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something small and white made a sud- openmlf acts as . a very 1ough lens- -Hodges was struggling with man's · swallowed the last of a bun and "·ashed
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, den frantic lunge from among the pa- somethmg on the order of the old · symbol of slavery to the law of fashion, it clown with milk. "It is funny, though.
pers and hit th.e floor to go scuttling 1 1 J)lll- his necktie. "It's still in my pocket- L et's see, now. Brugh left the keys on
10 e _camera. The tar below is cur d
across the room. \i\Tith startlingly quick and 1£ I want clearer vision I can ve ' here_." He flipped it across the room, · the table, and sometime yesterday he
reactions fo1: his age, the professor spun out a thin bubble of fairly ~ran,:pa put where the other could study the ·crude lost one of them. Tariya was in the
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his lank frame and scooped up the scur- sur ace matena 1 to rectify the light rent
111 scrawl. The words were crude and di~- labora,tory in the morning, just before
rying object. fully, as a lens would. I don't ne"d ore rect:
Apparently it was an animated rub- iris." - " an . a elate with that confounded nephew of
ber doll that lay twisting in his grasp. " Um-m-m. So Brugh decided he'd Perffeser, we got yur artifishul man mine. H m-m-m."
Words came spilling out, tbough the made life ~n~ wanted ,to make a fool of i11l cost you 1000$ to get him back leave ;'But Tanya wouldn't- " H ermes felt
the doug\1 in a papre sak in the garbaj
tiny mouth did n6t move. "All right, me by brmgmg my man to conscio can bak of yur hows noon tomorer an duty bound to protect Tanya's reputa-
you've caught me. Do you have to ness, eh? Is that why he kidnaped ;.:s- dont caw) the bulls. tion.
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squeeze me to death?'' · . . thropos ?" n- H odges cut in on his protest. '·It s
Some men, when faced with the im- Hermes grunted sourly. H is rnind "Obviously the work of a well-edu- plain you don't know Tanya Brugh.
possible, go insane ; others refuse to be- was incapable of the sudden rages and cated man," H odges grunted, . succeed- For herself, she wouldn't take it. But
lieve. Bt1t Hodges' life had been spent dull hates that seemed to fi ll men' ing finally with the tie. "They always give her a fairly handsome young man .
in proving the impossible to be possi- thoughts, but it was colored by the di ~ try to appear too illiterate when writing with a smooth line, and she'd sell her
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ble, and he faced the situation calmly. like Brugh cultivated for the biochen those notes. That's why I thought Dr. own father down the river. T hat ran-
A robot wouldn't have spok~n that way, ist. "it's a nice way of lying , professo~-
and obviow~ly this wasn't flesli and but I know Dr. B-rugh had nothing t ,
blood ; equally obviously, it was some do with your creation." · 0
form of life. He lifted the figure onto The other grinned skeptically. "I-low
the desk and cla;t~ped the wire waste-· do you know?''
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basket down over it. "I read his m_nd, where he had to r
" Now," he said, "what are you, where veal the truth." In proof, the litfte go~
from and what do you want?" · transferred part of the p icture t1e hact
I {~n11es devoted full energy to pic- drawn from Brugh's .mind to that of
turing himself as a charging lion, but Hodges.
the professor was r1ot impressed. "Hm-m-m." The biochemist lifted
"It's a nice i11usion," he granted, smil- the wastebasket off and picked up the