The Robot Brains. Read online

  The Robot Brains

  - 1 -

  "This is an interesting story. Doctor," said the police inspector's politely.

  "Interesting?" Doctor Fox jumped from his chair and waved his finger under the inspector nose. "Let me remind you that they are murdering people!"

  Fox was very excited. He was walking up and down the room. He was a short man with a plump face and wore spectacles. He had a reputation of having his own opinion on everything under the sun.

  "What is your theory, Doctor?" said the inspector. "This organization which you talk about - what motive can they have? If you can tell me something about the weapon with which they kill, I'll be grateful."

  Fox shook his head.

  "I only know what I've read in the papers. Some kind of energy discharge, that is clear."

  The inspector looked at the clock on the wall and knew that tea was waiting. He sighed. Fox suddenly sat down.

  "You don't have to accept my theory," he said, "but you have to accept the facts. I checked carefully. Each time one of these murders took place, the Burkholder Fair was nearby. Every time - that can't be coincidence."

  The inspector nodded.

  "Doctor Fox, the first victim - Professor Leach - was a friend of yours, I believe. Don't you think that fact played on your nerves a little?"

  Fox jumped to his feet again. He could not remain still for a moment.

  "So you think I'm talking nonsense, Inspector! Well, let me tell you -»

  The Inspector pressed a button on his desk, and a sergeant in a uniform opened the door.

  "Show Doctor Fox out," said the Inspector.

  The doctor left the police station. He walked, talking to himself.

  "What the devil can I do? If only Christian were here…"

  He stopped in the street. "Why not?" he thought. Why not, indeed! He would send for Christian at once.

  He hurried to the post-office to send a telegram.

  Meanwhile the inspector was drinking his tea and thinking over what he had just heard. It was absurd, of course. Yet, Fox was a scientist… The inspector saw no connection between the victims, except the manner in which they had died. The whole thing seemed to have no motive. The inspector was puzzled.

  - 2 -

  A neon sing was flashing:

  FAIR FAIR FAIR

  There was a lot of noise and movement. The crowds moved between tents and swings; coloured lights blinked on and off, sounds of music mixed with the shrieks of girls

  On a wooden platform before a large tent a tall man spoke into a microphone:

  "Come, ladies and gentlemen, for the greatest show of all! Burkholder is my name and I personally guarantee that you've never seen or heard anything like this before. Come and see the Brains! They'll answer any question you give them, any question on any subject! I am so sure of it that I offer five pounds to anyone who beats them. Come, ladies and gentlemen. The price is one shilling. One shilling to learn the mysteries of the universe!"

  Burkholder took out of his pocket a five-pound note and showed it to everybody.

  "Here it is, ladies and gentlemen! Five pounds to the man who asks a question which the Brains cannot answer. Pay your shillings and take your seats."

  More and more people entered the tent. Inside there was a raised platform now curtained off. When all the benches were occupied, Burkholder entered the tent and went up to the platform.

  "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "I hope you have prepared your questions. Ask anything you like. Now I give you… the Brains!"

  The curtain went up, and the people saw three men who were sitting on the stage.

  The Brains looked very much alike. Each was a dwarf, dressed in a suit of grey colour. What attracted everybody's attention at once was their heads. They were very big, quite out of proportion to their little bodies.

  The Brains looked down at the people, without smiling.

  Burkholder said: "Ask your questions, please. You have only half an hour"

  There was a pause. A lady at the back of the tent whispered to her neighbour: "I don't like the look of them at all!"

  Indeed, there was something evil in the Brains; it seemed they were devoid of all humanity.

  At last a schoolboy asked:

  "Is space really empty?"

  "No," answered the Brain in the centre. "The space is only relatively empty. There is a lot of dust and gas between the stars. Also many types of radiation."

  After that more questions were asked:

  "Is a sea-horse a fish?"

  "What is the capital of Pakistan?"

  "Who wrote 'The Count of Monte Cristo'?"

  "Are there such things as ghosts?"

  The Brains answered the questions in turn. The half-hour passed quickly, and the curtain fell.

  - 3 -

  Miller was a big man with short hair and a soft voice. He never hurried. When he reached his office, he was called to the Old Man. He walked along the corridor, knocked at the door and entered.

  "Sit down, Miller," said the Old Man.

  Miller sat down.

  "I want you to make an investigation," said the Old Man. "I have a report from the police. The report concerns these murders. Have you read about them?"

  "I've read the newspapers," said Miller.

  "All the victims have been beheaded. No heads have been found; the neck of each beheaded body was cauterized. It is supposed that the heads were totally destroyed. Of course, we are interested to know what sort of weapon was used."

  Miller nodded.

  "The murders," went on the Old Man, "look like the work of one man or one organization…"

  He paused.

  "Now they have a report from a certain Doctor Fox. He thinks that the murderer is connected with the Burkholder Fair. It is now at Reading. I want you to go to Reading and see what you can find."

  "Who is this Fox?" asked Miller.

  "An unusual person. He is a scientist who has an opinion of his own on everything. He writes a lot for the newspapers on such subjects as flying saucers and teleportation."

  "Is that all?" asked Miller.

  "I think so," said the Old Man.

  Miller stood up.

  "I'll send a report as soon as I have something."

  "All right," said the Old Man. "And, Miller, - don't lose your head."

  - 4 -

  The motor yacht Sea Mist lay in a quiet and peaceful part of the Thames. She was a good ship, her paint was spotless and her metal parts well polished. Everything about her pointed to the fact that her owner was a good sailor and proud of his ship.

  In the long cabin Captain Christian sat reading the day's newspapers and smoking a thin black cigar. He was a tall man, well-dressed; he had a blond beard and sea-blue eyes. As he turned the pages of the newspaper, the light of the lantern shone on the headline:

  GIRL SCIENTIST NEW VICTIM OF STRANGE MURDERER

  Lovely Margaret Greenways, research biologist, is a new victim of the killer. Her body was found early this morning, beheaded, as all the victims of this madman.

  Miss Greenways has been working on a secret method to improve the quality of potatoes.

  As usual, the head was not found - the fifth murder of this kind. When will the police make an arrest? The public have a right to…

  Christian remembered the newspaper articles about the other murders of this kind:

  A headless body… the neck cauterized.

  He put the newspaper aside, stood up, put on a cap and went upstairs. He felt he needed fresh air.

  When he was on desk, he heard the sound of a motorcycle. Soon he saw a telegraph boy rid
ing towards him.

  The young man stopped his motorcycle and called:

  "Captain Christian?"

  "That's me." Christian took the telegram and read it quickly. "No reply," he said.

  The young man rode away, and Christian started the diesel of his yacht and headed it up the Thames. Standing at the wheel, he re-read the telegram from his old friend:

  Need your help at once stop Life and death Stop Meet me Bull Hotel Reading stop Fox.

  - 5 -

  As soon as Christian entered the Bull Hotel in Reading, Fox came running to meet him.

  Christian smiled, pressed his friend's hand and said: "Well, what is it this time? A fall of frogs? Lights in the sky? Or some servant girl who set fire to a house by simply thinking of it?"

  "Murder," Fox replied quietly and led Christian into the bar. They took two glasses of beer and sat down at a table.

  "I think," said Christian, "you have some theory which explains the murders."

  He lit his cigar and prepared to listen.

  "That's right, Chris," said Fox "I've been to the police, but - it was no good, of course. They did not take me seriously."

  The captain smiled a little; many times in the past, he had laughed at his friend's theories, but in the end it usually turned out that the doctor was right.

  "Well, what have you discovered?"

  "I think I know something," said Fox "Each time one of these murders takes place, the Burkholder Fair is nearby. Every time - I checked carefully. The Fair is here now."

  "So that's why we meet in Reading," said Christian.

  Fox nodded.

  "I went to the Fair and saw a show called the Brains… three dwarfs with huge heads who answer questions. There is something strange about them, besides their appearance They know a lot."

  He paused.

  "You know me, Chris. It's not easy to fool me. Well, I shot questions at the Brains - questions on physics, history, literature, mathematics, anything that came into my head that I could answer myself. They knew all the answers."

  "So?" said Christian.

  "I want you to see them for yourself. I didn't like them - and neither did the public. They are evil. I feel it. I want to know who they are, where they came from and how they got their great knowledge."

  "It won't be hard to find out," said Christian.

  "Maybe harder than you think," said Fox. "Professor Leach was a friend of mine. He was number one. He did research work in hydroponics.

  "I was interested in other victims. Gruller, the second victim, was an astronomer. He had just made some new discovery about the stars and was ready to publish - the secret died with him.

  "The third was Robert James, a chemist. He studied the effect of radiation on insect life. The fourth man was Bond, a psychologist. He worked out a new theory of brain structure. The latest, of course, is Margaret Greenways."

  "Potatoes," said Christian.

  Fox leaned forward.

  "Don't you see, Christian? All the murdered people were scientists… and all were working on something new!"

  Christian looked at Fox.

  "Have you any ideas about the weapon?"

  "Only that it is something new - some great discharge of energy with much heat: that's why the necks are cauterized."

  "The murderers must be very sure of themselves," said Fox. "You will see it when you meet the Brains. I think they are the murderers."

  But why a fair? At the fair so many people see and know them."

  "What can be a better way of travelling about the country?" said Fox. "Remember, they are physically different from the

  rest of us, and it is easy to notice them. The Fair makes a sort of cover for them."

  "But why must they kill scientists?" said Christian. "Maybe they are a group of people who are against any form of progress."

  Fox shook his head.

  "It's a big thing, Chris - we're only at the beginning. There'll be more murders. Where did they get their weapon? Modern science does not know such an energy gun…"

  "So," smiled the captain, "they landed in a flying saucer! You and your theories."

  Fox thought.

  "I imagine an interplanetary organization. They know what is happening on the earth. They see the success of our science and they don't want us to get into space. They want to stop us."

  He became more excited

  "Think of our progress. In twenty years we'll be ready to cross space - and who knows what we may find out there? Maybe they don't want us to leave the earth"

  "So they kill a young woman who grows potatoes," said Christian.

  "You don't understand. Margaret Greenways discovered something new. Something new - that's what they are trying to stop. Stop all progress - and you keep man on this planet forever!"

  Christian looked at his friend with open admiration. It was not everyone who could create such a theory from so few facts.

  "Well, Christian," said Fox looking at the captain, "you are the man of action. What shall we do about it?"

  "Investigate the Burkholder Fair," said Christian. "In the morning I'll go to the Fair and see if I can get a job there."

  - 6 -

  Gilbert Thurston worked late in his house on the outskirts of Reading. He was sitting at his desk. On the desk there were pages of manuscript and many notebooks.

  He was alone, except for his cat. His housekeeper had gone to stay with her relatives and would not be back until morning.

  Thurston was pleased with his progress. The work of years was nearly over.

  He felt tired, but not sleepy. He looked again at the title of his work:

  A SOCIAL REVOLUTION

  He was sure that the publication of his theories would bring great changes. It was an idea of which he was proud.

  A sound was heard. The cat raised her head, looking at the window.

  "It's nothing," said Thurston. "Go back to sleep."

  He crossed the room to the little table and took a sandwich. When his paper was published, it would cause a sensation. He was certain of that.

  The sound came again, this time from the back of the house. Thurston decided to pay no attention. He drank his milk and looked at the manuscript again.

  The cat rose, arched her back and hissed. She was looking at the door.

  Thurston took a poker from the fireplace and opened the door.

  "Stay where you are," he said loudly. "I can see you."

  The figure was in shadow, but Thurston noticed the gleam of metal. He raised the poker and said:

  "Throw it down!"

  The figure moved forward. The strange weapon pointed at him…

  There was a brilliant flash of light in his face, one terrible moment of great heat, then nothing…

  The murderer stepped past the headless body of Gilbert Thurston and went to the study. There he destroyed the manuscript.

  - 7 -

  Next morning Christian came to the Burkholder Fair with a bag over his shoulder. He was wearing a pair of trousers and a dark blue jersey. He looked like an ordinary sailor looking for work. He was walking about the place, looking around with interest. He saw men feeding animals, workers cleaning the territory, some children playing and a man shaving in the open.

  Someone shouted at him:

  "You there! Are you looking for a job?"

  A tall man with a long moustache, well-dressed, came up to him. Christian understood that he was Burkholder.

  "Yes, sir," he said. "I have missed my ship. I could work for a few weeks."

  Burkholder looked at the captain attentively and saw a strong man with a blond beard and clear blue eyes

  "All right," he said. "You will do everything that is needed."

  "Yes, sir."

  "Have you had breakfast?"

  "Not yet."

  "Miller!" shouted Burkholder.

 
; A very big man came up to them.

  "What is your name?" Burkholder asked the captain.

  "Christian, sir."

  Burkholder turned to Miller.

  "Christian will live in your trailer. Show him where it is and take him to the kitchen. Then go back to work."

  Burkholder went away. The big man led the captain to a small trailer. Inside there were two beds.

  "Leave your bag," said Miller, "and I'll show where to eat."

  "Have you been working long here?" asked Christian.

  "I started yesterday."

  So the big man could not tell him much, Christian thought. Well, at least he was here: now he must see what he could discover.

  He did not see the Brains until evening. In the evening they came from a large trailer. They were all dressed in grey. They moved without paying attention to the people around. They had small bodies and very big heads. They were short: not more than four feet in height. They looked very unpleasant.

  Looking at the Brains, he decided: "Fox must be right, after all."

  - 8 -

  At around 10 o'clock the show was over, and the public left the Fair. Christian went to the kitchen, took his supper and sat on one of the benches.

  Soon two small girls came in. One of them sat down beside Christian and began to talk.

  "You are new, aren't you?"

  "Started today, miss." Only now Christian realized that she was not a child, but a very small grown-up woman.

  "I'm Jo," she said, laughing. "You need not feel awkward. We are different only outside; inside we are just like anybody else"

  She had soft dark hair and wore a pink dress.

  "You are a sailor, aren't you? Tell us about the sea - I'm sure you've had lots of adventures."

  "You won't believe me," replied Christian. "Once I was shipwrecked on a rock in the middle of the ocean, and every night mermaids brought me food and sang me to sleep. Another time I was swallowed by a whale, but I had my knife with me, so I cut a hole in the side of the whale and escaped."

  Jo laughed.

  "Don't tell me about the sharks," she said. "I shan't believe that if you don't show me your wooden leg!"