A Simple Truth (9 page)

Dag slowly opened his eyes and breathed deeply.  "Tremendous.  It has a really soothing
effect;
I could sit and listen for hours."

"Did you prefer that piece to the first one?"

"Mm... well it was the same piece, but it seemed gentler somehow, was it played differently?"

"Slightly; n
ow sit and listen again, only this time the sound will be quite different, and I'll play it through a pair of headphones.  Don't interrupt with any questions, just relax, shut your eyes and sit quiet."

Dag did as he was bid as Geoff once again
made some adjustments
and fixed the headphones in place.  When it finished he switched off and removed the headphones from his friend.

"Well, what do you feel like now?"

No reply.  He leaned over and gently shook Dag's arm
; a
gain no reaction.

"C
ome on Dag, stop fooling around;
describe
your feelings to me"

Dag sat perfectly quiet and Geoff began to feel real alarm.

"Dag!" he shouted, and shook his friend violently.  Slowly he began to show signs of life.

"Thank God
,"
exclaimed Geoff still shaking him.  Dag was very groggy.  He tried to speak but gave up the attempt and let his head slump back in the chair.  In desperation Geoff splashed water in his face.  That helped, he awoke, but still had a very unconcerned look about him.

"You look funny Geoff
,"
he mumbled, giggling.

"Dag, how do you feel?  What have you been experiencing?  Try to tell me."

Dag giggled again.
"Whatshe panic ol' buddy?"  He grinned stupidly at Geoff.

Geoff put out a call for the base physician to come over.  The doctor did not appreciate being interrupted during a game of chess and was in a grumpy mood when he arrived at Geoff's cabin.

"What is the matter Mr North?"  The doctor invariably addressed his colleagues formally when his equanimity had been disturbed.

Geoff ushered him inside.  "Have a look at Dag, there's something the matter with him."

The doctor went in and carried out a brief check
.  Dag was a little more animated
now and failed to see the point of this visit although he couldn't speak for long without laughing.

Presently the doctor looked sternly at Geoff and said angrily "Something the matter with him is there?  Oh yes there's something the matter with him all right and you know
very
well what it is, he's drunk."

Geoff's astonishment was so obvious that the doctor calmed down a little.  Maybe this wasn't a lark after all.

"You two have been drinking
?"
he queried.

"We haven't been drinking at all
,"
said Geoff quietly
,
as though he
wished the explanation was that
simple.

"Perhaps you had better explain then
,"
said the doctor sitting down in readiness for a long story.

"It's that music, the alien music
,"
began Geoff.  "It struck me as odd how the world has gone overboard about it.  Everyone is affected, normal business seems to have been suspended, and what's more disturbing is that no one seems to care."

"Yes but surely that's to be expected
,"
interrupted the doctor, "a contact from an alien race is a pretty remarkable thing."

"Yes but I was surprised none
the
less.  Anyway when this latest transmission was received I recorded about ten minutes of it while wearing earplugs and then went over to one of the labs to analyse it."

Geoff's voice had been rising steadily during his story and the doctor decided he needed to calm down.

"Hold on
,"
he said rising from his seat and taking hold of Geoff's arm.  "You're working yourself up into a state.  Sit down, relax, and tell me slowly."  Geoff sat down.  The doctor found a glass and poured out some water. 

"Drink this
,"
he ordered.

At that moment Sergio poked his head round the door.  "Everything OK?  I heard the call, no one hurt I hope?  Good grief
!
Dag you look terrible
.
"

"Everything's fine now
,"
reassured the doctor as he gently but firmly eased him out of the door.  "Leave it to me Sergio."

"Now Geoff, go on."

"Well, to cut a long story short there were some very low amplitude, high frequency sound pulses in the original transmission.  These formed a regular pattern but well below the conscious threshold of human hearing when the rest of the music was at normal volume.  The aliens presumably don't know precisely our audible range so this wasn't too significant in itself.  Anyway I separated all this low amplitude stuff out and recorded it separately.  I then played Dag the music without it and then with, and his reactions were quite different.  He was perceptibly more tranquil the second time.  Then I played just the low amplitude part but amplified to increase the effect if any.  I suppose I didn't really expect to see any effect."

He looked a little shame-
faced as he confessed his stupidity.  "You can see the result".

The doctor went over to Dag and looked into his eyes.  "How do you feel
?"
he enquired gently.

"I feel peculiar," Dag replied, "as if I'm in zero gee, and my skin is tingling."

His speech was much better, still slow, but coherent, and the blank look had gone from his eyes.

"I'm sorry Dag
,"
said Geoff with feeling.  "It was stupid to amplify the signals in that way, God knows what I've done to you."

"He'll be fine
,"
said the doctor confidently, "he's just been desensitised.  It's a similar effect to that induced by alcohol, drugs or anaesthetics.  And don't feel bad about it
;
what you have uncovered is something vitally important.  These aliens are hypnotising most of the human race.  It's only the fact that we've been out of contact with Procyon that's allowed us to escape.  Would we have resisted playing that compulsive music at every opportunity?  I doubt it."

Dag rose from his seat and walked somewhat unsteadily over to the wash cubicle.  He wiped his face and neck with a damp cloth.

"I think I'm OK now
,"
he said, and sounded much more like his normal self.

"We'd better get a message to earth right away, this music is dangerous
,"
exclaimed Geoff suddenly.  "Heaven knows what effect continual exposure will have in the long term."

"Is it deliberate do you think
?"
a
sked
the doctor.

"I don't know.  It's hard to see why they should transmit it deliberately.  In any case, we weren't aware of this effect ourselves so how could they be?  No, it must be accidental." 

"I hope so, I really hope so
,"
said Dag unconvinced, "if it is deliberate I daren't guess what their intentions are."

"Let's call an immediate meeting of all personnel
,"
suggested the doctor, "everyone should know about this.  Perhaps there's a better way
than
telling earth directly, let's see what the others think.  And we'd better get over to the control room to stop any more signals coming in."

While they were still a few moments from the control room they could hear the strains of more music being received.  But this time the tranquillising effect was not felt.  What they now knew gave an insidious twist to the peaceful notes and the vision of an unsuspecting and vulnerable public sent a chill down each spine.

Geoff was first into the control room.  He strode over the languid bodies towards the console.

Jean Forsyth saw his movement and looked
round, startled.  "What are you
...
?
Geoff what are you doing
?"
she demanded, her voice rising almost to a shout as realisation dawned of his intention.  Suddenly the room was silent.  The speakers were off.  People looked up
in surprise
, but Geoff ignored the protestations and switched on the loudhailer system.

"Attention, all personnel report to the lecture theatre immediately."

He switched off and looked straight at Jean.

"These speakers stay off
,"
he instructed and strode out.

Jean had no time to
answer;
she and the others just stared after him.  Gradually they began moving out as directed, curious and more than a little apprehensive of what this unprecedented development meant.  Jean was torn between indignity at Geoff's presumption in giving her orders and anxiety as to what lay behind his actions.  She decided to find out.

Lecture theatre was just one function of the multipurpose room.  Most of the time it was a lounge, but sometimes it served as a night club or theatre, and at other times a conference room, chapel or general common room.  Geoff, Dag and the doctor quickly arranged a table on the platform at one end of the room and darkened the window to block the outside view.  No distractions were to intrude on this discussion.

Everyone assembled in a remarkably short time.  Events were rare here and this was clearly important.  Several people in dressing gowns had climbed straight out of bed to attend.

The doctor made a few brief opening remarks to set the scene.  He was a good speaker and had no difficulty in commanding the attention of his audience.  He quickly handed over to Geoff to explain what had happened in his own words.  During the story several gasps could be heard, and the colour drained from many a cheek.

At the end of Geoff's off-the-cuff bulletin the doctor stood up again to emphasise the gravity of the situation.

"It is likely that most of the civilised world is suffering from the effects of these subliminal pulses.  We feel sure that their inclusion is purely
accidental;
there is after all nothing to be gained from hypnotising us from over eleven light years away.  In any case, this pattern of sound was not known by us to induce this peculiar trancelike state so there is no way that our friends out there could know it.  The question is what to do about it.  Earth must be informed of course, but how?  Telling a drunken man that he is drunk does not always produce an agreeable or a logical response.  Also, is there any
thing we might have overlooked
or assumed wrongly?  We wish to throw open the discussion and then agree on a suitable action."

The doctor sat down.

People shuffled a bit and then a voice from somewhere demanded "Why waste time with this game?  Earth must be informed immediately.  As many people as possible must be told as quickly as possible."

"Oh yes and start a mass panic
,"
replied a seco
nd voice.  "Doc Winter is right;
we have to think carefully about this."

Arguments came thick and fast.  People were frightened, and fear invariably provokes emotional reactions.

Eventually Jean reasserted herself after the initial shock had passed.  She walked over to the platform and held up her hands for silence.

"This is getting us nowhere.  Has anyone any considered ideas to put forward rather than knee-jerk reactions?"

The uproar started again as fiercely as ever, but in the midst Jean noticed Sergio Baldoni sitting quietly, a hand raised to indicate his wish to speak.

"Quiet please
,"
she implored, "Sergio, what have you to say?"

Heads turned in surprise, but Sergio was given his chance to speak.  Although the youngest member of staff he was respected as a sensible lad, maybe he could offer something.

"We're out of t
ouch with earth," he began self-
consciously, "so are not in a position to judge accurately the effects on people back home, or who is the best person to receive this news.  So why not single out someone who can be counted on not to act rashly, who is in a position of influence, and who is stone deaf."  He sat down feeling a little embarrassed.

The silence lasted only a couple of seconds until the sheer simplicity of this suggestion sank in.

"Well done Sergio
,"
encouraged Dag Fransson who had now recovered completely, "the only one here with any brains."

"Who else but Jay Ruala
?"
put in Toby Fletcher, "Senior Materials Consultant in the Robotics Division, he was born deaf."

Within a few minutes the meeting was concluded, the solution endorsed by all.  Sergio coloured up as back patting and praise from all sides proclaimed him hero of the hour.

Geoff undertook to convey the message.  He didn't have Ruala's personal communication code so his first task was to fabricate some excuse for the contact in case it was intercepted before Ruala could be located.  So he set about thinking up something plausible that would not cause too much interest while Jean resumed her work at the console.  The last transmission had allowed the source co-ordinates to be measured so she began to compute its position.