Tesla's Signal (19 page)

“No. No, no, no!”

Niko had been absorbing high voltage into his body for years.
My body is a capacitor
, he would say. When the capacitor reaches its limit, it spews the voltage back out. And now Niko had reached his limit.

Lightning exploded from his body. The pain lanced white-hot and the tiny mind-control implant was ejected from his body at high speed, leaving a stream of blood flowing down his back.  

He grasped the controls of the Orb, convulsing like the epicenter of a world-encompassing quake. A blue glow surrounded his hands. Streams of lightning burst from his fingers and crawled up the Orb circuitry to envelop the alien device.

Niko had become a living Tesla coil: a white-hot column of power shot forth from him. If a human being suddenly became Niagara—it would feel like this! Sparks enveloped the alien Orb. Fire consumed his hands but he could not let go. Cracks appeared in the pearly Orb's surface. Still Niko could not control the flow. One more pulse—10 million volts!

V'kaan recoiled as a spark struck her eye. The Martians cried out with unearthly shrieks. He saw their writhing figures scrambling to escape from the inferno...racing for their shuttle. They zipped away just as the Orb shattered into a thousand pieces.

The force of the explosion hurled the pieces high into the sky. They fell slowly to Earth, turning end over end, like pieces of glowing glass. The thunder echoed back and forth for miles around.

Spent, Niko collapsed on the edge of the platform. He lay there insensible, smoking like a burnt-out fuse from his hands and clothing. He stared up at the sky with blank eyes, while fragments of the Orb showered down all around him.

10: The Sheriff of Shoreham

Clara dashed up the stairway of the Tower: one hundred—200—300 steps. She did not stop once. When she reached the top, gasping for breath, the light of sunrise revealed Niko lying blank-eyed, his hair and hands smoking. A white pigeon fluttered around his head.

“
Vei iz mir!
Niko? Oh, please be alive!” She knelt, cradled his face, pressed on his chest, breathed life into his lips. A faint gasp finally rewarded her.

She managed to drag him all the way down the tremendous tower, to the ground below. On every step she uttered prayers to the Almighty and to the Serafim. When she reached the ground, several bright fragments caught her eye.

The largest was about the size of her hand.
They are fragments of the Martian device.
She bent to pick them up, and then hesitated. Who knew what that shiny object was made of, or its purpose? All she knew was that these visitors were up to no good. So she picked the fragments up with her kerchief and wrapped them securely.

Inside the lab, she covered him with her coat. “Niko, can you hear me?”

“Angel Lords, please...don't punish...” he murmured, cringing from some private horror.

“Shh. It's all right.” She patted him, whispering reassurance. “You're safe. Come on, open your eyes. Ah, there, that's better. Here, why don't I give you a few jolts from that violet ray gadget that you use.”

She hooked up the device and ran the healing electrodes over her friend's face and hands. It emitted a faint hum and a lovely purple glow. She kept talking nonstop, hoping she could somehow reach him. “It's all right Niko. It's me, Clara. I won't let those Martian
schmucks
hurt you. If I see them again, I swear I'll...I'll rip off their faces and make
kugel
with them.”

***

Niko put his hands over his ears. “Monsters!” he muttered. “Won't obey. No!”
>

“Niko? Wake up. It's me, Clara!”

He opened his eyes and beheld a beautiful sight: a smudged, grimy
human
woman, dressed in boy's overalls, her hair in a braid. For a second he didn't believe his eyes. Was this another cruel deception?
They can twist minds...
 

“Clara? Is it really you?” A still more terrifying thought occurred to him. “They didn't...capture you too?” In his terror, he forgot his reluctance to touch and grabbed her hand.

“It's okay, Niko, they're gone. You're safe.” She patted his shoulder.

 A tear rolled down his cheek.“Thought I'd never see...thought I was...”

“Niko. What on earth happened up there?” She gazed anxiously into his eyes.

“Where am I? In the...” the
what?
His mind drew a blank. It had all vanished. “I...I can't...I can't remember anything,” he cried, in sudden dismay.

“You're serious?” she stared at him, her dark eyes filled with concern.

“The...space creatures. They came and took me. Next thing I recall, I was on top of the Tower and everything was...exploding.”

“Hypnosis,” Clara said. “Or drugs?”

Niko felt a spiraling terror. His mind was his most precious asset. And now someone had tampered with it!

“But Niko...what about the burst of electricity? Did you create that?”

A burst of electricity.
Somehow he had channeled, or induced, millions of volts.
Tesla is the Electric Man. The wizard of lightning.
 

“All the voltage I've absorbed. It all discharged at once. I'm a human capacitor.” He looked at his burned hands. “No human could do that. So...I am not human after all. I'm a freak!”

“Oh, nonsense. Thank God you're alive. ” She put her arms around him, and he didn't reject her touch. They held each other, while a single electric light burned and the dust motes floated by in the laboratory at Wardenclyffe.

At last Clara broke free. “We've got to get out of here. What if they come back? Can you get up?”

“I don't think so.” He had never felt so weak in his life.

“Wait...I hear a motorcar coming.” She went to the window. “Ah, hell. There's a police flivver outside.”

Niko thought about making a quick exit, but whatever had happened up there on that Tower, it had drained him of all his energy.
Move,
he told his body, but it wouldn't obey.

“Don't worry—I'll take care of the
schmucks
.
”

A loud knock sounded on the door, followed by a gruff command. “Open up in there!”

Clara concealed her braid beneath her cap, and opened the door. “Officers, what seems to be the—”

A big, angry sheriff burst in, followed by three deputies. “Who's in charge here?” he demanded. “What the devil's going on?”

“We've had an accident,” Clara said. “A problem with electric current. My friend is hurt.”

“Is that the mad scientist who's been trying to blow up the whole town?” They pushed past Clara and surrounded Niko. “You there—you're under arrest.”

Niko had managed to sit up. “What are the charges?”

“The charges are that you're a public menace, Mister! People say you launched some kinda flyin' machine, and then caused a big explosion. We've been puttin' out fires all morning!”

While the Sheriff ranted, Clara gave Niko a wink and slipped out the door.

“Good God, man! What the hell happened to ya?” For the first time, the Sheriff seemed to notice Niko's burned face and hands; his hair in disarray. “You look like the Devil had his way with ya.”

“Electric shock...hundred million volts.”

“Is that so? Well it serves ya right,” the Sheriff said, his store of compassion used up. “That's what ya get for messin' around with God's lightning. You're coming with us.”

Two of them pulled him to his feet, while the Sheriff brandished his gun. The fourth squad member walked about, gazing curiously at the machinery and equipment.

“Don't touch nothin',” the Sheriff warned. “Liable to turn you into a Frankenstein. All right, let's go.” He opened the door. “What the—” He stopped as a sizzling sound greeted him. He got no farther before Clara's electric walking stick put him on the ground.

The second cop ran to see what had happened and Clara let him have it too.

“Hold it right there, fellas.” Clara had grabbed the sheriff's gun and now she pointed it at the other two. “Hands up,
schmucks!
Don't move or you'll both get it.”

“Jesus Christ,” said the third cop. “Who the hell are you?”

“I'm the Queen of England,” said Clara. “Keep those hands up,” she commanded, while removing their guns from their holsters.

Niko found the strength to disentangle himself from their grip and stand on his own. Watching Clara face down a whole squad of lawmen was making him feel a lot stronger.

“Assaulting an officer,” the third cop grumbled. “You're gonna be in big trouble, boy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said “boy” Clara. “I'm shakin' in my boots.”

When both cops were disarmed, Clara asked for their shoes and belts.

“Aw, come on, kid,” said the fourth cop, “these are new shoes!

“Shut up,” said Clara, “or my mad scientist pal here will try one of his new electrical gadgets on ya. Would ya like that? No? Then take your buddies back to the squad car.”

The disarmed policemen had no choice but to obey, and they looked mighty comical trying to drag their dazed squad-mates to the car while holding up their trousers. “You two will pay for this,” one of them muttered.

 “Come on, Niko, don't worry your head about those
pishers
.
”
She put her arm around Niko by the waist and half-dragged him till they reached their Roadster, which had been concealed behind some high shrubs. “Now let's get the hell out of here.”

She got in and gunned the motor and they bounced out onto the road, spewing dust behind them. “Don't worry,” she said, “we've got a lead on them. While those brave fellows were picking on an injured man, I flattened their tires.”

Despite his condition, Niko managed a smile. “Clara! Where'd you learn to be such a hooligan?”

“I ain't no delicate lady. I've had to live by my wits.” Clara's aspect had undergone a startling change; she had lost her dignified office-girl voice and taken on the accent of the street. “I escaped the Czar's soldiers, the German Border Patrol, those Essex Street gangs...believe me, Niko, those small-town cops are
a nothing!”
 

She floored the pedal, whipped off her cap and let her braids fly in the wind. “Aren't you glad I got you this Roadster? How fast do you think it can go?”

Clara's mischievous glee was infectious. Niko began to feel human again.

***

Void Stalker

K'viin faced the crew, trying to control his agitation. Their uniforms showed scorch marks, and several of them had sustained burns. Xeno-Mentalist V'kaan wore a covering over one eye.

“Damage assessment?” he said to Under-Captain D'vaan.

“Several minor injuries, sir. No damage to the shuttle.”

“
No damage?
You fool! There has been extensive damage indeed,” K'viin ground out. “Our primary Orb has been destroyed. This will greatly interfere with our plans! K'va Z'duun!” He turned to the science specialist. “Have you determined how the rogue Tes'laa achieved this deed?”

Z'duun bowed his head. “Not yet, sir. I recommend we vacate this area for now, in case other humans might be waiting near the tower site with similar weapons.”

Seeking a target for his rage, K'viin turned to V'kaan. “You! Perhaps the fault is yours! How is it you failed to condition the Earthman properly?”

V'kaan's winglets quivered. “My deepest apologies, Captain...I had trouble with his conditioning program. I did not wish to destroy his high intelligence, or he would have been useless to us.”

“And so you have made him into a lethal weapon instead!” K'viin roared out, his rumble echoing through the chamber.

V'kaan quickly looked for a way to deflect her Captain's anger, and her glance fell upon Shelia. “It is the Chosen Vessel who failed in her responsibility. It was her job to entice members of her species into serving us willingly.”

K'viin marched up to the cringing, defenseless human female. “Chosen Vessel! You boast that no male human can resist your lures. Evidently you are not such a desirable mating object after all. Perhaps it's time we searched for a replacement!”

Shelia fell to the floor in a posture of abasement. “F-forgive this worthless one, revered Angel—”

“There is no forgiveness for a useless servant!” K'viin had found a
vulnerable target he could punish. He pressed a control on his belt and Shelia fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth. The U'jaan crew members absorbed the spectacle with great amusement, until K'viin released her.