'What are we going to do?'
'For now we are going to sit.'
'I'm serious,' Remo pressed. His own voice sounded anxious to him.
'As am I, for at the moment it appears we have no choice.'
'That's a pretty damned defeated attitude, isn't it?' 'I am not defeated. I am awaiting an opportunity.'
Remo didn't seem convinced. 'Great. When do you think that'll be?'
'I will know when it presents itself.'
'Hmm,' Remo said, nodding. 'Wait and see.
Isn't that for people without options? I prefer to do something.'
'Then do this magical whatever-it-is. And when you initiate your daring escape, Remo, do not forget to bring me with you.'
'You're not making this easier, Chiun.'
'And you are?' In the dark, the old Korean's singsong was annoyed.
Remo sighed. 'I guess maybe not,' he admitted.
'It's just that I went though something like this with the Pythia just a couple of weeks ago. Even as helpless as I felt with that, there seemed to be some hope.
A chance I could fight it. We can't do anything here unless Holz's damned machines break down.'
'Then that is what we must hope for.'
'It seems pretty thin, Little Father.'
'It is all we have,' Chiun said matter-of-factly.
And in his heart of hearts, Remo knew his teacher was right. One thing was certain. If the interface system did go down—if only for a moment—the final switch thrown would be that of Lothar Holz.
The rest of their trip to Edison was tensely quiet.
20
Holz pulled into the PlattDeutsche America parking lot beside the battered interface van. It was the executive lot, and most of the other spots were empty this late in the day. He got out of the cab and went over to the other truck. He eyed the damage to the rear door critically.
As if on cue, Remo and Chiun came around the rear of the van, guided by the interface signal. Their faces were bland reflections of one another.
'Did you do that?' Holz demanded of Remo.
Remo did not respond.
'Your silence is getting very old, very quickly,'
Holz said impatiently. 'This equipment cost a fortune. I hope for your sake it is not damaged.' He rattled the handle but found the door was sealed shut.
'Splendid. I'm going to have to send this out for repairs,' he said with a resigned sigh.
The three of them left the truck and took the rear stairwell up to the lab.
When they entered Newton's lab, the first thing Holz noticed was the man on the ceiling. He was crawling like a spider, as if his palms and toes were glue. He slipped across to the wall and climbed rapidly down to the laboratory floor.
Von Breslau stood at the computer terminal near Newton, making little scratch marks in a yellow legal pad. Holz's assistant stood behind the two men. His arms were folded across his chest. His face held the same unreadable expression as always.
'That was incredible!' the man who had just scaled the wall enthused. Holz knew him. His name was David Leib and he was a manager in the sales department. 'Did you see that?' Leib asked excitedly. He looked up at the ceiling and then down at the palms of his hands. It was as if he were seeing them for the first time in his life.
Von Breslau fixed his rheumy eyes on Holz. 'We have had great success thus far, Lothar,' the old man said. He made another mark on his paper.
'I can see that,' Holz said, nodding to the incredulous sales manager. 'How many test subjects have you used so far?'
'Eight so far, I believe. Eight?' Newton glanced at von Breslau for confirmation.
The old man consulted the yellow legal pad, then nodded.
'Yes, eight,' Newton said.
'Have there been any ill effects?'
'None so far,' Newton confirmed. Hesitant at first, he had thrown himself wholeheartedly into the experiments.
'There appear to be no side effects on our subjects,' von Breslau said. He was unhappy to have someone answer for him. His lips puckered unpleasantly as he glanced at Curt Newton.
'Then it is obvious to me. Fischer moved too quickly with the first test subject.'
'I think that is pretty clear, Lothar. But remember, that's not the only thing to consider. The nervous systems are different. We are still only downloading very basic material. It would take some time for the new systems to adapt. Basically what we have is a new program overriding an old one.'
'But it is possible?'
'Hey, they're living proof,' Newton said, waving his hand toward Remo and Chiun. 'I patched them back into the internal system once you were back on the grounds, by the way.'
Holz sloughed the words off as if they were irrelevant. He was watching the sales manager, who had taken to the wall once again. The man climbed ef-fortlessly up and then back down again. The PlattDeutsche vice president's eyes held an envious gleam.
'I think we can bring these tests into a new realm,' Holz announced boldly.
'That would be acceptable,' von Breslau agreed.
His tired eyes strayed to the EKG monitor.
'Hold on, here.' Curt Newton jumped in. 'I think we should do some more tests. We have no idea what sort of long-term neural side effects there could be to the process.'
'That is the problem with scientists, my dear Curt.
You people want to test and test and test, while the rest of us are looking for solutions today. And we have one, in your brilliant research. We also have our next volunteer.' Holz snapped his fingers. Obediently his assistant stepped away from the two doctors. He hopped up onto the hospital gurney.
'You will step up the process.'
'Agreed,' von Breslau declared.
'Are you sure?' Newton said. 'I mean—' he pitched his voice low so that the sales manager could not hear '—does your assistant realize there are risks?' he asked. He nodded to the blond-haired man.
'He was bred for risk, Doctor. By me.' With a minimum of fuss, the old man proceeded to connect the electrodes from Newton's equipment. He worked with the confidence of a man who had been with the Dynamic Interface System program for months.
When finished, he stepped over to the computer and proceeded to study the commands Newton gave to the machine. He had done this for the bulk of the day. For his part, the young man sat on the bench, silent. His eyes were blue stone.
It was all so surreal to Curt Newton. Holz. The infamous Dr. Erich von Breslau. Now this young man's ready acceptance of the danger posed by the Dynamic Interface System.
Newton had become used to the blond man's silent, subservient attitude over the years. He had been with Holz since Newton first arrived at PlattDeutsche. But Newton was amazed that his pliancy extended to acting as a human guinea pig simply because his employer wished him to do so.
Behind Newton, von Breslau cleared his throat impatiently. He was surprising for a man of his advanced years. He had asked Newton pointed questions concerning the operation of the Dynamic Interface System all afternoon, and the scientist was amazed at the old man's ability to grasp the minutiae of the complex operating system. He remained, however, ill-tempered and impatient.
