'I take it you didn't see
'The newsboy didn't deliver my copy,' I told him drily. 'Because of the weather, I imagine. What's that got to do with it?'
'There was a front page story there which answered your question. It told of the results of certain investigations by your Interior Department's Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. S.M.U.T. has long been interested in these investigations, and we have kept pace with their progress. There was nothing secret about them, and so it was simple. It is a mark of our faith in your scientists that we were convinced they would succeed in what they were working on long before their actual success was accomplished. You see, they didn't realize it, of course, but they were going to provide us with the answer of how to feed an overpopulated world of slaves. And now they have done it.'
'Just what is it that they've done?'
'They've developed a pure fish concentrate with a protein content of 80 percent, the remaining 20 percent consisting of the most beneficial minerals and vitamins. It's really quite ingenious – the process, I mean. The flesh of the fish is ground to a pulp and then the pulp is put through an alcohol cold-bath. This removes all the water and fatty content from the pulp. Then it is immersed in isopropyl alcohol, which further purifies it. Finally it's spray-dried, and the result is the world's first perfect synthetic food supplement.'
'Very interesting. But how can a fish-food sustain an overexpanded humanity?'
'This isn't just a 'fish-food,' Mr. Victor. It is a pure food concentrate. By your own government's estimates, it can be produced so cheaply and easily as to feed two-thirds of the human race today with no strain whatsoever. All it would take to do this would be the building of a relatively inexpensive plant capable of producing ten tons of concentrate daily. That, incidentally, is close to the output of – say – a large sardine cannery. The cost of this – including a margin for profit – would be only eighteen cents a pound. A larger plant might produce 100 tons daily at a cost of only thirteen cents a pound. And a pound of this concentrate could easily sustain – and provide a maximum of nourishment to – a human being for a week to ten days. Thus S.M.U.T. will easily be able to feed large populations. Indeed, one of the reasons for establishing this base here is the excellent fishing off the coast of Franz Josef Land. The need for secrecy keeps us inland now, but eventually we will move to the coast. Here we'll set up a processing plant to be supplied on a regular basis by our own fishing fleet.'
'It looks like you've figured all the angles.'
'Yes. Plus some fortuitous ones we didn't anticipate. Did I mention that this substance is colorless, odorless and tasteless? It looks like a gray flour, has no trace of a fish smell or taste about it, and is easily soluble. It's an ideal food supplement. It can be put in milkshakes, for instance, without being detected. These qualities have turned out to be most important to S.M.U.T. You see, they are also true of the formula for an antibirth control pill developed by Dr. Nyet.'
'So what?'
'So this, Mr. Victor. Your government has been trying to encourage private industry to manufacture the food supplement. A company fronting for S.M.U.T. is already in the process of complying with this request. Only the supplement we produce will also have in it the formula invented by Dr. Nyet. Thus we will insure overpopulation at the very same time that we create the means to feed and control the resulting hordes.'
'Then you do have Dr. Nyet's formula.'
'Now we do, yes. You see, when she fled Russia, she was unable to take her notes with her. She had to destroy them. But with her scientific mind and photographic memory, it wasn't difficult for her to recreate the formula. She had done so and was testing the results when we got word of your coming to New York and took the precaution of hiding her in the brothel. How could I have guessed that fool Crampdick would steer you directly to her? No matter. That's past now. She finished the testing of the formula here yesterday, and wrote the ingredients and composition down on paper for S.M.U.T. I have that paper right here with me now.' He tapped his breast pocket.
'And what will you do with it?'
'I will fly to New York immediately. Dr. Nyet already awaits me there. We will confer with the men arranging the production of the food supplement. Dr. Nyet has some ideas concerning the combining of the two in production.' Highman sat back in his chair and beamed an 'Oh-what-a-genius-am-I-don't-you-agree?' sort of smile at me.
'It's an ingenious scheme,' I granted. 'But how come you're telling me about it?'
'You will never be in a position to act on the information, Mr. Victor. Rest assured of that. As to why I'm telling you – Well, a man has to be able to talk to someone about his accomplishments. There's no one else here capable of understanding, even if I weren't kept from telling them by the need for secrecy. As for those above me – well, they only want to know the results, not the methods I labor so hard to devise in order to produce those results. We are enemies, Mr. Victor, but you are the only one with whom it is possible to enjoy a rapport concerning my work. I trust that rapport will continue after I return from my journey to New York.'
'If I live that long.'
'Oh, you shall. And much longer if you will only cooperate with S.M.U.T. All you have to do is tell us the extent of your government's knowledge about our operation.'
'Suppose I don't know.'
'Come now, Mr. Victor. You couldn't have been as effective as you were if you didn't have such knowledge.'
'And if I refuse to betray my government?'
'Then eventually you will die. But I feel sure you will change your mind before accepting such a drastic fate. Just a taste of the sound that kills, a taste that will fall short of actually killing you, should insure that.' Highman nodded as if he was trying to be reassuring. 'But now,' he added, looking at his watch, 'I must be off. The plane is waiting for me.' He turned to the Eskimo guards and said something to them in their native tongue. They led me away.
A few moments later I was pushed into a sparsely furnished room which evidently served as a cell. The door was locked behind me. But I wasn't alone. The Chinese was already imprisoned there.
'Welcome,' he greeted me.
I didn't return the greeting. I just glared at him. I couldn't forget that he'd killed Olga. I hated his guts.
He knew it, but he wasn't going to let it deter him. 'Our only chance of escape, Mr. Victor, is if we cooperate with each other. Regardless of how you feel about me, it would be foolhardy not to cooperate. That would doom you as well as me.'
'It's almost worth it,' I told him. But I had to admit he was right. Whatever slender chance we had depended on us acting together. 'All right. I'll cooperate,' I agreed reluctantly. 'What's your plan?'
'First I have to sneeze.'
'Go ahead.'
'It's not that simple,' he said. 'I don't feel like sneezing.'
'Then don't sneeze. What the hell's this all about, anyway? I thought we were going to plan an escape.'
'We are. You see, in my right sinus cavity there is a small capsule which may make escape possible. But the only way to get it out is to sneeze.'
'What's in the capsule?'
'Nitroglycerine.'
'Then don't sneeze too hard,' I advised. 'As a matter of fact, if I were you, I wouldn't even sniffle. And,' I added, 'in my opinion, that's a pretty drastic cold cure even for a Chinese Red.'
'It's not a cold cure. It's to enable me to commit suicide if I'm tortured. You see, the idea of a capsule of poison concealed in a tooth is too widely known to be effective any more. So my superiors devised this variation. Under pressure all I have to do is slap my forehead where the sinus passage is and my head will be blown apart. With luck, I might even take my inquisitor with me.'
'But suppose you sneezed inadvertently?'
'It wouldn't necessarily set it off. Of course, it might, but when I do have to sneeze, I've trained myself to do it gently. I don't suffer from sinus trouble, so the passages are never so clogged as to present a very great hazard. However, right now the only way of extracting the capsule is if I can induce a series of sneezes.'
'Sneeze away,' I told him. I backed away to the far corner of the room. Why take a chance on germs? I figured. Or on nitro?
