The Mutant Mindbender

[Note: This is not a sexy story. It is more like a 1950's pulp science fiction novel]

Prologue

He was the most dangerous enemy the Alliance had ever faced.

No person could stand up to him.

No person could oppose him.

A nondescript young man appeared in the middle of a heavily guarded power plant. He spoke a few words to a supervisor. Other people were in the room, but no one, including the supervisor, appeared to notice him. A few minutes later the supervisor flipped a switch, plunging an entire sector of the planet August into darkness for hours.

The nondescript young man appeared in a local police station. None of the officers questioned his presence. He spoke a few words to the officer in charge. A few minutes later, the officer released all the criminals from the jail into the street.

A pilot boarding a cargo ship was stopped by a nondescript young man at Sarney Sarittenden Spaceport. No words were spoken, but the pilot paused for a moment, and then nodded. Several minutes later, the cargo ship headed straight up... and then straight down, crashing into the ground, causing a tremendous explosion, and killing all seven crewmembers aboard.

His victims did what they were told, even when he didn't say a word. To him everyone was a blank slate, one on which he could write orders, any orders, and they would carry them out without question.

For this nondescript man could control the minds of any person in the galaxy.

Who could stop him? Police couldn't arrest him; the army couldn't shoot him; and even the superswift Graftonites couldn't react faster than the speed of thought.

And this nightmare was unleashed on August, the capital of the League and the Alliance.

Right now he was only playing, testing his abilities, as he stared dispassionately at the burning wreckage at Sarney Sarittenden Spaceport.

What would happen to society when he got serious?

Who would be able to stop him?

Part I: Mind Bender

Chapter 1: Free Money

Super spy Clifford Croft sat with several other agents in an office in Column Headquarters watching a live visual feed on a large holoreceiver. They watched as a man, standing in a park in Sarney Sarittenden, less than a mile away, was handing out disposable data pads to a growing line of people.

Only this wasn't just any man, and those weren't ordinary datapads. The man was Brill Greens, one of the richest men on August, and each of those datapads carried the authority of ten million credits. He was giving out large sums of his money, to strangers, for free.

"Well, that's something you don't see every day," said Croft, as he watched Greens hand out another ten million credit datapad.

Preston, a fellow spy, squinted at the image. "What is it all about? Some kind of publicity stunt?"

"If it is, it's a mighty expensive one," said Croft. "Press reports indicate he's already given away more than a billion credits."

"Wow!" said Preston. "We should go and get in line."

"I was just thinking of that," said Croft. "But by now the line has gotten very long." He touched a control, and the screen widened to show the line stretching far in the distance.

"But still, all that money," said Preston.

"I know it's a lot of money, but I hate waiting in lines," said Croft. He moved to reset the image so it was once again focused on Greens. Greens had a vacant smile as he handed out datapads, as if giving away his wealth was something he enjoyed doing every day.

Croft panned out slightly, to see Greens' assistants bringing in boxes filled with more datapads. He saw something, and frowned.

"What?" said Preston, noticing his change of expression.

Croft adjusted the controls, panning to the right. A man was to the right of Greens' assistants, just standing there.

"Look familiar?" said Croft.

Preston nodded. "That's-"

Suddenly, there was a buzz, and Croft touched his comm. "Croft! The Chief wants to see you, right away."

Croft got up.

"What do you think A.A. wants?" Preston asked.

"I don't know. But I hope he doesn't want me to stand in line for him," said Croft.

Croft hated waiting, and therefore he hated lines. He also hated waiting outside the Chief's office, so when he reached Aldman Alderman's office, he was glad to be quickly rushed into the Chief's office. The Chief, viewing a holoreceiver, was watching the same scene Croft was.

"What do you think of this?" the Chief asked, indicating the scene before them.

"He's very generous with his money," said Croft. "I just wish there was some way we could get some without waiting in line. Surely, in this day and age we could sign up and automatically-"

"Croft!" said the Chief. He pressed a button, and a man standing to the side of Brill Greens was highlighted. "Do you recognize this individual?"

"Hm," said Croft. "He does bear a remarkable resemblance to Agent Waverly of Directorate Intelligence."

"Yes, he does, doesn't he?" said A.A.

The League, which Croft worked for, and the Directorate, which Agent Waverly worked for, together formed the Alliance. The Alliance was not so much a government but a military alignment between two separate and independent governments. One of them was the very large League of United Planets, a democracy, with its capital on August. Croft was currently in Sarney Sarittenden, the capital city of August.

The other government in the Alliance was the June Directorate, technically a dictatorship, but a relatively enlightened one, under the authority of Steven Quick. Quick was a supergenius with silvery eyes who ruled the Directorate like a meritocracy, employing minimal government to spur the economy while using his legendary thinking abilities to think several steps ahead of the curve. But his government, however benevolent, was still technically a dictatorship, and the League didn't really like that.

The League and the Directorate had been hostile to each other for a number of years. However, when the Slurian Union (another dictatorship, but a relatively unenlightened one) attempted to turn the Directorate against the League, their efforts backfired, and the League and the Directorate eventually entered into the Alliance against the Slurians.

Agent Waverly was a senior DI (Directorate Intelligence) operative who Croft had worked with before. Croft certainly recognized him, as he had several minutes ago with Preston.

"What is he doing there?" said A.A.

"Getting some free credits?" said Croft. He was joking, of course; Waverly clearly was not on line, but standing to the side.

A.A. gave him a menacing look.

"How would I know?" said Croft. "It's an enigma wrapped in a conundrum. Or should that be a conundrum wrapped in an enigma? I always forget which gets wrapped first."

"Ha ha," said A.A. "You are so witty! I cannot stop laughing! Now, listen. A billionaire suddenly decides to give away all his money, and a foreign agent is standing by his side. I want to know what is going on."

"Why don't you ask him?" said Croft. "We are allies, after all."

"And who is our main contact man with the Directorate?" said A.A. "Who is virtually the only agent ever to meet Steven Quick himself, on not one but several occasions?"

Croft said nothing.

"Croft!"

"Oh, were you expecting an answer? Sorry, I thought it was a rhetorical question," said Croft. He paused. "Can you repeat the question?"

"Get out there and find out what's going on," said A.A.

"Yes, Chief," said Croft.

A convenient travel tube brought him to the park within a few short minutes. It was a small park, surrounded by giant buildings, but it was amazing for a park of any size to be there. Land was very precious in downtown Sarney Sarittenden, the capital city on the capital planet of the League and the Alliance. Skyscrapers hundreds of feet tall blotted out direct sunlight except during the short time the sun was directly overhead.

Croft casually walked to the side of the very long line as he made his way up front. Security had been called in to keep the line orderly, and for the most part people stood patiently, though he did hear more than one complaint about how long one had to wait for their free money. Instantly Croft felt vindicated; it wouldn't have been worth the wait in line.

As Croft approached the head of the line he saw a large, furry almost rat-like creature standing and observing the scene. It stood on four legs, had strawlike fur, had a rectangular snout, and wore spectacles over its large eyes. Above it was a hologram of an old fashioned quill, floating in the air, writing rapidly on a holographic tablet, which was also floating in above it.

Interesting.

But no time for that now.

Croft walked forward and saw Brill Greens, still grinning maniacally, handing out datapads. Croft saw one of Greens' assistants arguing with him, and then Greens pushed him away, screaming "More money! Must give away more money!". Then, as if on some prearranged signal, the police moved in.

"No!" Greens screamed. "I must give away all my money!"

Suddenly, two white coated officials from the mental health authorities slipped through the police cordon. They covered Greens with what looked like a giant butterfly net. Then they started to drag him to a waiting padded hovertruck. All the while Greens continued to scream about the need to give away his money. The side of the all white truck was labeled "Department of Health - Personality Readjustment Division."

The crowd rushed forward to grab the remaining datapads. The police were overwhelmed, even as they attempted to use their stun batons to best use. Their stun batons, it might be noted, were virtually identical to the cattle prods used by farmers on the outer colonies.

Croft jumped back to avoid the surging crowd. Even so a man would have collided against him, if someone hadn't strategically pulled Croft to the side.

Croft turned to face his benefactor.

"Agent Waverly," said Croft.

"Agent Croft," said Agent Waverly. "Did you come down for some money? I didn't realize Column salaries were so meager that you needed a supplement."

"Actually, I came here because I saw you," said Croft.

"Did I appear in the holobroadcasts? How careless of me," said Agent Waverly. He watched the hovervan carrying Greens drive away. "What is he being arrested for? Is it now a crime to give away one's money in the League? Given your notoriously high rate of taxation, I would think such a move would be applauded by your chattering classes-"

"Waverly, what are you doing here?" Croft.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Agent Waverly suggested.

Croft looked around. The large rat-like creature was gone. Well, Croft knew where to find him.

Waverly walked, and Croft followed. Waverly walked casually along the park's edge long enough to be reasonably sure they weren't being followed, and then gestured for Croft to follow him down several flights of stairs into the underground city. August, Sarney in particular, was so crowded, that the city had not only expanded upwards, and every other direction of the compass, but downwards as well.

As they stepped into the undercity, the idea of an ambush barely crossed Croft's mind. Waverly worked with an allied government, he had no reason to kidnap or kill Croft, and he would hardly do it in Sarney Sarittenden, the seat of power, in any event.

Still, it was undeniable that they were paid by different employers, and Croft didn't even fully trust other members of the Column, much less someone from a different agency.

But nothing eventful occurred until they reached a small room on sublevel 5C.

Croft stepped into the furnished room as Waverly closed the door behind him.

"A safe house?"

"Nothing so dramatic," said Agent Waverly.

He checked a device on the shelf.

"Do we have privacy?"

Waverly paused, and said, "It appears so."

"So what is this all about?"

Waverly turned to Croft. "Fourteen days ago, a supervisor at one of your power plants flipped a switch, plunging the southern sector of August into darkness for several hours."

"I saw the report on that," said Croft.

"Did you find out the cause?"

"The supervisor said he made a mistake. It's being investigated."

Waverly looked at Croft. "Eight days ago, the chief of police of Gleaming, some two hundred miles south of here, suddenly decided to release all his prisoners, despite the protestations of his deputies."

"I think I heard something about this," said Croft.

"Do you know what happened?"

"No," said Croft. "Do you?"

"The police chief claimed he didn't realize he was letting the prisoners go," said Agent Waverly.

"What does this have to do with-"

"Four days ago a cargo ship crashed into the field on Sarney Sarittenden Spaceport."

"That I know," said Croft. "The cause-"

"Is still being investigated," said Agent Waverly. "But did you know that mechanical error has already been ruled out?"

"How?' said Croft.

"A recorded holo of the craft. It clearly went up on thrusters, and then clearly aimed for the ground, and clearly activated its drive, to thrust downwards. It was piloted, purposefully, to crash."

Croft said, "How do you know-"

"How I know is not important," said Agent Waverly. "And then today, one of the richest men on August starts handing out tens of millions of credits as if it's nothing more valuable than water."

"Water is actually somewhat of a scarce commodity on August," Croft said.

"You see my point," said Agent Waverly.

"Yes, I see your point. Can you tell me why he did it, and what, if any, are the connection between these three incidents?" said Croft.

"I don't know," said Agent Waverly.

"You don't know?" said Croft. "You seemed to know enough to be there. People at the Column saw you, and my Chief actually has the tiniest suspicion that you might be involved."

"I heard about the great money giveaway the same time the Column did, a few hours ago. The only difference is that I attached more significance to the event, and went there to observe it firsthand," said Agent Waverly. "But I didn't have any prior knowledge that it would happen."

"What brings you to August in the first place?" said Croft. "You're one of Quick's leading troubleshooters. Why are you here?"

"I'm here to investigate this... whatever this is," said Agent Waverly.

"But this is League territory. Why didn't you notify us?" said Croft.

"And go through channels? How long would that have taken? How many more incidents before we could convince you that something was going on?" Waverly asked.

"You purposely stood in range of the holorecorders," said Croft. "You wanted us to see you. You knew... you knew they would send me, because of our prior association. Very clever. Something that Steven Quick would have thought of."

"You give him too much credit. He's much too busy to plan tactics," said Agent Waverly.

"Nevertheless, why have you called me in?" Croft asked.

"To warn a fellow ally about danger," said Agent Waverly.

"That's very nice, and touching as well," said Croft. "Your friendship and loyalty really mean a lot to me."

Croft gave a smile brimming with milk and honey.

Waverly gave a thin smile in return.

Croft's smile faded, as if turned off by a switch. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, would you mind telling me the truth, even just a small amount of it?"

"Clifford-"

"We both know that you and your boss don't have the highest opinion of League Intelligence," Croft pointed out.

"It's true that we think your larger affiliate, Stellar Intelligence, would have trouble pouring out a cup of gauche if the instructions were written on the bottom of the cup," said Agent Waverly. "But we have a higher opinion of the Column; and we have an even higher opinion of you."

"I'm flattered."

"It was you, after all, who averted war between our two governments when the Slurians attempted to manipulate us." Agent Waverly noted.

"I do have a vague memory of an event I might have played a minor part in," said Croft.

"Your modesty does not become you," said Agent Waverly.

"Neither does your subterfuge," said Croft. "You guys can never get to the point. You always have a plan within a plan within a plan. What is it you really want?"

"To work together, to have a joint investigation," said Agent Waverly.

"I still don't believe it," Croft replied instantly. "I mean, we've worked on the same side before, but you've never actively called for our help."

Waverly sighed, and ever so slowly took something out of his jacket. He pressed a button on the device, and the prerecorded image of Steven Quick, the ruler of the June Directorate, appeared.

"Ah, Clifford," said the image of Quick, his silvery eyes glowing oddly. "You have probably reached the point in your conversation with Agent Waverly where you are expressing skepticism about our motives. Perhaps your institutional paranoia has caused you to even entertain the farfetched idea that we had a role in recent events."

"Well, now that you mention it-"

"Your suspicions are natural, given the healthy sense of skepticism you are endowed with. However, we really do need your help on this one. August is your territory, not ours, and you can command greater resources than Agent Waverly can in this investigation," said Quick.

Croft wondered why Quick cared about August.

Those silvery eyes stared at him. "At this point you're probably wondering why I care about a series of odd, perhaps even accidental or coincidental events on August. Well, first of all, Clifford, I need not remind you that we are allies, and anything that concerns you, concerns us."

"Now for the real reason, please," said Croft, speaking to the recording.

"But more immediately, there is something very odd about these incidents. We spotted them before you did because our agents are trained to spot patterns, and this is an unusual and disturbing pattern. Something is acting to turn people against their own nature. Some sort of brainwashing, or coercion? I think you can see the implications if whoever is behind this turns their attention to June. That's why I want it stopped on August." Quick paused a moment, his silvery eyes flitting left and right.

"I think you and Agent Waverly have made an excellent team in the past and I am sure you can do so again now," said Quick. "Assuming your superiors agree to a joint investigation, Agent Waverly will keep me informed of your progress." Those silvery eyes seemed to bore into Croft. "Good hunting, Clifford. And be careful."

The image faded.

"So he anticipated," said Croft.

"That's what he does," said Agent Waverly.

"So what's next?" said Croft.

"We investigate," said Agent Waverly.

"I'm still not convinced that there is a connection between these incidents," said Croft. "There are billions of people on August. Three of them going crazy is not unusual. A handful out of billions are bound to go crazy, from time to time."

"But you will investigate?" Waverly asked.

Croft nodded. "I'll talk to the Chief. Let me look into this. I'll get back to you. Where are you staying?"

"The embassy."

"Oh, of course. What's your cover?" Croft asked.

"Culinary attache," said Agent Waverly.

"How sweet," Croft commented.

Chapter 2: Initial Investigations

Croft easily got permission from the Chief to pursue the joint investigation with Agent Waverly. The Chief was impressed that Waverly had spotted the trend first, if indeed it was a trend. Croft also got several other agents, including Preston, assigned to him. Preston was delighted to be on the case; at least, that was how Croft told him he should feel.

"So what did you find out about the supervisor at the power plant?" Croft said.

The Mutant Mindbender Ch. 1-2

Discussion(0)