The Mutant Mindbender

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

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

Chapter 12: The Terrible Thinker Reveals His Plan

Chapter 12: The Terrible Thinker Reveals His Plan

"Status report!" said the Chief, speaking to an aide in his command center.

"Only about a quarter of the population of the low lying area was evacuated before the dam broke." On their screens they could see tidal waves running through downtown August.

Levi Esherkol waddled into the room with his dog, Quick. He tried to get the Chief's attention, but the Chief was too distracted with damage reports.

"Arf, arf arf!" Quick yelled.

The Chief turned around. "Levi, this is a high security area, can you get that animal out of here-"

"Quick has full clearance," said Levi.

Croft blinked. A dog had security clearance?

"What is it, Levi?"

"You must instruct civil authorities to tell people to stay indoors, go to 15th floor or higher."

"Why?" said the Chief.

"Have calculated that water level will not go that high. Those not evacuated can be done, more slowly, from gravitators on rooftops."

"I'm not in charge of the evacuations, but I will relay your calculations," said the Chief. "Are you sure they're correct?"

Levi turned to Quick.

"Arf, arf!" said Quick, sticking out his pink tongue as his fox-like ears stood up.

"Am sure," said Levi.

"Maybe we should put the dog in charge and make Levi his assistant," Croft suggested.

"Is one more thing," said Levi. He handed over a datapad, which had schematics on it.

"What is this?" said the Chief.

"Plans for restoring dam," said Levi.

"Levi, that's going to take months, if not years," said the Chief. "This isn't the time-"

"No, will only take few days," said Levi. He flipped through datapages. "Have fleet of capital ships hold over former position of dam. Have them project force fields. Hold water back."

"An ingenious idea, Levi, but those ships won't be able to project forcefields for very long," said the Chief.

"Have rotating teams of capital ships," said Levi. "Replace one at a time in rotation with overlapping forcefields. In meantime, fashion large thin plastibarrier, slip behind force field, and slide in ferroconcrete-"

The Chief looked at the plans. "Levi, I don't know if this will work, but it looks ingenious! How did you come up with the plans so quickly/"

Levi shrugged his shoulders modestly.

The Chief continued to look at the schematics. "What does that mean," he said, pointing at one of the diagrams. Looking closer, he saw it was labeled "Arf, arf".

"Sorry, did not have time to fully translate."

"Levi, did your dog work out this plan?" said the Chief.

"Ah... no, " said Levi.

"Then why is there an animal notation here?" said the Chief.

Levi looked uncomfortable. "Well, was my idea, but Quick helped with some minor details," said Levi.

The Chief looked doubtful.

"Trust, Chief. Will work."

"I'll relay this to the civil authorities and see what they think," said the Chief. He turned to Croft. "Well?"

Croft had been monitoring events on the city's secure holomonitors. He had watched the progress of the assault on the dam. "The troops couldn't stop them. The Graftonites couldn't stop them. And Red Sally...."

"Is she alive?" the Chief asked.

"I don't know," said Croft. "I think she fell into the water behind the dam. But if she was in the water when the dam broke, well..."

"Have a team start a search," the Chief instructed him.

"If she's still alive, she could be anywhere in the flooded downtown area," said Croft.

"What about our progress in tracking the Mind Bender and the Twister?" the Chief asked.

"Our remote monitoring units tracked them trading their hovercar for an aircar, which makes sense, given all the flooding," said Croft. "Then they went off our tracking system."

The Chief glared at him. "Croft, these two have caused billions of dollars in damage. Probably hundreds if not thousands of people are dead. And now we can't track them. What should I tell the President?"

"Tell him this is nothing like we've ever faced before," said Croft. "These people can control minds and objects. Together, they're almost unstoppable."

"But how do we stop them?" said the Chief.

"The navy," said Croft bluntly.

"What?"

"If they're spotted again, have the navy blast them from orbit," said Croft. There were usually several ships in the vicinity of August. One or more of them could be called in to help.

"In the middle of Sarney Sarittenden?" said the Chief. "Do you know the kind of casualties that would cause?"

"Do you know the number of casualties they have already caused?" said Croft. "Do you know the number of casualties they are still capable of causing?"

The Chief thought about it, silently, for a moment. Then he nodded. "I'll advise the President. But I want you work on locating them."

"I'll try," said Croft.

"And try to come up with a better plan."

"I'll try my best, Chief," said Croft.

Croft and Preston left the situation room and returned to their offices.

Croft assessed the situation. "They asked for no ransom. They made no demands," said Croft. "They simply blew up a dam."

"It's more of the Mind Bender's randomness," said Preston.

"Only it was the Twister who actually did it," said Croft. They knew so little about the Twister. But he seemed to be acting just like the Mind Bender.

"Maybe he's crazy like the Mind Bender," said Preston. "Or maybe the Mind Bender has taken control of him."

"Or maybe it's part of a plan we can't see the full implications of yet," said Croft.

"Croft, they've flooded Sarney, killed a lot of people, caused a lot of property damage, and ground this city to a halt. I think we've seen their plan," said Preston.

"That's it, then?" said Croft. "Mindless destruction? Do you think they plan to simply go around to every major city in the League and start tearing it apart?"

"I don't know, maybe," said Preston.

"It doesn't make sense," said Croft.

**************

"It makes no sense," the Mind Bender frowned. He and the Twister were in a secure location, watching and listening to the Terrible Thinker. "Why don't we blow something else up, like a building, or a bridge, or a-"

"Because I didn't tell you to," said those silvery eyes. The image they were watching was dark, and all they could see were those silvery eyes. Whether the Terrible Thinker was sitting in a dark room, or had some special setting on his holotransmitter to facilitate this, his intent was clear--to intimidate them with his eyes.

The Mind Bender still wasn't satisfied with that explanation. Nor was he intimidated by those eyes. "All you want us to do is tap in and get some information? Will we be blowing up stuff after that?"

The Terrible Thinker shook his head. "This will be your last action on August, for now."

"What is this important information we're going to get?" said the Mind Bender.

"The off-world locations of the Column's Gamma Operatives," said the Terrible Thinker.

"The Gamma Operatives?" said the Mind Bender. "So we're finally going after them?"

"Yes," the Terrible Thinker whispered.

"Well, there are plenty right here on August. Why don't we get the ones here?" said the Mind Bender. The Terrible Thinker always took the long way to get to their goal.

"Do you know where the Gamma Operatives are located?" the Terrible Thinker asked.

"In one of the Column buildings, I suppose," said the Mind Bender.

"Do you know exactly where they are?" the Terrible Thinker asked again.

"Well, no, but it shouldn't take long to find out-"

"Do you know what kind of defenses are at this location?" the Terrible Thinker persisted.

"No, nor do I care," said the Mind Bender. What did it matter? Nothing could stand up to him and the Twister.

"Really?" said the Terrible Thinker. "And what do you do when you enter the complex and step into a killing zone, such as a long, thin corridor with automated lasers at one end of it?"

"The Twister pulls them out and deactivates the lasers," said the Mind Bender.

"If he sees it, and can pull them out from that distance," said the Terrible Thinker. "And what happens when you step into a room and they flood it with gas?"

"The Twister blows it away," said the Mind Bender.

"But if you're sealed in a room, where does he blow it to?" said the Terrible Thinker. He talked as if he were speaking to a small child.

"Uh...."

The Terrible Thinker continued his line of questioning. "Once you reach the Gamma Operatives, how do you plan to counteract their active powers?"

The Mind Bender said, "You saw what we did to the cute red girl-"

"And what about the Gamma Operatives who are immune to your powers?" The Terrible Thinker asked. He felt frustrated with the Mind Bender; he was dense, he was undisciplined, he was difficult to deal with. But the use of his powers were an essential part of the Terrible Thinker's plans.

"What? They have some Gamma Operatives whose minds cannot be controlled?" said the Mind Bender. "I thought only Croft was immune. The last time I was out and about they didn't have anyone-"

"I don't know if they do," said the Terrible Thinker.

"Then why did you say-"

"All I'm saying is that you don't know what you're going up against," said the Terrible Thinker. "And it will take only one surprise for you to be captured or killed. The point is that you can't just go charging into one of the most secure access points on August. Even you and the Twister would likely be apprehended."

"So you want us to go after the ones that are off planet, because they will be easier to get a hold of," said the Mind Bender.

"Precisely," said the Terrible Thinker.

"So why didn't we just go and tap into this database in the first place?" said the Mind Bender. "Much as I enjoyed all the destruction, it seems totally unrelated."

"Yes, I imagine it would," said the Terrible Thinker, not trying very hard to keep a deprecating tone out of his voice. "The terminal I am sending you to is only one of a few that has access to this information. This particular terminal which I have determined is most accessible is located in the headquarters of the director of League Intelligence, but even that has, or had, safeguards."

"What do you mean, had?" said the Mind Bender.

"I mean until your first two attacks there were several rings of army soldiers and jump troop surrounding the building," said the Terrible Thinker. "But since then they have been dispersed, to guard critical installations."

"Ohhh," said the Mind Bender. "So that was why you had us attack those places?"

"Yes," said the Terrible Thinker. "Furthermore, now that the first twelve floors of the building are under water, it has largely been evacuated, except for a skeleton staff."

"And that was why you had us blow the dam," said the Mind Bender. "I see now."

"Good," said the Terrible Thinker. "Then stop wasting time questioning my orders and get the information."

The Terrible Thinker turned to the Twister. "Are you strong enough to proceed?"

The Twister still looked tired. "I don't think I could break any more dams for a while-"

"-you won't have to," said the Terrible Thinker. "Resistance will be minimal, if you go now. But one more thing, about Red Sally."

"Yes, quite a looker, wasn't she?" the Mind Bender smirked.

"You wasted precious minutes entertaining yourself with her. You allowed reinforcements to catch up with your position."

"The guys with the gas grenades? They were nothing," said the Mind Bender dismissively.

"They easily could have been a brigade with battle tanks," said the Terrible Thinker. "You have to get in and get out quickly, and not allow yourself to be diverted."

The Mind Bender stared at those eyes. "I'll divert whenever I want to. You're trying to scare me with those eyes and your spooky voice, but your charms don't work on me. Don't confuse my collaboration on a common plan with the idea that we're your subordinates. I'm only doing this to get what you promised."

Those silvery eyes stared at him for a moment. The Twister wondered what would happen next. Would the Terrible Thinker threaten him?

But the Terrible Thinker merely said, "If you want what was promised, you had better get to work."

And his image faded.

"You shouldn't push him," said the Twister.

"You?" said the Mind Bender. "You of all people are saying that? I'm surprised you're not giving him orders! After all, what can he do? What power does he have?"

"He has brains," said the Twister. "And if you want to go on staying free, and one step ahead of the League, I suggest you listen to him."

The Mind Bender gave no answer.

********

"Professor?" said Croft. He peered cautiously into the apartment as he slogged inside.

Professor Capybara's apartment was just inside the "wet zone", which was fortunate, since it was a ground level apartment. But two feet of water filled the apartment, and so far there was no sign of the Professor. They did see numerous peanuts floating on the water, however.

"Professor?" said Croft again.

"In here, Clifford," came that familiar voice.

Croft and Preston entered the study, to find the Professor, nonchalantly floating on his back. He had his spectacles on and was smoking his pipe, and was studying a datapad as he floated.

"This is quite relaxing," said the Professor. "But I'm not sure how (tweatle tweatle) it is for the furniture."

"Professor, we need your help," said Croft.

The Professor looked at Croft. "Why is it you always (tweatle tweatle) when you need something? Why not just (tweatle tweatle) to say hello?"

"I don't know, Professor," said Croft. "Listen, there's this guy named the Twister, he's on a rampage, he's a telekinetic and he's very dangerous, and the Mind Bender is with him-"

As he spoke, the familiar holographic quill and tablet appeared above the Professor's head, and started scribbling.

"And so you see, we need your help," said Croft.

"I imagine you (tweatle tweatle) do," said the Professor deprecatingly. "But Clifford, as you already know, I cannot get involved."

"Why not?" said Croft. "You did, once before. You gave me the power to resist the Mind Bender."

"That was not (tweatle tweatle) involvement," said the Professor.

"What was it?"

The Professor waved a hand. "A minor (tweatle tweatle) experiment."

"Fine," said Croft. "Do another one. Make me immune to the Twister."

"Do you realize what you are asking for?" said the Professor, looking at Croft through his spectacles.

"Sure," said Croft.

"No, you (tweatle tweatle) don't," said the Professor, turning back to his datapad. "Making your feeble brain cells immune to some level of (tweatle tweatle) outside influence is simple. Making your body immune to (tweatle tweatle) physical force produced by another... well, it would require a level of (tweatle tweatle) change that your simple (tweatle tweatle) architecture simply couldn't handle."

"Why not?" said Croft. "The Twister handles it."

"Clifford," said the Professor. "From your (tweatle tweatle) description this one you call the Twister can direct mental power--but can he resist it?"

"Uh...."

"As I said, a totally different power," the Professor said.

"Then give me his power!" said Croft.

"Sorry, the (tweatle tweatle) mental powers store is closed today," said the Professor, turning back to his readings. "Please (tweatle tweatle) try back tomorrow."

"Really?" said Croft. "If I come back tomorrow, you'll give me his powers?"

The Professor looked down on him through his spectacles. "It was just one of your (tweatle tweatle) human expressions I thought I had mastered, Clifford. I have observed you humans say many things you (tweatle tweatle) don't feel, such as 'Hello' 'How are you?' 'Goodbye' 'See you later'-"

"You helped us before when we faced a tremendous menace!" said Croft. "How is this any different?"

The Professor sighed. "I'm sorry your (tweatle tweatle) small intellect cannot understand the distinction."

"Then educate me."

The Professor sighed again. "The first being had the potential to change your society. As you (tweatle tweatle) pointed out to me at the time, he controlled your ruler, and under your archaic authority-driven society, he could actually control your kind by (tweatle tweatle) controlling your ruler," said the Professor. "This newcomer, however, is (tweatle tweatle) different. All he can do is destroy objects."

"Very expensive and vital objects, like dams," said Croft.

"Oh, is that where all this liquid came from?" said the Professor. "I was wondering."

"What did you think?"

The Professor shrugged. "I just thought your kind was being (tweatle tweatle) normally careless with its natural resources."

"Uh huh," said Croft. He hated it when the Professor played dumb. "He can also kill a lot of people."

"Sorry-

"-can't get involved, I know," said Croft. He turned to go. "Come on," he said to Preston.

"Please come again, Clifford," said the Professor.

Croft turned back to him. "That may be hard to do if the Twister cuts me in half or crushes me under a heavy rock."

"Oh, how sad," said the Professor.

"Yes?" said Croft, a little hopefully.

"Yes, I will miss our little conversations," said the Professor. The quill started scribbling madly on the tablet.

"What are you doing?" Croft asked.

"Making final notes about you while you are still fresh in my mind, just in case something happens to you," said the Professor. "Oh, and Clifford, can you relay a message to your superiors?"

"Yes?" said Croft, a slight look of hope appearing on his face.

"Yes, when you return to your (tweatle tweatle) central authority, can you arrange to have someone come and (tweatle tweatle) dry out my furniture?"

Croft simply gave the Capybara an angry stare.

********

"Here we are," said the Mind Bender, indicating the terminal inside the building housing the League Intelligence Bureau, the oversight arm for all League intelligence agencies, including the Column. Behind them stood a wrecked door and two bodies. The Twister activated his comm.

'We're here," said the Mind Bender. "What do you want us to do?"

"Listen carefully," came the voice of the Terrible Thinker.

The Mind Bender proceeded to type for several minutes, under the instruction of the Terrible Thinker. Even working slowly, under the Thinker's direction, he was able to break into the network relatively quickly. The Thinker must have worked this out in advance. Soon, the desired information appeared on the terminal.

"There's only one operative off-planet," said the Mind Bender. "Only one."

"Who?" the Terrible Thinker asked.

"The one called... Mongo," said the Mind Bender.

"Where?" said the Terrible Thinker.

"Steps," said the Mind Bender. "I have the precise location of their safehouse here."

"Good," said the Terrible Thinker.

"I trust you want us to go after him?" said the Mind Bender.

"Yes," said the Terrible Thinker. "But first I want you to enter the following keystrokes-"

"I'm not entering anything until you tell me what is going on," said the Mind Bender.

"What do you mean?" came the Terrible Thinker's voice.

"The only reason I'm participating in all this, the ONLY reason, is for you to get me the one called Dalbo Alto," said the Mind Bender. "He has the ability to read minds. His ability, combined with mine, will make me incredibly powerful."

"Yes, that's what I promised you," said the Terrible Thinker.

"And yet Dalbo is here, on August, and you want us to go off-planet to fetch this Mongo creature," said the Mind Bender.

"An alarm has been sounded," said the Terrible Thinker. "Reinforcements will be there in several minutes. We don't have time to argue about this-"