Fail Safe by Eugene Burdick, Harvey Wheeler Read Free Book Online Page B

was happening. The words came, again at an excruciatingly slow pace, out of the 413-L machine. They said, "UFO is now at 1,050 feet and is dearly air-breathing vehicle. Best estimate is that it is BOAC, Commercial Boeing 707, which has regained power on two of its jets."
    "It's all right, Colonel Cascio," General Bogan said. "It didn't make much sense anyway, because if they did come they surely would come with more than a single plane. Let the Vindicators orbit at their FaBSafe point, however, until we get a positive confirmation from the Canadian fighters."
    Colonel Cascio stood up and, although his face was   smiling, his pink tongue licked at the corner of his mouth.
    "General, they'll orbit whatever we do," he said, "it's SOP. But I'm still not sure about that UFO. Couldn't the Russians anticipate exactly the way we would interpret it and just add a couple of jet pods to the mocked-up plane and turn them on when they get within range of 4l3-L System?"
    out of the room. The hum of the machines diminished.
    It was Raskob who first noticed. He stared at the Big Board for a moment and turned to General Bogan with a grin.
    "Now what the hell is that blip up there at No. 6 doing?" he said. "It's gone right by the Fail.Safe point and is moving toward Russia."
    General Bogan spun around, his elbow lashed into the taut nervous body of Knapp and he was quite unaware of it. He stared at the board, his body suddenly felt like a terrible tortured muscle. His mind was white-hot and utterly blank. It perceived only one thing. Group 6 had flown past its Fail-Safe point. He spoke out of the side of his mouth, suddenly and comically aware of how much like a movie character he seemed.
    "Colonel Cascio, get on the red telephone to the President," General Bogan said, in a firm low unnatural voice.
    As he handed General Bogan the red telephone Colonel Cascio picked up the Red Phone Log. He glanced at the clock on the wall and wrote down "1030."
    "It's possible," General Bogan said casually. "But not very likely. The whole picture just doesn't make sense."
    The two men smiled at one another, but suddenly General Bogan had the sense that they were in conflict. Colonel Cascio lowered his eyes.
    General Bogan turned to his guests. "The UFO is pretty well established as a BOAC commercial airliner which lost power on its engines and then regained them at a low altitude," General Bogan said to the visitors. "We have to stay at Condition Green until we have confirmation, but ft is my best judgment that there is no danger."
    "I kinda like this whole operation," Raskob said softly. "I mean it's a nice orderly thing to meet people who can tie everything up with a ribbon and foolproof. And let me tell you, General, in this world there are damn few things that are foolproof."
    The teletype on the 413-L dattered.
    This time General Bogan waited until the major handed him the tape. He read it to the visitors. It said, "UFO sighted visually and contacted by radio. It is BOAC Flight No. 117. It was off course due to high tail winds and loss of power on two port engines because of throttle failure which locked the throttles in OFF position. It regained power at 850 feet."
    "That's it, gentlemen. I am sorry that we alarmed you," General Bogan said.
    Colonel Cascio bent forward and operated a single lever. Instantly the radio-transmitted order became apparent on the Big Board. The fighters started to move in a long curve back toward their bases. The jet tankers angled away from their Vindicator group. The defensive bombers made a quick 1800 turn. The big light over the Big Board went out. Men began to drift
    At 10:84 Buck left his office. Out of some compulsion to orderliness he had straightened his desk, put on his jacket, and then brushed the jacket with a pig-bristle brush which he kept in one of the drawers of his desk. He thought of going to the men's room to comb his hair. The moment he stepped outside his door he realized that would be