Space 1999 #5 - Lunar Attack by John Rankine Read Free Book Online Page A

eye and did her best to look serious. To make amends, she took a wandering lead and plugged herself into the magic circle. The other two did the same. Following Mateo’s quiet instruction, they held hands and all looked steadfastly at a small group of plants which shared the space on the table top.
    Bergman’s music was building its intricate patterns and reaching a new climax. Laura, suddenly dead serious, looked at Mateo and then anxiously at the others. There was no doubt something was happening for him. Head back, sweat beading on his forehead, he seemed to have gone into a trance state. But there was no breaking the hold. In the centre of the table the instrument pack and the plants were in and out of vision in a mind-bending flicker.
    Mateo was a man in a trap. Breath uneven, he was twisting and turning in his seat. His eyes were ghastly, rolling up to show the whites. Laura Adams had seen enough, she was struggling to break free. But the bond was unbreakable. They needed outside help and she twisted desperately to look for any passing technician to pull the plug.
    In fact she found a bonus. The overlord of the Hydroponic Section no less was on his way in and looked less than pleased. Too late, she realised that Warren was one to act first and think it through later. She tried to shout a warning, but he was in with a rush looking furious. Before she could say that a slow letdown would be better for Mateo’s safety, he was leaning over the table yanking the leads from the panel.
    Freedom came with a rush and was welcome, but the effect on Mateo was galvanic. Back arched like a bow he was held rigid over the rail of his chair. All lights dimmed except for the glow from the instrument panel which was suddenly intense. The sound of rushing wind tore through the area, ruffling Laura Adams’s smooth hair. As they leaped to their feet, Mateo was released and slumped forward over the table top.
    The recreations room was two bars on before the effect hit. Lights dimmed and a hatch blew open letting in a gale that whipped Bergman’s score from the stand and floated it in a madcap flurry. A woman screamed and the peace shattered like a fragile glass.
    The experimentalist himself was out cold, lying with arms outstretched across a collection of withered and dying plants.
    Anxious to know, Laura Adams stood her ground as the top brass of Moonbase Alpha crowded into the Unit lab. She stayed at Helena’s elbow for the verdict.
    ‘How is he?’
    ‘Shock.’
    Koenig, Bergman and Dr Warren stood aside as Bob Mathias hurried in with a stretcher party. Helena said, ‘Medicentre, Bob. Put him to bed and run standard checks.’
    As they went to work, Koenig asked, ‘How did it happen?’
    Only half listening, Laura said, ‘We were helping Paul in his experiment . . .’
    ‘What equipment were you using?’
    Paul Mateo was already being wheeled through the hatch followed by Mathias and Helena Russell. Clearly he was in good hands. With an effort, she concentrated on the question and pointed to the device Mateo had built. ‘Just this. Basically it’s a transmitter.’
    Nothing remained simple for long. John Koenig reckoned that the man who had said, ‘Living is struggling and you have to learn to like it,’ had made the definitive statement for all time. If it wasn’t the interstellar outback throwing up a challenge, it was something inside the complex. He said, ‘Check it out, Victor.’
    Bergman moved in, sensitive fingers spreading the tangle of wandering leads. Behind him Warren was on a self-justification exercise that maddened Laura Adams. She didn’t like what Mateo had been doing, but she didn’t like anybody else to knock him either.
    Nervy and tense, a grey man if ever there was one, Warren said jerkily, ‘I warned him. I warned him repeatedly.’
    Before Koenig could speak, she broke in, ‘You had no right to interfere. What you did could have killed him.’
    ‘I will not tolerate these experiments, not in my