The Mind Spider and Other Stories by Fritz Leiber Read Free Book Online

Get your loonies to Serenity Shoals and HI handle them.” Snowden raised his hand defensively. “Now wait a minute, Joel, there’s something I want to say. I’ve had it on my mind ever since I heard about Gabby. I was shocked to hear about that, Joel —you should have told me about it earlier. Anyway, you had a big shock this morning. No, don’t tell me differently—it’s bound to shake a man to his roots when his daughter aberrates and does a symbolic murder on him or beside him. You simply shouldn’t be driving yourself the way you are. You ought to have postponed the IU hearing this morning. It could have waited.”
    “What?—and have taken a chance of more of that Monster material getting to the public?”
    Snowden shrugged. “A day or two one way or the other could hardly have made any difference.”
    “I disagree,” Wisant said sharply. “Even as it is, it’s touched off this mass hysteria and—”
    “—if it is mass hysteria—”
    Wisant shook his head impatiently, “—and we had to show Cruxon up as an irresponsible mischief maker. You must admit that was a good thing.”
    “I suppose so,” Snowden said slowly. “Though I’m rather sorry we stamped on him quite so hard—teased him into stamping on himself, really. He had hold of some very interesting ideas even if he was making bad use of them.”
    “How can you say that, Andy? Don’t you psychologists ever take things seriously?” Wisant sounded deeply shocked. His face worked a little. “Look, Andy, I haven’t told anybody this, but I think Cruxon was largely responsible for what happened to Gabby.”
    Snowden looked up sharply. “I keep forgetting you said they were acquainted. Joel, how deep did that go? Did they have dates? Do you think they were in love? Were they together much?”
    “I don’t know!” Wisant had started to pace. “Gabby didn’t have dates. She wasn’t old enough to be in love. She met Cruxon when he lectured to her communications class. After that she saw him in the daytime—only once or twice, I thought—to get material for her course. But there must have been things Gabby didn’t tell me. I don’t know how far they went, Andy, I don’t know!”
    He broke off because a plump woman in flowing Greek robes of green silk had darted into the room.
    “Mr. Wisant, you’re ‘on’ in ten minutes!” she cried, hopping with excitement. Then she saw Snowden. “Oh excuse me.” “That’s quite all right, Mrs. Potter,” Wisant told her. “I’ll be there on cue.”
    She nodded happily, made an odd pirouette, and darted out again. Simultaneously the orchestra outside, which sounded as if composed chiefly of flutes, clarinets and recorders, began warbling mysteriously.
    Snowden took the opportunity to say quickly, "Listen to me, Joel. I’m worried about the way you’re driving yourself after the shock you had this morning. I thought that when you came home here you’d quit, but now I find that it’s just so you can participate in this community affair while keeping in touch at the same time with those NLA scares. Easy does it, Joel—Harker and Security Central can handle those things.” Wisant looked at Snowden. “A man must attend to all his duties,” he said simply. “This is serious, Andy, and any minute you may be involved whether you like it or not. What do you think the danger is of an outbreak at Serenity Shoals?”
    “Outbreak?” Snowden said uneasily. “What do you mean?” "I mean just that. You may think of your patients as children, Andy, but the cold fact is that you’ve got ten thousand dangerous maniacs not three miles from here under very inadequate guard. What if they are infected by the mass hysteria and stage an outbreak?”
    Snowden frowned. “It’s true we have some inadequately trained personnel these days. But you’ve got the wrong picture of the situation. Emotionally sick people don’t stage mass outbreaks. They’re not syndicate crooks with smuggled guns and