Midnight, ship time.
And, as as the laws of would allow, it was midnight in Greenwich, England. At least, when a ship returned from an trip, the ship’s was a second or two, plus or minus, of Greenwich time. Theoretically, the shouldn’t at all. The that they did hadn’t yet been for.
Mike the Angel to make himself think of or the in space time or anything else dull, in the that it would put him to sleep.
He to try to work out the of the Beale equations, the which had solved the of the no-space drive. The ship didn’t move through space; space moved through the ship, which, of course, might account for the in time, because—
—the time is out of joint.
The time is out of joint: O spite,
That I was to set it right!
Hamlet, Mike. Act One, the end of five.
But why had he been to set it right? Besides, what was wrong? There was something wrong, all right.
And why from the end of the act? Another act to come? Something more to happen? The clock will go till another time comes. Watch the clock, the clock, which as that almost no and yet had in their works.
The good old Keku clock. Somewhere is in, sing Keku. The Mellon is and Jakob’s ladder. And of them playing Follow the Leda.
And where were they heading? Toward some in the direction of the Cygnus. The work on an ship. Would they work on a man? Wouldn’t it be to be able to into a swan? Cygnus the Swan.
And we’ll all play Follow the Leda....
Somewhere in there, Mike the Angel managed to off.
He suddenly, and his of being a black vanished, into nothingness.
This time it had not been a that had him. It had been something else, something more like a of sound. A sigh.
He out and touched the plaque.
Nothing happened.
The room dark.
The room was silent. The almost of the was still there, but....
The air conditioners!
The air in the was unmoving, static. There was none of the of moving air. Something had gone with the low-power circuits!
Now how the that happen? Not by accident, unless the accident were a big one. It would take a amount of to put all three of the out of order at once. And they all had to go at once to cut the power from the low-load circuits.
The and the and second stand-by were no longer power from the main generators. The was gone, too, along with the air conditioners, the lights, and a dozen other sub-circuits.
Mike the Angel out of and for his clothing, he had something as as an old-fashioned match, or a flame-type cigarette lighter. He his in his pocket as he on his uniform. He it out and it. In the darkness, the orange-red gave more than he had supposed. If a man’s are to darkness, he can read print by the of a cigarette, and the lighter’s was than that.
Still, it wasn’t much. If only he had a flashlight!
From a distance, the companionway, he voices. The that had him had been the soft of the door as it had open when the power died. Without the to it closed, it had opened automatically. The doors in a are that way, to make sure no one will be in case of a power failure.
Mike in a of and toward the door.
And stopped just he out.
Someone was outside. Someone, or—something.
He didn’t know how he knew, but he knew. He was as as if the lights had been on bright.
And was waiting out there didn’t want Mike the Angel to know that he was there.
Mike for a full second. That was long for him to angry. Not the anger of hatred, but the cold anger of a man who has had too many on his life, who has from an twice of pure luck and not to to the that “the third time’s a charm.”
He that he was still the cigarette in his hand.
“Damn!” he muttered, as though to himself. “I’d my ears if they weren’t down.” Then he turned, toward his bed, that was waiting would assume he would be immediately. At the same time, he his thumb off the lighter’s contact.
Then he sat on the of his and off his boots. Holding them in his hands, he moved to the door. When he it, he to the of the room. When they clatteringly, he through the door. In three steps he was on the opposite of the corridor. He the and moved away from the spot where the would be him.
Then he waited.
He was on one of the door to his stateroom, and the—what or it was—was on the other. Until that other a move, Mike the Angel would wait.
The wait many minutes long, although Mike it couldn’t have been more than forty-five or so. From other parts of the ship he voices as the and officers who had been sleeping were by the men on duty. The ship not life long if the air were dead.
Then, suddenly, the waiting was over. Behind Mike there was a in the corridor, and from around that came the of footsteps, by a voice: “I’ll the Commander; you go and the other boys started!”
Multhaus.
And then there was a of light. The Chief Powerman’s Mate was a light, which from the of the corridor.
And Mike the Angel perfectly well that he was against that glow. Whoever it was who was waiting for him see him plainly.
Multhaus’ in the while Mike his to see what was him in the darkness. And all the time, the as Multhaus approached.
Then, from out of the darkness, came something that moved on a of treads. Something hard and against Mike’s shoulder, him against the wall.
At that moment, Multhaus came around the corner, and Mike see Snookums on the toward the Powerman’s Mate.
“Multhaus! Look out!” Mike yelled.
The from the chief’s hand on the of the little as it toward him.
“Snookums! Stop!” Mike ordered.
Snookums paid no attention. He around the Multhaus, around the corner, and was gone into the darkness.
“What was all that, sir?” Multhaus asked, looking more than confused.
“A of on the First and Second Laws of Robotics as by the Computer Corporation of Earth,” said Mike, his side. “But mind that now. What’s with the low-power circuits?”
“I don’t know, sir. Breckwell is on in that section.”
“Let’s go,” said Mike the Angel. “We have to this up we all suffocate.”
“Someone’s going to it’s over, anyway,” said Multhaus as he Mike the in the direction from which Snookums had come. “Darkness and air touch off that of thing.”
“Who’s Officer of the Watch tonight?” Mike wanted to know.
“Ensign Vaneski, I think. His name was on the roster, as I remember.”
“I he reported to the bridge. Commander Jeffers will be frantic, but he can’t the unless he’s relieved. Come on, let’s move.”
They the companionway.
The lights had been out less than five minutes when Mike the Angel and Chief Powerman’s Mate Multhaus the low-power center of the Power Section. The door was open, and a was its on two men—one over the of the other. The man his around as Mike and the came in the door.
The man was Powerman First Class Fleck. Mike the man on the as Powerman Third Class Breckwell.
“What happened?” he at Fleck.
“Don’t know, sir. I was in the when the lights went. It took me a little time to a and in here, and I Breckwell gone. At least, I he was gone, but then I a noise from the tool cabinet and I opened it and he out.” The to come out all in a rush.
“Dead?” asked Mike sharply.
“Nossir, I don’t think so, sir. Looks like somebody him on the head, but he’s breathin’ all right.”
Mike over the man and took his pulse. The was regular and steady, if a weak. Mike ran a hand over Breckwell’s head.
“There’s a there the size of a ball, but I don’t think anything’s broken,” he said.
Footsteps came the hall, and six men of the power came in the door. They to a when they saw their officer was already there.
“A of you take of Breckwell—Leister, Knox—move him to one side. Bathe his with water. No, wait; you can’t do that till we the moving again. Just watch him.”
One of the men a little. “What he needs is a good of hooch.”
“I agree,” said Mike evenly. “Too there isn’t any aboard. But do what you think is best; I’m going to be too to keep an on you. I won’t be able to watch you at all, so you’ll be on your own.”
“Yessir,” said the man who had spoken. He his and took out at a run, for it was he his bottle hidden.
“Dunstan, you and Ghihara out and watch the halls. If any other officer comes this way, sing out.”
“Yessir!” came the chorus.
More toward them, and the men of the power arrived.
“All right, now let’s take a look at these circuits,” said Mike.
Chief Multhaus had already open all the panels and was inside. The men the up on the in the corner, in order to as much light as possible over the banks of low-power wiring, and over to where Multhaus and Mike the Angel were standing.
“Dig out three switches—heavy-duty six-double-oh-B-nines,” said Multhaus. There was a touch of and a good-sized of anger and in his voice.
Mike the Angel the damage. “See anything else, Multhaus?”
“No, sir. That’s it.”
Mike nodded. “About five minutes’ work to the main going, which will give us power, and another ten minutes for the and second stand-bys. Go ahead and take over, Multhaus; you won’t need me. I’ll go out what the is going on around here.”
Mike the Angel ran into Captain Sir Henry Quill as he up the to the bridge.
“What happened?” the captain in his voice.
“Somebody out the main to the low-power from the main generators, sir,” said Mike. “Nothing to worry about. The boys will have the lights on three or four minutes.”
“Who...?”
“I don’t know,” said Mike, “but we’d out fast. There’ve been too many going on this ship to me.”
“Same here. Are you sure everything’s all right there?”
“Absolutely, sir. We can about the itself and put our minds to out who did that damage.”
“Do you have any ideas?”
“Some,” said Mike the Angel. “As soon as the is again, I think you’d call a meeting of officers—and Miss Crannon and Fitzhugh out of and them up here, too.”
“Why?” Black Bart asked flatly.
“Because Snookums has gone off his rocker. He’s at least one being that I know of and has direct orders from a being.”
“Who?” asked Black Bart.
“Me,” said Mike the Angel.
Mike told Captain Quill what had as they their way up to the bridge.
Ensign Vaneski, looking and worried, met them at the door. He a salute. “I just reported to Commander Jeffers, sir. Something’s with the low-power circuits.”
“I had as much,” said Black Bart caustically. “Anything new? What did you out? What happened?”
“When the lights out, I was having coffee by myself in the wardroom. I a and for Power Section as soon as I could. The low-power room was empty. There should have been a man on there, but there wasn’t. I didn’t want to go inside, since I’m not a power officer, so I came up here to report. I—”
At that moment the lights on again. There was a that up all over the ship as the air came on at the same time.
“All right, Mister Vaneski,” said Black Bart, “get and take of things. There’s a man there, so be to take him to when the Physician’s Mate there. We don’t have a in any condition to take of people, so he’ll have to do. Hop it.”
As Vaneski left, Black Bart Mike into the bridge. Pete Jeffers was on the intercom. As Mike and the captain came in, he was saying, “All right. I’ll the Officer of the Watch, and we’ll search the ship. He can’t very long.” Then, without waiting to say anything to Mike or Quill, he at another button. “Mister Liegnitz! Jake!”
“Ja? Huh? What is it?” came a voice from the speaker.
“You all right?”
“Me? Sure. I was asleep. Why?”
“Be on your toes, sleepyhead; just got word that Mellon has from his stateroom. He may try to take another at you.”
“I’ll watch it,” said Liegnitz, his voice now.
“Okay.” Jeffers and looked up. “As soon as the power came on, the Physician’s Mate was on the intercom. Mellon isn’t in his stateroom.”
“Oh, wonderful!” Captain Quill. “We now have one and one on this ship. I’m we didn’t any with us.”
“Somehow I think I’d be with a gorilla,” said Mike the Angel.
“According to the Physician’s Mate, Mellon is than just nuts,” said Jeffers quietly. “He says he Mellon full of to make him sleep and that the man’s got no right to be walkin’ around at all.”
“He must have out while the doors were open,” said Captain Quill. He the of his hand over the of his scalp. His dark, were over his eyes, as though they had been with lead.
“Mister Jeffers,” he said abruptly, “break out the guns. Issue one to each officer and one to each non-com. Until we this out, I’m a of emergency.”
