The most learned and efficient scientists in his kingdom had all been set to work to prepare the preliminaries for his grand coup; but to none had been confided the scope of the plan in its entirety—which was thus rendered secure from treasonable checks and interference. Cooperation in carrying out the various parts of the program was indispensable; but he alone—and, should it seem at the last moment desirable, Miriam—could know the end aimed at, and the manner in which it was to be attained.
There was the possibility of failure—that he realized; it would involve consequences so appalling, not only to Tor and its inhabitants, but to the solar system as a whole, that even Torpeon could not estimate them. On the other hand, there was the probability of success: he chose to fix his mind on that, and the thought exalted him almost to the level of deityship. The hazard was worth taking!
On the panel in front of him was a pentagonal plate of metal, furnished with figures and signs, arranged in a certain mutual relation and order, by means of which he was able to communicate with each of his scientific departments, and to determine, at a glance, how the work at any point was progressing. The hands on a score or more of small dials, arranged along the outer margins of the plate, registered the approximations of the several laboratory workers toward the completion of their assignments. All seemed to be proceeding smoothly—or all but one, Number Five, which was a trifle tardy and irregular in its movements. After observing this dial for awhile Torpeon put himself in touch with the operator.
“You are behind your schedule—why?”
A voice from the annunciator replied: “A counter current from Saturn; another from a source I have not determined. I am investigating.”
“Report if interruptions continue; but make no attempt to prevent them without consulting me. If they abate, continue as before.”
“Understand!” came the reply, and Torpeon leaned back in his chair.
“Number Five!” he muttered. He took a diagram from the table and studied it closely. “If Lamara suspects she would be more apt to attack Seven, or Nineteen. As for the ‘other’ source, that may be merely an echo. Or there may be some local disturbance; if so, it would prove temporary.” He glanced again at the dial. “Ah, he has resumed! A false alarm. I will have a test made, nevertheless.”
The matter did not seem urgent, however, and he put it aside for the moment. He rose and paced up and down the room with folded arms.
“What a voyage!” he said to himself, with the secret enthusiasm of a great adventurer. “There have been other conquerors; but none before me has conceived a campaign such as this! There have been mighty war-chariots, but none like mine! There have been wise men, but none till now has dared to loosen the anchors that hold the globes to their stations! All have been slaves to the laws assumed to be immutable. I have solved the secret of these invisible tethers and woven new ones of my own. I shall show that a man may be master of the universe. Day and night, heat and cold, seed time and harvest, shall come and go as I will. The sun himself shall do my bidding; and the vapors out of which worlds are made shall congeal or disperse at my pleasure. There have been heroes and kings; but I shall be the first of men to be acknowledged as a god and to breathe the air of immortality!