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| Tsv-02-100 The Illusive R-Wing Chapter 1: Treezine Agent Chapter 2: Lisa Chapter 3: Unexpected Visitors Chapter 4: Knowledge is Power Chapter 5: A Piece of Sky Pie Chapter 6: The DGP Governor Chapter 7: Point Kapex, Lunaside Chapter 8: The Scenic Route Chapter 9: The Temspace Refraction Chapter 10: The Age of Aquarius Chapter 11: To Ride the R-Wing Chapter 12: Effects of the Tuniverseo |
Chapter
6: The DGP Governor
They managed to lose Gulok's tough guys and relocated on another island the very next day, after a 29 hour sea-cruise by passenger-liner. They saw no more of Gulok's agents, and fell into the role of honeymooners. They rented a hotel suite over-looking a beautiful lagoon, received 24-hour room-service, and did what they had always wanted to do since the day they first looked into each other's eyes, 20 years ago. They had 100,000 American dollars to spend and indulged themselves with the hotel service, food, and facilities. They played miniature golf, had cocktails on a patio over the steep cliffs, enjoyed a rickshaw ride along the palisades and verandas along the coast, and settled into hot-tubs after a dinner of delicacies. Lisa loved every minute of it. Madkro loved every minute of her company within it. They decided to spend Xmas in Canada, so traveled by air on the 20th of December, to British Columbia, and rented a ski-lodge apartment for a month, to take them through to the next year. They exchanged gifts, and went running through the snow on Xmas day, then settled into a warm dinner by a fireplace by evening. Madkro counted down the minutes to the New Year, and they drank champagne at the very moment at which the R-wing project was self-destructing. He could well imagine the horrid surprise on Gulok's face when he saw that the project was completely undone before his eyes. Maybe he'd continue the project, rebuild the R-wing if he had the money and thought he could still do it without Madkro, but there were certain very vital bits of info and data missing, without being known, rendered the R-wing incomplete. All this seemed perhaps somewhat harsh to Madkro's conscience, but he had to do something to get around Gulok's original, provocative, fascist act. Gulok had no right having him hauled in by gun-point in the first place. Madkro also knew what might happen to the world if the R-wing got out of control in the wrong hands, and now that he had reunited with Lisa, he no longer desired any end to the world, as he once did in his younger years. Now that they were together, the nightmare was over. The dark cloak of Madkro was gleaming silver in the light of day. In January, Madkro contacted the KNP, and found a safe-house in upper-state New York. There he lived with Lisa and resumed his work with Ntzeon and Scimonk. After completing these periodicals and running off about 100 copies, he had a stack of packages delivered to about 3 dozen correspondents, and then took a few days off. On March 7th, he revised his spex on the R-wing. There was one other point which worked in Madkro's favor with the latest R-wing project. He had managed to 'upgrade' the design to maximum efficiency. The new 'plastic-metal' wings, rather than titanium, had been one major upgrade, and the com-guidance the other. On March 8th, he had a fantastic idea. It was utterly wonderful, an amazing spark of foresight. It was also a very logical step into the space-age. He called it the 'Directional Guidance Program' or DGP. The DGP was like a 'governor' program, which reduced the R-wing's 'elusive' quality. In other words, it put the R-wing on 'tracks' so to speak, by restricting its movements, such as directly up or down, or right or left, etc...In this way, an R-wing with the DGP 'governor' could not be used as an elusive, stealth weapon of war. Of course, that was it. With the DGP, the R-wing could be limited to peaceful work. He included the new DGP idea in the 12th issue of Ntzeon and the latest issue of Scimonk. In May, the KNP called and admitted they were extremely interested in the new design-spex. The next day, Al Mentor parachuted onto the estate, and they went inside to update the situation. "Dammit, Madkro," Mentor said, with more excitement than he'd seen on him in years. "This new idea of yours is turning heads. If the DGP really works, it could be the most logical step into the Space Age, and they know it. Excellent, Madkro, excellent. This could win you a Nobel." Madkro retained his cool. "What about the Pentagon? How're they receiving this?" "Not sure yet, but I think you dumb-founded them. They're scratching their heads in perplexion. They're not sure what to make of it." "But surely Aerospace is concerned?" he insisted. "Yes," Mentor agreed. "They're very conservative, lacking innovations, stuck in convention. Furthermore, I'd say they like having the 'illusive' power and might consider the DGP somewhat premature. Oh, to hell with the Pentagon anyhow, now. I don't think they thought of an excuse fast enough this time, and now the media's showing interest in the idea even more. This is it, Madkro. You were right all along. We're bound to enter the Space Age now." "Yes," Madkro agreed. "Perhaps this time, it will work out for the best. But beyond the Moon, is Mars, and that's another thing altogether." "Yes, Mars," Mentor agreed, and let the thought go like a bird into flight. ----------------------------------------
The problem had been quite simple all along, so simple it was not perceived. The R-wing project had began as a military stealth vehicle, and the 'elusive' quality had been an intentional part of the control-guidance systems. The elusiveness was what made it such a powerful tool for war and top-secret maneuvers. But take that 'elusive' quality away, and it was no longer a weapon of war. Without the elusive stealth program in the com-guidance, it lacked those qualities which made it such a powerful tool. With a limited set of movements to the guidance-program, it could be used only as a peace-time vehicle, without the power to act as a weapon. The Pentagon didn't think in that direction, because they were only concerned with its uses as an elusive stealth vehicle. NASA had a similar idea, but they were so busy selling satellites to the world that they failed to follow-up on it. It didn't fit into the budget. In June, the KNP relayed orders for development of the new R-wing design from France and Japan. But something went wrong on the delivery; Madkro's old friends; Exo and Xik. He recalled how they disliked the idea of Terrans developing the R-wing, and the latest DGP governor had caught their attention. There was nothing Madkro could do but pull out his laser-gun and defend himself. Madkro was on his way to the garage when they appeared. Bags were all packed; Lisa was preparing food to bring along for the long ride to the KNP's exchange in Deerfield, Ma. Exo stepped out of the thin air and looked at Madkro with a frown and shook his head. "You've been a bad boy, Madkro," he said. "Your R-wing innovation presents some problems for space-travel, problems you cannot presently foresee. We don't want Mars turned into your junk-yard, Madkro. We can't let you go through with these deals." Madkro stopped what he was doing, at the back of the garage, and made a lightning speed play with his laser-gun, which was concealed inside his jacket. Before he could complete the aim, he was hit by a heavy stun from the right, as Xik appeared with his weapon hot and ready for more. But Madkro went limp, with a sudden loss of motor reflexes, and dropped the laser. They took him away in the transverser before Lisa came along with the picnic basket. ------------------------------------------
As Madkro awoke, secured to the seat behind Xik, he noted the space on the forward view-screen and tiny specs of stars and planets within it. They were moving through space, but to where he had no idea. "Where we headed?" he said, and Exo turned about from the console to look at him. "Mars," the Martian General said. "We can use you as a ground-base operator, if you're interested. Regardless of the shanghai, you must realize by now that the only way you can ever expect to return to Earth is to cooperate." "If I agree," he said, "do I get a ticket home before Xmas?" Exo laughed, Xik smirked a bit, and the former replied, "Not this year sorry, but if you're really good, maybe by 2001." "Ground base operator," he said. "How's the pay, any fringe benefits?" "Of course," Exo agreed. "You know we treat you well if you play along. Look at all we did for you during the AB1 Earth War. You had it all, Madkro, you just couldn't hold onto it." "As I recall," Madkro said, "it wasn't I who lost it. Querzo surprised you and you deserted me." Exo gritted his teeth shortly, and said, "Don't worry about Querzo. Now that we know he is active, we are ready for him. But he tends to reside mainly on the AB1 tem-line. AB3 is alien to him. He's not so accustomed to it." Madkro was somewhat confused by this answer. It implied that they were unaware of the Catch-98 scenario that occurred just last year, before he left the mountains and checked into the hotel efficiency. It didn't seem possible, but then temporal-relativity was a highly flexible, versatile realm. If Querzo were present, he could explain it. What it implied was that they were hailing from a time-period just after the NDX disaster, which wiped out more than 99 percent of the Earth's population. It also implied that these phases of Exo and Xik had not yet played through the Catch-98 scenario. It was odd to think of how it must be for them. It was even stranger to know that for them, Madkro's future would be their past, and visa versa. He put his theory to the test, and configured an interesting question. Knowing how much Exo enjoyed intellectual games, it seemed worth a shot. "You said earlier," Madkro said, "something about my failing to see the future problems that the R-wing innovation would cause. Would you then prefer only the problems caused by the elusive stealth-mode?" "Most definitely," Exo admitted. "You may find it hard to believe, but you don't know the future as we do. A commercial R-wing would become an over-worked net cluttering space and confining free-traffic to a rush-hour standstill. We don't want space clogged by commercial R-wings; it would have a drastic effect upon Martian free-spirit." As he drove his point home, Xik made an affirmative grunt, still looking forward. They eventually set down in a realm of the northeast quarter known as N'Zeon, and trekked back to 6240 MC (Martian time), to a time when Mars was at its peak of computerized technology. Madkro was not surprised to find the 2 evil Martians had a military compound about a large fortress and within that fortress the makings of a top-secret base, including at least 6 R-wings. |
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