the closest undersurface level to thetop! After this stage there was only rock, lead and rock, and the greattubes leading up like the burrows of earthworms. Lead and rock, andabove that, where the tubes opened, the great expanse that no livingbeing had seen for eight years, the vast, endless ruin that had oncebeen Man's home, the place where he had lived, eight years ago.
Now the surface was a lethal desert of slag and rolling clouds. Endlessclouds drifted back and forth, blotting out the red Sun. Occasionallysomething metallic stirred, moving through the remains of a city,threading its way across the tortured terrain of the countryside. Aleady, a surface robot, immune to radiation, constructed with feverishhaste in the last months before the cold war became literally hot.
Leadys, crawling along the ground, moving over the oceans or through theskies in slender, blackened craft, creatures that could exist where no_life_ could remain, metal and plastic figures that waged a war Man hadconceived, but which he could not fight himself. Human beings hadinvented war, invented and manufactured the weapons, even invented theplayers, the fighters, the actors of the war. But they themselves couldnot venture forth, could not wage it themselves. In all the world--inRussia, in Europe, America, Africa--no living human being remained. Theywere under the surface, in the deep shelters that had been carefullyplanned and built, even as the first bombs began to fall.
It was a brilliant idea and the only idea that could have worked. Upabove, on the ruined, blasted surface of what had once been a livingplanet, the leady crawled and scurried, and fought Man's war. Andundersurface, in the depths of the planet, human beings toiled endlesslyto produce the weapons to continue the fight, month by month, year byyear.
* * * * *
"First stage," Taylor said. A strange ache went through him. "Almost tothe surface."
"But not quite," Moss said.
Franks led them through the soldiers, over to one side, near the lip ofthe Tube.
"In a few minutes, a lift will bring something down to us from thesurface," he explained. "You see, Taylor, every once in a while Securityexamines and interrogates a surface leady, one that has been above for atime, to find out certain things. A vidcall is sent up and contact ismade with a field headquarters. We need this direct interview; we can'tdepend on vidscreen contact alone. The leadys are doing a good job, butwe want to make certain that everything is going the way we want it."
Franks faced Taylor and Moss and continued: "The lift will bring down aleady from the surface, one of the A-class leadys. There's anexamination chamber in the next room, with a lead wall in the center, sothe interviewing officers won't be exposed to radiation. We find thiseasier than bathing the leady. It is going right back up; it has a jobto get back to.
"Two days ago, an A-class leady was brought down and interrogated. Iconducted the session myself. We were interested in a new weapon theSoviets have been using, an automatic mine that pursues anything thatmoves. Military had sent instructions up that the mine be observed andreported in detail.
"This A-class leady was brought down with information. We learned a fewfacts from it, obtained the usual roll of film and reports, and thensent it back up. It was going out of the chamber, back to the lift, whena curious thing happened. At the time, I thought--"
Franks broke off. A red light was flashing.
"That down lift is coming." He nodded to some soldiers. "Let's enter thechamber. The leady will be along in a moment."
"An A-class leady," Taylor said. "I've seen them on the showscreens,making their reports."
"It's quite an experience," Moss said. "They're almost human."
* * * * *
They entered the chamber and seated themselves behind the lead wall.After a time, a signal was flashed, and Franks made a motion with hishands.
The door beyond the wall opened. Taylor peered through his view slot. Hesaw something advancing slowly, a slender metallic figure moving on atread, its arm grips at rest by its sides. The figure halted and scannedthe lead wall. It stood, waiting.
"We are interested in learning something," Franks said. "Before Iquestion you, do you have anything to report on surface conditions?"
"No. The war continues." The leady's voice was automatic and toneless."We are a little short of fast pursuit craft, the single-seat type. Wecould use also some--"
"That has all been noted. What I want to ask you is this. Our contactwith you has been through vidscreen only. We must rely on indirectevidence, since none of us goes above. We can only infer what is goingon. We never see anything ourselves. We have to take it all secondhand.Some top leaders are beginning to think there's too much room forerror."
"Error?" the leady asked. "In what way? Our reports are checkedcarefully before they're sent down. We maintain constant contact withyou; everything of value is reported. Any new weapons which the enemy isseen to employ--"
"I realize that," Franks grunted behind his peep slot. "But perhaps weshould see it all for ourselves. Is it possible that there might be alarge enough radiation-free area for a human party to ascend to thesurface? If a few of us were to come up in lead-lined suits, would we beable to survive long enough to observe conditions and watch things?"
The machine hesitated before answering. "I doubt it. You can check airsamples, of course, and decide for yourselves. But in the eight yearssince you left, things have continually worsened. You cannot have anyreal idea of conditions up there. It has become difficult for any movingobject to survive for long. There are many kinds of projectilessensitive to movement. The new mine not only reacts to motion, butcontinues to pursue the object indefinitely, until it finally reachesit. And the radiation is everywhere."
"I see." Franks turned to Moss, his eyes narrowed oddly. "Well, that waswhat I wanted to know. You may go."
The machine moved back toward its exit. It paused. "Each month theamount of lethal particles in the atmosphere increases. The tempo of thewar is gradually--"
"I understand." Franks rose. He held out his hand and Moss passed himthe package. "One thing before you leave. I want you to examine a newtype of metal shield material. I'll pass you a sample with the tong."
Franks put the package in the toothed grip and revolved the tong so thathe held the other end. The package swung down to the leady, which tookit. They watched it unwrap the package and take the metal plate in itshands. The leady turned the metal over and over.
Suddenly it became rigid.
"All right," Franks said.
He put his shoulder against the wall and a section slid aside. Taylorgasped--Franks and Moss were hurrying up to the leady!
"Good God!" Taylor said. "But it's radioactive!"
* * * * *
The leady stood unmoving, still holding the metal. Soldiers appeared inthe chamber. They surrounded the leady and ran a counter across itcarefully.
"Okay, sir," one of them said to Franks. "It's as cold as a long winterevening."
"Good. I was sure, but I didn't want to take any chances."
"You see," Moss said to Taylor, "this leady isn't hot at all. Yet itcame directly from the surface, without even being bathed."
"But what does it mean?" Taylor asked blankly.
"It may be an accident," Franks said. "There's always the possibilitythat a given object might escape being exposed above. But this is thesecond time it's happened that we know of. There may be others."
"The second time?"
"The previous interview was when we noticed it. The leady was not hot.It was cold, too, like this one."
Moss took back the metal plate from the leady's hands. He pressed thesurface carefully and returned it to the stiff, unprotesting fingers.
"We shorted it out with this, so we could get close enough for athorough check. It'll come back on in a second now. We had better getbehind the wall again."
They walked back and the lead wall swung closed behind them. Thesoldiers left the chamber.
"Two periods from now," Fra
nks said softly, "an initial investigatingparty will be ready to go surface-side. We're going up the Tube insuits, up to the top--the first human party to leave undersurface ineight years."
"It may mean nothing," Moss said, "but I doubt it. Something's going on,something strange. The leady told us no life could exist above withoutbeing roasted. The story doesn't fit."
Taylor nodded. He stared through the peep slot at the immobile metalfigure. Already the leady was beginning to stir. It was bent in severalplaces, dented and twisted, and its finish was blackened and charred. Itwas a leady that had been up there a long time; it had seen war anddestruction,