Project Hi-Psi
BY FRANK RILEY
The aliens were conducting an
experiment under laboratory conditions.
So, how could they guess that their
guinea pigs held the ultimate weapon?
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, August 1956.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Dr. Lucifer Brill stepped briskly down the corridor of the FederalBuilding. The taps on his leather heels clicked a precise rhythm on themarble floor.
He ignored the door that offered "Information", passed up office afteroffice until he came to the glass paneled door which informed him thatbehind it functioned the Director of FBI operations in the Los Angelesarea.
The door was locked.
Lucifer Brill rubbed the knuckles of his left hand over the bristlesof his sand-colored, neatly trimmed bit of mustache. It was a gestureknown to all graduate students, Department of Parapsychology, WesternUniversity, as an indication of annoyance.
The possibility of this office being closed had definitely not beenpart of Lucifer Brill's prospectus.
A movement behind the opaque glass panel caught his attention. Herattled the knob. When this produced no results, he tapped with hisimmaculate fingernails on the glass.
A shadow moved inside the office. The lock clicked. The door opened.
An overweight young woman, obviously interrupted in the act of paintinga lush mouth over thin lips, glared at him through a veneer ofpoliteness.
"Yes?"
"I have an appointment with the Director." Lucifer Brill's voice stillcarried the twang of boyhood in Chelmsford, Mass.
The young woman's plucked eyebrows arched.
"This office is closed. If there is an emergency, you may...."
Lucifer handed her his card. The eyebrows arched still higher.
"Dr. Brill! Your appointment was for 3:45!"
"I am aware of that," he told her, severely, "but the other driverswere not, and there were an incredible number of them on the road. Now,if you please...."
"Would you care to make another appointment for tomorrow?"
"I would not. You may inform the Director that I have arrived, that Iregret my tardiness and that the purpose of my visit involves a matterof extreme urgency."
Lucifer hadn't raised the level of his voice, but behind the rimlessspectacles, his mild blue eyes became very cold and direct. Thesecretary unpursed her lips and flounced toward the inner office.
She was back in a moment, and said with disapproval,
"This way, please—Sir."
The Director greeted Lucifer Brill with a courtesy that was somewhatstrained. His briefcase was on his desk. So was his hat.
Lucifer went peremptorily to the point.
"I must report a most serious case."
From long training, the Director ignored the tone and inquired withcareful politeness.
"What sort of a case, Dr. Brill?"
"I believe you would call it a case of kidnapping—multiple kidnapping."
"Kid—kidnapping!"
The Director's large hands hit the desk top with a cracking sound. Hisknee touched a button to flip on the tape recorder.
"When?—Where?—Who?"
Lucifer considered the questions, methodically organized his answers.
"As to when, I would say over the last eight years."
"What?"
"As to where, I would say all over the United States."
"Now, one moment ... please!"
"As to who.... Well, that would require a rather lengthy answer."