Air Wonder Stories, December 1929 — page 66: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

4 : 4 g ee ea eee ee eS eS ee ee 544 AIR WONDER STORIES of the First Air Chief. There was unfamiliar appa- ratus among the great switchboards of its walls, I noted as we entered. The First Air Chief himself had risen from his great table-map as we entered and was com- ing toward us; beside him, another figure, whom I recognized instantly as Connell, Then both of: them were grasping the fends of Hilliard and of myself. “Brant!” Yarnall was exclaiming: “I got Macklin’s report of your escape and his-rescuie of you—mian, but Pm glad that you got free! «And it was what you did there-in Berlin, what you did to help Connell and Macklin escape, that has enabled ‘us to use Connell’s knowledge and fit our air-cities for the coming battle!” “T did no more than the others,” I told him: “But you know of the enemy’s coming then? You know that ety the European Federation cities are on their way?” He nodded. “They and. the Asiatic Federation’s cities from the westward, Brant,” he said;—“‘And we are_awaiting them here—awaiting them with a. chance at feast, thanks to you four—to strike back at them when: they come. And already they are near—by the map here you-can see—” And he-turned toward the great table-map upon which was depicted the whole of the earth’s surface, the red circles upon it detioting as before the position of the air-cities: that hung above it. Now, however, all the circles of the American Federation - cities were massed together south of the white outline of the Great Lakes, hanging motionless:as the cities:around us were ing motionless. Away to the easton the map, though, just moving in from the Atlantic over the eastern coast, there was creeping across-the map an- other mass of red-circles, moving slowly. toward our own, that represented the great- gathered ¢ities of the European Federation that were. rushing - westward toward us. And in from the Pacific was creeping a similar mass of a hundred little red_circles that -were, T knew, the Asiatic Federation’s cities:, From east. and west they were. moving, there: on the map, moving even~as. the cities. they represented moved through the: air, atitomatically: showing their positions and progress. This was accomplished,-I knew, by means of special batteries of crutiser-finders, tuned and trained to detect the great electro-static: motors of air-cities, and recording-instantly thus whenever those cities moved with their great electric fields, Their records ‘were cartied through complicated mechanical calculators: which plotted:the exact:positions and move- ments of the cities;and these calculators, in- turn, were connectedto. small special. projectors set. beneath the great: ground-glass table-map, casting upward upon: it the red circles of the air-cities. Thus those red- circles moved upon the map, even as the great air-cities moved across the world. This arrangement, indeed, was of no late date, and was used by both European arid Asiatic Federations as. well as by ourselves; but as I gazed now about the great circular room I saw that within it were some new arrangements also. These consisted ofa series of six great glass: screens which were arranged in box- like form about the great: air-city’s controls at the room’s center. And, while the First Air Chief swiftly explained to us their purpose-and design, I saw that one sitting inside-their box-form, with four on four sides, and one above and one below, could=see in all those directions as though. from. the very top of the great power-tower. For they were in effect great electrical- periscopes; four great similar screens -had been set on four sides of the electro-static tower's high tip; and another one above that tip, while the sixth had been set in the under-side of the great city’s base. The views. possible -to those six screens were then trans- ferred down to the six there about us; the light-vibra- tions that struck the screens above and beneath being transformed by television receivers into electrical. vibra- tions and brought down to television reproducers behind our own six screens. Sitting there at the city’s controls, amid those six screens and looking into them, one could-see as clearly as though from the power-tower’s tip-in all directions. It was quite necessary, too, that this should be the case; since the man who. operated: the great air-city, from its six direction-controls and its single speed control there, must see clearly in all directions, now. that the great _aif-cities could rush at such tremendous speed through the air. When ¥ said as much to the First Air Chief, who had turned now and was gazing intently at the great table-map upon which the eastern and western masses of circles were slowly creeping toward our own, he nodded, and contemplated me for a mo- ment with a curious: expression. = “The man,” he. said finally, “who is to hold the controls of New York in the battle tomorrow, will be you, Brant!” “The honor is great,” I said: “I’ve operated the city’s controls, though never did I expect to take it into battle. But Macklin-and Hilliard here—I want them to stay here for the time being—I want the hundred cruisers on the plaza outside to stay there during the battle.” “You have a plan?” the First Air Chief asked, but I shook my head. “No more than an idea,” T said: “An idea that may help-us if the battle goes“against us, if their attack is too strong for us. Even then it is too insane, perhaps, to be of any use, but it might help us—” Yarnall nodded-assent, and then Macklin and Hilliard had joined the two dozen or more of black-garbed at- tendants: and: engineers who were. busy at the great switchboards that lined the circular room's walls, They scrutinized its dials to determine the rate of the vast currents rushing down. from the power-tower’s tip far above to the motors in the city’s great. base; added 2 fresh battery of transformers or threw in resistances to hold that curfent steady; and moved ceaselessly about the walls in their anxious watch. Now, Yarnall and Connell and I were marking our own places, the three metal seats there behind the big table-map, with the great screens of the electrical periscopes all about us. Yarnall. would sit in the center, with eyes upon the red circles on the great map, tensely watching their progtess, as admiral-of-our mighty fleet of colossal cities, ready to direct it and out cruisers to the battle. Connell would be at -his right, before him the black mouthpiece-and speaker of a single distance-phone. Behind that were the scores of switches and intricate controls, which connected that distance-phone to the opetators-of all our hundred air-cities.- : The Battle Nears S the third of the trio, IT would sit at Yarnall’s left, before. me the Six switch-levers which sent the colossal city of New York whirling through the air in any direction; while beside them was the gleaming knob. which regulated the city’s speed. The great batteries of New York were at my command also; all their mighty. heat-guns around the city’s edge and around our electro-static tower and elsewhere were con- trolled by’ the distance-phone whose mouthpiece rose comicbooks.co ve ea oo a |