Chapter 15

The observer ship, with an assistant attorney general aboard was, indeed, reporting directly to the attorney general’s office--to Gunderson in person. On their own secret channel, of course. Had to be secret. All right for them to know, because they were very special persons, but the people should not be told.

“Gray is coming out of the ship,” the assistant was saying. “He is starting down the ramp. He is alone. He has no apparent weapons. Making a grandstand play of it. Far as we can tell, the crew isn’t covering him. Now he is at the foot of the ramp. The three unclothed men are moving toward him, spread out a little, crouching, obviously going to attack. The stupid fool doesn’t seem to realize it. He’s...

“Wait a minute. I don’t believe it...”

“Well, what?” Gunderson exploded from his end.

“Sir,” the assistant gulped, “the ship disappeared, just like that.”

“Nonsense!”

“No, sir. It did. The three crewmen are sprawled on the ground. Now two of them are getting up. There isn’t a sign of the ship, the ramp, or anything.”

“Can’t be. Has to be around somewhere.”

“No, sir. Isn’t. Sorry to contradict you, sir. It isn’t anywhere.”

“They probably set controls to send the ship back into space, and jumped out before it took off. Search space. You’ll find it. Ships don’t just disappear.”

“I’ll search, of course. But this ship just disappeared.”

“All right, what’s going on? What else?”

“They’re naked. Naked as the day they were born. All four of them. Same as the colonists.”

“Keep track of where they put their clothes. Photograph it. Get the evidence.”

“Sir, their clothes disappeared right off their bodies. First they were fully dressed, Gray was, anyhow. Maybe the crew could have undressed inside the ship, but Gray was fully dressed--and then he wasn’t. Just like that.”

“Hm-m.”

“Shall I land, sir? Place them under arrest?”

“Wait a minute. Let’s think of a good charge. Something to stand up in court. Have to make this airtight right from the beginning in case some stupid judge decides to make a show of independence.”

“Indecent exposure, sir? Lewd public behavior?”

“Pretty weak, in view of what’s involved.”

“A suggestion, sir. Maybe a morals charge is the most effective weapon we could have. Attack the E structure on the grounds of bad scientific judgment, and every egghead on Earth will feel compelled to rise up in their defense--except, of course, those employed by the government. But on a morals charge there wouldn’t be one voice raised--fear of being tarred with the same brush. Except maybe a few radicals that are already discredited. Any other charge might get public sentiment aroused against us, but a morals charge--think of the backing we’d get from the women’s clubs, P.T.A., all the pressure groups determined to dictate to the rest of the world how it should behave. It’s worked for hundreds of years, sir. Never fails.”

“Hm-m,” Gunderson mused. “You may be right.”

“Shall I land, sir, make the arrest?”

“You’ve got plenty of photographic evidence?”

“All we’d need, sir, at least for the lewd, public indecent exposure charge.”

“Wait a minute. How about the colonists? Got pictures of them?”