20

"Well, it's a little hard to explain, sir... I... I know... Right! Evidence... You see... Look, Doctor Infantino, I admit it's a stretch, a very long stretch for you to go out on a limb just on my say so... Uh-huh... I will tell you how I've come to these conclusions, but... Well, to be honest, I don't think you'd believe it. I'm not sure that I believe it! But... just suppose first that I'm wrong. You'll have me as the built in goat for any criticism, but if I'm right - if I'm right, think of the vast number of lives we will have saved! And I give you my word of honor you can take all the credit. Why, you - you'd be an international hero! Your name would be on the lips of every person on every continent on Earth and Mars! Th - there would be statues, Huh...? Well, yeah, maybe I am spreading it a little thick with the statue stuff, but the point is... is... is that we have little to lose and a great deal to win on this gamble. But you'll have to go on blind faith for the moment... Yes sir, I realize that you hardly know me. Just do me one favor, then. If you can't evacuate Sydney and Cairo, at least have a plan ready for emergency crews to move in at a moment's notice. Yes sir... Yes... I'm sorry if I wasted your time. Goodbye, Doctor."

Joe gave Chester a comforting smile and said, "I guess I don't have to ask how that went, do I?"

Chester sat down, dangled his legs over the pit, looked up into the clear blue Metropolis sky and sighed, "Naw... Guess not. I really can't blame him, though. I mean if someone I didn't know that well called me saying the next quake is gonna be in Siam or Cairo..."

"Sydney!"

"...uh... Right, sorry... Sydney, and didn't have a scrap of anything to back him up except some two hundred year old book...! Well, I probably wouldn't even waste my breath talkin' to him, that's what. I can't believe it! The biggest career break I've ever had, and I turn around and toss it away like that! I don't know what's wrong with me!"

Joe did a take that Jackie Gleason would be proud of then interrupted, "What I can't believe is there are millions of lives at stake and you're talking about your damned career? Maybe I judged you wrong when I found you comforting that woman and her child yesterday... or when you were bloodied from the rubble that fell on you. I remember you saying, 'Don't worry about me, Officer. Just take care of the lady.' I could've sworn I was looking at a good, decent man who cared more about people than his...'career!'

"Let me tell you something, Mr. Carr! Every cop, every fireman, every paramedic that has been great at his job never really climbed the ladder of success that high. Do you know why? It's because of the people we're there to protect! We have to put their interests first, ahead of our own. If it were any other way, no one - no one would be willing to do this kind of job. And we may as well just write off all the victims as dead while we go about taking care of our 'careers!'"

Chester never felt as low as he did that moment. He couldn't even look his friend in the eye. He just hung his head and stared into the chasm. Joe just stood and looked him over for a minute and said, "But you know something, Perfessor? I'm not ready to give up on you yet! I believe the man I saw yesterday really was a good, decent person! And I believe the man I am looking at right now still is!"

Chester, though puzzled, found the strength to finally look up to the officer and asked, "After all you've said, why would you still believe that?"

"Because if you weren't the man I thought you were, you never would have put your 'career' on the line and phoned that high muckety-muck. Hell! You probably wouldn't even have listened to your wife, much less your neighbor! And it wouldn't be bothering you so much that there may be more of this on the way! You put that all together and it says you care! You care about others the way a good, decent human being should. And that kind of person deserves the benefit of the doubt. At least mine, anyway."

Chester, felt humbled and at the same time, renewed. Standing up and walking over to Kubert, he offered his hand. The officer took it. "Thanks, Joe. I guess I forgot for a minute what I was really doing this for."

"No problem, Perfessor. We all need a little shake up once in awhile. Just one question, though. What about this old journal? Was the writer legit? Who was he anyway?"

"That was three questions, and one: it belongs to my neighbor. Two: He was as legit as they could come. And three: Let's just say he was about the most... super... person of his time."

"Oh...?" said Joe. Then the realization hit him. "OH!"

"Come on, Officer. I don't think I need to do any more here today. Let's go analyze some geologic samples!"

Kubert was still a bit dazed by the revelation. "Uh-huh... uh, yeah... Sounds like fun!"

"That was some fun, eh kids?" Joked George as the runabout cleared Mars orbit and oriented itself for its next journey. "Course set for the asteroid belt. No bad guys on our tail... yet! At sub-light speed, we should be there in about... oh... two hours or so. And after that, it's a matter of finding the needle in a haystack." George began opening panels and scanning the circuit boards.

Guer-On was at first puzzled by this expression, but then laughed - something Kryptonians didn't do very often these days - as its meaning became clear. "With our combined powers of sense, Mr. Kent, I believe we should be able to find your 'needle' in short order. The only problem I can foresee would be if those ruffians follow and attack us."

"We have a pretty good head start on them. They may be able to follow our particle trail, but that takes some very sophisticated equipment..." He was on the floor now examining the configurations inside a lower panel.

"For humans, perhaps."

George stopped fiddling with the circuitry for a moment and sighed, "Yes, for humans, and it's also very expensive. I doubt if getting this craft stolen was part of their plan, so that's not likely. However, I wouldn't put it past these guys to have a bug aboard somewhere." He resumed his investigation.

"How would an insect help them?"

"It's an Earth slang term for a hidden electronic device, usually intended for spying purposes, or in our case..." As if he was a magician pulling a rabbit from his hat, George displayed a small home-made transmitter. With a dramatic gesture, he cut the wires connecting it to the circuitry in the lower panel. "...A homing beacon! Could be Jennifer was planning a double cross for whoever was supposed to take this ship."

"A... double cross? Another 'slang' term from Earth?"

"Yes, it means Jennifer may be more dangerous than I thought. And if this thing sent any telemetry back to her friends before I managed to yank it out, we may yet have some company." George eyed the computer with curiosity. "I wonder what was supposed to go down with this bird? She said 'boring swan' was the password into the hidden file, didn't she?"

"She did, but whatever they were planning is surely not as important as our mission. Looking into that may be a distraction."

"Under ordinary circumstances, I would agree, but as I said, they may be right behind us. I'd kind of like to know why they're shooting at us. If we have all that information, it may give us more of an advantage if we find ourselves in a tight spot."

The tiny man reflected on this and agreed. "Even as advanced as New Krypton is, we also must still deal with criminals. It seems the more 'advanced' a culture becomes, the more dangerous the criminals also become. Yes, I agree. By all means, we should learn whatever they might be planning."

George typed the password and waited as the computer displayed the contents of the hidden file.

After Kent stood in silence for a moment, Guer-On asked, "What does it say, Mister... uhm, excuse me... George? Although I can speak your English language, I still have a bit of trouble reading the symbols you use. To me, they look like something a metalavore would scratch out in his pen."

George didn't answer. Instead, he walked swiftly and decisively out of the cabin and began a silent search. "What's wrong?" asked Guer-On. "What are you looking for?"

"The cargo hold," replied his fellow fugitive. "We could be carrying something that may well help us save the Earth, or..." He trailed off as he located the correct hatchway. "...possibly destroy it!" Kent opened the hatch and confirmed his suspicion. Within the cargo hold, stacked carefully and neatly before him and his tiny Krytonian friend, were scores of metal cases with warning messages and special handling instructions printed on each one.

"What is it?" asked the man from Kandor.

"Only the most powerful explosives known to man." came the reply. "They are , for the most part, assembled and ready to be used, but the warheads are still unarmed. If these people should regain possession of these bombs, they may well finish the catastrophe we're trying to prevent!"

"All I'm saying is that there may be a connection! After that city on Krypton was stolen, the whole planet went blooey! Maybe that's what caused it! Maybe when this Brainiac used that shrinking thingee on Kandor is when the chain reaction started that blew up Krypton!" Noel and Jimmy were locking horns in the den. She was adamant that Jimmy listen to her theory. "I don't know about you, big brother, but if that's what we're looking at with these tremors, I think somebody needs to know about it! Fast!"

"You forgot about something, shrimp. It wasn't but a year after Kandor disappeared that the planet exploded. It's been almost two hundred years since the Earth cities were stolen and returned. Why is it this thing is happening now instead of then?"

"You just said it! The Earth cities were all restored to their original places by Superman. Somehow that had to be what slowed down the process. It may already be too late, I don't know. But if it's not and there's a chance it can be reversed, I think all the great minds of this planet might ought to be working on it, don't you?"

"Look, even if I think you're right, how are we going to convince anybody? We're only kids! They'll laugh at us!"

"They laughed at someone on the planet Krypton, too. But he didn't care. And that's why you and I are alive and having this conversation."

Phyllis, listening in the hallway, picked up on something Jim said. "Jim, how did you know it was a year after the city of Kandor disappeared that Krypton blew up? That wasn't in any of the things we read in that book. And you never exactly took to studying the history of Krypton..."

"I... don't know. But it wasn't just something I pulled out of the air. It was a year after that incident that it happened. I know because... I... remember..." Jim stood in silence for a moment, then whispered, "It's that green crystal, isn't it? It's what that rock did to me. It invaded my mind with all that Krypton stuff!"

"Relax, Jimmy! You're okay!" said the concerned mother. "You don't seem affected in any negative way - physically or otherwise. There's no need to get so...agitated by this!"

After settling down, Jimmy was almost apologetic. "I guess you're right, Mom. But what if that wasn't the only thing it did to me? I mean I don't feel any different, but..." Jimmy managed a sheepish smile. "I guess I just wish it could've done the same thing with American history. That'd be great! Knock me out for ten minutes and I wake up knowing everything that happened on every date of the calendar...?"

Noel snapped her fingers in front of Jim's face. "Hey! Super-Brain! What do you mean? You know everything about Krypton's past? Including Kandor being stolen and the planet exploding?"

"Well, I think it's everything Jor-El knew - up to the time he launched the vehicle that sent Kal-El to the Earth. Everything seems to be from that one viewpoint."

"Weird!"

"What's really weird is that I didn't realize it until it came up in conversation. Must be that the crystal stored the information in my subconscious. But now that I do know it, it's almost like a movie in my memory. I could probably tell you everything that happened after Kandor was lost until the explosion."

Phyllis was concerned for the safety of her son, but the Earth's current crisis outweighed everything. "If there is anything you know that could help us stop the quakes, I think we need to hear it, Jimmy. Let's sit down and maybe you can replay this 'memory movie' for us."

The three of them got comfortable and Jimmy began to concentrate. After a long silence, he began...