The Invaders

went happily about itsbusiness--really high-level officialdom grew more unhappy day by day.Coburn and Janice flew back to Salonika. They went in a Navy plane witha fighter plane escort. They landed at the Salonika airport, and theGreek general was among those who greeted them.

  He took them out to the villa he'd placed at the disposal of highauthority for their use. He displayed it proudly. There was absolutelyno sign that it had been touched by anybody since its original buildershad finished with it two-hundred-odd years before. The American officerwho had wired it, though--he looked as if he were short a week'ssleep--showed them how anywhere on the grounds or in the house theywould need only to speak a code-word and they'd instantly be answered.

  There were servants, and the Greek general took Coburn aside and assuredhim that there was one room which absolutely was not wired for sound. Henamed it.

  So they took up a relatively normal way of life. Sometimes they decidedthat it would be pleasant to drive in to Salonika. They mentioned it,and went out and got in the car that went with the villa. Oddly, therewas always some aircraft lazying about overhead by the time they wereout of the gate. They always returned before sunset. And sometimes theyswam in the water before the villa's door. Then, also, they were carefulto be back on solid ground before sunset. That was so their guards outon the water wouldn't have to worry.

  But it was a nagging and an unhappy business to know that they werewatched and overheard everywhere save in that one unwired room. It couldhave made for tension between them. But there was another thought tohold them together. This was the knowledge that they were literallyliving on top of a bomb. If an Invader's flying ship descended at thevilla, everything that happened would be heard and seen by microphonesand concealed television cameras. If the Invaders were too arrogant, orif they were arbitrary, there would be a test to see if their ship couldexist in the heart of an atom-bomb explosion.

  * * * * *

  Coburn and Janice, then, were happy after a fashion. But nobody couldcall their situation restful.

  They had very few visitors. The Greek general came out meticulouslyevery day. Hallen came out once, but he knew about the atomic bomb. Hedidn't stay long. When they'd been in residence a week, the Generaltelephoned zestfully that he was going to bring out some company. HisEnglish was so mangled and obscure that Coburn wondered cynically ifwhoever listened to their tapped telephone could understand him. But,said the General in high good humor, he was playing a good joke. He hadhunted up Helena, who was Coburn's secretary, and he had also invitedDillon to pay a visit to some charming people he knew. It would be agreat joke to see Dillon's face.

  There was a fire in the living room that night. The Greek servants hadmade it, and Coburn thought grimly that they were braver men and womenthan he'd have been. They didn't have to risk their lives. They couldhave refused this particular secret-service assignment. But they hadn't.

  A voice spoke from the living-room ceiling, a clipped American voice."Mr. Coburn, a car is coming."

  That was standard. When the General arrived; when the occasionaldelivery of telephoned-for supplies came; on the one occasion when apeddler on foot had entered the ground. It lacked something of being theperfect atmosphere for a honeymoon, but it was the way things were.

  Presently there were headlights outside. The Greek butler went to greetthe guests. Coburn and Janice heard voices. The General was inuproarious good humor. He came in babbling completely uncomprehensibleEnglish.

  There was Helena. She smiled warmly at Coburn. She went at once toJanice. "How do you do?" she said in her prettily accented English. "Ihave missed not working for your husband, but this is my fiance!"

  And Janice shook hands with a slick-haired young Greek who lookedpleasant enough, but did not seem to her as remarkable as Coburn.

  Then Dillon stared at Coburn.

  "The devil!" he said, with every evidence of indignation. "This is thechap--"

  The General roared, and Coburn said awkwardly: "I owe you an apology,and the privilege of a poke in the nose besides. But it was asituation--I was in a state--"

  Then the General howled with laughter. Helena laughed. Her fiancelaughed. And Dillon grinned amusedly at Coburn.

  * * * * *

  "My dear fellow!" said Dillon. "We are the guests this whole villa wasset up to receive! The last time I saw you was in Naousa, and the lasttime Helena saw you you stuck pins in her, and--"

  Coburn stiffened. He went slowly pale.

  "I--see! You're the foam-suit people, eh?" Then he looked with hotpassion at the General. "You!" he said grimly. "You I didn't suspect.You've made fools of all of us, I think."

  The General said something obscure which could have been a proverb. Itwas to the effect that nobody could tell a fat man was cross-eyed whenhe laughed.

  "Yes," said Dillon beaming. "He is fat. So his eyes don't look likethey're different. You have to see past his cheeks and eyebrows. That'show he passed muster. And he slept very soundly after the airportaffair."

  Coburn felt a sort of sick horror. The General had passed as a man, andhe'd loaned this villa, and he knew all about the installation of theatomic bomb.... Then Coburn looked through a doorway and there was hisGreek butler standing in readiness with a submachine-gun in his hands.

  "I take it this is an official call," said Coburn steadily. "In thatcase you know we're overheard--or did the General cancel that?"

  "Oh, yes!" said Dillon. "We know all about the trap we've walked into.But we'd decided that the time had come to appear in the open anyhow.You people are very much like us, incidentally. Apparently there's onlyone real way that a truly rational brain can work. And we and you Earthpeople both have it. May we sit down?"

  Janice said: "By all means!"

  Helena sat, with an absolutely human gesture of spreading her skirtbeside her. The General plumped into a chair and chuckled. Theslick-haired young man politely offered Janice a cigarette and lightedHelena's for her. Dillon leaned against the mantel above the fire.

  "Well?" said Coburn harshly. "You can state your terms. What do you wantand what do you propose to do to get it?"

  Dillon shook his head. He took a deep breath. "I want you to listen,Coburn. I know about the atom bomb planted somewhere around, and I knowI'm talking for my life. You know we aren't natives of Earth. You'veguessed that we come from a long way off. We do. Now--we found out thetrick of space travel some time ago. You're quite welcome to it. Wefound it, and we started exploring. We've been in space, you might say,just about two of your centuries. You're the only other civilized racewe've found. That's point one."

  Coburn fumbled in his pocket. He found a cigarette. Dillon held a match.Coburn started, and then accepted it.

  "Go on." He added, "There's a television camera relaying this, by theway. Did you know?"

  "Yes, I know," said Dillon. "Now, having about two centuries the startof you, we have a few tricks you haven't found out yet. For one thing,we understand ourselves, and you, better than you do. We've sometechnical gadgets you haven't happened on yet. However, it's entirelypossible for you to easily kill the four of us here tonight. If youdo--you do. But there are others of our race here. That's point two."

  "Now come the threats and demands," said Coburn.

  "Perhaps." But Dillon seemed to hesitate. "Dammit, Coburn, you're areasonable man. Try to think like us a moment. What would you do ifyou'd started to explore space and came upon a civilized race, as wehave?"

  Coburn said formidably, "We'd study them and try to make friends."

  "In that order," said Dillon instantly. "That's what we've tried to do.We disguised ourselves as you because we wanted to learn how to makefriends before we tried. But what did we find, Coburn? What's yourguess?"

  "You name it!" said Coburn.

  "You Earth people," said Dillon, "are at a turning-point in yourhistory. Either you solve your problems and keep on climbing, or you'llblast your civilization down to somewhere near a caveman level an
d haveto start all over again. You know what I mean. Our two more spectacularinterferences dealt with it."

  "The Iron Curtain," said Coburn. "Yes. But what's that got to do withyou? It's none of your business. That's ours."

  * * * * *

  "But it _is_ ours," said Dillon urgently. "Don't you see, Coburn?You've a civilization nearly as advanced as ours. If we can makefriends, we can do each other an infinite lot of good. We can complementeach other. We can have a most valuable trade, not only in goods, but inwhat you call human values