"What is their motive for getting involved in such a thing?" the spy asked him. "That repair should be left to people who know what they are doing."
"I agree with you," Dazz said. "But the SSG believes, true or not, that they can tweak the Big Generator in such a way that it will provide power only to things they own. In other words, they want to be able to control who gets power and who doesn't. Can you imagine the ramifications of that? SG Starcrashers flying, SF 'crashers not? SG weapons working, SF weapons not? Even I know that's unfair."
The spy collapsed back into his seat. "This is nonsense!" he cried. "It has to be—"
But Dazz was shaking his head no. "I only wish it were," he said. "But I got this from a very high source back on Earth. Besides, why would I come all this way just to tell you something that wasn't true? No less than death would be my fate if I were caught talking to you like this."
He sipped his drink again. His cup was almost dry.
"I am not a genius, nor am I a hero," Dazz went on. "I'm just a soldier. I have no idea what the SSG is doing exactly, what gave them the idea to do it — or what might happen should they fail. But certainly it's a dangerous thing they are attempting."
"Very dangerous if they succeed," the spy half moaned.
At that moment, as if taking a cosmic cue, the lights in the room, in the bar, and all across the tiny planet, blinked. Outside, in the wind, the spy and Dazz heard the most frightful chorus of screams rise up. They were so disturbing, the SG man pulled his ray gun from its holster. The noise got louder. In seconds it seemed like an army of the dead was ready to burst through the door.
"Is it any wonder the entire Galaxy is going crazy?" Dazz screamed over the ghostly racket.
But then, just as suddenly, the noise calmed down. The lights came back to full power. And only the wind could be heard outside.
The spy gasped. "That was frightening…"
The SG man nearly drained his drink. "Even more so, these aftershocks — these accursed blinks — are being made worse by the SSG's tinkering. That I know for a fact. The SSG is so crude, most of them, I close my eyes and see them pounding away on that rock with electron hammers and chisels!"
The spy stared into his empty wine cup. Suddenly, he wanted more.
"That's item number one," Dazz said now, wearily. "Here is number two: Along with this Big Generator thing, the SSG has also been up to some very unusual activity on
Saturn. As you know — as everyone knows — the regular SG has a lot of its administration centers there. Truth is, it's where you wind up when they don't need you anymore, pushing an electric pen.
"But the SSG has been paying a lot of attention to a certain part of the planet lately. A very dull place called Imperial Records Section 066. It's essentially a huge warehouse with billions of comm bubbles in storage. Only the cosmos knows why it is of sudden interest to them, but the rumor is there might be some kind of new weapon being built down there, one they are planning to use on a very specific target."
"Such as?" the spy asked.
Dazz thought a long moment, choosing his words very carefully. "The SSG may be brutes, but they aren't completely stupid," he began again. "They know something very unusual happened out near Doomsday 212 during that second battle. That the irregular forces that beat up the REF were not so irregular. Again, they are convinced Hunter and his rebels had some very special help."
The spy just stared back at the informant. "Go on," he said.
"The SSG also knows Hunter's rebels and their allies have started their own little star system out there around Doomsday 212," Dazz said. "They know they're still a threat, despite what's going on up in the Star Trench. So, once the SSG gets control of the Big Generator, their first order of business is to attack Doomsday 212—and I mean even before the war resumes with the Space Forces. And if this is a new weapon down in Warehouse 066, it's going to be used against Doomsday 212 and whoever is out there. The problem is, my sources tell me, this weapon may be so powerful, it will affect not just Doomsday 212 but anyone within a thousand light-years of ground zero. That's a lot of innocent people, especially with all the war refugees wandering around the Two Arm these days."
The spy slumped back into his chair. "So much bad news," he moaned. "I'm not sure I can take any more."
"Well, you must," the officer told him. "For here is item number three: I've heard a lot of rumors that the SSG also has something else — something very secret, hidden away on Earth — that they are also hoping to use very soon. Not a weapon exactly. Though what it is, no one is sure. The SSG is calling it the magilla in their confidential bubble reports. That's a code word, I think. It might not be connected to the Big Generator repair or the 066 warehouse, not directly, anyway. But whatever it is, this magilla is something they've recently acquired, from persons or methods unknown. And they are being very smug about it, always a bad sign."
Dazz finally licked the last few drops from his empty cup. He was fairly drunk now but still wanted more. "So there you are," he said. "The Big Generator repair, the mystery in Warehouse 066, and the magilla."
The spy groaned. "They used to call this a triple whammy," he said. "Bad news times three…"
The SG officer got up to leave. "Call them whatever you like," he said. "Because now I pass these burdens on to you. I must get back before I am missed. Just promise me you will use this information wisely. Obviously, the attempt to manipulate the Big Generator is the most immediate concern, but the other items have the potential to be just as disturbing, simply by the amount of chatter I'm picking up on them. All three things are highly secret. And if anyone ever finds out I gave them to you, I'll have no other choice but to fall on my sword. So please, be very careful who you share them with."
The spy reached into his pocket and numbly came out with a bag containing thirty pieces of aluminum-silver. It was the standard payment for Dazz's information.
But the SG officer surprised the spy by pushing the bag back across the table.
"No thanks," he said, putting his skully cap back on. "With all that's happening around us, taking your money this time just doesn't seem right."
He started for the door, but the spy, startled that Dazz had refused his payment, had one last question for him.
"Why did you choose to do this in the first place?" he asked him. "Be my source, I mean? I checked your dossier way back when we first started. You've been a loyal SG officer for nearly three centuries. Yet many things you've told me over the years ultimately wind up hurting your own cause."
Dazz just shrugged.
"Not all of us in the SG are bad, my friend," he replied, adding sadly, "just most of us are…"
2
Point Zero?
Zero Point?
Hawk Hunter, alleged superman, woke up in Purgatory, spitting these words out like broken teeth.
At least he thought it was Purgatory. He'd had a glimpse of Hell before, and this was not quite it. But it was damn close.
It was hot here. Very hot. And he was perpetually drenched in sweat. Lying on his back, sharp rocks sticking like knives into his spine, a strange red fog surrounded him. He thought he could see flames crackling somewhere beyond. In his ears were the sounds of people crying. In his nose, some very nasty smells. Burned metal. Burned flesh. Burning souls…
Zero Point?