times more powerful than existing ones?' said the Minister.
`Yes,' I replied.
`Then why hasn't this valve been put into use?' said the Minister.
`Lack of development,' I blurted out.
`That's ridiculous!'
`The new valve was being developed for the new radio the Space Council is building. Unfortunately the whole project is suffering a period of disinterest from the various governments involved, so there is very little money available,' Sir John explained my predicament.
`Well, this is most unfortunate, Dr Warboys,' the Minister said and added, turning to the Chief of Staff, 'Is this what you're looking for?'
`Absolutely. Just what we need. If it works, we'll be able to get quite close to the range we need.'
Can this new valve be fitted into our existing radar systems?' asked Colonel Rhodes briskly.
`I don't see why not. But without precise details of the layout of your ships I couldn't say for certain.'
`Gentlemen. I think this is a matter for Dr Warboys and Colonel Rhodes to thrash out by themselves straight away,' said the Chief of Staff.
`I agree entirely,' said Sir John.
`Good, then this is the situation. We can give you fellows a few hours -- no more -- to find out if this new equipment can be fitted into an existing radar system. Now is there anything either of you wishes to ask?' said the Minister.
`No, I think everything's quite clear,' I said.
`As soon as I can see the valve, we'll know what the situation is,' Rhodes said getting to his feet. I followed suit.
`There's military transport available, Dr Warboys,' said the Chief of Staff.
`Thank you,' I said. It would save time if we were going to hurry back to Cambridge.
Everyone seemed to nod his approval and the signal for our departure.
'How serious is it?' Rhodes said as the lift descended. 'I just don't know, but you must have been involved in a few panics in the past.' I was noncommittal.
Rhodes was very direct. 'Ganges told me what you found before I came up to town. Do you have any idea of what might have happened to Fanshawe and his men?'
'Not really. It's anyone's guess at the moment,' I said, dodging the question.
The lift came to its silent stop. The doors opened and Rhodes marched off down one of the many corridors. About half-way down the passage he stopped, which gave me time to catch up. He was standing waiting for another lift. When I arrived at this point the lift doors opened, revealing a peat big notice on the inside which said:
VEHICLES. MILITARY PERSONNEL ONLY.
Rhodes smiled at me as I read the notice. 'New people to the ministry were always using the lift, so the notice was stuck up.'
'Why not put it on the wall outside the lift?'
'Simple. We'd have all the political big wigs wanting free transport facilities. That's why we had the lift placed half-way down the corridor rather than at the ends with all the other lifts.'
'I suppose we all have our problems.'
Rhodes laughed. The lift stopped and we stepped out on to a roof top overlooking the Whitehall area. At a quick glance it seemed to be the only building in the park.
A manually operated helicopter sat looking rather squat in comparison with the automatic computerized ones.
'Is it still safe to fly these manually?' I said, climbing in.
'Well, we do have trouble with the civil authorities over air corridors, but they are instructed to keep out of our manual flying zone. The police are the worst; they seem to use all the available flying space whether it is necessary or not,' Rhodes said, firing up the machine.
I noticed with amusement that he put on the protective flying helmet with radio transmitting equipment in it.
'Just in case the computers are re-routing helicopters. I can call them up and tell them there's a war on,' Rhodes shouted above the noise.
A couple of police and ambulance helicopters narrowly missed us as we banked sharply and set off north towards Cambridge.
Rhodes was saying something but I couldn't hear him. In desperation he handed me another
`Yes,' I replied.
`Then why hasn't this valve been put into use?' said the Minister.
`Lack of development,' I blurted out.
`That's ridiculous!'
`The new valve was being developed for the new radio the Space Council is building. Unfortunately the whole project is suffering a period of disinterest from the various governments involved, so there is very little money available,' Sir John explained my predicament.
`Well, this is most unfortunate, Dr Warboys,' the Minister said and added, turning to the Chief of Staff, 'Is this what you're looking for?'
`Absolutely. Just what we need. If it works, we'll be able to get quite close to the range we need.'
Can this new valve be fitted into our existing radar systems?' asked Colonel Rhodes briskly.
`I don't see why not. But without precise details of the layout of your ships I couldn't say for certain.'
`Gentlemen. I think this is a matter for Dr Warboys and Colonel Rhodes to thrash out by themselves straight away,' said the Chief of Staff.
`I agree entirely,' said Sir John.
`Good, then this is the situation. We can give you fellows a few hours -- no more -- to find out if this new equipment can be fitted into an existing radar system. Now is there anything either of you wishes to ask?' said the Minister.
`No, I think everything's quite clear,' I said.
`As soon as I can see the valve, we'll know what the situation is,' Rhodes said getting to his feet. I followed suit.
`There's military transport available, Dr Warboys,' said the Chief of Staff.
`Thank you,' I said. It would save time if we were going to hurry back to Cambridge.
Everyone seemed to nod his approval and the signal for our departure.
'How serious is it?' Rhodes said as the lift descended. 'I just don't know, but you must have been involved in a few panics in the past.' I was noncommittal.
Rhodes was very direct. 'Ganges told me what you found before I came up to town. Do you have any idea of what might have happened to Fanshawe and his men?'
'Not really. It's anyone's guess at the moment,' I said, dodging the question.
The lift came to its silent stop. The doors opened and Rhodes marched off down one of the many corridors. About half-way down the passage he stopped, which gave me time to catch up. He was standing waiting for another lift. When I arrived at this point the lift doors opened, revealing a peat big notice on the inside which said:
VEHICLES. MILITARY PERSONNEL ONLY.
Rhodes smiled at me as I read the notice. 'New people to the ministry were always using the lift, so the notice was stuck up.'
'Why not put it on the wall outside the lift?'
'Simple. We'd have all the political big wigs wanting free transport facilities. That's why we had the lift placed half-way down the corridor rather than at the ends with all the other lifts.'
'I suppose we all have our problems.'
Rhodes laughed. The lift stopped and we stepped out on to a roof top overlooking the Whitehall area. At a quick glance it seemed to be the only building in the park.
A manually operated helicopter sat looking rather squat in comparison with the automatic computerized ones.
'Is it still safe to fly these manually?' I said, climbing in.
'Well, we do have trouble with the civil authorities over air corridors, but they are instructed to keep out of our manual flying zone. The police are the worst; they seem to use all the available flying space whether it is necessary or not,' Rhodes said, firing up the machine.
I noticed with amusement that he put on the protective flying helmet with radio transmitting equipment in it.
'Just in case the computers are re-routing helicopters. I can call them up and tell them there's a war on,' Rhodes shouted above the noise.
A couple of police and ambulance helicopters narrowly missed us as we banked sharply and set off north towards Cambridge.
Rhodes was saying something but I couldn't hear him. In desperation he handed me another
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