Across the Continent

By Clement Masloff

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• Language: English
• Publisher: The Mulberry Books
• Release date: Nov 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9781950850662

Clement Masloff

The author has been involved with science fiction and speculative literature since teaching himself to read in 1941-1942. He served in the Army as a linguist and translator in four Balkan Slavic languages. For several decades, he taught sociology in Ohio after graduating research in Russian social history. In his retirement years, he has been writing science fiction, a return to dreams of the early 1940s.

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Copyright © 2019 by Clement Masloff.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher and author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.

This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects addressed in the publication. The author and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

ISBN: 978-1-950850-67-9 [Paperback Edition]

978-1-950850-66-2 [eBook Edition]

Printed and bound in The United States of America.

Published by

The Mulberry Books, LLC.

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Bifrost

Chapter I.

Going to try your luck at the playing tables of Bifrost, sir? asked the male attendant in turquoise uniform as he removed the food tray from the lap of Cam Bingen.

The golden-haired passenger of the express dirigo smiled wanly.

If there is time, he replied. I am flying there to work at the Photonic Clinic.

A stare of curiosity arose in the server.

You are a medical? he asked the traveler.

The latter nodded yes as a tall, thin brunette with a noticeable figure passed down the aisle toward the rear of the long cabin.

She seemed to glance at Cam for a second or so.

Maybe you can pick her up, whispered the attendant, gazing at her as she went into the rear observation compartment. She is a performer at the Hiberna. If you stay at that hotel and visit its night club, you will have the opportunity to hear her sing some of her songs. You will find her very enjoyable.

The Hiberna Hotel? mused the passenger aloud. I shall be living there until I find a more permanent residence. That is to be my temporary address.

You will be able, then, to go and listen to the glorious voice of Sunda.

He winked as he left with the trays, heading for the front of the airship.

Cam gazed out the side window a moment. Crystal snow spread out to the far horizon. Just a short while before, the dirigo had left behind the forest belt. It was now above the tundra plain. Ahead waited the city of Bifrost, a considerable distance inside the frozen icecap of the polar zone.

Suddenly he rose to his feet, turned down the aisle, and made his way toward the rear observation lounge.

The best view of the frozen surface of Bifrost was from there, he told himself.

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Stepping into the back compartment, Cam spied the brunette that the attendant had identified for him. Her bright red suit gave off a glow of comforting warmth.

All of a sudden, she turned her head to the side and stared straight at him.

He realized that they were the only passengers in the lounge at that moment.

Oh, excuse me, she said in a childlike voice. I thought that you might be someone I happen to know. That is a frequent occurrence to people in my line of work. I thought that perhaps we had met before.

And what is your profession, may I ask? Bingen found himself saying, though he had been informed what the answer was only a little while before.

The woman gave him a radiant smile of self-satisfaction.

Entertainment, she murmured. Some still call it show business.

Cam took a step closer.

That is interesting, he haltingly commented.

I am a singer in Bifrost City, but I come from Urth. Her eyes appeared to be studying the stranger. You are not a Bifroster, I take it.

No. I am a medic from Landia, at the opposite end of the Continent from this beautiful country of yours.

The long trip here must have been trying. How do you like the snow and the cold of the Southern Frigid Zone?

I have only seen it from up in the air, except for our one short stop at Urth.

That’s where I myself boarded this craft, she explained. I have my father living there. He is a retired logger and I am all the family he has.

For a moment, neither said a word as they sized up each other.

Perhaps you would like to look at the snowscape, she gently suggested to Cam.

Yes, that is precisely why I came back here. He glanced about the empty observation lounge.

She rose with a smile, excused herself, and headed back to the main cabin of the dirigo.

Cam advanced toward the panoramic wrap-around window and peered down at the cover of white below.

He suddenly recalled the names of the three zonal belts of this southern arctic land.

The forests of Urth, the plain of Verthandi, and the polar icecap of Skuld. These were the three sections of frozen, frigid Bifrost. They were located at the extreme south end of the Continent.

He had read about and now viewed from the air ribbons of taiga pineries, treeless tundra, and the permanent austral ice shelf. And he would soon be in the capital of the country, on the surface of the frozen cap, hunting for something found nowhere else.

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Cerulean blue, emerald green, and alabaster white towers and spires marked the skyline of Bifrost City. It was a metropolis of ice and snow spread about on the solid sheet that would not melt in the next ten million years. The place had a unique character, one of frozen solidity.

The dirigo gradually descended to the airdocks on the northern edge of the city.

As soon as the airship was stabilized on the ice surface, the passengers walked off onto mechanical elevators that had been moved up to the grounded vehicle.

Airport employees herded them to the terminal station, where sleehacks awaited the travelers and tourists. Watch your step at all times on the ice, warned the chief attendant.

Cam was guided to a hack sleigh owned by the Hiberna Hotel. In the rear seat sat a fat, elderly woman and the singer called Sunda whom he had met on the dirigo.

Hello, he said, climbing in next to her. It’s good to see you again.

Hello, she smiled back pleasantly.

The sleehack began sliding on the slippery ice channel of a road into the city.

Eager to start your vacation? inquired the brunette, now wearing a red anorax coat of heavy goat wool.

I am not here for fun, he informed her. The Photonic Clinic has appointed me to a new research post that will be occupying all my time.

All at once, her dark eyes brightened and glowed. Oh! she exclaimed. That must be most interesting. I have met one of the staff members from the Clinic. Do you happen to know Doctor Halsing?

Cam grinned. I will be working immediately under him in the Mnemonics Department.

Her agitation and excitement grew noticeable so that he decided it was best to change the subject of their conversation.

Are there many tourists in Bifrost City at this season of the year? he asked her.

We have large crowds here throughout all the months, she explained. "There are no busy or slow seasons. On the ice cap, of course, there are no noticeable seasons at all. The weather is always the same. But without the vacationers and visitors, the city would not be half of what it has built itself up to be. Not even half the present population would be here.

The hotels and the algae industry are the main supports of the economy of Bifrost City.

That includes gambling, I believe, remarked Cam.

She nodded yes. The Hiberna has the largest casino in all Bifrost.

I plan to hear you sing, Miss...

Vipur, she completed.I am Sunda Vipur, the Urthian songstress.

For a few seconds, her mouth formed into a self-mocking twist.

What sort of music is it that you perform? he asked her.

Old Frostland ballads, mostly from my own Urth.

That sounds interesting, said Bingen, almost to himself.

Sunda looked past him, at the blue-green buildings along the ice street.

We are now coming to the Hiberna, she announced with a slight laugh.

The sleehack driver stopped his vehicle at the end of a rubbery entrance ramp.

Please exit on the right side, onto the no-slide to the main lobby. All luggage will be taken directly to your assigned rooms within the hotel, he shouted in a loud, sharp voice.

Cam climbed out, then the singer and the third passenger did so. The last two hurried into the building, the medico following them into the tall, ornate, crystal and silicon lobby.

Making his way to the main desk, Cam picked up a babble of talk in many tongues and dialects from small groups standing and milling about. The entire Continent must be present, he told himself as he passed by. It is a good thing I mastered Bifrostian in school, he realized.

The traveler gave the room clerk his name and waited for his guest keycard.

Oh, Mr. Bingen, there is a message that was left here for you.

The man in beige uniform handed him a folded piece of cellulose along with his room card.

Cam opened the note, finding it short and enigmatic.

Thun must see you tonight at seven. Sit in the northwest corner of the lobby. He will find you there.

The communication was signed Thun.

The doctor put the summons in his overcoat pocket and headed for the verticals.

Who is Thun? he wondered.

What is this all about? he asked himself with irritation and vexation.

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A quick yellowfish sandwich at the hotel’s lunch counter was followed by the occupation of a thronelike wall chair of splashpine in the indicated corner of the main lobby.

Bingen had been unable to take any rest in his room on the thirty-third floor.

The invitation from Thun both intrigued and troubled him.

Who was this mysterious, unidentifiable stranger?

Only the top management of the Clinic knew of his coming. A glance at the horologe on his wrist revealed it was only a few minutes before seven.

Cam had not noticed that a short, small man with a balding head had crept up to his side without the slightest sound.

Dr. Bingen? said the unknown person who had snuck up to him.

The medic gave a puzzled nod, then rose from the big chair he was in. He examined closely the pale, wrinkled skin of the other’s face, the colorless eyes, the button nose.

I take it that you are Thun?

What began as a nod of the head by the stranger became a fall forward.

Cam lurched forth in time to prevent Thun’s collapsing to the carpeted floor. His two arms braced up the frail little man, holding him upright.

Bingen looked about, seeing that no one was watching them.

Here, sit down, he muttered, leading the fainting man to the tall chair he himself had been seated on.

Can you hear me, Mr. Thun? he gently whispered.If you can, please move your head as a sign.

There followed a clear downward motion of the stranger’s forehead.

Unexpectedly, the small body sprang upwards, nearly colliding with Bingen’s head.

The energized Thun stared at Cam with madness in his eyes.

I came to warn you, he gurgled from low in his throat.Knax is up to no good with her treatments. Look what she is doing to me. It is a scandalous outrage.

The thin mouth of the man arched into a horrific grimace. Then the stranger broke away and ran off toward the opposite side of the lobby.

Cam watched as the bizarre character drifted into the crowd of gamblers entering the hotel’s casino.

What was that about? the puzzled traveler asked himself as he headed for his hotel quarters.

Chapter II.

Cam Bingen woke up early, determined to arrive for his appointment with Director Halsing with time to spare.

Getting out of the vertical to cross the hotel lobby, he noticed a familiar face.

Good morning, Miss Vipur. How are you today? he said, stopping in front of the singer.

Fine. I didn’t have to work last night. This evening I’ll be starting in the late show after the setting of the daystar. Don’t forget that our daytime lasts nineteen hours during the summer. But we make up for that profusion of light in winter, when the daystar falls below the horizon for over nineteen hours.

Yes, I’ll have to get used to all these time changes and conditions, laughed Cam.

I hope to see you in my audience, Doctor, she said, smiling brightly.

Call me Cam, please.

If you will use Sunda, she said with a ring in her voice. I must be going because I have an appointment.

The two parted, Bingen going to the hotel’s snack counter for a cup of willow tea and a baked cruller.

When he was finished, he walked to the sheltered portal where sleehacks were available. The vehicle coordinator assigned him a small cab carrying no other passenger.

Are you sick or only visiting the Clinic? asked the nosy driver once they were sliding along the ice street.

Neither. I’m going to work on the staff there.

Oh! said the surprised hackie, impressed and overwhelmed.

The Photonic Clinic was at the western end of Bifrost City, past the algoid processing plants. Only a few scattered quonsets surrounded the round, column-shaped silicon building. The cab entered the warmed vehicle shelter in front of it and stopped before the main entrance.

Cam made arrangements to be picked up again late that afternoon, then made his way on foot into the circular hospital.

A receptionist announced him over a connector line. Director Halsing will be here in a jiffy to meet you, sir, she told him with a pleasant grin.

Out of a door behind her came an imposing male figure, large, strong, and fleshy. Oily smooth black hair offset bright orange pupils the color of tangerines. Jutting nose and jaw reflected self-assurance and dominance.

Dr. Bingen, he called out as he approached. So glad that you are here.

The two men shook hands, Halsing with tangible force.

Let us go into my office and talk about our plans for you here at the Clinic.

When the pair were seated and comfortable, the Director began in an intimate tone.

"My people are on the frontier of the previously unexplored. Nowhere on the entire Continent is anyone even near us in psychiatric applications of actinotherapy and light treatment. Yes, many medical centers use bioholography in surgery. Somatic therapy can even include some photoactinic technology in some countries. But no one has conceived of the idea of direct neurological contact with radiated energy within the brain itself through the human eye. That is what is new here in Bifrost City.

"Light within the mind! Nothing can be as accurate and exact as the photon ray. So precise and measured, just below the atomic scale. It gives us true medical nanotechnology. The effects of such treatment are often startling. We become able to affect the operations of the mind itself and deal with conflicts and complexes.

I am heartily elated over the prospects for optical psychiatry. You can detect that from the way I talk about the great opportunities ahead of us, he said with a light laugh.

He paused to collect his thoughts and place them in order.

"We are at the birth of a new method of curative treatment. You shall all your life be happy for having joined our project here, Dr. Bingen.

Now, I want to have you provided a general orientation to what is being done here. Dr. Knax, the Chief of Psychiatry, will take charge of your introductory initiation. Are you ready to start?

Certainly, he declared. The name of his new mentor set off a bell in his brain. He was familiar with articles she had written and published.

Good. My secretary will take you to the office of Dr. Knax.

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Hecla Knax was a squat, thickset towhead with a square head and solid trunk. Her hazel eyes, flecked with red and yellow, held a certain power within them. She impressed everyone as extremely serious and focused.

Please have a seat, she told Cam as he took the large hand she offered.

Once in her chair again, the head psychiatrist began what soon turned into an interrogation.

Why have you traveled south such a long distance, Dr. Bingen? she coldly asked him.

He swallowed hard. I wish to be involved in the advancements going on here. They are still in their incipient stage, but already promise to turn our field upside down. Similar innovations happen only a few times in medical history, especially in psychiatry. My ambition is to take an active part in them. In other words, I wish to become a pioneer in your new type of therapy. That, I believe, is my main reason.

The face of Knax remained impassive. Your records show considerable experience in biotherapy, she slowly drawled.

In Landia, the main treatments for all forms of psychopathy are chemical compounds and serums. It all boils down to psychobiology and very little beyond that. I became profoundly dissatisfied with the limitations of those conventional methods. They were insufficient and inadequate, I came to conclude.

How did you come to know about what we are trying to do here at the Clinic?

I picked up hints and rumors at various psychiatric conventions, he noted.

She pursed her pale lips. "No articles have yet been published about this activity. The light methods are still in early development. Most of