Fifty-NineThe order goes out. To receive the diamonds, crush them, inject them will take a few days, which do not exist. With each passing hour the great spectre of the deadline has become more tangible, until now it confronts them with a hand beckoning to oblivion. The reality hits home on day seventeen when Garrett reiterates Moravec’s threat to be present on Zero Hour. “Like the devil at midnight, he intends to collect.” Machuzak shrugs off The Chairman’s warning and the gallery remains packed, the spectators hopeful, while among them vendors hawk “Plasma Blast” T-shirts and “Fusion Swirl” coffee mugs.
Despite his threat to stay clear of the control room, Machuzak learns from security that Krieg-Zuber has been prowling about, at the helium factory, everywhere possible. Henderson’s news
