The Silver Age #2

By Derrick Ferguson

"From The Known To The Unknown"

Man can learn nothing unless he
proceeds from the known to the unknown

        From Bulletin of New York
        Academy of Medicine, Vol.
        IV, p. 997

Ace Morgan politely knocked on the door of the spacious computer center of Challenger Mountain. Buried deep inside the heart of the mountain, nine LexTech computers hummed away, linked to half a dozen other computer systems. They were hard at work processing the information Prof Haley and June Robbins had programmed into them and they were now correlating the data with not only the Pentagon and National Security Agency computers, but also with the JLA, Doom Patrol and Blackhawk Island computers.

June looked up from the desk she was sitting at. "Awfully polite of you, Morgan. C’mon in."

"I didn’t want to interrupt you guys while you were hard at work." Ace walked into the room, jerking a thumb at Prof, who was sleeping in a high-backed leather chair, his crossed legs propped up on a console. Soft snores came from his half open mouth. "He finally dropped off, huh?"

June motioned for him to lower his voice and to come closer. Then she spoke in a low tone; "I’ve never seen Prof like this. He was absolutely beat from the flight from Australia, but he insisted on going over every scrap of telemetry himself and programming it into the computers. He hasn’t moved from that chair except to go the bathroom and I had to yell at him to eat a sandwich and drink some liquids besides coffee. Ace, just who is this woman he knows on the space station?"

Ace shrugged. "I’ve heard Prof mention her a couple of times..her name’s Dora Lockridge. A college sweetheart from the way he tells it. But they haven’t seen each other in years. I gather that this diving trip in Australia was supposed to be a reunion of sorts."

June tapped a pen against her lips as she leaned back in her chair. "I hope for Prof’s sake that she’s okay."

Ace nodded in agreement. "No more than I. I didn’t want to bring this up in case it was just a coincidence, but the thought had occurred to me that the reason Freedom’s Light was stolen was because of this woman’s connection with Prof. It could be that someone who knows Prof’s background figured that this woman would know something that could help them against us."

June looked dubious. "C’mon, Ace…that’s a pretty big leap, don’t you think? Why take an entire space station and put the entire combined United States intelligence and military forces on red alert rather than kidnapping someone here on Earth? You, Red and Rocky as well as Prof have other friends and family that could have been taken with a lot less fuss and bother."

Ace sat on the edge of the desk, one leg swinging back and forth. He folded his arms across his broad chest and said in a forceful, hushed tone; "I agree with you, June. But I’m also looking at the fact that Lt. Dora Lockridge means a lot to Prof and she was on a space station that has gone missing."

"Coincidence?"

Ace snorted sarcastically. "I gave up on believing in coincidence a long time ago."

The console in front of the sleeping Prof suddenly began to make sounds. Although he was dead sleep, Prof quickly came awake, swinging his long legs off the console and onto the floor. He vigorously dry washed the sleep away with his hands and scooted his chair closer as information began to appear on the screen and a nearby printer clattered into life. Ace and June were at his side in a second. "What have we got, Prof?" Ace wanted to know.

Prof was silent, his brown eyes intent on his work as his long hands flew over the keyboard.

"Prof…"

"It’s coming up now, Ace…just give me a minute…" Prof was pulling papers out of the printer and glancing at them quickly before passing them to June. "June and I figured that there was no way Freedom’s Light was shot down. The debris would have been picked up by someone somewhere. So we went with the theory that the entire station was somehow brought to Earth."

Ace was nodding. One of the things Ace liked about Prof that he never used overly technical words when speaking to his teammates. Not that he couldn’t use those jaw busters when he needed to and he did when the occasion called for it. "Okay, but couldn’t it as easily have suffered some kind of collision that would’ve knocked it out of orbit, maybe sent it into deep space?"

Prof shook his head. "Again, I have to say no. Ace, there’s simply too damn many spy and research satellites orbiting the Earth these days observing both our planet and the solar system. If Freedom’s Light had been knocked out of orbit, somebody would have picked it up. The only other alternative is that some force on Earth pulled it down here."

"What kind of force are we talking about?"

June waggled a wad of paper in her hand triumphantly. "Magnetic."

Ace blinked. "Beg pardon?"

"Look here," June said excitedly and stepped over to Ace’s side, pointing at the readout and graphs on the papers. "At the same time that NASA lost contact with the space station, numerous satellites registered a 7.41 fluctuation in the Earth’s magnetic field for exactly two minutes and then returned to normal."

"Is that bad or good?"

"It isn’t supposed to happen at all, Ace!" June snapped. "The Earth’s magnetic field just doesn’t fluctuate back and forth—"

"—unless somebody or something makes it do so." Ace finished. "Okay, say I buy into this. You guys are saying that somehow, somebody used the Earth’s magnetic field to yank Freedom’s Light out of the sky?"

"Well, maybe nothing THAT drastic," Prof got to his feet, stretched his arms and legs, twisted his torso to work out the kinks from having sat in front of a computer screen for six hours straight.. "But there was some sort of weapon or even a spacecraft using magnetic waves was utilized."

"Any ideas at all as to what could have done this?" Ace asked.

Prof stifled a yawn as he replied, "It’s my opinion that there’s no technology native to Earth that could have done this."

"So we’re talking aliens here. Damn. If this gets out, The JLA will want to step in and take over," Ace frowned.

"Why?" Prof asked. "We’ve always had a good relationship with the capes before. Why would they just step in and snatch this case from us?"

June took it upon herself to answer that; "The Pentagon is worried that the theft of Freedom’s Light might be the prelude to an alien invasion. If that is the case, they’ll ask the JLA to intervene."

"Then I guess we don’t tell them until we’re absolutely sure that this is the case." Prof said firmly. "After all, this could be a super villain or some earth based organization using alien technology. In any case, if it IS an alien attack, they’re already here on Earth."

Ace nodded thoughtfully. "Prof, do you think we can pinpoint the location of the disruption?"

Prof thought for a minute. "I’ve got some gravimetric sensors in Lab Nine that might be able to give us some of idea of where the disruption is localized. We’d have to fly pretty high up in order to be able to get accurate readings, though. The synchronized digital programming package has total fourth-generation flexibility but I’d still have to calibrate the functional transitional hardware."

"Fine. I’ll get a plane ready. Prof, why don’t you brief June on what she has to know to operate your equipment while I tell Rocky and Red what we’re—"

Prof interrupted him. "June? Why would she need to know how to operate the equipment? I’m going with you."

"Negative. You need sleep, Prof. In a real bed, not a few hours snatched here and there on a plane or in a chair."

"Ace—"

"Dammit, Prof, don’t fight me on this. I know you want to get going to find your friend and you’ve more than done your share by pointing us in the right direction. That’s more than we had yesterday. Go to your quarters and sack out for a few hours." Ace punched Prof in the shoulder. "C’mon, buddy..you know I’m right."

Prof ran his fingers through his straight brown hair. There was no denying that he was almost out on his feet. The flight from Australia to the United States and then to Challenger Mountain had tired him out more than he wanted to admit.

"You’ll wake me the minute you get back?" Prof insisted.

"I’ll come get you myself.." Ace promised. Prof nodded reluctantly and motioned to June.

"Come on then. It’ll take me about a half hour to run through everything you’ll need to know."

The tri-engine cargo plane was one of Ace’s own design and built by Ferris Aircraft. Carol Ferris had sunk quite a lot of money into the plane, which was one of two prototypes. While one remained at Ferris Aircraft’s main testing field in Coast City where it was being put through rigorous shakedown flights by Carol Ferris’ number one test pilot, Hal Jordan, the other had gone to The Challengers so that it could be tested under somewhat more rigorous conditions.

Ace was quite proud of the plane, which boasted considerably more power than that of other cargo planes of similar size, thanks to an experimental concentrated fuel Ace had been working on for nearly twelve years now. The problem was the fuel was so powerful; he’d also had to design a new type of engine capable of handling the extra kick. Ace entered the hangar and didn’t see Rocky or Red anywhere. They had volunteered to load up the plane and prep it so that The Challengers would be ready to take off at a moment’s notice. Ace trotted up the short flight of stairs leading into the plane and walked to the cockpit.

Rocky Davis sat in the co-pilot’s seat. Hearing his teammate’s approach, he threw a grin of greeting over his shoulder. "Hey, Ace."

"Plane’s ready to go?"

"Sure is. Me an’ Red packed it with everything we think we might need and a bunch of stuff we might not but never hurts ta have anyway."

Ace looked at what was in Rocky’s hand. "That looks like a screenplay. Since when did you learn how to read?"

"Har. You ain’t givin’ Jerry Seinfeld no sleepless nights, Ace. You got no sense of delivery."

"And I suppose you do?"

Rocky waved the screenplay under Ace’s nose. "This is gonna be the next world I conquer, fly guy. Better be nice to me or I won’t invite you to the opening…"

Ace snatched the screenplay out of Rocky’s hand and read the title page; "ARAK: SON OF THUNDER…what kind of nonsense is this? Somebody’s going to PAY you real money to act in this thing?"

Rocky’s broad face looked hurt. "It’s a natural for me, Ace. This guy Arak is an American Indian who’s raised by Vikings—"

Ace tossed the screenplay back in Rocky’s lap. "I’ve heard enough. You think you can pass for an American Indian?"

"Well, my great-great grandfather WAS Cherokee."

Red Ryan came into the cockpit with a thermos of coffee. "Anybody want a cup of Joe? Just brewed it myself."

"None for me, thanks. I just came to let you guys know that June and I have to take a plane up. We’ve got some equipment of Prof’s that may help us locate where the space station is."

"How’s Prof doin’?" Rocky asked him.

"I told him to go get some sleep. We’ll be up in the air for a couple of hours and there wasn’t much else he could do to help. You should have seen him, he was practically sleepwalking."

"Good advice. Prof’s hurtin’ over this."

"Funny thing," Red said thoughtfully. "We’ve all known Prof for a while now, right?…he’s always been the coolest head on the team. Nothing ever seemed to ruffle his feathers or get him hyped, y’know? But this Dora babe gets herself hijacked along with the space station and Prof turns into a bag of raw nerve ends."

Rocky swatted the younger man with his rolled up screenplay. "Just goes to show ya, squirt, that no matter how well ya think ya know a guy, ya never really know EVERYTHING about a guy."

"…and that’s everything I know about Prof Haley and The Challengers, I swear!" Dora Lockridge yelled. She was strapped to a rectangular metal slab that floated some two feet above the polished metal floor of Kra’s lab. The hulking metal monster had directed his cyborg subjects to secure Dora to the table. He had then demanded Dora tell everything she knew about The Challengers Of The Unknown. Dora had refused at first and then Kra had shown her a variety of surgical devices he deployed from his thick metal fingers and explained just how and more importantly, WHERE he intended to use them on Dora.

She hadn’t stopped talking for forty minutes straight.

Kra had stood nearby, an impassive silver statue as he processed everything the terrified woman said. <Excellent. You have given me quite an interesting insight into the mind of one of my hated foes>

"Why do you hate The Challengers so much? What have they done to you?"

Kra’s metal face bent closer as he said, <I was not given sentience on this world, female. I was constructed on a world a considerable distance from here. My being here on this world is a complete and total accident. In fact, I would not even BE on this miserable planet if it hadn’t been for The Challengers. And The Challengers have prevented my every attempt to leave it. I formed an alliance of their enemies and called them The League Of Challenger Haters in order to destroy them so that I might leave this unspeakably backwards planet once and for all. But even that plan failed>

"I don’t understand…why would The Challengers stop you from going to your home?"

Kra didn’t bother to explain that the reason The Challengers stopped him was because Kra’s schemes to return to his home planet usually involved wiping out life on Earth in one form or another. If Kra would simply GO, that would be one thing. But Kra never did anything the simple way.

Emboldened by Kra’s sudden loquaciousness, Dora attempted to get more information out of the robot. "And why take Freedom’s Light out of orbit? What possible use could the space station be to you? You obviously have access to advanced technology, judging by what you’ve done to my friends and crew.."

<Your space station is the only space worthy craft sophisticated enough for the conversions your crew have been implementing. The engines are being converted to a stardrive capable of returning me to my home world. In addition, the activation of the stardrive will bring about the end of all life on this planet>

"I don’t understand!"

<Of course you do not. You are a meat bag, incapable of higher levels of thought such as I am. Suffice it to say that using a stardrive within the gravitational field of a planet…is not good for the planet or anything living on it and leave it at that>

Dora looked at the face of the metal monster and she could swear that that immoveable face held an expression of manic glee. But it had to be..must be her own delusions. And why shouldn’t she be deluded? Her space station ripped from its orbit…her friends turned into cyborg slaves…it was a wonder she hadn’t gone completely round the bend into total insanity.

The only thing she had to hold onto was the one thing that she was sure about: The Challengers Of The Unknown would most certainly have heard about the missing Freedom’s Light by now and would be on their way to stop Kra…wherever HERE was…

Kra was walking away from her, toward an arched doorway. <I leave you now. I must prepare a proper reception for my hated enemies. Knowing their disgusting resourcefulness as well as I do, I calculate that it will be 19 hours and 38 minutes before they have accurately pinpointed my location and arrive here and my defenses must be ready>

Dora watched the metal behemoth leave the room, leaving Dora alone with the humming, arcane machinery and several of the cyborg slaves. Dora had tried to talk to them, to get through to them and knew it was no use at all. They were Kra’s.

Which meant that it was up to her now. Somehow, someway, she HAD to escape and warn the world of the impeding disaster that was coming…

Ace and June entered the command center of Challenger Mountain where Prof, Red and Rocky were waiting for them. Ace had radioed from the plane and had ordered that Prof be woken up immediately. Red had taken the message and he did not care one little bit for the tone of Ace’s voice. Whatever it was that he and June had learned, it wasn’t good at all.

Prof looked more like his old self after ten solid hours of sleep. Ace and June had spent that time well, taking a fast plane up on several flights, flying different parabolic arcs that took them high into the Earth’s atmosphere, allowing them to take the maximum readings available with the equipment Prof had supplied.

"So what happened?" Prof demanded. "Did you find out anything?"

June nodded, her lovely face pale and somber. "It’s pretty bad, Prof…tell them, Ace."

"We actually found the location of the disruption some time ago on our third flight, but June and I wanted to double check the readings before we got you guys worried."

"Just tell it straight out, Ace!" Red demanded. "What’s got you two so spooked?"

Ace’s voice was cold as he said, "The source of the disruption that pulled Freedom’s Light to Earth is Challenger Island where we locked away The League Of Challenger Haters."

Red gulped. Rocky whistled. Prof uttered an obscenity that was so unlike him, Ace was astonished.

"So you mean one’a them nutcases has gotten themselves loose an’ somehow yanked a whole space station down on th’ island, then," Rocky said. "I’ll be damned. Who do you think it could be? Pramble? Kra?"

"As far as I’m concerned, they’re all in on it…Multi-Man, Kra, Multi-Woman, Volcano Man…but what I want to know is why didn’t any of our alarms go off? That damn island’s hooked up to a dozen different alarm systems, all of which have multiple backups."

"Is that really important right now?" Prof demanded. "The main thing we should be concerned about is coming up with a plan of attack! There’s no telling what those maniacs are doing to Dora and the others!"

"Prof’s got a point, Ace," Red agreed. "The thing to do is to get out there and secure the island before they get off."

"I know what Ace is getting’ at," Rocky interjected. "Did they have outside help getting’ loose? That’s the only way they could’a got free of their cells without us knowin’ about it."

"First things first: June, contact The Pentagon and tell them what we’ve learned and inform them of our intention to go to Challenger Island and retake it. The rest of us will restock the cargo plane. We’ve got to load up a full arsenal of the weapons we’ve used to defeat them in the past and come up with a plan…"

The Challengers of The Unknown had finished restocking the plane and were preparing for takeoff. As they made their final checks of the plane and their equipment, the words June had told them earlier were still in their minds:

"The Joint Chiefs Of Staff are fully prepared to sacrifice the crew of the Freedom’s Light in order to permanently neutralize the threat of The League Of Challenger Haters. They cannot allow the technology aboard the space station to be used by them. The information in the station’s computer core contains sensitive defense information that Kra and the others could use to compromise the security of The United States. As a result, The Joint Chiefs of Staff is going to recommend to The President that he ask the combined forces of The Justice League and The Justice Society to attack."

"I pulled every string I could and called in every last one of my favors and bought us eight hours. If The Pentagon hasn’t heard from us by then, they’re going to do what they have to."

Final preparations were completed and The Challengers took their seats on the plane. Ace flew, naturally, with Rocky acting as co-pilot and Red manned the navigation station. June and Prof were in the cargo hold with the equipment, running yet another check, making sure that every last piece of equipment was fully operational.

The huge cargo plane taxied into position and shortly was flying toward the Atlantic Ocean and Challenger Island, toward what they knew would be a desperate battle to save the lives of the crew of Freedom’s Light and though they didn’t know it yet, the lives of everyone on the planet…

NEXT ISSUE: ‘Assault On Challenger Island’ The title says it all! It’s all-out war between The Challengers Of The Unknown and their greatest enemies as the fate of Earth hangs in the balance!