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Occasion ... for Disaster

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Title: Occasion ... for Disaster

Author: Randall Garrett
 Laurence M. Janifer

Illustrator: H. R. Van Dongen

 
Release date: November 9, 2009 [eBook #30434]
 Most recently updated: October 24, 2024

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/30434

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OCCASION ... FOR DISASTER ***

 Transcriber's Note:

 This etext was produced from Analog Science Fact & Fiction November 1960,
 December 1960, January 1961, February 1961. Extensive research did not
 uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was
 renewed.

 OCCASION ... for DISASTER

 By MARK PHILLIPS

 Illustrated by van Dongen

 _A very small slip, at just the wrong place, can devastate
 any enterprise. One tiny transistor can go wrong ... and
 ruin a multi-million dollar missile. Which would be one way
 to stop the missiles...._

 "_We must remember not to judge any public servant by any
 one act, and especially should we beware of attacking the
 men who are merely the occasions and not the causes of
 disaster._"

 Theodore Roosevelt

 * * * * *

In 1914, it was enemy aliens.

In 1930, it was Wobblies.

In 1957, it was fellow-travelers.

In 1971, it was insane telepaths.

And, in 1973:

"We don't know _what_ it is," said Andrew J. Burris, Director of the
FBI. He threw his hands in the air and looked baffled and confused.

Kenneth J. Malone tried to appear sympathetic. "What what is?"

Burris frowned and drummed his fingers on his big desk. "Malone," he
said, "make sense. And don't stutter."

"Stutter?" Malone said. "You said you didn't know what it was. And I
wanted to know what it was."

"That's just it," Burris said. "I don't know."

Malone sighed and repressed an impulse to scream. "Now, wait a minute,
Chief--" he started.

Burris frowned again. "Don't call me Chief," he said.

Malone nodded, "O.K.," he said. "But--if you don't know what it is,
you must have some idea of what you don't know. I mean, is it larger
than a breadbox? Does it perform helpful tasks? Is it self-employed?"

"Malone," Burris sighed, "you ought to be on television."

"But--"

"Let me explain," Burris said. His voice was calmer now, and he spoke
as if he were enunciating nothing but the most obvious and eternal
truths. "The country," he said, "is going to Hell in a handbasket."

Malone nodded again. "Well, after all, Chief--" he started.

"Don't call me Chief," Burris said wearily.

"Anything you say," Malone agreed peacefully. He eyed the Director of
the FBI warily. "After all, it isn't anything new," he went on. "The
country's always been going to Hell in a handbasket, one way or
another. Look at Rome."

"Rome?" Burris said.

"Sure," Malone said. "Rome was always going to Hell in a handbasket,
and finally it--" He paused. "Finally it did, I guess," he said.

"Exactly," Burris said. "And so are we. Finally." He passed a hand
over his forehead and stared past Malone at a spot on the wall. Malone
turned and looked at the spot, but saw nothing of interest. "Malone,"
Burris said, and the FBI Agent whirled around again.

"Yes, Ch--Yes?" he said.

"This time," Burris said, "it isn't the same old story at all. This
time it's different."

"Different?" Malone said.

Burris nodded. "Look at it this way," he said. His eyes returned to
the FBI Agent. "Suppose you're a congressman," he went on, "and you
find evidence of inefficiency in the government."

"All right," Malone said agreeably. He had the feeling that if he
waited around a little while everything would make sense, and he was
willing to wait. After all, he wasn't on assignment at the moment, and
there was nothing pressing waiting for him. He was even between
romances.

If he waited long enough, he told himself, Andrew J. Burris might say
something worth hearing. He looked attentive and eager. He considered
leaning over the desk a little, to look even more eager, but decided
against it; Burris might think he looked threatening. There was no
telling.

"You're a congressman," Burris said, "and the government is
inefficient. You find evidence of it. What do you do?"

 * * * * *

Malone blinked and thought for a second. It didn't take any longer
than that to come up with the old, old answer. "I start an
investigation," he said. "I get a committee and I talk to a lot of
newspaper editors and magazine editors and maybe I go on television
and talk some more, and my committee has a lot of meetings--"

"Exactly," Burris said.

"And we talk a lot at the meetings," Malone went on, carried away,
"and get a lot of publicity, and we subpoena famous people, just as
famous as we can get, except governors or presidents, because you
can't--they tried that back in the '50s, and it didn't work very
well--and that gives us some more publicity, and then when we have all
the publicity we can possibly get--"

"You stop," Burris said hurriedly.

"That's right," Malone said. "We stop. And that's what I'd do."

"Of course, the problem of inefficiency is left exactly where it
always was," Burris said. "Nothing's been done about it."

"Naturally," Malone said. "But think of all the lovely publicity. And
all the nice talk. And the subpoenas and committees and everything."

"Sure," Burris said wearily. "It's happened a thousand times. But,
Malone, that's the difference. It isn't happening this time."

There was a short pause. "What do you mean?" Malone said at last.

"This time," Burris said, in a tone that sounded almost awed, "they
want to keep it a secret."

"A secret?" Malone said, blinking. "But that's ... that's not the
American way."

Burris shrugged. "It's un-congressman-like, anyhow," he said. "But
that's what they've done. Tiptoed over to me and whispered softly that
the thing has to be investigated quietly. Naturally, they didn't give
me any orders--but only because they know they can't make one stick.
They suggested it pretty strongly."

"Any reasons?" Malone said. The whole idea interested him strangely.
It was odd--and he found himself almost liking odd cases, lately. That
is, he amended hurriedly, if they didn't get _too_ odd.

"Oh, they had reasons, all right," Burris said. "It took a little
coaxing, but I managed to pry some loose. You see, every one of them
found inefficiency in his own department. And every one knows that
other men are investigating inefficiency."

"Oh," Malone said.

"That's right,"

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