Richard Walker was shocked at the message coming through on his mailer. It was from his father. He hadn't seen or heard from him in two years.
"I've done it, boy," the message began. "They laughed at me, said it was impossible. I've found a way to deactivate the Neridium in the Space Drive Propulsion Unit in complete safety. I haven't much time to explain. Very simply, Neridium is the element that powers the Warp Drive in all Space Drive Propulsion Units. However, it's a very unstable element and it only remains stable after being activated inside the force field of the Drive Unit. Neridium lasts forever, but the Space Drive Propulsion Units don't; because of the stress they're subjected to, they wear out in about a year - but the Neridium inside them is still good for thousands of years. However, if you try to remove the Neridium strip from the Drive Unit after its been activated, it'll blow a whole planet sky high. Neridium strips cost 100,000 Solar Credits each to produce, and they have to be thrown away after 0.1 per cent of their useful life span. With my invention you can deactivate the Neridium and offer it for resale. I know where the Drive Units are dumped - out on an asteroid, there's over a thousand there - that's a potential one hundred million Solar Credits just waiting to be collected."
"After your mother died, I became lonely, I needed women, their friendship, their bodies. I found one while you were away at college. I went away with her, but she left me, like your mother left me; but your mother was dead, it wasn't her fault. This woman couldn't leave me unless she was dead as well. But she wasn't dead, but she had to be dead. They put me away in a place, they put this thing in my head. They let me continue my work, but they told me that if I went outside of the house this capsule would be activated. If I stayed away for more than two hours it would be set irreversibly, after four hours it would go off. I've been gone nearly four hours already. I couldn't let them have my find, they don't allow visitors or mail - I had to get out, get this message to you, to pay you back for the way I've failed you."
"I killed. Again; many times, before they caught me. I must kill, kill women for they only die in the end anyway; die when you don't want them to. Why should they have it all their own way? They thought they'd cured me, but they haven't. I still want to kill. They don't like that sort of thing."
"They say I'm mad. However, my technical brain is still sane; the formula is attached to this mail. But you must follow my plan very carefully, or you'll smash the bottom out of the market. I want you to remember me for this, not for anything else."
"I'm probably dead now, and if I'm not, I might as well be; but you're to put all that behind you. Don't bother trying to find me, they'll take care of all that. I must stress that my plan will only succeed if you are prepared to give a 100% commitment to it and be prepared to sacrifice anything and-or everything. The successful outcome will make you one of the richest men in the Universe, so it will be worth it. On the subject of money, this brings me on to the first objective; capital. It will be necessary for you to secure a sizeable loan in order to purchase either the asteroid on which the Neridium is dumped, or the Neridium itself. What money I had was used in perfecting my formula, and I can't imagine you've get much. However, Keith Gascoigne has, and he'll lend it to you. But don't tell him what it's for under any circumstances. He'll ask a high price in return, but YOU MUST PAY IT. "
"I have set up more time delayed mailers. You will hear from me again. Goodbye son. Trust me.
Your loving father."
Dick carefully filed the formula attached to the mailer then re-read the letter, wondering what Gascoigne would ask for; and why his father had put that particular part in capital letters. Well, he wouldn't find out tonight. He decided that he would go and see Gascoigne first thing in the morning - he had no job, so he hadn't got anything better to do.
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The next morning, he left his girlfriend, June asleep and made his way to Gascoigne's office. He met up with some stiff opposition from various officials and secretaries, but finally got in to see him.
"Hello, Walker old chap," Gascoigne greeted him. "I haven't seen you for a couple of years; not since University. What are you doing nowadays?"
"I'm between jobs," Walker confessed.
"Oh, bad luck. Well, I can't offer you a job here, old fellow. We're cutting back on staff, not that I take much interest in running the place; I leave that to my minions, just rake in the profits." He laughed.
"It's about money that I've come to see you," Walker confessed.
"Oh?" Gascoigne queried. "This isn't the Welfare Office you know."
"I don't want you to give me any. I want a loan."
"I see." Gascoigne replied. "A couple of hundred credits to tide you over?"
"More," Walker explained, "much more. It's a business venture. I want to buy an asteroid."
"An asteroid'" Gascoigne exclaimed. "What the hell do you want an asteroid for?"
"I can't reveal that."
"You want me to lend you a big chunk of credits. I think I deserve to know. What securities have you got?"
"I haven't got any. That's why I came to you instead of a bank."
"This is ridiculous," Gascoigne exclaimed. "You can't expect me to write you a blank cheque without knowing what it's for, and without any security. I know we were friends at University, but I think you rather strained that friendship when you stole my girl friend." He paused. "Are you still living with June?"
"Yes."
"Mmm, I thought you would be. True love wasn't it?" He paused again and looked thoughtful. His eyes narrowed. "I once offered you a cheque for a million Credits if you would give June up. I'll now revise that offer. I'll loan you what you need, at normal rates of interest, if you leave her."
"What!" Walker exploded. "I can't! If I told her to go, she wouldn't."
"Just leave her," Gascoigne explained. "Tell her it's all over. We've kept in touch. It's only her love for you that keeps her from me. With you out of the way, she'll come back to me."
Walker sat there looking stunned. Was this what his father had had in mind in his letter? He couldn't give up June, but this was the only place he was likely to get hold of any cash. Perhaps he'd be able to bluff it out for a while, and if he got the cash; he could get the girl back.
"Okay," he agreed slowly, "I'll do it."
"When the girl comes to me, you can have your loan," Gascoigne decided looking pleased. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you, old chap." Walker didn't reply. He was wondering how he was going to tell June.
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By the time he got back to the flat, June had gone out. He packed his things and left her a note. 'I'm leaving you. It's all over.'
He rented a small flat near the spaceport and phoned Gascoigne each day. On the fifth day, Gascoigne announced that the girl had come to live with him, and that he could proceed with the purchase.
Walker had a number of second thoughts during that week, and although he couldn't summon the courage to return to the girl, he had secretly hoped that she wouldn't go to Gascoigne and that the whole thing would fall through. As if on cue, the next mailer from his late father arrived.
"Dear Dick,
I trust you've obtained the loan. It was the girl wasn't it? I knew it would be - don't worry; they all go in the end anyway.
Right; well, the next thing to do is purchase the asteroid. Its reference number is 765/34/2. It belongs to a firm called Intergalactic Mining. They'll ask a high price, but they'll be glad to get rid of it. Good luck."
Walker closed the mailer and looked up Intergalactic Mining in the directory. He made an appointment with their property department.
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The property officer, a young girl, looked surprised. "765/34/2 you say? I don't recognise the number on our current sales list."
"But you do own it, don't you?" Walker asked.
The girl nodded.
"765/34/2," Walker replied. "Is it for sale?"
"Well, most of our property is for sale," she confirmed. "You see, we buy up areas of planets and asteroids that are unexplored, carry out an analysis of the minerals there and sell off the mining rights. You can't want this one, it's a Jonah." She consulted the data. "We bought it up in a job lot from an old man's estate. There's nothing worth mining there. It's just a lump of common rock, and that's not all. Before we could unload it, the Solar Government placed a compulsory order on it - turned it into a dump for clapped out Star Ship Engines. It's gonna take hundreds of years before the rental they pay us gives us a profit. No-one would want to buy this - well do you? Do you know something we don't? Rental going up or something?"
Walker smiled. "I'm not supposed to reveal my backers," he said, doing some quick thinking, "but I feel in this case, it will be better to explain the situation. I represent a Nature Trust, dedicated to preserving rare species of plants and animal life. On this particular asteroid, on the other side to the dumping ground, is a very rare species of grass. It doesn't grow anywhere else apparently. Well, like you, I can't see why anyone could care about a bit of grass, but my backers do. They want to ensure that the scrap is dumped well away from the grassy area and the only way they can do this, is either by renting that particular area from you, or by buying the whole thing. They feel if they buy the whole asteroid they may be able to encourage the grass to grow over a larger area."
"Mmm," the girl replied, locking thoughtful, "well you know, you realise that the owners of the asteroid have to carry out a number of very stringent requirements regarding the dumping area. Apparently, it's quite dangerous."
"I'm sure my backers appreciate that," Walker conceded. "How much?"
"Well now, the asteroid itself is quite worthless for anything other than its actual mass; but the owners of the asteroid do own all material dumped there. In this case, a thousand Drive Units; each one containing Neridium strips - and the likelihood of several thousand more over the next few years. You know how much Neridium costs, don't you?"
"I don't understand," Walker confessed. "My understanding of the situation is that this Neridium stuff is no use unless it hasn't been activated, and all this lot has been."
The girl laughed. "The Modern Alchemists dream - to find a way of reprocessing Neridium. Do you realise there's a potential of something like a hundred million Solar Credits worth of Neridium just laying there waiting to be defused."
Walker broke out in a sweat. He forced a smile. "But as you say, it's a pipe dream. Not even the largest Corporation with their virtually unlimited resources have been able to find a way of dealing with this Neridium stuff."
The officer's eyes narrowed. "Maybe, but there's another side to it as well. There's enough active Neridium there to cause one hell of an explosion. Eventually, there'll be enough to blast the whole Solar System away. Is that what you're after?"
"Certainly not," Walker blustered. "What do you think I am?"
"A fraud? A crank? A loser? I don't know. I don't really care. We have a detailed survey on this asteroid; it's just a barren hunk of rock, there's no grass on it at all. You don't think we'd be prepared to sell the most dangerous and possibly most profitable lump of rock on our books?" She smiled coldly. "I don't know what your game is. Others have tried to buy it before. It wouldn't do you any good if you did buy it. The Government has very tight security on their dump. If you tried to get within a mile of it, they'd blast you off into space in little bits. You know, I spend most of my time dealing with enquiries about this asteroid, it's my main function. I have to decide if the enquirer is a loser, a nutter or a subversive who needs reporting to the security forces." She paused. "I won't be bothering to report you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm very busy. If you leave now without any fuss, that'll be the end to it. Goodbye."
Walker felt sick. He mumbled something by way of parting and returned to his flat. The next mailer arrived soon afterwards.
"Dear Dick,
I don't expect they'll sell. Don't worry, son; now's not the time to get despondent. Send the formula to my old friend Doctor Freinberg; he can be trusted. Explain the situation to him. He'll be able to sort things out. He's out on Globol IV now, so there'll be a couple of months delay, but it's imperative you hang on in there.
Dad."
Walker forced a brief smile his father might have been criminally insane, but he certainly did seem to have things sown up. He needed some working capital, so he 'phoned Gascoigne. The man's face appeared on the screen. "Ah, Richard, you've only just caught me. Me and June are going on a long holiday in deep space."
He tried to keep his face expressionless, but his stomach turned over; she might be away for years. Still, when they returned, his riches would make Gascoigne look like a pauper. She'd come back to him then.
"Don't worry, old boy. I've left word with my deputy to let you have whatever cash you need to buy this asteroid thing. Have you set up a deal yet?"
"No," Walker stated, "but I need some cash to keep the cogs oiled; can you forward me a thousand?"
"Sure, I'll forward it." Gascoigne's attention was drawn from the screen by someone who'd come into the room. He said something and then turned back to the screen. He was smiling. "June's here. I expect you want to say goodbye, I'll put her on."
Walker panicked and was about to break the connection, when the girl's face appeared on the screen. She looked angrily at him. "You creep," she cursed. "To think I left Keith for you. Gave up all his wealth for you, a down and out. I trusted you. I stayed with you come what may, and there was precious little that did come our way. As soon as you sniff some money through some crazy deal, you don't need me to buy you your meal ticket, you just walk out on me. Well, Dick, old buddy, I hope you go like your father!!"
She walked out of view of the screen.
"Wait," Walker pleaded helplessly. "I've done it for you..." The connection was cut at the other end.
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The next day a note for a thousand credits arrived. This gave Walker the money to pay the fee for Freinberg to investigate the formula. The remainder of the cash he began to squander on booze. As the days passed, his consumption of alcohol increased. When the money was gone, he contacted Gascoigne's deputy and was give another thousand credits without question.
His life slipped into a twilight world of alcohol and drugs while he waited for word from Freinberg. He lost track of time. The cash was gone. He asked for five thousand Credits from Gascoigne's company, and he got it.
His downward slide continued until at last Freinberg's reply came. He had a job reading the message, his vision now seemed constantly blurred.. He screamed, and then re-read it again and again, hoping it would change.
"Dear Mr. Walker,
Thank you for your letter and contents. It was an interesting theory, but I'm afraid your father's mind had obviously wandered in the last few years. His formula appeared to be without scientific foundation; but despite that, I carried out tests, which have confirmed my earlier view. I'm sorry to say it, but it is nothing more than worthless rubbish. A shame; we could have been rich men.
I had expected you to contact me; your father said you would. He ask me to attach a mailer from him with my reply.
Yours,
Freinberg."
Walker opened the mailer from his father. He read it with increasing anger.
"Dick,
"If you've obeyed me and waited for Freinberg's reply, you'll know the whole thing was a hoax. It was for your own good, son. I heard you were linked up with that Collins bitch. I couldn't let her hurt you. I had to make you see she was just like all the others. They never stay true, never stay with you. I knew once she was back with Gascoigne she'd forget about you. She'd've left you anyway. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next year, but she'd've gone. It was better that you ditched her. Always remember this, son. This lesson is my heritage - it's all I've got left to give you. You know what to do now son. Go and get her. The beauty is that Gascoigne will be financing your mission."
The rest of the letter began to ramble off into violent incoherent attacks on women and eventually ended in a string of meaningless abuse. He lunged at a bottle of booze and not bothering to see what it was, began to drink. He drained the bottle, and then emptied the contents of a bottle of tablets into his mouth, which he washed down with more drink. He looked up at the sky and shook his fist. His legs gave way and he fell on the floor.
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Walker smiled for the first time in a long while. What his father had been trying to tell him had finally permeated through his alcoholic haze.
He looked down at the body of his ex-girlfriend. It had taken a while to catch up with them, but his father had been right. He asked for cash and Gascoigne's deputy sent it. The final sum going to the receptionist as a bribe to let him in the room.
He had killed her with the first blow, the axe crushing her skull, but he chopped and chopped again, it felt good. Oh so good. He knew how his father felt. He looked up to the sky. "Thanks dad," he smiled. He wiped the blood from the axe. Who next? That smart alec little bitch from the Mining Company perhaps. So many targets he could think of. He would be so busy.......