‘We had heard about a kind of ray. Like concentrated sunlight.’ Someone spoke from the other end of the table. ‘Have you developed this ray?’
Now I laughed aloud. A few months ago nobody had taken the idea seriously. Tonight they ignored practical mechanical conceptions and grabbed desperately at a notion which every one of them would normally have dismissed as cheap fiction. But now the Reds were knocking at Kiev’s gates. Some there, I could tell, were still a little doubtful. There was no way in which I would convince them. I did not intend to try. I could make no claims until a prototype had been built. ‘Ray-cannon are not easily developed. A good deal of money and equipment is required.’
Petlyura was impatient. ‘You can have what you need. Doctor Braun,’ he indicated an elderly gentleman, ‘is a scientist from Kiev University. He can put all their resources at your disposal.’
‘When I have heard the young man’s idea,’ said Braun in a deep voice. He gave me a stare.
‘I have done some research,’ I said. ‘I believe it’s possible to concentrate a ray of light until it is so powerful it can cut through steel.’
it is not an unfamiliar theory,’ Braun agreed, ‘I don’t see how you can apply it.’
‘A special vacuum tube would be needed. Like a very large radio valve. Shall I describe it as simply as possible?’
‘For my sake,’ he said. The old man had a sardonic humour lacking in most of his colleagues. Perhaps he had less to lose. I described how mercury would be introduced into a tube and boiled to drive out air. The mercury vapour would then be trapped while the tube was sealed, with wires extruding. Low voltage could be applied to a heating element in the tube. Once it reached a temperature of 175° Celsius a high voltage would be applied to the electrodes, producing an electrical discharge in the mercury vapour. The excited mercury ions would then emit a light beyond the spectrum perceived by the human eye.
‘I call this Ultra-Violet light,’ I said. ‘Mirrors or quartz lenses could be used to focus it.’
‘And how much electrical power would you need?’ Braun was impressed. He frowned over some notes he had made in pencil on the table-cloth.
‘Obviously, the better the source of power, the stronger the beam.’
‘It is violet in colour, the ray?’ said someone else.
I began to explain, but Petlyura gripped my arm. ‘How many of these ray-machines could you build to give us, say, a month before help arrived?’
‘There would have to be an experimental model first. After that, it should be fairly easy to manufacture more. If the generators were available to power them.’
‘Would the generators in the electricity stations do?’ Petlyura enquired.
‘I think so.’ I had not expected such an offer. This meant he was willing to divert Kiev’s entire power supply. I was flattered. ‘Cables would have to be laid.’
‘Where would the machines best be sited?’
‘On the heights.’ General Konovalets was adamant. ‘That gives a sweep, you see. If they were used in the outlying suburbs they would be too cumbersome to move quickly, eh?’
‘The machines themselves would be transported in the normal way of artillery, but the power-sources are the problem.’ I admired his quick grasp. ‘One can’t go dragging huge cables all over Kiev. The people, as well as the streets and the houses, would get in the way.’
‘They always do!’ Konovalets spoke with mock despair. ‘St Andrew’s would be one good site.’
‘You mean the observation gallery, near the dome?’ I considered this. ‘The only thing I wonder about there is - ‘ I hesitated, not knowing whether to bring the question of religion into a discussion with socialists, many of whom might be militant atheists.
‘Sacrilege,’ said Petlyura. ‘Is that what you’re worrying about? You’re a believer? And a scientist?’
‘ - the problem of diverting power to such a high point.’
‘There is no sacrilege,’ said Konovalets quietly, ‘in defending ourselves against Bolshevism. They are sworn to destroy all religions.’
I saw at once that he was right. Indeed, it was almost as if God were providing us with a site from which we could defend His faith.
‘We’ll construct the experimental model in St Andrew’s.’ Petlyura lit a cigarette as waiters took away our dishes. ‘Power is easily diverted?’ He looked towards his Minister.
‘Not that easily, Supreme Commander.’
‘But it can be done?’
Braun said, it might be best having some sort of emergency source. A small petrol-fuelled generator, or banks of Voltaic cells.’
‘Voltaic cells are a bit old-fashioned.’ I smiled.
‘I’ve always found them reliable. They don’t break down.’
‘But they’re hard to operate. The connections?’
Braun shrugged. ‘I still advise a separate source of energy. If, in the middle of fighting the Bolsheviks, they capture our electricity stations, then we have no weapon.’
