Free The Book of Philip K Dick (1973) by Philip K. Dick Page A

stopped. He opened his eyes.
    They were in a vast room, fluorescent-lit, a cavern filled with equipment and machinery, endless mounds of material piled in row after row. Among the stacks, leadies were working silently, pushing trucks and handcarts.
    “Leadies,” Moss said. His face was pale. “Then we’re really on the surface.”
    The leadies were going back and forth with equipment moving the vast stores of guns and spare parts, ammunition and supplies that had been brought to the surface. And this was the receiving station for only one Tube; there were many others, scattered throughout the continent.
    Taylor looked nervously around him. They were really there, above ground, on the surface. This was where the war was.
    “Come on,” Franks said. “A B-class guard is coming our way.”
    They stepped out of the car. A leady was approaching them rapidly. It coasted up in front of them and stopped scanning them with its hand-weapon raised.
    “This is Security,” Franks said. “Have an A-class sent to me at once.”
    The leady hesitated. Other B-class guards were coming, scooting across the floor, alert and alarmed. Moss peered around.
    “Obey!” Franks said in a loud, commanding voice. “You’ve been ordered!”
    The leady moved uncertainly away from them. At the end of the building, a door slid back. Two Class-A leadies appeared, coming slowly toward them. Each had a green stripe across its front.
    “From the Surface Council,” Franks whispered tensely. “This is above ground, all right. Get set.”
    The two leadies approached warily. Without speaking, they stopped close by the men, looking them up and down.
    “I’m Franks of Security. We came from undersurface in order to—”
    “This is incredible,” one leady interrupted him coldly. “You know you can’t live up here. The whole surface is lethal to you. You can’t possibly remain on the surface.”
    “These suits will protect us,” Franks said. “In any case, it’s not your responsibility. What I want is an immediate Council meeting so I can acquaint myself with conditions, with the situation here. Can that be arranged?”
    “You human beings can’t survive up here. And the new Soviet attack is directed at this area. It is in considerable danger.”
    “We know that. Please assemble the Council.” Franks looked around him at the vast room, lit by recessed lamps in the ceiling. An uncertain quality came into his voice. “Is it night or day right now?”
    “Night,” one of the A-class leadies said, after a pause. “Dawn is coming in about two hours.”
    Franks nodded. “We’ll remain at least two hours, then. As a concession to our sentimentality, would you please show us some place where we can observe the sun as it comes up? We would appreciate it.”
    A stir went through the leadies.
    “It is an unpleasant sight,” one of the leadies said. “You’ve seen the photographs; you know what you’ll witness. Clouds of drifting particles blot out the light, slag heaps are everywhere, the whole land is destroyed. For you it will be a staggering sight, much worse than pictures and film can convey.”
    “However it may be, we’ll stay long enough to see it. Will you give the order to the Council?”
    “Come this way.” Reluctantly, the two leadies coasted toward the wall of the warehouse. The three men trudged after them, their heavy shoes ringing” against the concrete. At the wall, the two leadies paused.
    “This is the entrance to the Council Chamber. There are windows in the Chamber Room, but it is still dark outside, of course. You’ll see nothing right now, but in two hours—”
    “Open the door,” Franks said.
    The door slid back. They went slowly inside. The room was small, a neat room with a round table in the center, chairs ringing it. The three of them sat down silently, and the two leadies followed after them, taking their places.
    “The other Council Members are on their way. They have already been notified and are