The Last Adventure of Dr. Yngve Hogalum

Chapter 19 ~ Magnetron Gets the Message

"Was he hopelessly adrift, unable to direct his course through the cold vastness of space, upside-down perhaps, or flying around in useless circles?"

I dispatched Mrs. Mackenzie to retrieve the Hogalums from the drawing room so that they might hear Dr. Hogalum's communiqué for themselves, and raced toward my Masterstroke Mill.  I heard a great clamor and much scuffling as the group was assembled and directed down the corridor to join me.

As I transcribed, a great burden lifted from my weary soul.  The details of the doctor's transmission were but prosaic minutiae compared with my relief that he was well.  Up until that moment, I had been consumed by a terrifying dread.  I knew that Dr. Hogalum lived—of that I had no doubt.  But what if the Caelestis herself had failed?  What if I had consigned my dearest friend to a fate worse than death?  Was he hopelessly adrift, unable to direct his course through the cold vastness of space, upside-down perhaps, or flying around in useless circles?

The doctor's signal was rapidly fading, but I was able to discern some heartening snippets:

Dah-dah dih-dah dih-dah-dih dah dih-dih dih-dah dah-dih…

"… Martian people are lovely… cannot equal our science of course… send their regards… difficulty communicating… excellent liquor…"

The Hogalum members burst into my laboratory as I was attempting my own transmission.  Dih-dah-dah dih-dih-dih-dih dih dih-dah-dih… "Where will you go next?" I asked.

Silence.  The signal was faded to nothing.  We waited expectantly for a response, but none was forthcoming.  At some length, Mrs. Mackenzie broke the silence.

"You see, gentlemen.  Mr. Magnetron has done what he set out to do.  Like you, I can't say I approve of his deceit, and the thought of a man's head rollin' about in me home is unsettlin' to say the least.  But the experiment was most certainly a success.  I saw it with me own horrified eyes."

Valkusian's eyes remained cemented to the wireless telegraph.  "Science!  You strange and unpredictable animal!  Once again, you make nonsense of our human notions of morality."

Cerebelli nodded vigorously as he disagreed.  "Here is a science which has granted a hero his wish of further heroism.  Can there be a more sensible or desirable result of scientific inquiry?"

"I think not," said Satyros. "Besides, it's a hell of a trick."

Coburn spoke last. "Right!  I'd say this calls for a scotch, eh, mates?"

"I'll go fetch us all some Dr. Hogalum's Enebriol," volunteered Mrs. Mackenzie. "A fitting toast, I'd say."

Everyone nodded in the affirmative and fell silent.  "I wish he could have answered," I said.  "Where he's going next, that is."

At that moment, the wireless telegraph sprang to life once again, rapping out the last known words of the incomparable Dr. Hogalum.  Dah-dah-dah dah-dih dih…

"One…" Cerebelli translated aloud, "world… at… a… time."