o the desk and Hengly leaped back,
shouting hoarsely. He pulled the gun up and tried to aim at the
radiophone and at Neel at the same time. It was too late to do either.
There was a brief humming noise from the phone.

Neel jerked in his chair. It felt as if a slight electric shock had
passed through him. He had felt only a microscopic percentage of the
radiation.

Hengly got it all. The actuated field of the device had scanned his
nervous system, measured and tested it precisely. Then adjusted itself
to the exact micro-frequency that carried the messages in his efferent
nervous system. Once the adjustment had been made, the charged
condensers had released their full blasts of energy on that frequency.

The results were horribly dramatic. Every efferent neuron in his system
carried the message full power. Every muscle in his body responded with
a contraction of full intensity.

Neel closed his eyes, covered them, turned away gasping. It couldn't be
watched. An epileptic in a seizure can break the bones in a leg or arm
by simultaneous contraction of opposing muscles. When all the opposed
muscles of Hengly's body did this the results were horrible beyond
imagining.

* * * * *

When Neel recovered a measure of sanity he was in the street, running.
He slowed to a walk, and looked around. It was just dawn and the streets
were empty. Ahead was the glowing entrance of a monotube and he headed
for it. The danger was over now, as long as he was careful.

Pausing on the top step, he breathed the fresh air of the new morning.
There was a sighing below as an early train pulled into the station. The
dawn-lit sky was the color of blood.

"Blood," he said aloud. Then, "Do we have to keep on killing? Isn't
there another way?"

He started guiltily as his voice echoed in the empty street, but no one
had heard him.

Quickly, two at a time, he ran down the steps.

THE END

Transcriber's Note

This etext was produced from _Analog_ December 1960. Extensive research
did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication
was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected
without note.

End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The K-Factor, by
Harry Harrison (AKA Henry Maxwell Dempsey)

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE K-FACTOR ***

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