Thereafter he had completely immersed himself in his scientific career and research and, so some hinted, had robbed himself of all human emotion. A lie as Maddox well knew, the tragedy had simply driven Manton to become one of the Space Fleet’s greatest scientists, but brilliant as he was, he now found himself baffled. ‘I don’t understand it, Carl. All the scanners report only negative results. There was certainly no massive electromagnetic energy field which affected our life-support systems. If the evidence wasn’t against it, I’d say that it was the result of a simple mass-hysteria caused by a careless use of sonic stimulators.’ ‘And it isn’t?’ ‘No, Carl.’ Manton shook his head to emphasise the point. ‘Their range was strictly limited. In any case the projection would never have been able to penetrate the metal bulkheads surrounding the auditorium and, as we know, the panic was one which encompassed the ship.’ ‘Claire?’ ‘It was a feeling, Carl,’ she reported.
