Doctor Who_ Time and Relative - Kim Newman [5]
At lunch, Gillian and I made the snowman whole again. He looks more like Ghastly than ever.
Later —
The heating went off. We had to sit in class with coats, scarves, mittens and caps on. When anyone talked, their breath frosted. In the Science Lab, Mr Chesterton had all the Bunsen burners going full blast. It didn't help.
It was better outside, in dinner break. The skies were clear and the sun bright, though with a cold light. All day, the ice melts slowly; then, at nightfall, it freezes again, in strange sculpture shapes.
'Dad tells me it's the bloody Russians,' said John the Martian.
He doesn't usually speak to girls, except Gillian. But we were working on the snowman. I added scraps of black bark to the face to make a smile, while Gillian and John packed the body with fresh snow. The Head has decreed that a School snowman is a good idea, like a mascot, so a teacher is on guard against Francis's gang now. Our work is likely to stand until spring.
If there ever is a spring.
'Atom missiles are hot,' said Gillian. 'That's daft.'
'It's not missiles, Dad says. It's a freezing ray, pointed at England. It's called "the Novosibirsk Project" and we've been onto it for quite some time, thanks to that low-temperature physicist who defected.'
'You don't half talk rubbish, Martian,' said Gillian.
'No it's serious,' said John, intent. 'There was a Panorama on it. There really is a Novosibirsk Project. Even the Kremlin admits it now. They say it's about climate control, making the steppes into arable land. If you hadn't bunked off Geog, you'd know about it.'
'So why is it cold here?' I asked. 'Are they taking England's spring for Siberia and unloading their winter on us?'
'Something like that. Kruschev is trying it on again with Kennedy. He needs to show he's a strong hand or else he'll be overthrown by a coup d'etat. The Generals didn't like him backing down over Cuba. Coups d'etat is what you get when the army takes over. They don't happen here, though Dad says one'd be a good idea since the mob in parliament can't tie their own shoelaces without calling out the troops.'
John's father is in the army. To hear John tell it, Captain Brent is in on all the secrets they keep from the Prime Minister. He's put John in the R.O.T.C. (which stands for Royal Officer Training Corps, I think), which means he has to stay behind after School on Mondays and Wednesdays. He does 'square-bashing' and polishes things, so that if he ever goes in the army he'll be an officer. I get the impression that John doesn't do well under military discipline. His mind doesn't work that way, and his feet aren't arranged for close-order drill. He would design the bombs, not drop them.
'How could the Russians point a freezing ray at England?' I asked John. 'The Earth curves, so if they pointed a ray it would go straight up and out into space. A ray isn't like a missile, which would describe a parabola.'
John looked at me funny (funnily?).
'From Sputnik, Forehead,' he said, superior and certain. 'Sputnik is just a small ball,' I said, describing its size with my hands.
'A mirrored ball, like in the Palais Dance Hall. The Russkis can shine a ray off it, reflect it down on us.'
I had to admit that was possible, but unlikely. I could see John was impressed that I knew the size of Sputnik.
'Pay attention to the face, Martian,' said Gillian, looking at me strangely.
I shouldn't have said anything, as usual. Gillian isn't like Ghastly or most of the children.