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.I am sure you will heed the beggings of the thing youhave befriended.""Beggings!"Bigman leaped, crimson-faced, to his feet.Devoure raised his voice abruptly."That thing is to be taken into custody.Proceed."Two robots materialized silently at either side, and each seized an arm.For amoment Bigman writhed, and his body lifted off the floor with the intensity ofhis effort, but his arms were held motionless.One of the robots said, "The master will please not resist, as otherwise themaster may harm himself despite all we can do."Devoure said, "You'll have twenty-four hours to make up your mind.Plenty oftime, eh, Councilman?"He looked at the illuminated figures on the strip of decorative metal thatencircled his left wrist."And meanwhile, we will prepare our stripped ship.If we don't have to use it, as I expect we won't, why, what's labor torobots, eh, Councilman? Sit where you are; there is no use intrying to help your companion.He will not be hurt for the while."105Page 42 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlBigman was carried out of the room bodily while Lucky, half risen out of hisseat, watched helplessly.A light flashed on a small box on the conference table.Devoureleaned over to touch it, and a luminous tube sprang into being justabove the box.The image of a head appeared.A voice said, "Yonge and I havethe report that you have the Councilman, Devoure.Why were we told only afterhis landing?""What difference does that make, Zayon? You know now.Are you coming in?""We certainly are.We wish to meet the Councilman.""Come then to my office."Fifteen minutes later, two Sirians arrived.Both were as tall as Devoure; bothwere olive-skinned (the greater ultraviolet radiation of Sirius produced adark skin, Lucky realized), but they were older.The cut hair of one wasgrizzled to steely gray.He was thin-lipped and spoke with rapid precision.He was introduced as Harrig Zayon, and his uniform made it clear he was amember of the Sirian Space Service.The other was going somewhat bald.There was a long scar on his forearm and hehad the keen look of one who had grown old in space.He was Barrett Yonge,also of the Space Service.Lucky said, "Your Space Service is, I think, somewhat the equivalent of ourCouncil of Science.""Yes, it is," said Zayon gravely."In that sense we are colleagues, though onopposite sides of the fence.""Serviceman Zayon, then.Serviceman Yonge.Is Mr.Devoure --- "106Devoure broke in, "I am not a member of the Space Service.It is not necessarythat I be.Sirius can be served outside the Service too.""Particularly," said Yonge, one hand resting on the scarred forearm as thoughto hide the mark, "if one is nephew of the director of the Central Body."Devoure rose."Was that meant as sarcasm, Serviceman?""Not at all.It was meant literally.The relationship makes it possible foryou to do Sirius more service than otherwise."But there was a dry quality to his statement, and Lucky was not unaware ofthe flash of hostility between the two aging Servicemen and the young andundoubtedly influential relative of Sirius's overlord.Zayon tried to deflect the direction things had taken by turning to Lucky andsaying mildly, "Has our proposition been offered you?""You mean the suggestion that I lie at the interstellar conference?"Zayon looked annoyed and a bit puzzled.He said, "I mean to join us, to becomea Sirian.""I don't think we had quite reached that point, Serviceman.""Well, then consider this.Our Service knows you well and werespect your abilities and accomplishments.They are wasted on an Earththat must lose someday as a matter of biologic fact.""Biologic fact?" Lucky frowned."The Sirians, Serviceman Zayon, are descendedfrom Earthmen.""So they are, but not from all Earthmen; only from some, from the best, fromthose with the initiative and strength to reach the stars as colonists.We107have kept our descent pure; we have not allowed the weaklings in, or thosewith poor genes.We have weeded out the unfit from among ourselves so that weare now a pure race of the strong, the fit, and the healthy, while Earthremains a conglomerate of the diseased and deformed."Devoure broke in, "We had an example here a while ago, the Councilman'scompanion.It infuriated and nauseated me merely to be in the same room withhim; a monkey, a five-foot travesty of a human being, a lump of deformity ----"Lucky said slowly, "He is a better man than you, Sirian."Page 43 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlDevoure rose, fist drawn back, trembling.Zayon moved toward him rapidly,laying a hand on his shoulder."Devoure, sit down, please, and let me goon.This is not the time for extraneous quarrels."Devoure shook the other's hand off roughly but sat down all the same [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.I am sure you will heed the beggings of the thing youhave befriended.""Beggings!"Bigman leaped, crimson-faced, to his feet.Devoure raised his voice abruptly."That thing is to be taken into custody.Proceed."Two robots materialized silently at either side, and each seized an arm.For amoment Bigman writhed, and his body lifted off the floor with the intensity ofhis effort, but his arms were held motionless.One of the robots said, "The master will please not resist, as otherwise themaster may harm himself despite all we can do."Devoure said, "You'll have twenty-four hours to make up your mind.Plenty oftime, eh, Councilman?"He looked at the illuminated figures on the strip of decorative metal thatencircled his left wrist."And meanwhile, we will prepare our stripped ship.If we don't have to use it, as I expect we won't, why, what's labor torobots, eh, Councilman? Sit where you are; there is no use intrying to help your companion.He will not be hurt for the while."105Page 42 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlBigman was carried out of the room bodily while Lucky, half risen out of hisseat, watched helplessly.A light flashed on a small box on the conference table.Devoureleaned over to touch it, and a luminous tube sprang into being justabove the box.The image of a head appeared.A voice said, "Yonge and I havethe report that you have the Councilman, Devoure.Why were we told only afterhis landing?""What difference does that make, Zayon? You know now.Are you coming in?""We certainly are.We wish to meet the Councilman.""Come then to my office."Fifteen minutes later, two Sirians arrived.Both were as tall as Devoure; bothwere olive-skinned (the greater ultraviolet radiation of Sirius produced adark skin, Lucky realized), but they were older.The cut hair of one wasgrizzled to steely gray.He was thin-lipped and spoke with rapid precision.He was introduced as Harrig Zayon, and his uniform made it clear he was amember of the Sirian Space Service.The other was going somewhat bald.There was a long scar on his forearm and hehad the keen look of one who had grown old in space.He was Barrett Yonge,also of the Space Service.Lucky said, "Your Space Service is, I think, somewhat the equivalent of ourCouncil of Science.""Yes, it is," said Zayon gravely."In that sense we are colleagues, though onopposite sides of the fence.""Serviceman Zayon, then.Serviceman Yonge.Is Mr.Devoure --- "106Devoure broke in, "I am not a member of the Space Service.It is not necessarythat I be.Sirius can be served outside the Service too.""Particularly," said Yonge, one hand resting on the scarred forearm as thoughto hide the mark, "if one is nephew of the director of the Central Body."Devoure rose."Was that meant as sarcasm, Serviceman?""Not at all.It was meant literally.The relationship makes it possible foryou to do Sirius more service than otherwise."But there was a dry quality to his statement, and Lucky was not unaware ofthe flash of hostility between the two aging Servicemen and the young andundoubtedly influential relative of Sirius's overlord.Zayon tried to deflect the direction things had taken by turning to Lucky andsaying mildly, "Has our proposition been offered you?""You mean the suggestion that I lie at the interstellar conference?"Zayon looked annoyed and a bit puzzled.He said, "I mean to join us, to becomea Sirian.""I don't think we had quite reached that point, Serviceman.""Well, then consider this.Our Service knows you well and werespect your abilities and accomplishments.They are wasted on an Earththat must lose someday as a matter of biologic fact.""Biologic fact?" Lucky frowned."The Sirians, Serviceman Zayon, are descendedfrom Earthmen.""So they are, but not from all Earthmen; only from some, from the best, fromthose with the initiative and strength to reach the stars as colonists.We107have kept our descent pure; we have not allowed the weaklings in, or thosewith poor genes.We have weeded out the unfit from among ourselves so that weare now a pure race of the strong, the fit, and the healthy, while Earthremains a conglomerate of the diseased and deformed."Devoure broke in, "We had an example here a while ago, the Councilman'scompanion.It infuriated and nauseated me merely to be in the same room withhim; a monkey, a five-foot travesty of a human being, a lump of deformity ----"Lucky said slowly, "He is a better man than you, Sirian."Page 43 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlDevoure rose, fist drawn back, trembling.Zayon moved toward him rapidly,laying a hand on his shoulder."Devoure, sit down, please, and let me goon.This is not the time for extraneous quarrels."Devoure shook the other's hand off roughly but sat down all the same [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]