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viewscreen's picture, to drive off the larger beasts and lift the small one
carefully. Its head swung loosely, dangling on the long geryon neck, and it
had the wide powerful geryon jaws. But he nose and eyes and forehead were
those of Raymond Kedro.
Adam realized that he was lying in a bed. He blinked his eyes open and shut a
couple of times, without really comprehending anything they saw. He rolled
over, and grunted when his arm twinged fiercely.
"The beauty sleepeth," said a familiar male voice, quite near at hand. "And
where in all the realm can be found a maiden desperate enough to awakeneth him
with a kiss?"
Adam opened his eyes again. "Boris."
Brazil sat bathrobed in a wheelchair, his left leg sealed into a cabled mold.
"Howdy, bub. Anything interesting happen to you lately?"
They were in the sick bay of some big Space Force ship, Adam realized. The
place was crowded, with casualties overflowing into extra beds. The background
feeling and faint sounds suggested that they were in space.
"Yeah, she's all right," Brazil said. "No need to strain your neck looking.
She's up and walking around already."
Adam lay back. "You lanky ape," he said. "Looks like you had a fight and won."
"You looked like you had one and lost, when that robot flew you in. In
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Golden's scoutship, yet& yeah, we had quite a scrap here. We took about fifty
people alive out of that hundred. We might even have come out on the short
end, but they started fighting among themselves. About someone being burned,
whether it was right or not maybe you can enlighten us on that."
"Yeah but it's a long story."
"That fellow we took out of the alien room of that scoutship he's Kedro?"
"Yes."
"Some of the other people were pretty sick, in the same way. I
wonder what got into them? All we wanted to do here was hand
'em a parking ticket, so to speak. And they opened up on us with everything at
once. And they kept talking about burning this fellow Ling. And a couple of my
people got burned to death too, in a most peculiar way."
Maybe this is my first official interrogation, Adam realized suddenly. Just
Boris sitting there in his bathrobe, talking things over. He thought about the
question.
"It started a long time ago," Adam answered after a while.
"They had a plan Ray Kedro had a plan that didn't work. As I
say, it's a long story."
"Yeah. Well, not all of 'em thought that way."
Adam looked at him.
"I mean your girl Merit, among others."
"If you think that she "
"At ease! Calm down. Nobody wants to hang her. Unless some evidence comes up
that I don't know about yet. It's no crime to have had your chromosomes
manipulated. I merely remarked that she seems like a nice kid."
Adam let out a long sigh. "One part of the long story I'll tell you now. Ray
Kedro told me that I was one of them too. Maybe he was lying; maybe not. I
don't think he was, about that."
Brazil thought that over with raised eyebrows. Then he shrugged. "Well, I can
stand it if you can. I expect it'll be a long time before Raymond Kedro can
tell us a straight story now, assuming that he wants to. The medics have him
in a deep freeze. Do you know what shape he was in when they took him out of
that scout?"
"I know what shape he was in when we left the planet," said
Adam. /
can stand it if you can
, Brazil had said. To hell with it.
I'm a man whether or not I came out of Doc Nowell's lab. I am what I am.
And another voice, remembered but already fading:
You have a small idea of what being human means
.
"I assume I'm not under arrest for anything?" he asked.
"Unauthorized exploration, maybe?"
Boris shrugged. "We asked your help in the situation, if you remember. I
assume you were doing what you could to help.
We've got enough prisoners, what do we need with one more?"
"And Merit?"
"I told you, no. Be reasonable, what would we charge her with?
Teasing the geryons? Unless something new shows up when we get your stories in
detail. Hey, now, about that scoutship "
"Later." Adam relaxed, closing his eyes in peaceful weariness.
He opened them again to see Brazil wheeling away. Adam called after him: "Hey.
When we're both in one piece again, I just may
be calling on you. To look for a job."
Boris nodded, his long craggy face solemn, and turned away again. He wheeled a
little distance, suddenly roared with laughter, and turned back. "I don't
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know look what we started the last time we worked together."
Adam groped with his good hand for something suitable to throw, but could find
nothing. Never mind. He began to doze off, smiling. He could hear Boris's
muttering, receding into the distance: "The sleeping beauty sleepeth again,
and where in all the realm can be found a maiden of such courage as to oh. Beg
your pardon, ma'am."
Then there followed a silence. It took no exercise of parapsych talent for
Adam to feel her approaching his bed. The aura of her mind was subtle and
sweet as fine perfume. He opened his eyes and stretched out his good left arm.
THE END
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