[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

Diamond. He knew less about the family of Ensign Terrin.
Then there was always the chance that Gift would encounter another journalistic interviewer, one who'd
encourage him to get maudlin about his dear comrades who had been lost. A large segment of the public
loved that kind of thing. Or at least that seemed to be the theory guiding a great number of journalists. No
doubt in a few months it would be safe for him to go home or he would be better prepared to face the
questioning. But not just now.
It came to Gift as a private, inner shock that some people if they wanted to put an unfriendly
interpretation on that accident when his two shipmates had been lost would think that a man who'd
done what they suspected Nifty Gift of doing fit the definition of goodlife. Of course that was
nonsense he'd saved his own life, hadn't he? And a courier machine, which had some value. And
whatever information the machine had happened to have on board.
Yes, of course the truth was (though it would be awkward to come right out and say so) that all he'd
really done had been to exercise common sense. Even supposing the courier's drive and autopilot had
been working perfectly. Yes, even then, his two shipmates had been dead, before he could have possibly
done anything to help them. His getting himself killed too wouldn't have brought them back. Would it?
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
And about the same time it struck Gift also, with the weight of a final decision, that he really didn't want
to go home at all, where he would certainly have to talk about all these things again and again. Not only
didn't he want to go there now, but it would be all right with him if he never saw those people and that
place again.
Passengers on a ship like this, Gift soon discovered, usually took their meals in a dining room. Probably
two seatings were generally required, but maybe only one if there were only a few folk traveling. Some
preferred to have their food brought, by robot steward, to their cabins. But it was good to get out of the
cabin if only for a little while.
The next time they went to the dining room the people who had recognized Gift were there again, and
insisted on paying for his meal, and his companion's. And hinted that they would like to hear his story yet
again. He declined, more or less politely.
"It's young men like you who will bring us through." And they raised their glasses to him.
"Thank you," said Nifty, not knowing what else to say. Now people at other tables were smiling at him
too. Evidently the story of his fame had got around.
When they were making their way back to their cabin, ' Flower said: "If you were wearing civvies
instead of your uniform, people might not recognize you."
"All right, I'll change." He hesitated. "It's not that I want to be recognized. Just that my civvy clothes are
a little shabby for a ship like this. Actually, they might make me even more noticeable."
"Let me see." She looked through his meager change of clothing and thought about it. "There's a gift
shop on board. Tell me your sizes, and I can get some things for you."
"The prices are going to be pretty high. I wanted to save my money so we can do some fun things when
we land."
Again she thought about it, frowning prettily. No great intellectual, this girl; but that was all right with Gift.
If she was seriously planning to buy him expensive presents, her heart was certainly in the right place.
At last her face cleared. "It'll be all right, I've got some money. No reason I can't spend it on you."
"Well." Nifty didn't know what to think or say. But he supposed that Flower might well come from some
family that was filthy rich. "Well, thanks," he got out at last.
"Besides," his new companion said, her face brightening by a few more degrees, "if you're in civvies, the
space police or whatever they are won't pester you any more. Will they?"
"No. No, they won't have any way of knowing that I fall under their jurisdiction."
"Why do they do that, anyway? Ask people in uniform for their orders?"
"Beats me. I suppose, if you were deserting, or AWOL& but if you were really deserting, the first thing
you'd do would be to get out of your uniform. And the military like to feel they're in control. They worry
about goodlife spies, and things like that."
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
"Goodlife." Flower looked pensive. "Of all the things for them to worry about,I don't think these
so-called goodlife people are a big cause for worry, do you?"
Gift shook his head. "I have a lot of other problems on my mind, more important than whether some
crazy people want to worship a machine."
Flower looked sympathetic. But she didn't nag at him with questions, for which he felt grateful.
Flower asked him: "Will they send you back into space when your leave's over?"
"I don't think so. They told me I'm in line for a home office job."
"Are you happy about that? Not being on flying status any longer?"
"Hell yes." That kind of job, if the truth were known, was what he had thought he was applying for in the
first place, when he'd volunteered for the mysterious assignment that had turned out to be a place on a
Hypo crew. It had been something of a belated effort on his part to stay out of combat, now that there
were signs that the war in the Home Sector might be heating up. He had to laugh at that, looking back; so
far he hadn't been able to share the joke with anyone.
At some point he found himself letting Flower believe, just to impress her, that he was much more
knowledgeable about Hypo's inner secrets than he really was. He caught himself doing that, and thought
it was stupid, but then he went right on doing it anyway.
Next time they went to the dining room Gift was dressed in some pretty sharp civilian clothes a
crimson turtleneck and a rich gray jacket over it. Flower hadn't been stingy in the gift shop, and the case
for a wealthy family was strengthened. But this did nothing to help Gift's situation with regard to the same
elderly couple, who had evidently been continuing to spread the word that there was a handsome young
celebrity aboard. So Gift was deviled again, by a different set of generous civilians, into having to answer [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

  • zanotowane.pl
  • doc.pisz.pl
  • pdf.pisz.pl
  • alwayshope.keep.pl

    •