Lensman 06 Smith, E E 'Doc' Children of the Lens

[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

other
than himself would have taken that particular bait? Not one of them. Weren't
they out
after them, too? Sure they were�they must be. Oh, if he could only warn
them�but
after all, what good would it do? They had all warned each other repeatedly to
watch out
for traps; all four had been constantly on guard. What possible foresight
could have
avoided a snare set so perfectly to match every detail of a man's make-up?
But he wasn't licked yet. They had to know what he knew, how he had done
what
he had done, whether or not he had any superiors and who they were. Therefore
they
had had to take him alive, just as he had had to take various Boskonian
chiefs. And
they'd find out that as long as he was alive he'd be a dangerous buzz-saw to
monkey
with.
The captain, or whoever was in charge, would send for him; that was a
foregone
conclusion. He'd have to find out what he had caught; he'd have to make a
report of
some kind. And somebody would slip. One hundred percent vigilance was
impossible,
and Kinnison would be on his toes to take advantage of that slip, however
slight it might
be.
But the captors did not take Kinnison to the captain. Instead,
accompanied by
half a dozen unarmored men, that worthy came to Kinnison.
"Start talking, fellow, and talk fast," the Boskonian directed crisply in
the lingua
franca of deep space as the armored soldiers strode out. "I want to know who
you are,
what you are, what you've done, and everything about you and the Patrol. So
talk�or
do you want me to pull you apart with these tractors, armor and all?"
Kinnison paid no attention, but drove at the commander with his every
Page 42
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
mental
force and weapon. Blocked. This ape too had a full-body, full-coverage screen.
There was a switch at the captain's hip, handy for fingertip control. If
he could
only move! It would be so easy to flip that switch! Or if he could throw
something�or
make one of those other fellows brush against him just right�or if the guy
happened to
sit down a little too close to the arm of a chair�or if there were a pet
animal of any kind
around �or a spider or a worm or even a gnat. . .
CHAPTER 6: TREGONSEE, CAMILLA, AND "X"
Second-Stage Lensman Tregonsee of Rigel IV did not rush madly out into
space
in quest of something or anything Boskonian in response to Kinnison's call. To
hurry
was not Tregonsee's way. He could move fast upon occasion, but before he would
move at all he had to know exactly how, where, and why he should move.
He conferred with his three fellows, he furnished them with all the data
he
possessed, he helped integrate the totaled facts into one composite. That
composite
pleased the others well enough so that they went to work, each in his own
fashion, but it
did not please Tregonsee. He could not visualize any coherent whole from the
available
parts. Therefore, while Kinnison was investigating the fall of Antigan IV,
Tregonsee was
sitting�or rather, standing�still and thinking. He was still standing still
and thinking
when Kinnison went to Radelix.
Finally he called in an assistant to help him think. He had more respect
for the
opinions of Camilla Kinnison than for those of any other entity, outside of
Arisia, of the
two galaxies. He had helped train all five of the Kinnison children, and in
Cam he had
found a kindred soul. Possessing a truer sense of values than any of his
fellows, he
alone realized that the pupils had long since passed their tutors; and it is a
measure of
his quality that the realization brought into Tregonsee's tranquil soul no
tinge of rancor,
but only wonder. What those incredible Children of the Lens had he did not
know, but
he knew that they�particularly Camilla �had extraordinary gifts.
In the mind of this scarcely grown woman he perceived depths which he
could
not plumb, extensions and vistas the meanings of which he could not even
vaguely
grasp. He did not try either to plumb the abysses or to survey the expanses;
he made
no slightest effort, ever, to take from any of the children anything which the
child did not
first offer to reveal. In his own mind he tried to classify theirs; but,
realizing in the end [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

pobieranie @ do ÂściÂągnięcia @ ebook @ download @ pdf