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The Stars My Destination ( Tiger! Tiger! ) :: Bester Alfred
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«Careful, Miss Wednesbury, I'm receiving you. Now, about the Spanish Stairs?»
He paused, listening intently to her agitated telesending: «Why was he hunting? Me? Alien Be… Oh God! Will they hurt me? Cut and… Information. I…”
«My dear girl,» Y'ang-Yeovil said gently. He took her hands and held them sympathetically. «Listen to me a moment. You're alarmed over nothing. Apparently you're an Alien Belligerent. Yes?»
She nodded.
«That's unfortunate, but we won't worry about it now. About Intelligence cutting and slicing information out of people…that's all propaganda.»
«Propaganda?»
«We're not maladroits, Miss Wednesbury. We know how to extract information without being medieval. But we spread the legend to soften people up in advance, so to speak.»
«Is that true? He's lying. It's a trick.»
«It's true, Miss Wednesbury. I do finesse, but there's no need now. Not when you've evidently come of your own free will to offer information.»
«He's too adroit . . . too quick . . . He…”
«You sound as though you've been badly tricked recently, Miss Wednesbury. . . Badly burned.»
«I have. I have. By myself, mostly. I'm a fool. A hateful fool.»
«Never a fool, Miss Wednesbury, and never hateful. I don't know what's happened to shatter your opinion of yourself, but I hope to restore it. So you've been deceived, have you? By yourself, mostly? We all do that. But you've been helped by someone. Who?»
«I'm betraying him.»
«Then don't tell me.»
«But I've got to find my mother and sisters . . . I can't trust him any more. . . I've got to do it myself.» Robin took a deep breath. «I want to tell you about a man named Gulliver Foyle.»
Y'ang-Yeovil at once got down to business.
«Is it true he arrived by railroad?» Olivia Presteign asked. «In a locomotive and observation car? What wonderful audacity.»
«Yes, he's a remarkable young man,» Presteign answered. He stood, iron gray and iron hard, in the reception hall of his home, alone with his daughter. He was guarding honor and life while he waited for servants and staff to return from their panic-stricken jaunte to safety. He chatted imperturbably with Olivia, never once permitting her to realize their grave danger.
«Father, I'm exhausted.»
«It's been a trying night, my dear. But please don't retire yet.»
«Why not?»
Presteign refrained from telling her that she would be safer with him. «I'm lonely, Olivia. We'll talk for a few minutes.
«Careful, Miss Wednesbury, I'm receiving you. Now, about the Spanish Stairs?»
He paused, listening intently to her agitated telesending: «Why was he hunting? Me? Alien Be… Oh God! Will they hurt me? Cut and… Information. I…”
«My dear girl,» Y'ang-Yeovil said gently. He took her hands and held them sympathetically. «Listen to me a moment. You're alarmed over nothing. Apparently you're an Alien Belligerent. Yes?»
She nodded.
«That's unfortunate, but we won't worry about it now. About Intelligence cutting and slicing information out of people…that's all propaganda.»
«Propaganda?»
«We're not maladroits, Miss Wednesbury. We know how to extract information without being medieval. But we spread the legend to soften people up in advance, so to speak.»
«Is that true? He's lying. It's a trick.»
«It's true, Miss Wednesbury. I do finesse, but there's no need now. Not when you've evidently come of your own free will to offer information.»
«He's too adroit . . . too quick . . . He…”
«You sound as though you've been badly tricked recently, Miss Wednesbury. . . Badly burned.»
«I have. I have. By myself, mostly. I'm a fool. A hateful fool.»
«Never a fool, Miss Wednesbury, and never hateful. I don't know what's happened to shatter your opinion of yourself, but I hope to restore it. So you've been deceived, have you? By yourself, mostly? We all do that. But you've been helped by someone. Who?»
«I'm betraying him.»
«Then don't tell me.»
«But I've got to find my mother and sisters . . . I can't trust him any more. . . I've got to do it myself.» Robin took a deep breath. «I want to tell you about a man named Gulliver Foyle.»
Y'ang-Yeovil at once got down to business.
«Is it true he arrived by railroad?» Olivia Presteign asked. «In a locomotive and observation car? What wonderful audacity.»
«Yes, he's a remarkable young man,» Presteign answered. He stood, iron gray and iron hard, in the reception hall of his home, alone with his daughter. He was guarding honor and life while he waited for servants and staff to return from their panic-stricken jaunte to safety. He chatted imperturbably with Olivia, never once permitting her to realize their grave danger.
«Father, I'm exhausted.»
«It's been a trying night, my dear. But please don't retire yet.»
«Why not?»
Presteign refrained from telling her that she would be safer with him. «I'm lonely, Olivia. We'll talk for a few minutes.