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The Stars My Destination ( Tiger! Tiger! ) :: Bester Alfred
Страница: 34 из 164He knew that the crux of the «Nomad» situation was the presence on board the ship of 20 pounds of PyrE, the total world supply, which was probably irreplaceablenow that its discoverer had disappeared. He knew that Sheffield knew that they both knew this. He had assumed that Sheffield would prefer to keep PyrE unnamed. And yet, here was the challenge to name the unnamable.
He attempted to meet bluntness with bluntness. «All right, gentlemen, I'll name it now. The 'Nomad' was transporting twenty pounds of a substance called PyrE.»
Presteign started; Sheffield silenced him. «What's PyrE?»
«According to our reports…”
«From Presteign's Mr. Presto?»
«Oh, that was bluff,» Y'ang-Yeovil laughed, and momentarily regained control. «According to Intelligence, PyrE was developed for Presteign by a man who subsequently disappeared. PyrE is a Misch Metal, a pyrophore. That's all we know for a fact. But we've had vague reports about it .
Unbelievable reports from reputable agents. If a fraction of our inferences are correct, PyrE could make the difference between a victory and a defeat.»
«Nonsense. No war materiel has ever made that much difference.»
«No? I cite the fission bomb of ~ I cite the Null-G anti-gravity installations of 2022. Talley's All-Field Radar Trip Screen of 2194. Material can often make the difference, especially when there's the chance of the enemy getting it first?'
«There's no such chance now.»
«Thank you for admitting the importance of PyrE.»
«I admit nothing; I deny everything.»
«Central Intelligence is prepared to offer an exchange. A man for a man. The inventor of PyrE for Gully Foyle.»
«You've got him?» Sheffield demanded. «Then why badger us for Foyle?»
«Because we've got a corpse!» Y'ang-Yeovil flared. «The Outer Satellites command had him on Lassell for six months trying to carve information out of him. We pulled him out with a raid at a cost of 79 per cent casualties. We rescued a corpse. We still don't know if the Outer Satellites were having a cynical laugh at our expense letting us recapture a body. We still don't know how much they ripped out of him.»
Presteign sat bolt upright at this. His merciless fingers tapped slowly and sharply.
«Damn it,» Y'ang-Yeovil stormed. «Can't you recognize a crisis, Sheffield? We're on a tightrope. What the devil are you doing backing Presteign in this shabby deal? You're the leader of the Liberal party . . . Terra's archpatriot. You're Presteign's political archenemy. Sell him out, you fool, before he sells us all out.»
«Captain Yeovil,» Presteign broke in with icy venom. «These expressions cannot be countenanced.
He attempted to meet bluntness with bluntness. «All right, gentlemen, I'll name it now. The 'Nomad' was transporting twenty pounds of a substance called PyrE.»
Presteign started; Sheffield silenced him. «What's PyrE?»
«According to our reports…”
«From Presteign's Mr. Presto?»
«Oh, that was bluff,» Y'ang-Yeovil laughed, and momentarily regained control. «According to Intelligence, PyrE was developed for Presteign by a man who subsequently disappeared. PyrE is a Misch Metal, a pyrophore. That's all we know for a fact. But we've had vague reports about it .
Unbelievable reports from reputable agents. If a fraction of our inferences are correct, PyrE could make the difference between a victory and a defeat.»
«Nonsense. No war materiel has ever made that much difference.»
«No? I cite the fission bomb of ~ I cite the Null-G anti-gravity installations of 2022. Talley's All-Field Radar Trip Screen of 2194. Material can often make the difference, especially when there's the chance of the enemy getting it first?'
«There's no such chance now.»
«Thank you for admitting the importance of PyrE.»
«I admit nothing; I deny everything.»
«Central Intelligence is prepared to offer an exchange. A man for a man. The inventor of PyrE for Gully Foyle.»
«You've got him?» Sheffield demanded. «Then why badger us for Foyle?»
«Because we've got a corpse!» Y'ang-Yeovil flared. «The Outer Satellites command had him on Lassell for six months trying to carve information out of him. We pulled him out with a raid at a cost of 79 per cent casualties. We rescued a corpse. We still don't know if the Outer Satellites were having a cynical laugh at our expense letting us recapture a body. We still don't know how much they ripped out of him.»
Presteign sat bolt upright at this. His merciless fingers tapped slowly and sharply.
«Damn it,» Y'ang-Yeovil stormed. «Can't you recognize a crisis, Sheffield? We're on a tightrope. What the devil are you doing backing Presteign in this shabby deal? You're the leader of the Liberal party . . . Terra's archpatriot. You're Presteign's political archenemy. Sell him out, you fool, before he sells us all out.»
«Captain Yeovil,» Presteign broke in with icy venom. «These expressions cannot be countenanced.