"Oh, but it would! Mmm . . . I will tell you-I know you can be trusted."
"Now, Bork, you shouldn"t a.s.sume that-"
"It doesn"t matter; it will be public knowledge in a few days anyhow. Mary . . . I"ll never grow old on you!"
"What do you mean?" Lazarus decided that her tone was suddenly suspicious.
"Just what I said. Mary, they"ve found the secret of eternal youth!"
"What? Who? How? When?"
"Oh, so now you"re interested, eh? Well, I won"t keep you waiting. You know these old Johnnies that call themselves the Howard Families?"
"Yes . . . I"ve heard of them, of course," she admitted slowly. "But what of it? They"re fakes."
"Not at all. I know. The Administration has been quietly investigating their claims. Some of them are unquestionably more than a hundred years old-and still young!"
"That"s very hard to believe."
"Nevertheless it"s true."
"Well . . . how do they do it?"
"Ah! That"s the point. They claim that it is a simple matter of heredity, that they live a long time because they come from long lived stock. But that"s preposterous, scientifically incompatible with the established facts. The Administration checked most carefully and the answer is certain: they have the secret of staying young."
"You can"t be sure of that."
"Oh, come, Mary! You"re a dear girl but you"re questioning the expert opinion of the best scientific brains in the world. Never mind. Here"s the part that is confidential. We don"t have their secret yet-but we will have it shortly. Without any excitement or public notice, they are to be picked up and questioned. We"ll get the secret-and you and I will never grow old! What do you think of that? Eh?"
Mary answered very slowly, almost inaudibly, "It would be nice if everyone could live a long time."
"Huh? Yes, I suppose it would. But in any case you and I will receive the treatment, whatever it is. Think about us, dear. Year after year after year of happy, youthful marriage. Not less than a century. Maybe even--"
"Wait a moment, Bork. This "secret" It wouldn"t be for everybody?"
"Well, now . . . that"s a matter of high policy. Population pressure is a pretty unwieldy problem even now. In practice it might be necessary to restrict it to essential personnel-and their wives. But don"t fret your lovely head about it; you and I will have it."
"You mean I"ll have it if I marry you."
"Mmm . . . that"s a nasty way to put it, Mary. I"d do anything in the world for you that I could-because I love you. But it would be utterly simple if you were married to me. So say you will."
"Let"s let that be for the moment. How do you propose to get this "secret" out of them?"
Lazarus could almost hear his wise nod. "Oh, they"ll talk!"
"Do you mean to say you"d send them to Coventry if they didn"t?"
"Coventry? Hm! You don"t understand the situation at all, Mary; this isn"t any minor social offense. This is treason- treason against the whole human race. We"ll use means! Ways that the Prophets used . . . if they don"t cooperate willingly."
"Do you mean that? Why, that"s against the Covenant!"
"Covenant be d.a.m.ned! This is a matter of life and death- do you think we"d let a sc.r.a.p of paper stand in our way? You can"t bother with petty legalities in the fundamental things: men live by-not something they will fight to the death for. And that is precisely what this is. These . . . these dog-in-the-manger scoundrels are trying to keep life itself from us. Do you think we"ll bow to "custom" in an emergency like this?"
Mary answered in a hushed and horrified voice: "Do you really think the Council will violate the Covenant?"
"Think so? The Action-in-Council was recorded last night. We authorized the Administrator to use "full expediency.""
Lazarus strained his ears through a long silence. At last Mary spoke. "Bork-"
"Yes, my dear?"
"You"ve got to do something about this. You must stop it." "Stop it? You don"t know what you"re saying. I couldn"t and I would not if I could."
"But you must. You must convince the Council. They"re making a mistake, a tragic mistake. There is nothing to be gained by trying to coerce those poor people. There is no secret!"
"What? You"re getting excited, my dear. You"re setting your judgment up against some of the best and wisest men on the planet. Believe me, we know what we are doing. We don"t relish using harsh methods any more than you do, but it"s for the general welfare. Look, I"m sorry I ever brought it up. Naturally you are soft and gentle and warmhearted and I love you for it. Why not marry me and not bother your head about matters of public policy?"
"Marry you? Never!"
"Aw, Mary-you"re upset. Give me just one good reason why not?"
"I"ll tell you why! Because I am one of those people you want to persecute!"
There was another pause. "Mary . . . you"re not well."
"Not well, am I? I am as well as a person can be at my age. Listen to me, you fool! I have grandsons twice your age. I was here when the First Prophet took over the country. I was here when Harriman launched the first Moon rocket. You weren"t even a squalling brat-your grandparents hadn"t even met, when I was a woman grown and married. And you stand there and glibly propose to push around, even to torture, me and my kind. Marry you? I"d rather marry one of my own grandchildren!"
Lazarus shifted his weight and slid his right hand inside the flap of his kilt; he expected trouble at once. You can depend on a woman, he reflected, to blow her top at the wrong moment.
He waited. Bork"s answer was cool; the tones of the experienced man of authority replaced those of thwarted pa.s.sion. "Take it easy, Mary. Sit down, I"ll look after you. First I want you to take a sedative. Then I"ll get the best psychotherapist in the city-in the whole country. You"ll be all right."
"Take your hands off me!"
"Now, Mary . . .
Lazarus stepped out into the room and pointed at Vanning with his blaster. "This monkey giving you trouble, Sis?"
Vanning jerked his head around. "Who are you?" he demanded indignantly. "What are you doing here?"
Lazarus still addressed Mary. "Say the word, Sis, and I"ll cut him into pieces small enough to hide."
"No, Lazarus," she answered with her voice now under control. "Thanks just the same. Please put your gun away. I wouldn"t want anything like that to happen."
"Okay." Lazarus holstered the gun but let his hand rest on the grip.
"Who are you?" repeated Vanning. "What"s the meaning of this intrusion?"
"I was just about to ask you that, Bud," Lazarus said mildly, "but we"ll let it ride. I"m another one of those old Johnnies you"re looking for . . . like Mary here."
Vanning looked at him keenly. "I wonder-" he said. He looked back at Mary. "It can"t be, it"s preposterous. Still it won"t hurt to investigate your story. I"ve plenty to detain you on, in any event, I"ve never seen a clearer case of antisocial atavism." He moved toward the videophone.
"Better get away from that phone, Bud," Lazarus said quickly, then added to Mary, "I won"t touch my gun, Sis. I"ll use my knife."
Vanning stopped. "Very well," he said in annoyed tones, "put away that vibroblade. I won"t call from here."
"Look again, it ain"t a vibroblade. It"s steel. Messy."
Vanning turned to Mary Sperling. "I"m leaving. If you are wise, you"ll come with me." She shook her head. He looked annoyed, shrugged, and faced Lazarus Long. "As for you, sir, your primitive manners have led you into serious trouble. You will be arrested shortly."
Lazarus glanced up at the ceiling shutters. "Reminds me of a patron in Venusburg who wanted to have me arrested."
"Well?"
"I"ve outlived him quite a piece."
Vanning opened his mouth to answer-then turned suddenly and left so quickly that the outer door barely had time to clear the end of his nose. As the door snapped closed Lazarus said musingly, "Hardest man to reason with I"ve met in years. I"ll bet he never used an unsterilized spoon in his life."
Mary looked startled, then giggled. He turned toward her. "Glad to see you sounding perky, Mary. Kinda thought you were upset."
"I was. I hadn"t known you were listening. I was forced to improvise as I went along."
"Did I queer it?"
"No. I"m glad you came in-thanks. But we"ll have to hurry now."
"I suppose so. I think he meant it-there"ll be a proctor looking for me soon. You, too, maybe."
"That"s what I meant. So let"s get out of here."
Mary was ready to leave in scant minutes but when they stepped out into the public hall they met a man whose bra.s.sard and hypo kit marked him as a proctor. "Service," he said. "I"m looking for a citizen in company with Citizen Mary Sperling. Could you direct me?"
"Sure," agreed Lazarus. "She lives right down there." He pointed at the far end of the corridor. As the peace officer looked in that direction, Lazarus tapped him carefully on the back of the head, a little to the left, with the b.u.t.t of his blaster, and caught him as be slumped.
Mary helped Lazarus wrestle the awkward ma.s.s into her apartment. He knelt over the cop, pawed through his hypo kit, took a loaded injector and gave him a shot. "There," he said, "that"ll keep him sleepy for a few hours." Then he blinked thoughtfully at the hypo kit, detached it from the proctor"s belt. "This might come in handy again. Anyhow, it won"t hurt to take it." As an afterthought he removed the proctor"s peace bra.s.sard and placed it, too, in his pouch.
They left the apartment again and dropped to the parking level. Lazarus noticed as they rolled up the ramp that Mary had set the North Sh.o.r.e combination. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"The Families" Seat. No place else to go where we won"t be checked on. But we"ll have to hide somewhere in the country until dark."
Once the car was on beamed control headed north Mary asked to be excused and caught a few minutes sleep. Lazarus watched a few miles of scenery, then nodded himself.
They were awakened by the jangle of the emergency alarm and by the speedster slowing to a stop. Mary reached up and shut off the alarm. "All cars resume local control," intoned a voice. "Proceed at speed twenty to the nearest traffic control tower for inspection. All cars resume local control. Proceed at-"
She switched that off, too. "Well, that"s us," Lazarus said cheerfully. "Got any ideas?"
Mary did not answer. She peered out and studied their surroundings. The steel fence separating the high-speed controlway they were on from the uncontrolled local-traffic strip lay about fifty yards to their right but no changeover ramp broke the fence for at least a mile ahead-where it did, there would be, of course, the control tower where they were ordered to undergo inspection. She started the car again, operating it manually, and wove through stopped or slowly moving traffic while speeding up. As they got close to the barrier Lazarus felt himself shoved into the cushions; the car surged and lifted, clearing the barrier by inches. She set it down rolling on the far side.
A car was approaching from the north and they were slashing across his lane. The other car was moving no more than ninety but its driver was taken by surprise-he had no reason to expect another car to appear out of nowhere against him on a clear road: Mary was forced to duck left, then right, and left again; the car slewed and reared up on its hind wheel, writhing against the steel grip of its gyros. Mary fought it back into control to the accompaniment of a teeth-shivering grind of herculene against gla.s.s as the rear wheel fought for traction.
Lazarus let his jaw muscles relax and breathed out gustily. "Whew!" he sighed. "I hope we won"t have to do that again."
Mary glanced at him, grinning. "Women drivers make you nervous?"
"Oh, no, no, not at all! I just wish you would warn me when something like that is about to happen."
"I didn"t know myse1f," she admitted, then went on worriedly, "I don"t know quite what to do now. I thought we could lie quiet out of town until dark . . . but I had to show my hand a Little when I took that fence. By now somebody will be reporting it to the tower. Mmm.
"Why wait until dark?" he asked. "Why not just bounce over to the lake in this d.i.c.k Dare contraption of yours and let it swim us home?"
"I don"t like to," she fretted. "I"ve attracted too much attention already. A trimobile faked up to look like a groundster is handy, but . . . well, if anyone sees us taking it under water and the proctors hear of it, somebody is going to guess the answer. Then they"ll start fishing-everything from seismo to sonar and Heaven knows what else."
"But isn"t the Seat shielded?"
"Of course. But anything that big they can find-if they know what they"re looking for and keep looking."
"You"re right, of course," Lazarus admitted slowly. "Well, we certainly don"t want to lead any nosy proctors to the Families" Seat. Mary, I think we had better ditch your car and get lost." He frowned. "Anywhere but the Seat."
"No, it has to be the Seat," she answered sharply.
"Why? If you chase a fox, he-"
"Quiet a moment! I want to try something." Lazarus shut up; Mary drove with one hand while she fumbled in the glove compartment.
"Answer," a voice said.
"Life is short-" Mary replied.
They completed the formula. "Listen," Mary went on hurriedly, "I"m in trouble-get a fix on me."
"Okay."
"Is there a sub in the pool?"
"Yes."
"Good! Lock on me and home them in." She explained hurriedly the details of what she wanted, stopping once to ask Lazarus if he could swim. "That"s all," she said at last, "but move! We"re short on minutes."
"Hold it, Mary!" the voice protested. "You know I can"t send a sub out in the daytime, certainly not on a calm day. It"s too easy to-"
"Will you, or won"t you!"
A third voice cut in. "I was listening, Mary-Ira Barstow. We"ll pick you up."
"But-" objected the first voice.
"Stow it, Tommy. Just mind your burners and home me in. See you, Mary."
"Right, Ira!"