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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] fifteen seconds, according to Jannish custom." It began ticking, one tick per second, as though it were a metronome. Or a bomb. Fifteen seconds to come up with that loophole, when he hadn't been able to do it in the past day! Ten seconds, and the Jann was aiming its chest-nozzle at him. Five, and his mind was numb... "A postponement!" he cried, half facetiously. "Granted," the Jann said. "How long?" Ah, foolishness. "Fifty years!" He waited for the derisive bolt of heat, but it didn't come. "Granted, mortal." Dillingham stared. "You mean you'll wait?" It almost seemed that the metal face was smiling. The mouth was open, at any rate, and the gleaming new tooth was visible. Apparently the Hazard spaceshop had stocked the item, restoring the caution- circuit. "Originally I contemplated a shorter period, but I perceived that this would be an injustice. Thou art not the fortune-hunter I expected, nor yet the fool I suspected. And we Jann are not unmindful of honest courtesies rendered." Dillingham was abruptly reminded of Oyster, whose mode of operation had a certain similarity to this. He hoped he never encountered another such personality. "So you modified the spirit of the oath slightly," he suggested, "if not the letter." "Our oaths are always subject to interpretation," the Jann agreed. "I could not tell thee, but I delayed for a time, that thou shouldst realize it for thyself. None but I shall do thee die: no animal, no entity, no microbe, no act of nature. But it shall be a kind demise, and it shall come in exactly fifty years, as thou requesteth. I shall always be near thee, to see that mine oath is honoured." So the Jann had become a bodyguard, perhaps the most competent in all the galaxy, preserving him from all perils until he was ninety-two. Just a tiny shift in interpretation, and the oath had swung from negative to positive. "That tooth did it contain your compassion-circuit, too?" he asked, suddenly catching on. "Even so, mortal." "Well come on, Jann," Dillingham cried, remembering something. "We have a student strike to deal with, back at the University. Oyster will kill me if I don't manage to relieve the siege before all his files a a T T n n s s F F f f o o D D r r P P m m Y Y e e Y Y r r B B 2 2 . . B B A A Click here to buy Click here to buy w w m m w w o o w w c c . . . . A A Y Y B B Y Y B B r r are gone!" Chapter SEVEN "Now here is the problem of your contract," Trach said. "Gleep transferred it to Ra, so " Judy was almost convinced that Trach was not the monster he appeared. He had not, after all, eaten her when he had the opportunity, and certainly he was the essence of politeness. He claimed to be a vegetarian reptile, and if he were not fattening her up for a later feast... "Does that mean it wasn't a mistake? The trolls my being on the ?" "They don't make mistakes of that nature," he said reassuringly. "You are on their list." "To die in the radium mines?" Maybe it would be preferable to be eaten by a dinosaur! "How could the muck-a-muck do such a terrible thing? I trusted him to help me!" "Merely good business practice. Nothing personal. He wouldn't be muck-a-muck if he wasted Gleep's credit status. Fifty pounds of frumpstiggle " "He told me a hundred!" she said indignantly. "That was to improve your self-image. It was his impression that you were overly dependent on Dr. Dillingham and lacked confidence in your own dental abilities." "But I'm not a dentist! I can't do prosthodontic " "Pretty sharp judge of character, that muck-a-muck. You do lack confidence." "Oh, shut up!" "At any rate, he did help you. He notified me, knowing that I would arrange something. That's my business, after all arranging things for mutual profit and my own. Unfortunately " "You don't have fifty pounds of frumpstiggle?" "As a matter of fact, I have considerably more, thanks to a generous settlement on Dr. Dillingham and a successful mission at Electrolus. But " "But ?" "But the trolls of Ra are very fussy about allowing any entity to depart. Once they hold a contract " "They won't let go," she finished grimly. "Not readily. Others in the galaxy have some very ugly suspicions about Ra. If too many prospective miners were to be released, those suspicions would be amply confirmed. Then it would be almost impossible for Ra to buy up contracts, at any price, and there could be galactic lawsuits for Ra's violation of contractee rights. There might even be an AUP quarantine for industrial malpractice, and a a T T n n s s F F f f o o D D r r P P m m Y Y e e Y Y r r B B 2 2 . . B B A A Click here to buy Click here to buy w w m m w w o o w w c c . . . . A A Y Y B B Y Y B B r r that would finish Ra." "AUP?" "Association of University Presidents. Very potent." "I see. So I have to take up pick and shovel?" "Oh, no. They are very efficient here. You would work in your speciality, caring for the miners' teeth. Better dentures allow them to consume cruder staples, and that is more economical, you see." "I see again. I don't approve the motive, though." "Appreciation of Ra motives is an acquired taste. In certain respects, there is more need here for medical and dental assistants than for full MDs or DDSs, because only short-term measures are economical. The radiation, you know. And you would still be exposed to that." She nodded. Had she really thought her prospects back on Earth bad? "I have not relinquished the problem, Miss Galland. I merely wish you to comprehend its magnitude. Naturally we'll find a way to remove you from Ra." "I comprehend the magnitude. What do I have to do, to escape?" "You have to obtain a sponsor who is able to influence the troll hierarchy. I can arrange temporary reprieve, but my influence is limited. I'm only a diplomat. If I push my luck " "The mines for you too," she said. "Will you teach the prisoners diplomacy as they perish from radiation?" "I doubt it would come to that, but there could be awkwardness. However, I'll see what I can do. I have had experience at a number of influential courts." Judy smiled appreciatively, but she had little hope. Trach had been unduly modest about his resources. Within six hours there was an urgent call from the Monarch of Lepidop: he wanted an experienced dental assistant and he wanted this particular one. Since his subjects were resistive to radium poisoning, a task force of his navy traditionally transported Ra's annual output of ten pounds pure to the galactic markets. He had, in short, influence. The troll hierarchy swallowed its gall and hastily made a gift of Judy's contract to the Monarch, compliments of the honourable reputation of Ra. To make it quite clear where she had come from, they [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |