question!)(have to) Shut up! (answer) SHUT UP! (that) PLEASE.... (question).PLEASE! (please)."
"Once more, if you don't mind."
Ellaby's head was whirling. He blinked sweat from his eyes."I--please! (I--please!)"
"The law requires that you make some answer, even if answer is arefusal."
Criminals confessed, Ellaby thought wildly. Is this why criminalsconfessed? Did the sound of their own voices drive them mad? It seemedsuch a simple device, and yet ... and yet ... but he could fool it. Hecouldn't rush the words out in a quick torrent and: "I don't have to(I don't answer that ques) (have to) tion (answer that question.)"Ellaby--and Ellaby's echo. "Well, I (well) don't (I don't)!" Ellabyblinked more sweat from his eyes. "Mumble (mumble). Sob. (Sob)."
"Relax, Ellaby. You seem upset. Will you read this, please?" thepersonnel advisor held a card in front of Ellaby's face.
The words swam, blurred together, fused, were readable and then werenot. Ellaby read aloud: "A code (a) of eth (code) ics for (eth)mankind (ethics for mankind)." It was, he realized, the preamble tothe constitution. "In the (in) nineteenth (the) centur (nine) y the(nine) common (teenth)"--faster, faster!--"(century the common)c-common man was defended (common man) by enlightened liberalism (manwas). In the t-twentieth century (in the t-twen) common man waschampioned by (tieth century) enlightened liberalism (the common manwas). In the twenty-first century (championed by enlightened) thecommon man assumed his proper place (liberalism) at the top of societybut (in the twenty-first cen) will protect the rights of the (tury thecommon man) enlightened liberals or any other minority, (assumed hisproper) encouraging them to become (place at the top of) as common aspossible (society but will protect the rights of the enlightenedliberals or any other minority, encouraging them to become as commonas possible).
"Oh God (Oh)," shouted Ellaby. "Shut (God) it (shut) off (it) make(off) it (make) stop (it) God (stop--God)!"
"Will you agree to answer my question?"
"Anything (anything)! ANYTHING (anything)." Now the playback was afaint whisper. Ellaby found himself hysterically fascinated by it,trying to guess the time-lapse, which varied, trying to guess thevolume, which varied. Ellaby's head slumped forward on his chest. Theunfamiliar wetness at the corners of his mouth was drool. Ellabydidn't quite know it, of course, but he had given himself a very mildand very temporary nervous breakdown.
Two hours later he was asked one question. He answered: "I want to benear the Dictator so I can kill him."
* * * * *
Later, Dorcas Sinclair asked: "What else happened at testing, Ellaby?"
"Take your time," Mulden cautioned. "He looks nervous."
"I know it. I want to find out why."
"After my EEG," said Ellaby softly, "they told me I had too muchtheta."
"Damn you!" Dorcas Sinclair swore. "Then you weren't cleared for topsecret?"
"No, I wasn't. Not at first. Then a strange thing happened. They saidI was cleared only for secret and asked me why I wanted to be clearedfor top secret."
"You fool!" the woman cried.
"I told them it was because I wanted to work near the Dictator. Ididn't mean to tell them, but--"
The woman shook her head in despair. "Don't bother finishing," shesaid. "You can clear out of here, Ellaby. You're through. Ten years.Ten years wasted."
"If you wish," Ellaby said mildly. "But you're missing the mostinteresting part. They asked me why I wanted to be near the Dictator."
Dorcas Sinclair sucked in her breath sharply. Even Mulden seemedanxious. "You didn't tell them?" the woman asked in a frantic whisper.
"I'm afraid I did."
"We'll have to flee the city," the woman told Mulden, ignoring Ellabynow. "If he told them that, he probably named names. I have friends inHampton Roads--"
"Let him finish," Mulden said. Mulden was looking strangely at Ellaby.
"They didn't ask me to name anyone in the conspiracy," Ellaby said."Unless they could poker very well, they seemed perfectly calm. Theysaid they would make an exception in my case. They would clear me fortop secret work. I start tomorrow."
"What's your job?" Mulden asked eagerly.
"Well, this is the strangest part. I'm to be the Dictator'sconfidential assistant."
"Of course!" Mulden cried. "It makes sense. Don't you see, Sinclair?We're not the only ones. There are others, inside the government, whothink it's time for a _coup_. With their help, Ellaby won't fail us."
Dorcas Sinclair wasn't convinced. "Doesn't it seem peculiar to youthat, purely by co-incidence, Ellaby happened to meet these people?"
But Mulden shrugged. "You know the old saw about the gift horse," hesaid. "Ellaby will go ahead with the plan. Tomorrow, if all goes well,we'll have a full-scale revolution on our hands. Don't you understand,Sinclair? The Dictator--a figurehead. There are plenty of peoplearound like us, who don't want to do things just because everyone elsedoes them, who don't want to be stamped by the mold of conformity, whodon't want ... but I don't have to go on. The Dictator is afigurehead, a symbol of power. Destroy him and the whole conformingsystem comes tumbling down in chaos. You'll see tomorrow."
It was all beyond Ellaby, who was still weary from the playbackordeals. He took the small, palm-sized blaster from Mulden and slippedit into his tunic. Tomorrow he would assassinate the Dictator andsuffer the consequences. He almost had in mind to rebel. The people attesting had been very nice--except for those earphones. But theSinclair woman and Mulden might be able to do as bad--or worse. He'dgo through with it.
Under the circumstances, he slept surprisingly well.
* * * * *
Mulden's passionate parting words still ringing in his ears, Ellabyentered the capitol building. "Someday you and your kind willunderstand, Ellaby," Mulden had said. "Someday you'll know what banalreally means, and vulgar. Someday--I promise you, someday--the truesocial perspective will be re-established. It should not be the rolein life of the common man, the mass, the mob, to make the uncommon manas common as possible, but quite the other way around. The other way,Ellaby! Common folk should be given the opportunity to become asuncommon as possible. Otherwise, Ellaby, we've reached a dead end.
"Kill him and I promise you this: the whole warped system will cometumbling. A man shouldn't be forced to conform, Ellaby. Mankind'sgreatness stems from lack of conformity. For his own purposes, theDictator bows to the will of the mob. But he's surrounded himself,with mediocrity. Without him, what can they do? Without him they'll godown in weeks, Ellaby. In days!"
The guard, a tall blonde woman who looked like a twenty-over-mode toEllaby, led him down a long, well-lit corridor. No one had searchedhim. It would have taken the guard a moment to reach within his tunic,find the blaster and drag him off to the Academy. Other people,nameless people on nameless errands, walked by in the corridor withoutpaying Ellaby any attention.
Was Mulden right? Were there people here, within the building, waitingto help Ellaby?
Ellaby licked his dry lips and kept walking, finding it difficult tokeep his legs from trembling. It was as if a nimbus of terror doggedhis footsteps, ready to envelope him momentarily. The guard seemedcompletely unconcerned. She was humming the melody of the latestsong-hit, a wonderfully liltingly banal tune which had been oneveryone's lips back in High Falls.
The blonde guard paused before a door in the long corridor. "Here weare," she said.
Ellaby opened his mouth to speak, but gulped in air instead. He felt aweak fluttering in his chest. He had never been so afraid in all hislife.
The guard, who was a head taller than Ellaby, glanced down at him."You don't have to be so nervous," she said in a perfectly normalvoice. "Everything's going to be all right."
"You see, it's a new job and all--"
"Oh, here! Let's see that blaster."
Ellaby's heart plunged. He wanted to bolt, to run. She knew. Sheknew....
He stood there, too weak to move, while the guard reached inside histunic, found
the blaster taped to his chest, wrenched it loose. Shetook it out, held it up, flipping open the chamber and examined theinside. "All right," she said. "I only wanted to make sure it wasloaded."
And she took out a key and opened the door. "He's inside," she said,and strolled on down the hall.
* * * * *
Ellaby clutched the doorframe for support. He was breathing raggedlynow, as if he'd run all