it's high time there was." He rang the buzzer. "Mrs. Sperling,change the 'Chief' and 'Nat Brown' pins to 'Excellency' and 'YourHumble Servant.'"
* * * * *
Her eyes widened a bit, but the labels were changed on the spot.
When the Chief got to that part about the recommendations he read themout loud. Then he began to pace the room.
"Nat," he said, "I'm going to see that you get some very specialrecognition for the job you have done. I mean recognition from theWhite House itself. Of course we can't give it any publicity--at leastnot yet--but it will mean a lot more money for you."
"Thanks, Chief, I can use it."
"In your opinion, what should we do now, as our next step?" He paused."Or should we just do nothing?"
"I think we've got to be careful that they don't send anyone else downhere. Or maybe it is 'up' here. We've got to get messages back to his'Excellency' every once in a while from 'Your Humble Servant.' I knowhow to do it now. The launching tube is still intact in its shed.There are ten rockets, so we can send at least ten messages. Timeplays in our favor--since they have apparently lost the ability toreproduce themselves, they are dying out. If we can hold them off fora long enough period, we'll be safe forever. The most important thing,Chief, is to be sure we know it if they land any more 'humbleservants' on the earth."
The Chief nodded approval. "How can we make sure we'll know it?"
"It's hard to make absolutely sure, but why not send me out on aroving mission to set up an international organization to detect sucha creature? What we want is information about anyone, anywhere, who isunusually strong or unusually attractive to women, or eats six oreight meals a day, or who has the other queer powers they have. Icould get all the information coming in from all over the world,process it here, and only bother you when we found somethingsuspicious."
The Chief was enthusiastic. "You've thought yourself up a job, Nat.Take three weeks vacation to get yourself rested up, and then getstarted."
* * * * *
I walked down the long marble corridors away from the Chief's office,and went down in the elevator and out into the street. As I walkedalong in the crowds I felt the warmth of bodies as they passed me. Isuddenly realized the novocaine was beginning to wear off. I didn'tget out any too soon. My chin ached and throbbed. That hot searingflame had come so close ... from now on my nightmares would be of thatmoment when the Chief was holding the lighter to my cigarette. But onething sang through my being; the battle was won. In a month my worldtravels for the F.B.I. would start.
Like a phoenix, I, the new Nat Brown, had risen re-born from the ashesof the Nat Brown vaporized by the explosion. What could his thoughtshave been, lying tied up on the living room floor waiting for twentytons of TNT to go off? Waiting, while I held the mirror in front of meand slowly made my face into an exact replica of his. He must haveknown then that I would get his job, and get his wife, Helene, andfinally get his world. He realized then that His Excellency would senddown hundreds more like me and that I would be the screen between themand the F.B.I., that I would instruct them and encourage them and givethem aid and safety for their missions.
As I neared the Cathedral I looked west on Massachusetts Avenue. Thesun had just set and the Evening Star was hanging like a lantern inthe sky--my homeland, the radiant planet which men on earth callVenus. Venus, they have told me, means love. What a superb and cosmicjoke that is! I looked at the beautiful orb on the horizon and wasfilled with the triumphant excitement of being the earth-man, NatBrown, of going home to my wife, Helene, one of the thousands whowould breed thousands who would breed thousands.
* * * * *
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