Latest / Crystal Crypt, the & Beyond the Door / 01 - Crystal Crypt, the & Beyond the Door by Philip K. Dick

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01 - Crystal Crypt, the & Beyond the Door by Philip K. Dick · Crystal Crypt, the & Beyond the Door

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  Speaker 1: Section one of the Crystal Crypt. This is the LibriVox recording.
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  Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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  Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
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  Speaker 1: by phil Shinever. The Crystal Crypt by Philip K. Dick.
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  Speaker 1: Section one. Attention, interflight ship Attention. You are ordered to
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  Speaker 1: land at the control station on Debos for inspection. Attention.
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  Speaker 1: You are to land at once. The metallic rasp of
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  Speaker 1: the speaker echoed through the corridors of the great ship.
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  Speaker 1: The passengers glanced at each other, uneasily, murmuring and peering
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  Speaker 1: out the port windows at the small speck below the
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  Speaker 1: dot of rock that was the Martian checkpoint demos. What's up?
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  Speaker 1: An anxious passenger asked one of the pilots, hurrying through
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  Speaker 1: the ship to check the escape lock. We have to land,
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  Speaker 1: keep seated. The pilot went on land, But why? They
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  Speaker 1: all looked at each other. Hovering above the bulging interflight ship.
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  Speaker 1: We're three slender Martian pursuit craft, poised and alert for
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  Speaker 1: any emergency. As the inter flight ship prepared to land,
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  Speaker 1: the pursuit ships dropped lower, carefully maintaining themselves a short
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  Speaker 1: distance away. There's something going on. A woman passenger said nervously. Lord,
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  Speaker 1: I thought we were finally through with those Martians, now what.
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  Speaker 1: I don't blame them for giving us one last going over.
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  Speaker 1: A heavy set business man said to his companion. After all,
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  Speaker 1: we're the last ship leaving Mars for Tera. We're damn
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  Speaker 1: lucky they'll let us go. At all, you think there
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  Speaker 1: will really be war, A young man said to the
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  Speaker 1: girl sitting in the seat next to him. Those Martians
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  Speaker 1: won't dare fight. Not with our weapons and ability to produce.
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  Speaker 1: We could take care of Mars in a month. It's
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  Speaker 1: all talk. The girl glanced at him. Don't be so sure.
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  Speaker 1: Mars is desperate. They'll fight tooth and nail. I've been
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  Speaker 1: on Mars three years, she shuddered. Thank goodness, I'm getting away.
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  Speaker 1: If prepare to land, the pilot's voice came. The ship
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  Speaker 1: began to settle, slowly dropping down toward the tiny emergency
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  Speaker 1: field on the seldom visited Moon. Down down, the ship dropped.
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  Speaker 1: There was a grinding sound, a sickening jolt, then silence.
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  Speaker 1: We've landed. The heavy set business man said, they'd better
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  Speaker 1: not do anything to us. Terra will rip them apart
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  Speaker 1: if they violate one space article. Please keep your seats,
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  Speaker 1: the pilot's voice came, No one is to leave the ship.
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  Speaker 1: According to the Martian authorities. We are to remain here.
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  Speaker 1: A restless stir filled the ship. Some of the passengers
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  Speaker 1: began to read uneasily. Others stared out at the deserted field,
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  Speaker 1: nervous and on edge, watching the three Martian pursuit ships
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  Speaker 1: land and discarage groups of armed men. The Martian soldiers
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  Speaker 1: were crossing the field, quickly moving toward them, running double time.
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  Speaker 1: The Inner Flight spaceship was the last passenger vessel to
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  Speaker 1: leave Mars for Terra. All other ships had long since left,
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  Speaker 1: returning to safety before the outbreak of hostilities. The passengers
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  Speaker 1: were the very last to go, the final group of
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  Speaker 1: Terrans to leave the grim red planet. Business men, expatriots, tourists,
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  Speaker 1: any and all Terrans who had not already gone home.
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  Speaker 1: What do you suppose they want? The young man said
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  Speaker 1: to the girl. It's hard to figure Martians out, isn't it.
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  Speaker 1: First they give the ship clearance, let us take off,
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  Speaker 1: and now they radio us to set down again. By
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  Speaker 1: the way, my name's Thatcher, Bob Thatcher. Since We're going
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  Speaker 1: to be here a while. The port lock opened, talking
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  Speaker 1: seized abruptly as every one turned. A black clad Martian official,
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  Speaker 1: a province leat, stood framed against the bleak sunlight, staring
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  Speaker 1: around the ship. Behind him, A handful of Martian soldiers
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  Speaker 1: stood waiting, their guns. Ready. This one take long, the
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  Speaker 1: leater said, stepping into the ship, the soldiers following him.
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  Speaker 1: You will be allowed to continue your trips. Shortly, an
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  Speaker 1: audible sigh of relief went through the passengers. Look at him.
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  Speaker 1: The girl whispered to thatcher, how I hate those black uniforms.
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  Speaker 1: He's just a provincial leiter. The thatcher said, don't worry.
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  Speaker 1: The leater stood for a moment, his hands on his hips,
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  Speaker 1: looking around at them without expression. I have ordered your
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  Speaker 1: ship grounded so that an inspection can be made of
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  Speaker 1: all persons aboard, he said. You Terrans are the last
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  Speaker 1: to leave our planet. Most of you are ordinary and harmless.
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  Speaker 1: I am not interested in you. I am interested in
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  Speaker 1: finding three saboteurs, three Terrans, two men and a woman,
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  Speaker 1: who have committed an incredible act of destruction and violence.
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  Speaker 1: They are said to have fled to this ship murmurs
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  Speaker 1: of surprise. And indignation broke out on all sides. The
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  Speaker 1: leater motioned the soldiers to follow him up the aisle.
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  Speaker 1: Two hours ago, a Martian city was destroyed. Nothing remains
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  Speaker 1: only a depression in the sand where the city was.
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  Speaker 1: The city and all its people have completely vanished. An
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  Speaker 1: entire city destroyed in a second. Mars will never rest
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  Speaker 1: until the saboteurs are captured, and we know they are
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  Speaker 1: aboard this ship. It's impossible, the heavy set business man said,
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  Speaker 1: there aren't any saboteurs here. We'll begin with you, the
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  Speaker 1: leat said to him, stepping up beside the man's seat.
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  Speaker 1: One of the soldiers past the leat a square metal box.
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  Speaker 1: This will soon tell us if you are speaking the truth.
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  Speaker 1: Stand up, get on your feet. The man rose, slowly, flushing.
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  Speaker 1: See here, are you involved in the destruction of the city?
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  Speaker 1: Answer the man swallowed angrily. I know nothing about any
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  Speaker 1: destruction of any city. And furthermore, he is telling the truth,
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  Speaker 1: the metal box said tonelessly. Next person the leater moved
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  Speaker 1: down the aisle. A thin, bald headed man stood up nervously. No, sir,
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  Speaker 1: he said, I don't know a thing about it. He
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  Speaker 1: is telling the troth the box affirmed, Next person, stand up.
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  Speaker 1: One person after another stood answered and sat down again
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  Speaker 1: in relief. At last, there were only a few people
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  Speaker 1: left who had not been questioned. The leater paused, studying
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  Speaker 1: them intently. Only five left. The three must be among you.
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  Speaker 1: We have narrowed it down. His hand moved to his belt.
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  Speaker 1: Something flashed a rod of pale fire. He raised the rod,
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  Speaker 1: pointing it steadily at the five people. All right, the
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  Speaker 1: first one of you, what do you know about this destruction?
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  Speaker 1: Are you involved with the destruction of our city? No,
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  Speaker 1: not at all, the man murmured, He asked, telling the troth.
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  Speaker 1: The box intoned. Next, nothing, I know nothing. I had
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  Speaker 1: nothing to do with it, Joe, the box said. The
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  Speaker 1: ship was silent. Three people remained, a middle aged man
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  Speaker 1: and his wife, and their son, a boy of about twelve.
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  Speaker 1: They stood in the corner, staring white faced at the leiter,
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  Speaker 1: at the rod in his dark fingers. It must be you,
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  Speaker 1: the leater grated, moving toward them. The Martian soldiers raised
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  Speaker 1: their guns. It must be you. You there, the boy,
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  Speaker 1: What do you know about the destruction of our city? Answer?
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  Speaker 1: The boy shook his head. Nothing, he whispered. The box
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  Speaker 1: was silent for a moment. He was telling the troth,
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  Speaker 1: it said reluctantly. Next. Nothing. The woman murmured nothing the Troth. Next,
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  Speaker 1: I had nothing to do with blowing up your city.
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  Speaker 1: The man said, You're wasting your time. It is the Troth,
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  Speaker 1: the box said. For a long time, the lead stood
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  Speaker 1: going with his rod. At last, he pushed it back
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  Speaker 1: into his belt and signaled the soldiers toward the exit lock.
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  Speaker 1: You may proceed on your trip, he said. He walked
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  Speaker 1: after the soldiers at the hatch. He stopped, looking back
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  Speaker 1: at the passengers, his face grim. You may go, but
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  Speaker 1: Mars will not allow our enemies to escape. The three
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  Speaker 1: saboteurs will be caught, I promise you. He rubbed his
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  Speaker 1: dark jaw thoughtfully. It is strange. I was certain they
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  Speaker 1: were on this ship. Again, He looked coldly around at
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  Speaker 1: the Terrans. Perhaps I was wrong. All right, proceed, but
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  Speaker 1: remember the three will be caught. Even if it takes
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  Speaker 1: endless years, Mars will catch them and punish them. I
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  Speaker 1: swear it. For a long time, no one spoke. The
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  Speaker 1: ship lumbered through space again, its jets firing evenly, calmly,
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  Speaker 1: moving the passengers toward their own planet. Toward home. Behind them,
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  Speaker 1: Demos and the red ball that was Mars dropped farther
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  Speaker 1: and farther away, each moment, disappearing and fading into the distance.
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  Speaker 1: A sigh of relief passed through the passengers. What a
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  Speaker 1: lot of hot air, that was, one, grumbled Barbarians, a
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  Speaker 1: woman said. A few of them stood up, moving out
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  Speaker 1: into the aisle, toward the lounge and the cocktail bar.
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  Speaker 1: Beside Thatcher. The girl got to her feet, pulling her
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  Speaker 1: jacket around her shoulders. Pardon me, she said, stepping past
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  Speaker 1: him going to the bar. Thatcher said, mind if I
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  Speaker 1: come along? I suppose not. They followed the others into
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  Speaker 1: the lounge, walking together up the aisle. You know Thatcher said,
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  Speaker 1: I don't even know your name yet. My name is
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  Speaker 1: Mara Garden. Mara, that's a nice name. What part of
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  Speaker 1: terror are you from? North America? New York? I've been
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  Speaker 1: in New York, Mara said. New York is very lovely.
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  Speaker 1: She was slender and pretty, with a cloud of dark
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  Speaker 1: hair tumbling down her neck against her leather jacket. They
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  Speaker 1: entered the lounge and stood undecided. Let's sit at a table,
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  Speaker 1: Mara said, looking around at the people at the bar
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  Speaker 1: mostly men. Perhaps the table over there, but someone's there already,
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  Speaker 1: Thatcher said. The heavy set business man had sat down
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  Speaker 1: at the table and deposited his sample case on the floor.
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  Speaker 1: Do we want to sit with him? Oh, it's all right,
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  Speaker 1: Mara said, crossing to the table. May we sit here?
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  Speaker 1: She said to the man. The man looked up, half rising.
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  Speaker 1: It's a pleasure, he murmured. He studied Thatcher intently. However,
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  Speaker 1: a friend of mine will be joining me in a moment.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure there's room enough for us all, Mara said.
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  Speaker 1: She seated herself, and Thatcher helped her with her chair.
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  Speaker 1: He sat down too, glancing up suddenly at Mara and
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  Speaker 1: the business man. They were looking at each other, almost
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  Speaker 1: as if something had passed between them. The man was
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  Speaker 1: middle aged, with a florid face and tired gray eyes.
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  Speaker 1: His hands were modeled, with the veins showing thickly. At
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  Speaker 1: the moment he was tapping nervously. My name's Thatcher, Thatcher
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  Speaker 1: said to him, holding out his hand, Bob Thatcher. Since
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  Speaker 1: we're going to be together for a while, we might
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  Speaker 1: as well get to know each other. The man studied
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  Speaker 1: him slowly. His hand came out. Why not my name's Ericson,
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  Speaker 1: Ralph Ericsson. Ericson. Thatcher smiled, you look like a commercial
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  Speaker 1: man to me. He nodded toward the sample case on
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  Speaker 1: the floor. Am I right? The man named Ericson started
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  Speaker 1: to answer, but at that moment there was a stir.
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  Speaker 1: A thin man of about thirty had come up to
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  Speaker 1: the table, his eyes bright, staring down at them warmly.
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  Speaker 1: Well we're on our way, he said to Ericson, Hello, maa.
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  Speaker 1: He pulled out a chair and sat down, quickly, folding
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  Speaker 1: his hands on the table before him. He noticed Thatcher
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  Speaker 1: and drew back a little. Pardon me, he murmured, Bob,
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  Speaker 1: Thatcher is my name. Thatcher said, I hope I'm not
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  Speaker 1: intring here. He glanced around at the three of them,
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  Speaker 1: Mara alert watching him intently. Have he set Ericson his
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  Speaker 1: face blank? And this person say? Do you three know
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  Speaker 1: each other? He asked? Suddenly there was silence. The robot
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  Speaker 1: attendant slid over soundlessly, poised to take their orders. Ericson
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  Speaker 1: roused himself. Let's see, he murmured, what will we have, Mara,
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  Speaker 1: whiskey and water? You Jan, The bright slim man smiled
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  Speaker 1: the same Thatcher gin and tonic whiskey and water for
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  Speaker 1: me also, Ericson said. The robot attendant went off. It
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  Speaker 1: returned at once with the drinks, setting them at the table.
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  Speaker 1: Each took his own well, Ericson said, holding his glass
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  Speaker 1: up to our mutual success. All drank Thatcher and the
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  Speaker 1: three of them, have you set? Ericson? Mara her eyes
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  Speaker 1: nervous and alert, Jan who had just come again. They
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  Speaker 1: looked past Between Mara and Ericson. They looked so swift
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  Speaker 1: that he would not have caught it had he not
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  Speaker 1: been looking directly at her. What line do you represent,
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  Speaker 1: mister Erickson, Thatcher asked. Erickson glanced at him, then down
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  Speaker 1: at the sample case on the floor. He grunted, Well,
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  Speaker 1: as you can see, I'm a salesman. Thatcher smiled. I
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  Speaker 1: knew it. You get so you can always spot a
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  Speaker 1: salesman right off by his sample case. A salesman always
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  Speaker 1: has to carry something to show what are you in? Sir?
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  Speaker 1: Ericson paused. He licked his thick lips, his eyes blank
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  Speaker 1: and lidded like a toad's. At last, he rubbed his
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  Speaker 1: mouth with his hand and reached down, lifting up the
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  Speaker 1: sample case. He set it on the table. In front
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  Speaker 1: of him. Well, he said, perhaps we might even show
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  Speaker 1: mister Thatcher. They all stared down at the sample case.
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  Speaker 1: It seemed to be an ordinary leather case with a
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  Speaker 1: metal handle and a SnapLock. I am getting curious, Thatcher said,
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  Speaker 1: what's in there? You're also ten diamonds stolen jewels, Jan
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  Speaker 1: laughed harshly, mirthlessly. Eric put it down. We're not far
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  Speaker 1: enough away yet. Nonsense, Eric rumbled, We're away. Jan please.
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  Speaker 1: Marra whispered, wait, Eric, wait, why what far you're all
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  Speaker 1: so accustomed to? Eric? Marra said. She nodded toward Thatcher.
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  Speaker 1: We don't know him, Eric, please, He's a terroran, isn't he?
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  Speaker 1: Erickson said, All Terrans are together in these times. He
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  Speaker 1: fumbled suddenly at the catch lock on the case. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: mister Thatcher, I'm a salesman. We're all salesmen, the three
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  Speaker 1: of us. Then you know each other, yes, Ericson nodded.
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  Speaker 1: His two companions sat rigidly staring down. Yes, we do. Here,
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  Speaker 1: I'll show you our line. End of section one SI