happens to you.' He added in a low voice, 'You're too valuable to us to do something terminal.' Again, and this time with harsh firmness, he took hold of her arm. 'Come on; let's go downstairs to your office – it'll do you good to get wrapped up in your work, and I'll just sit quietly, not interfering. After work tonight, I'll fly you up to L.A. to Spingler's for dinner; I know you like sea food.' He guided her toward the door of the office.
She thought, I'll get away. You're not that smart, Jonas; sometime today, perhaps tonight. I'll lose you and go to Cheyenne. Or rather, she thought with nausea and an upsurge of her former terror, I'll lose you, dump you, slip away from you in the labyrinth that's the night city of Tijuana, where all kinds of things, some of them terrible, some of them wonderful and full of beauty, happen. Tijuana will be too much for you. It's almost too much for me. And I know it fairly well; I've spent so much of my time, my life, in Tijuana at night.
And look how it's worked out, she thought bitterly. I wanted to find something pure and mystical in life and instead I wound up spliced to people who hate us, who dominate our race. Our ally, she thought. We ought to be fighting them; it's clear to me now. If I ever get to see Molinari alone at Cheyenne – and maybe I will – I'll tell him that, tell him we have the wrong ally and the wrong enemy.
'Mr Ackerman,' she said, turning urgently to Virgil. 'I have to go to Cheyenne to tell the Secretary something. It affects all of us; it has to do with the war effort.'
Virgil Ackerman said drily. Tell me and I'll tell him. There's a better chance that way; you'll never get to see him ....ot unless you're one of his bambinos or cousins.'
'That's it,' she said. 'I'm his child.' It made perfect sense to her; all of them on Terra were children of the UN Secretary. And they had been expecting their father to lead them to safety. But somehow he had failed.
Unresistingly, she followed Jonas Ackerman. 'I know what you're doing,' she said to him. 'You're using this opportunity, with Eric away and me in this terrible state, to take sexual advantage of me.'
Jonas laughed. 'Well, we'll see.' His laugh, to her, did not sound guilty; it sounded sleekly confident.
'Yes,' she agreed, thinking of the 'Star policeman Corning. 'We'll see how lucky you are in making out with me. Personally I wouldn't bet on it.' She did not bother to remove his big, determined hand from her shoulder; it would only reappear.
'You know,' Jonas said, 'if I didn't know better, I'd say from the way you've been acting that you're on a substance which we call JJ-180.' He added, 'But you couldn't be because there's no way you could get hold of it.'
Staring at him Kathy said, 'What—' She couldn't go on.
'It's a drug,' Jonas said. 'Developed by one of our subsidiaries.'
'It wasn't developed by the reegs?'
'Frohedadrine, or JJ-180, was developed in Detroit, last year, by a firm which TF&D controls called Hazeltine Corporation. It's a major weapon in the war – or will be when it's in production, which will be later this year.'
'Because,' she said numbly, 'it's so addictive?'
'Hell no. Many drugs are addictive, starting with the opium derivatives. Because of the nature of the hallunications it causes its users.' He explained, 'It's hallucinogenic, as LSD was,'
Kathy said. Tell me about the hallucinations.'
'I can't; that's classified military information.'
Laughing sharply, she said, 'Oh God – so the only way I could find out would be to take it.'
'How can you take it? It's not available, and even when it's in production we wouldn't conceivably under any circumstance allow our own population to use it – the stuff's toxic!' He glared at her. 'Don't even talk about using it; every test animal to which it was administered died. Forget I even mentioned it; I thought Eric had probably told you about it – I shouldn't have brought it up, but you have been acting strangely; it made me
She thought, I'll get away. You're not that smart, Jonas; sometime today, perhaps tonight. I'll lose you and go to Cheyenne. Or rather, she thought with nausea and an upsurge of her former terror, I'll lose you, dump you, slip away from you in the labyrinth that's the night city of Tijuana, where all kinds of things, some of them terrible, some of them wonderful and full of beauty, happen. Tijuana will be too much for you. It's almost too much for me. And I know it fairly well; I've spent so much of my time, my life, in Tijuana at night.
And look how it's worked out, she thought bitterly. I wanted to find something pure and mystical in life and instead I wound up spliced to people who hate us, who dominate our race. Our ally, she thought. We ought to be fighting them; it's clear to me now. If I ever get to see Molinari alone at Cheyenne – and maybe I will – I'll tell him that, tell him we have the wrong ally and the wrong enemy.
'Mr Ackerman,' she said, turning urgently to Virgil. 'I have to go to Cheyenne to tell the Secretary something. It affects all of us; it has to do with the war effort.'
Virgil Ackerman said drily. Tell me and I'll tell him. There's a better chance that way; you'll never get to see him ....ot unless you're one of his bambinos or cousins.'
'That's it,' she said. 'I'm his child.' It made perfect sense to her; all of them on Terra were children of the UN Secretary. And they had been expecting their father to lead them to safety. But somehow he had failed.
Unresistingly, she followed Jonas Ackerman. 'I know what you're doing,' she said to him. 'You're using this opportunity, with Eric away and me in this terrible state, to take sexual advantage of me.'
Jonas laughed. 'Well, we'll see.' His laugh, to her, did not sound guilty; it sounded sleekly confident.
'Yes,' she agreed, thinking of the 'Star policeman Corning. 'We'll see how lucky you are in making out with me. Personally I wouldn't bet on it.' She did not bother to remove his big, determined hand from her shoulder; it would only reappear.
'You know,' Jonas said, 'if I didn't know better, I'd say from the way you've been acting that you're on a substance which we call JJ-180.' He added, 'But you couldn't be because there's no way you could get hold of it.'
Staring at him Kathy said, 'What—' She couldn't go on.
'It's a drug,' Jonas said. 'Developed by one of our subsidiaries.'
'It wasn't developed by the reegs?'
'Frohedadrine, or JJ-180, was developed in Detroit, last year, by a firm which TF&D controls called Hazeltine Corporation. It's a major weapon in the war – or will be when it's in production, which will be later this year.'
'Because,' she said numbly, 'it's so addictive?'
'Hell no. Many drugs are addictive, starting with the opium derivatives. Because of the nature of the hallunications it causes its users.' He explained, 'It's hallucinogenic, as LSD was,'
Kathy said. Tell me about the hallucinations.'
'I can't; that's classified military information.'
Laughing sharply, she said, 'Oh God – so the only way I could find out would be to take it.'
'How can you take it? It's not available, and even when it's in production we wouldn't conceivably under any circumstance allow our own population to use it – the stuff's toxic!' He glared at her. 'Don't even talk about using it; every test animal to which it was administered died. Forget I even mentioned it; I thought Eric had probably told you about it – I shouldn't have brought it up, but you have been acting strangely; it made me
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