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to determine whether it could be compensated for by the programmer.
A tiny beep, sensed in he inner ear, advised that the programmer
had completed the requested compensation. Ganz stepped forward, hand
extended toward the doorway. He hand slipped away, repelled by thin air. Ganz
scowled, and with a glance each way down the corridor, applied he
shoulder to the invisible barrier. He pushed carefully. He felt the
resistance of the door only for an instant; then he staggered as the force of
his push was deflected to the side.
Ganz cursed silently. (
Jeaves-copy
)
(
Acknowledged. Did you succeed
?)
(
No
,) he snapped. (
Did you
?)
The ship hesitated before answering. (
A security robot has gone offline. That may be his location. And
Thalia Sharaane has disappeared in the same sector
.)
It was possible, then, that Ruskin was already performing his
mission. But Ganz had to know.
There was a sound in the hallway. Ganz whirled. A young woman raced down the
corridor toward him. She stopped at an intersection just short of Ganz,
hesitated a moment, seeming not to see Ganz, then turned to her left and
raced away.
Ganz remained motionless only for an instant. Then he leaped to follow
the woman. She was the one he had seen with Ruskin back in the Kantano
system, and just a short time ago in the observers lounge. If anyone was
going to lead him to Ruskin, it was this woman. He ran
quickly, silently. (
Jeaves-copy, can you help with this door-code
?)
(Trying. It s difficult; it s an n-space manipulator.)
Ganz saw the woman disappear to the right out of the corridor. (Don t give me
excuses for failure, robot. I m following the woman. If I lose her, I could
lose everything.)
The wall on Ganz s right shimmered, and he came to a halt. Another
NO ADMITTANCE
Page 169
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
message winked at him. Ganz thrust a hand at the doorway, and it
was repelled as before.
Coldly, suppressing anger, he began trying one more time to break the code.
 Sir may I ask what you are doing? A young man was approaching
from behind he, looking suspicious. The young man spoke into a small
communications device, speaking too softly for Ganz to hear.
Straightening, Ganz smoothed his blouse, blurred his appearance by gentle
stages, enough to confuse, not enough to draw attention to the process.  Sir,
I fear that I have lost my way. I
was certain that this was the way I had passed before, but  Ganz
gestured at the half-reflective doorway in exasperation.  As you can see 
 Yes, the young man said.  It says, No Admittance. You are not permitted to
go that way.
You are wearing a brown bracelet, sir. You must stay in the observers areas.
 Yes, yes, Ganz murmured.  I have only just arrived on the
station. Perhaps you could direct me  He waved his hand in apparent
befuddlement.
The young man s expression was wary. Ganz judged that his story was not
believed. That was too bad; but perhaps not entirely. The young man
was wearing a bracelet of iridescent silver. That could be useful.
 Sir, I think you d better come with me to the security station, the man
said.
 Oh, but is that wholly necessary? Ganz asked, extending a hand,
palm up, toward the man. A tiny puff of vapor jetted toward the man s face
from an orifice in Ganz s middle finger.
 I m afraid  The man choked in midphrase and fell to the floor, clutching his
throat. He trembled for a moment, then was still.
Ganz wasted no time. Bending over the body, he flicked out a cauterizing
molecular knife blade, sliced the man s hand off cleanly at the wrist, and
removed the security bracelet. As he straightened, he focused mentally for
an instant, then directed another puff of vapor at the body and
stepped away quickly.
The corpse lasted as such for perhaps four seconds. Consumed as though by the
air itself, it collapsed inward and turned to a fine mist. Then the
mist became transparent and disappeared, vanishing into the air and
into the floor as carbon dioxide, water, ammonia, and a thin soup of
other elements. Ganz sniffed the faint pungency in the air, noted
with satisfaction that no trace of the young man remained, and turned his
attention to the bracelet. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]