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their appearance, she might have been taken for Kilby s sister.
Halder told them what had occurred in Draise, concluded,  I d believed that
suspicion was more likely to center first on one of you. Particularly, of
course, on Santin, working openly in Orado s Identification Center.
Santin grinned.  And, less openly, copying out identity-patterns! she added.
Her face sobered quickly again.  There s no indication of what did attract
attention to you?
Halder shook his head.  I can only think it s the microbiological work I ve
been doing. That, of course, would suggest that they already have an inkling
of Kalechi s three-year plan to destroy the Federation.
Rane added,  And that at least one of the group -already has been captured!
 Probably.
There was silence for a moment. Santin said evenly,  That isn t a pleasant
thought. Halder, everything we ve learned recently at the Identification
Center indicates that Rane s theory is correct . . . every one of the twelve
hundred members of the Kalechi group probably can be analyzed down to the same
three basic identity-patterns, reshuffled in endless variation. The Federation
wouldn t have to capture many of us before discovering the fact. It will then
start doing exactly what we re trying to do use it to identify the rest of the
group.
Halder nodded.  I ve thought of that.
 You still intend to use the Senla Starlight Cruisers to get out into space?
Rane asked.
 Kilby and I will, Halder said.  But now, of course, you two had better
select one of the alternate escape routes.
 Why s that? Santin asked sharply.
Halder looked at her.  That s obvious, isn t it? There s a good chance you re
still completely in the clear.
 That s possible. But it isn t a good enough reason for splitting up. We re a
working team, and we should stay together, regardless of circumstances. What
do you say, Rane?
Her husband said,  I agree with you. He smiled briefly at Halder.  We ll be
waiting for you on the north shore of Lake Senla ten minutes before the
Starlight Cruise lifts. Now, is there anything else to discuss?
 Not at the moment. Halder paused, dissatisfied, then went on.  All right. We
still don t know just what the Federation is capable of . . . one move might
as easily be wrong as the other. We ll pick you up, as arranged. Kilby and I
are flight-hiking on to Senla, so we might as well start immediately.
They went into the second room of the underground hideout. Rane turned to the
exit portal s controls, asked,  Where shall I let you out?
 We ll take the river exit, Halder said.  Six miles from here, nine from the
ranch . . . that should be far enough. We ll be lost in an army of vacationers
from Draise and the capital thirty seconds after we emerge.
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It was dusk when Halder and Kilby turned into the crowded shore walk of the
lake resort of Senla, moving unhurriedly towards a bungalow Halder had bought
under another name some months before. Halder s thoughts went again over the
details of the final stage of their escape from Orado. Essentially, the plan
was simple. An hour from now they would slide their small star cruiser out of
the bungalow s yacht stall, pick up Rane and Santin on the far shore of the
lake, then join the group of thirty or so private yachts which left the resort
area nightly for a two-hour flight to a casino ship stationed off the planet.
A group cruise was unlikely to draw official scrutiny even tonight; and after
reaching the casino, they should be able to slip on unobserved into space.
There was, however, no way of knowing with certainty that the plan . . . or
any other plan . . . would work. It was only during the past few months that
the four of them had begun to understand in detail the extent to which the
vast, apparently loose complex of the Federation s worlds was actually
organized. How long they had been under observation, how much the Federation
suspected or knew about them those questions were, at the moment,
unanswerable. So Halder walked on in alert silence; giving his attention to
anything which might be a first indication of danger in the crowds surging
quietly past them along Senla s shore promenade in the summer evening. It was
near the peak of the resort s season; a sense of ease and relaxation came from
the people he passed, their voices seeming to blend into a single,
low-pitched, friendly murmur. In time, Halder told himself, if everything went
well, he and Kilby might be able to mingle undisguised, unafraid, with just
such a crowd. But tonight they were hunted.
He laid his hand lightly on Kilby s arm, said,  Let s rest on that bench over
there for a moment.
She smiled up at him, said,  All right, turned and led the way towards an
unoccupied bench set back among the trees above the walk. They sat down, and
Halder quickly slipped the watch off his wrist and removed the scanner s cover
plate. The bungalow was a few hundred yards away now, on a side path which led
down to the lake. It was showing no lights, but as the scanner reached into
it, invisible radiation flooded the dark rooms and hallway, disclosing them to
the instrument s inspection. For two or three minutes, Halder studied the
bungalow s interior carefully; then he shifted the view to the grounds
outside, finally to the yacht stall and the little star cruiser. Twice Kilby
touched him warningly as somebody appeared about to approach the bench, and
Halder put down his hand. But the strangers went by without pausing.
At last, he replaced the instrument on his wrist. He had discovered no signs
of intrusion in the bungalow; and, at any rate, it was clear that no one was
waiting there now, either in the little house itself or in the immediate
vicinity. He stood up, and put out his hand to assist Kilby to her feet.
 We ll go on, he said.
A few minutes later, they came along a narrow garden path to the bungalow s
dark side entrance. There was to be no indication tonight that the bungalow
had occupants. Halder unlocked the door quietly, and after Kilby had slipped
inside, he stepped in behind her and secured the door.
For an instant, as they moved along the short, lightless passage to the front
rooms, a curious sensation touched Halder a terrifying conviction that some
undefinable thing had just gone wrong. And with that, his whole body was
suddenly rigid, every muscle locking in mid-motion. He felt momentum topple
him slowly forwards; then he was no longer falling but stopped, tilted
off-balance at a grotesque angle, suspended in a web of forces he could not
feel. Not the slightest sound had come from Kilby, invisible in the blackness
ahead of him.
Halder threw all his will and strength into the effort to force motion back
into his body. Instead, a wave of cold numbness washed slowly up through him.
It welled into his brain, and for a time all thought and sensation ended.
His first new awareness was a feeling of being asleep and not knowing how to
wake up. There was no disturbance associated with it. All about was darkness,
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complete and quiet.
With curious deliberation, Halder s senses now began bringing other things to
his attention. He was seated, half reclining, in a deep and comfortable chair, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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