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A-W-F Unlimited
Frank Herbert, 1961
The morning the space armor problem fell into the agencys lap, !"en #$erest
had breakfast at her reg%lar resta%rant, an a%tomated single-niche place catering tobachelor girls& Her order popped o%t of the slot onto her table, and immediately the
tabletop pro'ecta-men% s"itched to selling (nterdormas ne"est (nterpreti$e Telelog&
)o%r o"n pri$ate dream translator* The secret companion to e$ery ne%rosis*
!"en stared at the inch-high "ords doing a skitter dance abo$e her fried eggs&+he had "ritten that copy& Her food beneath the ad looked s%ddenly tasteless& +he
p%shed the plate a"ay&
Along the speed"alk into anhattan a you-seeker, its roboflier senses
programmed to her s%sceptibilities, fle" beside her ear& (t "as selling a years s%pplyof !eramyl - the breakfast drink that helps yo% (.# longer*
(n s%dden anger, she t%rned on the roboflier, "hispered a code phrase she had"heedled from an engineer "ho ser$iced the things& The roboflier darted %p"ard in
s%dden erratic flight, crashed into the side of a b%ilding&
A small break in her control& A beginning&
Waiting for !"en along the pri$ate corridor to the +ingle-master, H%cksting and/attlemont e0ec%ti$e offices "ere displays from the recent eligion of the onth
2l%b campaign& +he ran a gam%t of adecals, layo%ts, slogans, pro'os, 3%artersheets,skinnies& The "orks&
+%bscribe no" and get these religions absol%tely F##* 2omplete te0t of the
/lack ass pl%s Abridged ysticism*
+he "as forced to "alk thro%gh an adecal anno%ncing4 5ont be Half +afe*/elie$e in #$erything* Are yo% s%re that African /ant% Witchcraft is not the Tr%e
Way
At the t%rn of the corridor stood a male-female graphic "ith flesh-stim%lant
skinnies and s%pered $oices, Find peace thro%gh Tantrism&
The skinnies made her flesh cra"l&
!"en fled into her office, sl%mped into her desk chair& With mo%nting horror, shereali7ed that she had either "ritten or s%per$ised the "riting of e$ery "ord,
prod%ced e$ery selling idea along that corridor&
The interphon on her desk emitted its fl%ted !ood morning& +he slapped the
blacko%t s"itch to keep-the instr%ment from prod%cing an image& The last thing she"anted no" "as to see one of her co-"orkers&
Who is it she barked&
!"en 8o mistaking that $oice4 Andre /attlement, bottom name on the agency
totem&
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What do yo% "ant she demanded&
%r !"enny is feeling nasty this morning, isnt she
h, Fre%d* +he slapped the disconnect, leaned for"ard "ith elbo"s on the desk,p%t her face in her hands& Let's face it, she tho%ght, I'm 48, unmarried, and a prime
mover in an industry that's strangling the universe. I'm a professional strangler.
!ood morning, fl%ted the interphon&
+he ignored it&
A strangler, she said&
!"en recogni7ed the basic problem here& +he had kno"n it since childhood& Her%ni$erse "as a contin%al replaying of The #mperors 8e" +%it& +he sa" the
nakedness&
!ood morning fl%ted the interphon&
+he dropped her right hand a"ay from her face, flicked the s"itch& 8o" "hat
5id yo% c%t me off, !"en
What if ( did
!"en, please* We ha$e a problem&
We al"ays ha$e problems&
/attlemonts $oice dropped one octa$e& !"en& This is a /ig problem&
Uncanny the way he can speak capital letters, she tho%ght& +he said4 !o a"ay&
)o%$e been lea$ing yo%r (nterdorma t%rned off* acc%sed /attlemont& )o%
m%stnt& 8e%rosis can creep %p on yo%&
(s that "hy yo% called me she asked,
f co%rse not&
Then go a"ay&
/attlemont did a thing then that e$eryone from +inglemaster on do"n kne" "asdangero%s to try "ith !"en #$erest& He p%shed the o$erride to send his image
dancing abo$e her interphon&
After the momentary flash of anger, !"en correctly interpreted the act as one ofdesperation& +he fo%nd herself intrig%ed& +he stared at the ro%nd face, the pale eyes
:definitely too small, those eyes;, the p%g nose and "ide gash of mo%th abo$ealmost no chin at all&
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)es*
+he mo$ed her right hand to"ard the interphons emergency disconnect& !ood-by, Andre&
!"en* y !od* )o% cant let me do"n at a time like this*
Why not
He spoke in breathless haste& Well raise yo%r salary& A bon%s& A bigger office&
ore help&
)o% cant afford me no", she said&
(m begging yo%, !"en& %st yo% ab%se me
+he closed her eyes, tho%ght4 he insects! he damned little insects with their
crummy emotions! "hy can't I tell them all to go to composite hell# +he opened hereyes, said4 Whats the militarys flap
/attlement mopped his forehead "ith a pastel bl%e handkerchief& (ts the +pace
+er$ice, he said& The female branch& The W+& #nlistments ha$e fallen to almostnothing&
+he "as interested in spite of herself& Whats happened
+omething to do "ith the space armor& ( dont kno"& (m so %pset&
Why ha$e they tossed it into o%r laps like this The %ltimat%m, ( mean&
/attlemont glanced left and right, leaned for"ard& The grape$ine has it theyre
testing a ne" theory that creati$e people "ork better %nder e0treme stress&
The
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What he "as doing on the prayer r%g "as practicing )oga breathing to calm thosener$es& The military co%ld "ait& They had to "ait& The fact that he faced the general
direction of ecca "as left o$er from t"o months before& )oga "as a month old&There "as al"ays some carry-o$er&
/attlemont had 'oined the eligion of the onth 2l%b almost a year ago - sed%cedby his o"n agencys deep moti$ation campaign pl%s the /rotherhood 2o%ncils seal of
appro$al& This month it "as the einspired 8eo-2%lt of +t Fre%d& A test adecals%perimposed itself on the clo%d-floor $ie" beneath him& (t began playing the latest
!"en-#$erest-inspired pitch of the (/a%sole%m& !iant rainbo" letters dancedacross the fleecy backgro%nd&
ake yo%r ad$ice immortal* et %s store yo%r $oice and tho%ght patterns ine$erlasting electronic memory circ%its* When yo% are gone, yo%r lo$ed ones may
listen to yo%r $oice as yo% ans"er their 3%estions e0actly the "ay yo% "o%ld mostlikely ha$e ans"ered them in ife*
/attlemont shook his head& The agency, fearf%l of its dependence on the li$e!"en #$erest, had secretly recorded her at a staff conference once& .ery illegal& The
%nions "ere death on it& /%t the (/a%sole%m had broken do"n "ith the first
3%estion p%t to !"ens ghost-$oice&+ome people ha$e tho%ght patterns that are too comple0 to permit acc%rate
psyche-record, the engineer e0plained&
/attlemont did not del%de himself& The sole geni%s of the agencys three o"nerslay in recogni7ing the geni%s of !"en #$erest& +he was the agency&
(t "as like riding the tiger to ha$e s%ch an employee& +ingle-master, H%ckstingand /attlemont had ridden this tiger for @@ years& /attlemont closed his eyes,
pitched her in his mind4 a tall, lean "oman, b%t "ith a certain grace& Her face "as
long, dominated by cold bl%e eyes, framed in "a$es of a%b%rn hair& +he had a "itthat co%ld slash yo% to ribbons, and that priceless commodity4 the geni%s to p%ll
selling sense o%t of %tter conf%sion& /attlemont sighed&
He "as in lo$e "ith !"en #$erest& Had been for @@ years& (t "as the reason hehad ne$er married& His (nterdorma e0plained that it "as beca%se he "anted to be
dominated by a strong "oman& /%t that only e0plained& (t didnt help&
For a moment, he tho%ght "istf%lly of +inglemaster and H%cksting both taking
their ann%al three-month $acation at the geriatrics center on ah%& /attlemont"ondered if he dared ask !"en to take her $acation "ith him& %st once&
8o&
He reali7ed "hat a pitif%l fig%re he made on the prayer r%g&
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ne cannot r%n a"ay from fate, he m%ttered&
That "as a carry-o$er from the Barma month&
According to !"en the agencys conference room had been copied from a
Florentine bordellos #mperor oom& (t "as a gigantic space& The corners "ere allflossy c%rli3%es in hea$y gilding an effect carried o$er into deep car$ings on the "all
panels& The ceiling "as a mating of 2ellini c%pids "ith 5ali landscapes&
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/eyond "ling sat eo
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director of coordination, said /attlemont&
Why* Thats a "onderf%l title* said !"en& ( m%st get it printed on my stationery&+he patted /attlements hand, faced him and, in her best %nderco$er-agent-going-
into-action $oice, said4 ets ha$e it, 2hief& Who are these people Whats going on
!eneral "ling nodded to !"en& (m "ling, !eneral, +pace #ngineers& He
gest%red to the rocket splash insignia on his sho%lder& y companion is !eneralFinnister, W+&
!"en had recogni7ed the famo%s Finnister face& +he smiled brightly, said4
!eneral Woms*
Finnister* snapped the female general&
)es, of co%rse, said !"en& !eneral Finnister Woms& %st not go too informal,yo% kno"&
Finnister spoke in slo" cadence4 ( &&& am &&& !eneral &&& +onnet &&& Finnister &&&of &&& the &&& Women &&& of &&& +pace* The W+*
h, ho" st%pid of me, said !"en& f co%rse yo% are& +he patted the generals
hand, smiled at /attlemont&/attlemont, "ho "ell kne" the falsity of this mood in !"en #$erest, "as trying to
scr%nch do"n o%t of sight in his chair&
(n that moment, !"en reali7ed "ith a t"inge of fear that she had reached apsychic point of no ret%rn& +omething slipped a cog in her mind& +he glanced aro%nd
the table& Familiar faces leaped at her "ith %nreal clarity& +taring eyes& :The bestpart of a conference "as to "atch !"en in action&; I can't take any more of this,
tho%ght !"en& I have to declare myself.
+he foc%sed on the military& The rest of the people in this room o"ned little pieces
of her, b%t not these t"o& "ling and Finnister& +pace generals& +ymbols& Targets*
Let the chips fall where they may! ire when ready, (ridley. %hoot if you must
this old gray head ... "ait until you see the whites of their eyes.
!"en nodded to herself&
ne misstep and the agency "as r%ined&
"ho cares#
(t all passed in a split second, b%t the decision "as made&
)e*ellion!
!"en t%rned her attention on "ling& Wo%ld yo% be kind eno%gh to end this
stalling aro%nd and get the meeting %nder "ay
+tall &&& "ling broke it off& The intelligence report had said !"en #$erest "as
fond of shock tactics& He ga$e her a c%rt nod, passed the nod to Finnister&
The female general addressed /attlemont& )o%r agency, as "e e0plained to yo%
earlier, has been chosen for a $ital task, r /attlefield&
/attlemont, said !"en&
Finnister stopped short& What
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His name is /attlemont, not /attlefield, said !"en&
What of it
8ames are important, said !"en& (m s%re yo% appreciate this&
The Finnister cheeks fl%shed& C%ite*
"ing stepped into the breach& We are a%thori7ed to pay this agency do%ble the%s%al fee for performance, he said& Ho"e$er, if yo% fail %s "ell draft e$ery male
employee here into the +pace ser$ice
What an asinine idea* said !"en& %r people "o%ld destroy the +pace +er$ice&
From "ithin& Again she smiled at /attlemont&
Andre here co%ld do it all by himself& 2o%ldnt yo%, d%cky +he patted
/attlemonts cheek&
/attlemont tried to cro%ch farther do"n into the chair& He a$oided the eyes of the
space brass, said 4 !"en &&& please&
What do yo% mean, destroy the +pace +er$ice demanded Finnister&
!"en ignored her, addressed "ling& This is another one of the
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(ts the space armor, said Finnister& Women dont like it&
Too mechanical, said "ling& Too practical&
We need &&& ah &&& glamor, said Finnister& +he ad'%sted the brim of her cap&
!"en fro"ned at the cap, cast a glance %p and do"n the Finnister %niform& ($e
seen the %s%al ne"s pict%res of the armor, she said& What do they "ear %nderneathit +omething like yo%r %niform
Finnister s%ppressed a s%rge of anger& 8o& They "ear special fatig%es&
The armor cannot be remo$ed "hile they are in space, said "ling&
h said !"en& What abo%t physical f%nctions, that sort of thing
Armor takes care of e$erything, said "ling&
Apparently not uite e$erything, m%rm%red !"en& +he nodded to herself, m%llingtactics&
/attlemont straightened, sniffed the atmosphere of the conference room& +taff all
alert, 3%iet, attenti$e& ood had lightened some"hat& !"en appeared to be takingo$er& !ood old !"en& Wonderf%l !"en& 8o telling "hat she "as %p to& As %s%al&
+hed sol$e this thing, tho%gh& Al"ays did& Unless &&&
He blinked& 2o%ld she be toying "ith them He tried to imagine !"ens tho%ght
patterns& (mpossible& (/a%sole%m co%ldnt e$en do it& Unpredictable& All /attlemontco%ld be certain of "as that !"en "o%ld get a gigantic belly la%gh from the pict%re
of the agencys male staff members drafted, sla$ing a"ay on space freighters&
/attlemont trembled&
!eneral Finnister "as saying4 =The problem is not one of getting "omen to enlistfor #arth-based ser$ice& We need them in the ships, the asteroid stations, the &&&
ets get this straight, said !"en& y great-great-grandmother "as in some kindof armed ser$ice& ( read her diary once& +he called it the ="hackies= or something
like that&
WA2+, said Finnister&
)es, said !"en& (t "as d%ring the "ar "ith +pain&
apan, said "ling&
What (m dri$ing at is, "hy all the s%dden interest in "omen y great-great-grand-mother had one merry old time r%nning a"ay from some colonel "ho
"anted &&& Well, yo% kno"& (s this some kind of a dodge to pro$ide "omen for yo%rspace colonels
Finnister sco"led her blackest&C%ickly s%ppressed ch%ckles so%nded aro%nd the table&
"ling decided to try a ne" tack& y dear lady, o%r moti$es are of the highest&We need the abilities of "omen so that mankind can march side by side to the stars&
!"en stared at him in open admiration& !o-"an* she said&
( mean it, said "ling&
)o%re a poet* said !"en& h &&& and ($e "ronged yo%& Here ( "as - dirty-
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minded me - thinking yo% "anted "omen for base p%rposes& And all the time yo%"anted companions. +omeone to share this glorio%s ne" ad$ent%re&
Again, /attlemont recogni7ed the danger signals& He tried to s3%ee7e himself into
as small a target as possible& ost of the staff aro%nd the table sa" the same
signals, b%t they "ere intent, fascinated&
#0actly* boomed Finnister&
!"ens $oice er%pted in an angry snarl4 And "e name all the little bastards afterthe stars in .irgo, ehhh
(t took a long moment for Finnister and "ling to see that they had been g%lled&Finnister started to rise&
+iddo"n* barked !"en& +he grinned& +he "as ha$ing a magnificent time&ebellion carried a sense of e%phoria&
"ling opened his mo%th, closed it "itho%t a ho"l&
Finnister sank back into her chair&
+hall "e get do"n to b%siness snapped !"en& ets look at this glorified h%nk
of tin yo% "ant %s to glamori7e&
Finnister fo%nd something she co%ld foc%s her shocked attention on& +pace armoris mostly plastic, not tin&
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most hideo%s thing ($e e$er seen&
Well of all the-
Are yo% a fashion designer asked !"en politely&
Finnister shook her head as tho%gh to clear it of cob"ebs&
)o% are not a fashion designer pressed !"en&
Finnister bit the "ords off& ( ha$e had some e0perience in choosing -
The ans"er is no, then, said !"en& Tho%ght so& +he bro%ght her attention backto the folder, t%rned a page&
Finnister glared at her in open-mo%thed rage&
!"en glanced %p at "ling& Whyd yo% p%t the finger on this agency
"ling appeared to ha$e tro%ble foc%sing his attention on "ens 3%estion&
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and temperat%re, he said& (t cant be made any smaller and still permit a h%manbeing to fit into it&
kay, said !"en& ( ha$e the beginnings of an idea&
+he closed her eyes, tho%ght4 hese military erks are a couple of sitting ducks.
/lmost a shame to pot them. +he opened her eyes, glanced at /attlemont& His eyes
"ere closed& He appeared to be praying& 0ould *e the ruination of poor /ndre andhis lovely people, too, she tho%ght& "hat a marvelous collection of professionalstranglers! "ell, can't *e helped. "hen (wen 1verest goes out, she goes out in a
*la2e of glory! /ll flags flying! ull speed ahead! $amn the torpedoes!
Well said "ling&
ire one! tho%ght !"en& +he said4
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pro*lem. 3o pro*lem could resist her. 3o pro*lem would dare!
!eneral "ling had become a !"enophile&
.ery "ell, then, snarled Finnister& ( "ill reser$e my '%dgment&
!eneral Finnister had become a !"enophobe&
Which "as part of !"en #$erests program&
( pres%me yo% t"o "ill be a$ailable for technical cons%ltations from time to time,said !"en&
%r s%bordinates take care of details, said "ling& All !eneral Finnister and ( are
interested in is the big pict%re, the key to the p%77le&
/ig pict%re, key to p%77le, m%sed !"en& Wonderf%l idea&
What "ling stared at her, p%77led&
8othing, said !"en& %st thinking o%t lo%d&
"ling stood %p, looked at Finnister& +hall "e be going=
Finnister also stood %p, t%rned to"ard the door at the end of the room& )esss*Together, one on each side of the table, they inarched the length of the room4
t%mp-a-th%mp-a-t%mp-a-th%mp-a-t%mp &&& %st as they reached the door and "ling
opened it, !"en '%mped to her feet& 2harrrge* she sho%ted&
The t"o officers fro7e, almost t%rned, tho%ght better of it& They left, slamming the
door&
/attlemont spoke plainti$ely into the silence& !"en, "hy do yo% destroy %s
5estroy yo% 5ont be silly*
/%t, !"en &&&
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Uhh &&&
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Ahhh, perhaps "ed better "ait for iss #$erest, said /attlemont& +he is bringinga solido pro'ector&
)o% ha$e mock%ps already asked "ling&
)es&
!ood* Ho" many models
ne& %r receptionist& /ea%tif%l girl&
What Finnister and "ling in %nison&
h* )o% mean &&& that is, "e ha$e the one to sho" yo%& (t is really t"o &&& b%t only
one of &&& He shr%gged, s%ppressed a sh%dder&
Finnister and "ling looked at each other&
/attlemont closed his eyes& (wen, please hurry. He tho%ght abo%t her sol%tion to
the military problem, began to tremble& Her basic idea "as so%nd, of co%rse& !oodpsychological roots& /%t the military "o%ld ne$er go for it& #specially that female
general "ho "alked like a sergeant& /attlemonts eyes snapped open as he heard adoor open&
!"en came in p%shing a portable display pro'ector& A glance of m%t%al dislikepassed bet"een !"en and Finnister, "as masked by m%t%al bright smiles
immediately&
!ood morning, e$erybody, chirped !"en&
$anger signal! tho%ght /attlemont& %he's mad! %he's &&& He stopped the tho%ght,
foc%sed on it& 5ay*e she is. "e work her so hard.
An0io%s to see "hat yo% ha$e there, said "ling& %st getting ready to ask for aprogress report "hen yo% called this meeting&
We "anted to ha$e something first that yo% co%ld appreciate as an engineer, said!"en&
"ling nodded&
Finnister said4 %r people report that yo%$e been $ery secreti$e abo%t yo%r
"ork& Why
The $ery "alls ha$e ears& oose lips lose the
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Finnister nodded, her dislike of !"en s%bmerged in attention to the "ords&
They "ant se$eral things, said !"en& They "ant tra$el &&& ad$ent%re &&& theknight errant sort of thing& Tally-ho*
/attlement, Finnister and "ling snapped to shocked attention&
!i$es yo% pa%se "hen yo% think abo%t it, m%rm%red !"en& All those "omenlooking for something& ooking for the free ride& The brass ring& The pot at the end of
the rainbo"&
+he had them nodding again, !"en noted& +he raised her $oice4 The old caro%sel*
The 'ingle-dingle 'oy 'o%rney*
/attlement looked at her sadly& 5ad. &hhh, my poor, poor (wenny.
"ling said4 ( &&& %h &&&
/%t they all "ant one commodity* snapped !"en& And "hats that omance*
Thats "hats that& And in the %nconscio%s mind "hats that romance That romanceis se0*
( belie$e ($e heard eno%gh, said Finnister&
8o, said "ling& ets %h &&& this is all, (m s%re, preliminary& ( "ant to kno"
"here &&& after all, the model &&& models they$e de$eloped &&&
Whats "ith se0 "hen yo% get all the folderol off it demanded !"en& The
psychological roots& Whats do"n there
"ling scratched his throat, stared at her& He had a basic distr%st of s%b'ecti$e
ideas, b%t he al"ays came smack %p against the fear that maybe :'%st maybe no";they "ere correct& +ome of them appeared :and it co%ld be appearance only; to
"ork&
(ll tell yo% "hats do"n there, m%ttered !"en& otherhood& Home& +ec%rity
"ith a man& The flag&
"ling tho%ght4 It all sounds so sensi*le ... ecept.,&
And "hat does yo%r armor do asked !"en& Armor e3%als no amo%r* Theyrelocked %p in dese0ed ch%nks of metal and plastic "here no men can get at them&
!reat Fre%d* en cant e$en see them in there*
Women dont really want men to get at them* barked Finnister& f all the
disg%sting ideas ($e e$er -
%st a min%te* said !"en& A normal "oman al"ays "ants thepossi*ility. Thats
"hat she "ants& And she "ants it %nder her control& )o%$e eliminated the possibility&)o%$e taken all control o%t of their hands, p%t yo%r "omen at the mercy of the
elements, separated from cold, masc%line, ang%lar A/U
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armor appeared to be hanging in the center of the room& (n the s%it, "earing a form-fitting 'acket, stood the agencys b%sty receptionist& The s%it of armor aro%nd her
"as transparent from the "aist %p&
The bottom half remains opa3%e at all times, said !"en& For reasons of
modesty &&& the connections& Ho"e$er, the top half &&&
!"en p%shed another st%d& The transparent %pper half faded thro%gh gray toblack %ntil it concealed the model&
For pri$acy "hen desired, said !"en& Thats ho" "e$e %sed the ne" m%table
plastic& !i$es the girl some control o$er her en$ironment&
Again, !"en p%shed the first st%d& The %pper half of the model reappeared&
Finnister gaped at the form-fitting %niform&
!"en stood %p, took a pointer, gest%red in thro%gh the pro'ection& This %niform
"as designed by a leading co%t%rier& (t is made to re$eal "hile concealing& A "oman"ith only a fair fig%re "ill appear to good ad$antage in it& A "oman "ith an e0cellent
fig%re appears st%nning, as yo% can see&
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Finnister said4 (f yo% think yo% can stop me from going thro%gh "ith o%r threat,diss%ade yo%rself& (m perfectly a"are that yo% had that %ni &&& that clothing designed
to make me look hideo%s*
Why not asked !"en& ( "as only doing to yo% "hat yo% did to $irt%ally e$ery
other "oman in the W+&
!"en* pleaded /attlemont in horror&
/e still, Andre, said !"en& (ts '%st a matter of timing, any"ay& Today&Tomorro"& 8e0t "eek& 8ot really important&
h, my poor !"enny, sobbed /attlemont&
( "as going to "ait, said !"en&
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/%t ( "o%ld, said !"en& +he smiled at him&
/attlemont t%gged at "ens arm& +he shook him off&
(t "o%ld r%in me, "hispered "ling&
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( told yo% they "ere f%77y-heads, said !"en&
)o% be still, !"en, said /attlemont&
)es, Andre&
Well, "hatre "e going to do demanded "ling&
( tell yo% "hat, said /attlemont )o% lea$e %s alone, "e lea$e yo% alone&
/%t "hat abo%t my enlistments "ailed Finnister&
)o% think o%r !"en, sick or "ell, cant sol$e yo%r problems asked /attlemont&For yo%r enlistments yo% %se the program as o%tlined&
( "ont*
)o% "ill, said "ling&
!eneral "ling, ( ref%se to ha$e &&&
What happens if ( ha$e to d%mp this problem on the !eneral +taff asked
"ling& Where "ill the head-chopping start (n the
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( didnt "ant to h%rt anyone here, Andre& nly those t"o -
)es, yes& ( kno"& )o%re all mi0ed %p&
Thats tr%e& +he felt like crying& +he hadnt cried &&& since &&& she co%ldntremember "hen& )o% kno", she said, ( cant remember e$er crying&
Thats it* said /attlemont& ( cry all the time& )o% need a stabili7ing infl%ence& )o%need someone to teach yo% ho" to cry&
Wo%ld yo% teach me, Andre
Wo%ld ( &&& He "iped the tears from his eyes& )o% are going on a $acation&
(mmediately* ( am going "ith yo%&
)es, Andre&
And "hen "e ret%rn -
( dont "ant to come back to the agency, Andre& ( &&& cant&
+o thats it* said /attlemont& The ad$ertising b%siness* (t b%gs yo%*
+he shr%gged& (m &&& ( '%st cant face another campaign& ( &&& '%st &&& cant&
)o% "ill "rite a book, anno%nced /attlemont&
What
/est therapy kno"n, said /attlemont& 5id it myself once& )o% "ill "rite abo%t the
ad$ertising b%siness& )o% "ill e0pose all the dirty tricks4 the hypno-'ingles, thes%b$is%al flicker images, the ad$ertisers "ho finance te0tbooks to get their sell into
them, the "omb rooms "here the you-seekers are programmed& #$erything&
( co%ld do it, she said&
)o% "ill tell all, said /attlemont&
Will (*
And yo% "ill do it %nder a pse%donym, said /attlemont& +afer&
When do "e start the $acation, Andre
Tomorro"& He e0perienced a moment of his old panic& )o% dont mind that (m &&&
%gly as a pig
)o%re '%st bea%tif%l, she said& +he smoothed the hair across his bald spot& )o%dont mind that (m smarter than yo%
Ah, hah* /attlemont dre" himself to attention& )o% may be smarter in the head,my darling, b%t yo% are not smarter in the heart*