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"Way," free to do as they pleased. The universe around the "Way"
shivered with a concatenation of sounds. But nowhere that Diddy looked,
no doorway into which he peered, no building that he wandered through
with wide, fascinated eyesin spite of the presence of his companions
nowhere was there a sound that did not quickly fade away as he moved on.
Not once did they come to anything that even faintly resembled a barrier
type ventilator. If there were any threat to wandering Yevd, it was not
apparent. Doors stood wide open. He had hoped in a vague fashion that
the atmosphere of some closed room would be deadly for the enemy and not
for him. He found no such rooms. Worst of all, there was no sign of a
human being who might conceivably protect him from the Yevd, or even
suspect their presence. If only he could be sure that these two boys
were Yevd. Or weren't. Suppose they carried some deadly weapon capable
of causing tremendous damage to the ship? They came to a building half a
mile square. And Diddy grew suddenly hopeful. His companions offered no
objection as he walked through a huge door onto a causeway. Below them
was depth. From the causeway Diddy looked down at a dimly glowing world
of huge, cube-like structures. The top of the highest cube was at least
a quarter of a mile below the causeway, and it was blocked off by floor
after floor of plastic, so limpidly transparent that only a gleam here
and there revealed that there were many layers of hard, frustrating
matter protecting the wood above from the enormous atomic piles in that
colossal powerhouse. As he approached the center of the causeway, Diddy
saw as he had a few moments before hopefully expectedthat there was
somebody in a little transparent structure that jutted out from the
metalwork. A woman, reading. She looked up as the three of them came up,
Diddy in the lead. "Searching for the sound?" she asked in a friendly
tone. She added, "Just in case you don't knowI'm a Sensitive." The other
boys were silent. Diddy said that he knew The Play Square had told him
about Sensitives. They could anticipate changes in the flow of an atomic
pile. It had, he recalled, something to do with the way the calcium
content in their blood was controlled. Sensitives lived to a very old
age around a hundred and eightynot because of the jobs they had but
because they could respond to the calcium rejuvenation processes. The
memory was only a background to his gathering disappointment.
Apparently, she had no way of detecting the presence of a Yevd. For she
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gave no sign.
He'd better keep pretending that he was still interested in
the sound, which was true in a way. He said: "Those dynamos down there
would make quite a vibration, I guess."
"Yes, they would."
Diddy was suddenly intent, impressed but not convinced. "Still, I don't
see how it could make the big sound." She said: "You all seem like nice
boys. I'm going to whisper a clue into your ears. You first." She
motioned to Diddy. It seemed odd, but he did not hesitate. She bent
down. "Don't be surprised," she whispered. "You'll find a very small gun
under the overlapping edge of the metal sidewalk underneath the ship. Go
down escalator seven, and turn right. It's just on this side of a beam
that has a big H painted on it. Nod your head if you understand."
Diddy nodded.
The woman went on swiftly. "Slip the gun into your pocket. Don't use it
until you're ordered to. Good luck."
She straightened. "There," she said, "that should give you an idea."
She motioned to Jackie. "You next." The stocky boy shook his head. "I
don't need no clues," he said. "Besides, I don't want nobody whispering
anything to me."
"Nor me either," said Gil.
The woman smiled. "You mustn't be shy," she said. "But never mind. I'll
give you a clue anyway. Do you know what the word 'miasm' means?" She
spoke directly to Jackie.
"Mist."
"That's my clue, then. Miasm. And now you'd better be getting along. The
sun is due up a few minutes before six, and it's after two o'clock now."
She picked up her book and, when Diddy glanced back a few minutes later,
she looked as if she were a part of the chair. She seemed scarcely
alive, so still she was. But because of her, he knew. The situation was
as deadly as he had suspected. The great ship itself was in danger.
It was towards the ship that he headed.
Craig wakened suddenly to the realization that something had roused him,
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and that accordingly he must have slept. He groaned inwardly, and
started to turn over. If he only could sleep through this night. With a
start he grew aware that his wife was sitting on the edge of the bed. He
glanced at his illuminated watch. It was2:22 AM.
Oh, my gosh, he thought, I've got to get her back to bed.
ignx
"I can't sleep," said Veda.
Her voice had a whimper in it, and he felt sick. For she was worrying
like this about nothing. He pretended to be very thoroughly asleep.
"George."
Craig stirred, but that was all.
"George."
He opened one eye. "Darling, please."
"I wonder how many other boys are out tonight."
George turned over. "Veda, what are you trying to do keep me awake?"
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." Her tone was not sorry, and after a
moment she seemed to have forgotten she'd spoken the words. "George."
He did not answer.
"George, do you think we could find out?" He'd intended to ignore
further conversation, but his mind started to examine the possible
meaning of what she'd said. He grew astonished at the meaninglessness of
her words, and woke up.
"Find out what?" he said.
"How many there are?"
"How many what?"
"Boys outside tonight." Craig, who was weighed down by a far more
desperate fear, sighed. "Veda, I've got to go to work tomorrow." "Work!"
said Veda, and her voice had an edge in it. "Don't you ever think of
anything but work? Haven't you any feelings?" Craig kept his silence,
but that was not the way to get her back to her bed. She went on, her
voice several tones higher. "The trouble with you men is that you grow
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callous." "If you mean by that, am I worriedno, I'm not." That came
hard. He thought, I've got to keep this on this level. He sat up and
turned on the light. He said aloud, "Darling, if it gives you any
satisfaction you've succeeded in your purpose. I'm awake." "It's about
time," said Veda. "I think we ought to call up. And if you don't, I
will." Craig climbed to his feet. "O.K., but don't you dare hang over my
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