Asimov, Isaac Trantorian Empire 02 The Stars Like Dust

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daughter. He entered the widening door, with a respectful, At your service, my 1-- and then his knees
buckled under the weight which came down upon his shoulders, while his words were cut off, without
even an interrupting squawk, by the forearm which slammed against his larynx.
Artemisia closed the door hurriedly and watched with sensations that amounted almost to nausea.
The life in the Palace of the Hinriads was mild almost to decadence, and she had never before seen a
man s face congest with blood and his mouth yawn and puff futilely under the influence of asphyxia. She
looked away.
Biron bared his teeth with effort as he tightened the circle of bone and muscle about the other s
throat. For a minute the guard s weakening hands ripped futilely at Biron s arm, while his feet groped in
aimless kicks. Biron heaved him clear of the floor without relaxing his grip.
And then the guard s hands fell to his sides, his legs hung loosely, and the convulsive and useless
heavings of the chest began to subside. Biron lowered him gently to the floor. The guard sprawled out
limply, as though he were a sack which had been emptied.
Is he dead? asked Artemisia, in a horrified whisper.
I doubt it, said Biron. It takes four or five minutes of it to kill a man. But he ll be out of things
for a while. Do you have anything to tie him up with?
She shook her head. For the moment, she felt quite helpless.
Biron said, You must have some Cellite stockings. They would do fine. He had already
stripped the guard of weapons and outer clothing. And I d like to wash up too. In fact, I have to.
It was pleasant to step through the detergent mist in Artemisia s bathroom. It left him perhaps a
trifle over-scented, but the open air would take care of the fragrance, he hoped. At least he was clean,
and it had required merely the momentary passage through the fine, suspended droplets that shot past
him forcefully in a warm air stream. No special drying chamber was required, since he stepped out dry as
well as clean. They didn t have this on Widemos, or on Earth.
The guard s uniform was a bit tight, and Biron did not like the way the somewhat ugly, conical
military cap fit over his brachycephalic head. He stared at his reflection with some dissatisfaction. How
do I look?
Quite like a soldier, she said.
He said, You ll have to carry one of these whips. I can t handle three.
She took it between two fingers and dropped it into her bag, which was then suspended from her
wide belt by another microforce, so that her hands remained free.
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We had better go now. Don t say a word if we meet anyone, but let me do the talking. Your
accent isn t right, and it would be impolite to talk in my presence unless you wore directly addressed,
anyway. Remember! You re a common soldier.
The guard on the floor was beginning to wriggle a bit and roll his eyes. His wrists and ankles
were securely tied in a clump at the small of his back with stockings that had the tensile strength of more
than an equal amount of steel. His tongue worked futilely at his gag.
He had been shoved out of the way, so that it was not necessary to step over him to get to the
door.
This way, breathed Artemisia.
At the first turning there was a footstep behind them, and a light hand came down on Biron s
shoulder.
Biron stepped to one side quickly and turned, one hand catching the other s arm, while his other
snatched at his whip.
But it was Gillbret who said, Easy, man!
Biron loosened his grip.
Gillbret rubbed his arm. I ve been waiting for you, but that s no reason to break my bones. Let
me stare admiringly at you, Farrill. Your clothes seem to have shrunk on you, but not bad--not bad at all.
Nobody would look twice at you in that getup. It s the advantage of a uniform. It s taken for granted that
a soldier s uniform holds a soldier and nothing else.
Uncle Gil, whispered Artemisia urgently, don t talk so much. Where are the other guards?
Everyone objects to a few words, he said pettishly. The other guards are working their way
up the tower. They ve decided that our friend is on none of the lower levels, so they ve just left some
men at the main exits and at the ramps, with the general alarm system in operation as well. We can get
past it. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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