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voice was a little harsh, as if he spoke about something of which he
disapproved. You must have guessed it by now.
I think I d like to hear whatever it is from you any of you if you don t
mind, Ett said.
We understand, of course, saidWilson , smoothly. It s simple enough.
You re one of the rare successes of RIV, Mr. Ho. You re now an R-Master.
A hidden shock tore Ett internally, but he kept his face expressionless. It
was as if a tiger had leaped upon him from the underbrush that had hidden it
until this moment.
I take it& he heard his voice as if it was someone else speaking, you know
what you re talking about?
Wilsonlooked past Lopayo, who had begun to open his mouth, to Carwell.
Dr. Carwell? he said.
Oh, we do, said Carwell, hastily. There s no doubt. We re absolutely sure.
How do you feel?
No different than I ever did, Ett told him.
Well, that s natural, very natural, said Carwell. But I meant, how do you
feel physically?
A little creaky.
Good. Carwell nodded. That s natural too. Very natural. You can t do
better than that particularly if it s just a little creaky. I hope you mean
that. There s no need to be brave, you know.
I know, said Ett, dryly. I said a little and I mean a little .
He looked at them all. None spoke. It was as if they were waiting for him to
make some sort of adjustment on the basis of what they had just assured him
had happened. But it was too soon for any such adjustment. Ett s survival
instincts had already shoved the shock of confirmed discovery to the back of
his mind, to be examined in full at some safer, later time. For now, all his
attention was given to betraying as little in the way of reaction as possible,
so as to let slip nothing that could later be used against him.
Maybe somebody better tell me more about what s happened to me, he said. I
remember being given a sort of general briefing earlier; but nobody prepared
me for what I ought to expect if I turned into an R-Master. How about telling
me now?
Oh, it s far too soon to start briefing you on that Carwell was beginning,
when Lopayo cut him short.
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Nonsense, Morgan, said the Clinic Chief. Mr. Ho is presumably able to
understand the whole process better now there was something almost malicious
in his tone of voice. Besides, he can ask any questions he likes, and by law
we ve now got an obligation to answer them. Isn t that correct, Councilman?
Not really& not just yet, saidWilson , beaming. Not until he s legally
under the Sponsorship of the Council, as all R-Masters are required to be. We
should get that little bit of business out of the way, first.
He turned to Ett, as if in appeal.
May I call you Etter?
He prefers Mr. Ho, said Carwell.
I m a public figure now, I suppose, Ett said. Go ahead and call me Etter
if you want.
Etter, you d prefer getting the paperwork out of the way as soon as
possible, wouldn t you?
Paperwork?
The confirmation of your new status. Wilson s smile widened a little and
then returned to its standard width. You ve got two choices, you see.
Two choices, Ett said. What choices?
Well, you see, Wilson folded his hands on his knees, you can choose to
become simply a Ward of the Earth Council, or you can be a working citizen,
with an Earth Council passport and extraterritoriality.
What s the difference?
Just one thing work, saidWilson . As one of the unusually successful
results of the RIV program, you can simply live as you like, at EC expense,
from now on; the Earth Council will shoulder all your life expenses. Or you
can live as you like but also work for the EC, either at some problem we d
like you to attack or at something you choose yourself. As a ward of the EC,
in the first place, you have equal protection and perquisites, plus you ll be
delegated whatever authority you need to do the work in which you re active.
The word authority inWilson s voice seemed to ring with an almost reverent
echo. Also, to Ett s ear, there seemed something very like a faint note of
condescension in the words he was hearing. Condescension? To an R-Master? If
that was really what he now was. But there had never been anything wrong with
his hearing.
I suppose I could choose a category now and change it later? he asked.
Oh, certainly, saidWilson . Of course, later it might take a little time
and trouble to make the changeover. Red tape, you know.
I think I d rather be a worker, said Ett.
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