‘All right,’ he said, his teeth on edge. ‘All right. Just remember that you asked me for it. If you don’t like it, tough tibby – it’s not my fault. I’m going to use this ship and everybody on it to set things straight. The warmongers, the blue-noses, the fuzz, the snobs, the squares, the bureaucrats, the Uncle Toms, the Birchers, the Fascists, the rich-bitches, the… everybody who’s ever been against anything is going to get it now, right in the neck. I’m going to tear down all the vested interests, from here to Tokyo. If they go along with me, okay. If they don’t, blooey! If I can’t put them to sleep I can blow ’em up. I’m going to strike out for freedom for everybody, in all directions, and all at once.There’ll never be a better chance. There’ll never be a better weapon than this ship. And there’ll never be a better man than me to do it.’
His voice sank slightly. The dream was catching hold. ‘You know damn well what’d happen if I let this ship get taken over by the Pentagon or the fuzz. They’d suppress it – hide it – make a weapon out of it. It’d make the cold war worse. And the sleep gadget – they’d run all our lives with it. Sneak up on us. Jump in and out of our pads. Spy. All the rest. Right now’s our chance to do justice with it. And that by God is what I’m going to do with it!’
‘Why you?’ Jeanette said. Her voice sounded very remote.
‘Because I know what the underdog goes through. I’ve gone through it all. I’ve been put down by every kind of slob that walks the Earth. And I’ve got a long memory. I remember every one of them. Every one. In my mind, every one of them has a front name, a hind name, and an address. With a thing like this ship, I can track every man jack of them down and pay them off. No exceptions. No hiding. No mercy… just justice. The real, pure simple thing.’