John Brunner – Jagged Orbit

“It burned me! That’s a new one! They must have got wise to people cracking the capsules.”

“Is it serious? Has it left a mark?” Lyla was instantly solicitous.

Dan inspected his forefinger, licked it, and finally shrugged. “No real harm done-just a few volts shorted through the paper, I guess. But from now on I open their envelopes with Schoos on so I can crack ’em under my heel!” He scanned the letter he had withdrawn from the envelope. “And it’s only what you expected, a reminder to pay up or send back the Lar.”

“Which are we going to do?”

“I guess we’d better make our minds up later, don’t you? After all, it did get us this booking at the Ginsberg, and that’s a breakthrough, you know. I asked around, and apparently this is the first time they ever engaged a pythoness. It could be very big. In fact I-”

There was a loud bang on the door. Lyla spun around. Realizing she had forgotten to wind down the hundred-kilo barrier again, she dived for her yash. It was a good one; it had been dreadfully expensive, but as Dan had truthfully pointed out it was insisted on by her insurers. Heavy and clumsy though it was, the guarantee did promise protection against solid shot up to 120 grams, laser-beams up to 250 watts and virtually all kinds of acid.

“Who the hell?” Dan muttered, and strode over to set the deadfall catch on the over-door barrier. That atto, he shouted, “Yes, who is it?”

“Morning!” the invisible caller replied. “Or afternoon, rather! My name’s Bill and I’m your new neighbor in Apt Ten-W. Sorry to disturb you, but I understand you lack a citidef group on this block! Well, of course nowa-here the voice dropped solemnly by half an oc-“in a district like this one never knows when the knees may choose to strike. So I thought I’d be public-spirited and all that sort of garbage and see what I could do to whip up interest in organizing a group.”

“Another Gottschalk?” Lyla whispered to Dan. He nodded.

“Lay you fifty in favor. And pretty raw, too. I’d even make bets on what he’ll say next.”

The voice from outside resumed. “You see, I happen to have some contacts which can get me the necessary at very favorable prices, such as guns for a mere sixty-three with maker’s warranty, gas of assorted types at prices as low as three-fifty the liter-”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Lyla said wearily, letting fall her yash.

“Want me to ask you in?” Dan shouted with a wink at her.

“Well, naturally, if you’d care to discuss my pro.!” The voice was suddenly tinged with opti

“Sure! Come right ahead! There’s only a hundred-kilo deadfall to stop you.”

There was an interlude of silence. With cheerfulness that was now distinctly forced, the Gottschalk said, “Ah-I guess maybe if you’re busy right now the best thing

I can do is leave some literature in your comweb slot. Be seeing you, friends.”

“Tell him some knees took over the apt,” Lyla sugsoftly. Dan shook his head.

“No point. This one may sound like an idiot, but the Gottschalk pollies are much too smart to turn a new recruit loose without going over the ground for him first.” Glancing at his watch, he added, “Hey, we’d betmove. I don’t recall you eating last night, so I’ll have to get some breakfast down you on the way to the GinsI sure as hell don’t want you fainting during the show.”

Humidity index in New York in excess of previous high for the current date, a factor ascribed by officials to the effect of the city’s five and a half million air-conditioners. The insurrection probability index slipping ahead of schedule into what is nicknamed “the sweaty season downturn” (for which heartfelt thanks among those who were half afraid they might not get one this year). Over most of the eastern seaboard of North America a warm close summer day with slight precipn inland areas. Snow on high ground in South Island, New Zealand. Owing to information transmitted from the Bureau of State and Federal Relations comat the Immigration Dept. this morning had to ease the reading on the Morton Lenigo application south of the fifty-fifty line but simultaneously and for the same reason computers at ISM canceled their sweaty season downturn weightings. The new government of Trinidad Tobago broke off diplomatic relations with (in order of importance) South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the USA. The kneeblank city council of Washington DC ignored the thirty-third request from the DAR to remove the paint from the fa‡ade of the Black House.

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