Sawbill nodded. He was halfway out of the room.
“One other thing,” Herrera said hurriedly. “I’ve never met one of you before. Tell me, is it true what they say about you Emomen?”
“What do they say about us Emomen?”
“That you haven’t any true emotions of your own? That you’re so tied up in playing God that you’ve lost your own capacity to feel? That your humanity’s atrophied?”
“Oh, there’s no doubt about it,” said Sawbill. He closed the door quietly behind him.
68
Space Opera
Sometimes a science-fiction story is the coming together of seemingly diverse elements. You may have one idea which in itself is insufficient on which to hang a story. And another, seemingly unrelated idea.
Unrelated? Listen, in science fiction, everything relates. Including a preoccupation with the less intellectual aspects of current daytime entertainment, the arrogance of humanity, and the relaxed indifference of that rare personality who just wants to get on with the job at hand.
Put them all together and you’ve got a …
The biggest drawback in the gleaming functional desk, Commander Cleve reflected, was its damnable impervi-ousness. Since it was composed of diamondlike silicone plastic, his nails could only scrape futilely across the smooth surface, and at the moment, he was in the mood to mark something,
On the other side of the desk, Lieutenant Vander-
69
WITH: FRIENDS LIKE THESE . ..
meer shifted slightly in his seat. He recognized the commander’s mood and was uncomfortably aware of the convenient target he made for any localized mayhem the commander might choose to commit.