A. E. van Vogt by The Weapon Shops of Isher

Author:The Weapon Shops of Isher [Isher, The Weapon Shops of]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-01-25T22:37:47+00:00

CHAPTER XII

lucy rall emerged from the government ‘stat booth, and she was hurrying through an alcove when she caught a glimpse of herself in an energy mirror. She stopped. The outside lights beckoned. The sidewalks were aglow with a brightness that defied the night. But she stood there in front of the reverse image of herself and stared at her pale face and tensed eyes.

She had always thought of herself as goodlooking, but the face that confronted her was too drawn to be pretty. She thought, “Is that what Mr. Hedrock saw?”

Out on the street, finally, she walked uncertainly along. She had made her call from a booth in one of the gambling palaces and the flashing brilliance of the famous Avenue of Luck was unabated. Magic street still, alive with swarms of human moths fluttering from one light source to another. The lights themselves blazed day and night, but the crowds would gradually fade away as the darkness of the upper skies waned. It was time for her also to go home. But she lingered in an unnatural indecision, knowing she could do nothing, wondering what she could do. The inner conflict drained her strength and twice within an hour she paused for energy drinks.

There was something else, also, a sense of personal disaster. She had always taken it for granted that she would eventually marry a weapon shop man. All through school and college, when her own application for membership. was already approved, she had considered all others—the ordinary people—as outsiders. She thought with a piercing comprehension, “It was that moment on the ship when he was in trouble. I was sorry for him.”

He was in deeper trouble now. If she could possibly locate the house he had been taken to, she would—what? Her mind paused. She felt astounded at the forcefulness of the idea that came. Why, it was ridiculous. If she went to one of these places she would have to go through with an illusion, mentally and physically.

It seemed to her, shakily, that the weapon shops would separate her from their organization for even considering such a thing. But when her mind automatically flashed back over the fine print of the documents she had signed, she couldn’t recall any prohibition. In fact, some of the sentences, as she remembered them, were positively sensational when examined in her present situation:

“… Weapon Shop people may marry according to their desire…participate in, or partake of, any vice or pleasure of Isher for personal reasons…There are no restrictions on the use made of a member’s spare time by the member…

“It is, of course, taken for granted that no member will wish to do anything that might harm his or her standing with the Pp machine … as everyone has been clearly told…periodic examinations by the Pp will determine the status of a member’s continuance with the shops…”In the event that a member is discovered to have fallen below the requirements in any vital degree, the weapon shops will relieve

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