Null-A Three Read Online Free PDF

conversation. Thus, even as he came to his feet, and as he straightened, he was turning slightly. And looking.
    What his eyes sought, then, was a view of the capsule from which his “bed” had been ejected. Exactly what he expected in that purposeful action of looking, was not obvious to his inner self. And so, several seconds went by before the huge thing that was there, registered.
    His first impression was that he was looking at a special wall with an unusual door that seemed to lead into a darkened area. And it took several seconds for his mind to adjust to the reality that the darkened area was the inside of the capsule.
    . . . A long, big, rectangular object with—he noted—a metal casing. Seeing the twenty foot height, and—he estimated—forty foot long container, was instantly reassuring. Because one of his mental hang-ups had been: even if there was equipment for re-processing the wastes of a living creature, where was the the storage space for all the liquid that would be needed for even one humansized body?
    In a way, it still didn’t look big enough. But maybe—he analyzed—that was the best the Games Machine on earth had been able to do before it was destroyed.
    As he turned once more to face the men in the laboratory, it seemed as if part two of his purpose should not be delayed. And so, remembering that Gosseyn Two. . . out there . . . had offered help in an emergency, the third Gosseyn decided to take the time for the precaution that would make that possible.
    So he looked down, now at the floor, slightly off to one side—where there was a clear space—and mentally “photographed” it in the twenty decimal fashion.
    Without pausing to see what his captors were doing, he half-turned toward the “bed” section. Looked down at it. And in the same way made the detailed picture in his mind that constituted twenty decimal duplication.
    Since all his actions had taken place within the time of one minute, it was obvious to Gosseyn that what he had done was not really well considered. But the reality—so it seemed—was that here in this capsule and its ancillaries was his home territory. And it could be that there were things here that would later be useful, even vital, to his survival.
    His defensive acts completed, he glanced now, finally, towards Voice One and, beyond, Voice Two. As he did so, there was an interruption: “Your excellency—” it was Voice Three, speaking from the ceiling—“may I say something urgent?”
    There was a pause. Then, also from the ceiling: “For what purpose?” Voice Four spoke in an even tone.
    “Sir, the prisoner’s brain manifested an unusual configuration of energy flows, according to our instruments.”
    “You mean—-just now?”
    “Yes, excellency.”
    Pause. Then: “Well, prisoner, what did you do?” Voice Four spoke in a demanding sharp tone.
    To Gosseyn it was one of those special moments when the science of General Semantics was needed in its drabbest fashion.
    Accordingly, he said, “Sir, as I climbed off the couch on which, as you know, I had been at rest for an indeterminate time, and to which I had been attached until I was released a very short time ago, my first interest was in the craft that, according to the words spoken by your aides during the past many minutes, has been a transport for my body. I had, and have, no recollection of ever having seen this craft which the words I overheard described as a capsule found floating in space. So I gazed at it out of genuine curiosity. Then I turned my attention to the couch itself. And that’s it, sir. In both instances, I was extremely interested. Perhaps, this registered on your dials in some excessive way.”
    Even as he was speaking the elaborately evasive explanation, Gosseyn found himself progressively unhappy with the necessity for doing so. Although the long-winded explanation-type-of-thing was, in a negative fashion within the frame of General Semantics, and definitely a technique, a