WE Read Online Free PDF Page B

right ear. He could feel nothing there. The tiny scar was long gone.
    â€˜The unkindest cut of all. You were taken away from all the thousands of people you were connected with. On other stations in the solar system, the World Ear networks are maintained and can link, albeit with some loss of performance, with those on Earth. Here, because of certain local effects, that is not possible. For communication wemust rely on speech. And your human acquaintance will from now on be limited to just us, your three colleagues.’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜My question, Paul, is this. Did you consent?’
    Consent? Paul thought.
    The first answer that jumped into his head was ‘Yes’. Positive feedback. He had expected all the things that the man had listed. He had accepted that they were going to happen to him. He opened his mouth to say it.
    Then he stopped. ‘Consent’ had a specific meaning. When one party on Earth proposed a course of action which a second had the means to prevent, positive feedback from the second party was
necessary
before the action could occur. That was ‘consent’. In his case, of course, no feedback had been required. Therefore …
    Therefore ‘No’ was the answer.
    But ‘No’ was not the answer. It implied rejection and resistance. That was wrong. That was not what had happened. Confused, he put his hand to his head.
    Then he covered his face.
    He must answer. May had said he must not just say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. He saw now why she had said that.
    If he had been on Earth it would have been simple! He could have shown it to them: the enormous effort of the project – the demands made on engineers, physicists,biologists, medics, therapists, telemetrists, astronomers; the organization of wealth and time; the dedication of that priceless astronomical window: the ramifications that went on and on in all directions, drawing power and expertise together into one great push focused on getting his body – his and his alone – to the farthest place that man had ever reached. That justified everything he had ever been. That was all the explanation that should have been needed!
    Consent? His lifetime was just one out of all the lifetimes’ worth that had been expended. He had the required qualifications. He had the resilience. His exceptionally low therapy usage was a matter of record. Even when he had shown the proposal to Her, and had shared her pain and understanding that all their plans were gone for good, he had not had to resort to the standard therapies accessible through his World Ear. She had, but he had not. Not then.
    Now he did not have them any more.
    â€˜It … was best,’ he managed.
    â€˜You saw that there was a need,’ said the man at once. ‘We had lost one of our number and you understood why the replacement should be you. But you had to pay a price. Did you consent?’
    â€˜It was best,’ Paul repeated.
    â€˜But did you consent?’
    â€˜Is this necessary?’ said the woman’s voice.
    Paul could not see her. He had put his hand in front of his eyes again. He knew that if he removed his hand, he still would not be able to see.
    â€˜Paul,’ said the man, ‘can you tell me?’
    His eyes were hot. His cheeks were wet. Something in him wanted to choke. He remembered this.
    â€˜Stop!’ said the woman suddenly. ‘Stop it! He’s not ready!’
    He remembered this. He remembered a word spoken to him. ‘Normal,’ he gasped. ‘Normal.’
    â€˜Oh, we know about tears,’ said the man softly.
    After a moment he added: ‘I’m sorry, Paul. But I’m not surprised. Not at all. I want you to remember that I asked if you had consented. And that you
could not
answer me.’
    â€˜I’ve made the coffee,’ said May brightly. ‘How do you like it?’
    And then: ‘Is he all right?’

IV
    T he aim was to study the gas