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.""Don't let that stop you getting the point," Alan said."Know what Ilike about my job, Phil? They talk all the time about the businessman, theentrepreneur, being an 'enemy of mankind' and all that shit, and it is shit! Imean, if anyone has a reason to hate society and want to screw it up, it oughtto be me, right?" He held up his bullet-scarred hand."But Idon't.I got my chance to grow fat-least, it looks like that's what'shappening-and do I have to be ashamed of how I do it? I do not.HereI am offering a product people really want, really need, and into the bargaincreating jobs for people who'd otherwise be on relief.True or false?""Well, sure," Philip said, blinking.Especially the point about new jobs.Unemployment throughout the nation was at an all-time high this summer, and onthis side of Denver it was particularly bad and would remain so until theyfinished the modifications to the hydroponics plant and hired back theirformer six hundred workers.That too was naturally rebounding to the benefit of ProsserEnterprises.Anyone with an ounce of wit could be taught to fit thesepurifiers in an hour."Well, then!" Alan said gruffly, and swiveled his chair to face the windowoverlooking the street."Say, there's another bunch of kids.City's alive with them today.Where they all coming from?"Across the street a group of about eight or ten youngsters-more boys thangirls-had paused to jeer at the man washing the slogan off the clothing store."Yes, I saw a whole lot of them getting off a bus at the Trailways terminal,"Philip agreed."Must have been-oh-nearly thirty.They asked me the way to theTowerhill road.""Looks like this lot is heading the same way," Alan muttered."Wonder what the big attraction is.""You could run over and ask them.""Thanks, I don't care that much.Say, by the way: how come you're sortingthese letters yourself? What became of that girl we hired for you?"Philip sighed."Called in to apologize.Sore throat.She could barely talk onthe phone.""Ah, hell.Remind me, will you? Top priority on filters for the homes of ourstaff.See if we can cut the sickness rate a bit, hm? Charity begins at homeand all that shit." He leafed curiously through a few of the letters."Howmany of these are genuine orders and how many are junk?""I guess we're running ten to one in favor of genuine ones.""That's great.That's terrific!"The door opened again and Dorothy entered, a sheaf of pages from a memo pad inone hand, a handkerchief in the other with which she was wiping her nose."More inquiries all the time," she said."Another thirty this morningalready.""This is fantastic!" Alan said, taking the papers from her.From outside therecame a rumble of heavy traffic, and Dorothy exclaimed."What in the world are those things?"Page 119 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlThey glanced up.Pausing at the comer before making a left towardTowerhill, a string of big olive-drab Army trucks, each trailing something onfat deep-cleated tires from which protruded a snub and deadly-looking muzzle.But not guns."Hell, I saw those on TV!" Alan said.They're the new things they're tryingout in Honduras-they're battle-lasers!""Christ, I guess they must be!" Philip jumped up and went to the window for acloser look."But why are they bringing them up here?Maneuvers or something?""I didn't hear they were planning any," Alan said."But of course nowadays youdon't.Say! Do you think all these kids coming into town might have got windof maneuvers and decided to screw them up?""Well, it's the kind of damn-fool thing they might do," Philip agreed."Right.In which case they deserve what's coming to them."Absently Alan rubbed the back of his scarred hand."Wicked-looking, aren'tthey? Wouldn't care to be in the way when they let loose.And speaking ofletting loose-excuse me!"He rushed from the room.IF IT MOVES, SHOOT IT&that the Army is using defoliants in Honduras to create free-fire zones.Thischarge has been strongly denied by thePentagon.Asked to comment just prior to leaving for Hawaii, where he willconvalesce for the next two or three weeks, Prexy said, quote, Well, if youcan't see them you can't shoot them.End quote.Support has been growing for abill which Senator RichardHowell will introduce at the earliest opportunity, forbidding the issue of apassport to any male between sixteen and sixty not in possession of a validdischarge certificate or medical exemption.Welcoming the proposal, a Pentagon spokesman today admitted that of the lastclass called for the draft more than one in threefailed to report.Your steaks are going to cost you more.This warning wastoday issued by the Department of Agriculture.The price of animal fodder hasquote taken off like a rocket unquote, following the mysterious&A PLACE TO STAND"A lady and a gentleman to see you, Miss Mankiewicz," said the hotelreception-clerk.He was Puerto Rican and adhered to the old-fashionedformalities."I don't know if you're expecting them?""Who are they?" Peg said.She sounded nervous, knew ft, and wasn't surprised.During the previous few weeks she had initiated a very tricky venture, and shewas sure that for the past ten days at least someone had been following her.It wasn't beyond the bounds of possibility that she had broken one of theincreasingly complex disloyalty laws.The situation was beginning to resemblethat in Britain during the eighteenth century: any new law involving a harsherpunishment for a vaguer crime was certain of passage throughCongress and instant presidential approval.Granted, Canada wasn't yet a proscribed country.But at this rate it wouldn'tbe long&"A Mr.Lopez," the clerk said."And a Miss Ramage.Uh-Ra-maige?"Peg's heart seemed to stop in mid-beat.When she recovered she said, "Tellthem I'll be right down.""They say they'd prefer to come up.""Whatever they want."When she put down the phone her hand was trembling.She'd pulled all kinds ofstrings recently, but she hadn't expected one of them to draw Lucy Ramage toher.Incredible!Page 120 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlHastily she gathered up some soiled clothing scattered on her bedand thrust it out of sight.The ashtrays needed emptying, and& Well, it was aropy hotel anyhow.But she couldn't afford a better one.Thirty bucks a daywas her limit.She'd come to New York because she had a project on her mind.As she'd told Zena, she had only one talent, and right now the logical use toput it to seemed to be muckraking.So she'd asked herself a key question: whatwas the most important muck? (Actually she had phrased it, subconsciously, interms of what Decimus had hated most.But it came to the same in the end.)It almost answered itself: "Do unto others& "Very well, the starting point would be that claim of ProfessorQuarrey's, which had been in the news at the beginning of the year, that thecountry's greatest export was noxious gas
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