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.Cemp was gratefully realising how he had been protected by the SpecialPeople.It seemed to him that if he had suspected the truth at any moment before being taken behind theGenerated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlenergy screen that now guarded him  the false Tem would probably have tried to annihilate him.Baxter was speaking again.'You sit down here, and let's see what the computer makes of the one signalyou received.'The computer extrapolated three structural frames that might fit the false Tem.Cemp and Baxter studiedthe coded messages with amazement, for they had not actually considered anything beyond an unusual Vframe.All three formulated structures were alien.A quick analysis established that two of the three did notrequire secrecy on the part of so powerful a being as the invader undoubtedly was.Therefore, the thirdframe, involving a gruesome form of esoteric sex climaxed by the ritual murder of one partner by theother, like spiders, was the most likely.Baxter's voice had in it the desire not to believe.'That picture of their needing a lot of love objects couldthat be real?' He finished in a subdued tone, 'I'll alert all Silkies, mobilise our other forces  but can youdo anything at once?'Cemp, who had already adjusted his sensory system to include all three alien frames, was tense andafraid.He said, 'I ask myself where he would go, and of course, it would be to my home.Do you thinkJoanne would have got there yet? Was she supposed to head somewhere else?'He saw that Baxter was shaking his head.Cemp hurried through a door that led to a wide balcony, transformed to Silkie, and did a partial cut-offof gravity combined with control of magnetic force lines.a man in a far greater hurry than he had everbeen in before.VIE ENTERED the large house by the sea in his human form, the better to run the last few yards andHmaneuver in corridors.And because he had adjusted to the alien sensory structure, his arrival was onlypartially signaled.He found Joanne in the master bedroom, half-undressed.She had never seemed more attractive.Her smile, warm and inviting and friendly, drew him.She was insome state of excitement that communicated itself to him, stirring an impulse so basic that it was as if afine, translucent sheath dropped over his senses, blurring his view of reality.The woman, almostluminescent in a fleshy radiance, lay on the pink bed, and his whole being focused on her.For a longmoment, nothing else existed.They were two people intensely in love.Breathless, astounded by that hideous instant power, Cemp put his thought on the possible fate of thereal Joanne, put his attention on fear for her and broke the spell.The rage, hate, and violence that had been building up in him broke through.But the magnetically controlled radiation that Cemp launched at the creature crackled harmlessly againsta magnetically controlled energy screen.Frothing, he plunged at the being, grabbed at him with his bareGenerated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlhands.For seconds they grappled, the almost nude woman and the wholly naked Cemp.Then Cemp was flungback by muscles that were ten times stronger than his own.He bounded to his feet, but he was sobered, thinking again.He began to consider the entire problem ofEarth in relation to this creature and the threat it represented.The duplicate of Joanne was changing.The body in front of him became that of a man with the frillyclothes of a woman's underdress still draped around his hips, but there was nothing feminine in hismanner.Eyes blazing with the infinite violence potential of the male, the entity locked gazes with Cemp.Cemp was feeling a desperate anxiety about his wife, but it did not even occur to him to ask this creatureabout her.He said, instead, 'I want you to leave.We'll communicate with you when you're a million milesout in space.'The handsome human face of the other broke into a disdainful smile.'I'll go.But I sense in you a plan tolearn from me where I come from.That will never happen.'Cemp replied in a level tone, 'We'll see what two thousand Silkies can get out of you.'The being's skin glistened with health, shone with confidence and power.He said, 'Perhaps I shouldinform you that we Kibmadine have achieved a total control of all the forces that Silkies control onlypartially.'Cemp said, 'Many rigidities can envelop one flexibility.'The other said in an uncompromising voice, 'Don't attack me.The price would be too high.'He started to turn away [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]