Reliance can sure as hell tromp our butts. And if you're going to run around telling them right where to find us . . ."
"Relax already, David," RJ said lightly. "The man was a midget."
"So?" David obviously saw no significance in this."What's a mij-jet?" He fumbled over the unfamiliar word.
RJ looked at him in disbelief. "Are all civilians so ignorant? A midget is a little person."
"So. It's a little person," he shrugged. He didn't believe in fairy stories.
"Why do you think you don't know what a midget is? Can't you ever just put two and two together?"
"A work unit's ability to think is not overly important to a Reliance overlord. I think I do pretty well considering that I didn't have anywhere near the education that you had. I didn't get the breaks that you did . . ."
"Excuse me, ass-bite, but in my job I got shot at . . ."
"Just tell me the significance of this man being a midget."
RJ nodded. He was right. The key to the Reliance's power was ignorance. They gave the people just enough knowledge to do the jobs the Reliance wanted them to do—no more and no less.
"All people with what the Reliance has classified as 'defects' are hunted out and killed. Being a midget is a birth defect. Usually such 'defective' persons are convicted of rape, theft, or murder, and then executed. If they are allowed to reach adulthood at all, that is. Obviously, defective babies are usually stillborn. The people just stand back and let them do it, because they don't trust anyone that's different. That's human nature."
David nodded slowly in reluctant agreement. He remembered how the villagers had reacted to his new ideas.
"This Reliance policy will help us out quite a bit here in Alsterase," RJ announced. Clearly, David was lost again. RJ sighed. For an intelligent man, he could sure be dense at times. "If the Reliance is out to exterminate anyone who's different, then those who are different aren't going to feel very charitable towards the Reliance, now are they?" She sighed.
Light dawned, and David nodded. "So they'll be more likely to join us."
"Well, at least we can trust them not to hurt us." Suddenly, RJ's head jerked towards the door. She tensed. David noticed that the arm started to jerk more, and suddenly she was on her feet.
"What's wrong?" he asked, puzzled.
RJ pulled her blaster.
"What's wrong?" Alarmed, David climbed out of the bed.
"Quick!" RJ ordered. The door flew into splinters, and the biggest man David had ever seen stepped into the room. He dwarfed the man they had encountered in the bar last night. The giant threw a piece of the door at RJ, and her blaster went flying.
David had never seen a GSH, but he knew instinctively that this was one. He'd heard stories about them most of his life, but he hadn't really believed them. The stories were of manufactured beings capable of great feats of strength. Stories told by the same people who talked about gnomes and fairies. Yet here it was, the monster behind the stories. David was terrified. He knew his life was over. Then he realized that the man wasn't paying the slightest attention to him; he was after RJ.
RJ went for the second blaster, but before she could free it from the loops of chain, the giant was upon her. He bashed her head with his fist, the blood flew, and RJ fell to the floor. He lifted the still dazed woman up by a loop in her chain, and threw her against the wall, and still he paid no attention to David.
David saw only one hope for them. He started across the room for the bike. The GSH pounced on RJ once again. David had no idea how much punishment RJ could take, but it couldn't be this much. She had to be unconscious, maybe even dead. He was, therefore, stunned to see the GSH fly across the room and land at his feet, effectively blocking the way to the bike.
RJ ran at the man.
"Are you nuts!" David yelled, jumping smartly out of her way.
"Relax already, David," RJ said lightly. "The man was a midget."
"So?" David obviously saw no significance in this."What's a mij-jet?" He fumbled over the unfamiliar word.
RJ looked at him in disbelief. "Are all civilians so ignorant? A midget is a little person."
"So. It's a little person," he shrugged. He didn't believe in fairy stories.
"Why do you think you don't know what a midget is? Can't you ever just put two and two together?"
"A work unit's ability to think is not overly important to a Reliance overlord. I think I do pretty well considering that I didn't have anywhere near the education that you had. I didn't get the breaks that you did . . ."
"Excuse me, ass-bite, but in my job I got shot at . . ."
"Just tell me the significance of this man being a midget."
RJ nodded. He was right. The key to the Reliance's power was ignorance. They gave the people just enough knowledge to do the jobs the Reliance wanted them to do—no more and no less.
"All people with what the Reliance has classified as 'defects' are hunted out and killed. Being a midget is a birth defect. Usually such 'defective' persons are convicted of rape, theft, or murder, and then executed. If they are allowed to reach adulthood at all, that is. Obviously, defective babies are usually stillborn. The people just stand back and let them do it, because they don't trust anyone that's different. That's human nature."
David nodded slowly in reluctant agreement. He remembered how the villagers had reacted to his new ideas.
"This Reliance policy will help us out quite a bit here in Alsterase," RJ announced. Clearly, David was lost again. RJ sighed. For an intelligent man, he could sure be dense at times. "If the Reliance is out to exterminate anyone who's different, then those who are different aren't going to feel very charitable towards the Reliance, now are they?" She sighed.
Light dawned, and David nodded. "So they'll be more likely to join us."
"Well, at least we can trust them not to hurt us." Suddenly, RJ's head jerked towards the door. She tensed. David noticed that the arm started to jerk more, and suddenly she was on her feet.
"What's wrong?" he asked, puzzled.
RJ pulled her blaster.
"What's wrong?" Alarmed, David climbed out of the bed.
"Quick!" RJ ordered. The door flew into splinters, and the biggest man David had ever seen stepped into the room. He dwarfed the man they had encountered in the bar last night. The giant threw a piece of the door at RJ, and her blaster went flying.
David had never seen a GSH, but he knew instinctively that this was one. He'd heard stories about them most of his life, but he hadn't really believed them. The stories were of manufactured beings capable of great feats of strength. Stories told by the same people who talked about gnomes and fairies. Yet here it was, the monster behind the stories. David was terrified. He knew his life was over. Then he realized that the man wasn't paying the slightest attention to him; he was after RJ.
RJ went for the second blaster, but before she could free it from the loops of chain, the giant was upon her. He bashed her head with his fist, the blood flew, and RJ fell to the floor. He lifted the still dazed woman up by a loop in her chain, and threw her against the wall, and still he paid no attention to David.
David saw only one hope for them. He started across the room for the bike. The GSH pounced on RJ once again. David had no idea how much punishment RJ could take, but it couldn't be this much. She had to be unconscious, maybe even dead. He was, therefore, stunned to see the GSH fly across the room and land at his feet, effectively blocking the way to the bike.
RJ ran at the man.
"Are you nuts!" David yelled, jumping smartly out of her way.
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