Read Tomorrow Is Too Far for Free Online Page B

complicated and seemingly pointless conversation with him just a few minutes before lunch break.
    The timing had been deliberate, however. Carson did not want to give the impression that he was interested in anything in particular, and he had a theory that a man in a hurry somewhere told more and remembered less than one with plenty of time to talk.
    ‘This is not a security matter, George, but I worry about it sometimes,’ said Carson, worriedly. ‘The stuff is scrap--very expensive scrap, I admit--but of little or no value to the company. At the same time it would be wrong for people to take it home ...’
    ‘I take your point, Joe,’ said George, shaking his head in awe. ‘Gawd, just imagine a rabbit hutch made from part of a Panda nose-cone! That really would be getting one up on the neighbours. But don’t worry yourself about it. We are forced to reject components, even major sub-assemblies, for various reasons and they are either modified or scrapped. But we do not allow the men to take them away. As a matter of fact, in some cases we don’t even sell them to the scrap metal dealers. I don’t know what happens to them ultimately but I believe some of them can be used for structural testing or for ground training purposes ...’
    ‘George,’ said Carson suddenly. ‘Don’t let me make you late for lunch ...’
    The end of shift siren was not loud enough to drown the hypothetical sound of another piece of the puzzle falling into place.
    During lunch Carson thought that it was a ridiculous way to carry out an investigation. His only consolation was that the people engaged on this project-that-never-was had to be similarly circumspect in everything they did and said. They had to be especially careful how they used people, people like Pebbles. Was it possible that his promotion to the EH93 test programme had been planned by the project members because they had in mind a more important use for him than moving waste paper? The EH93 was not sensitive, of course, but once into a structural test area it was very much easier to move across ladders of promotion than it was to move up. He would not have minded betting that Pebbles would apply for another transfer in the not too distant future.
    He would have to find out a lot more about the man. It was a good thing that he had good, acceptable reasons--as well as the real ones--for the questions he was going to ask Dr Marshall.
    Like Herbie Patterson, Dr Marshall also felt indebted to Carson--although in her case the parking slot was forty yards from her office and it had been given to her simply because, in Carson’s opinion, she was the best-looking girl in the company ...
    As assistant to the company medical officer, Dr Marshall had a small, neat office which was almost filled by a well-worn desk, filing cabinets, bookshelves and framed diplomas. She was responsible for a good deal of the medical department’s administration as well as performing the usual medical duties. An air of spaciousness was given to the tiny room by the single glass wall which looked down across the cubicles, examination tables and fittings of the main treatments room. A casualty was having some foreign body washed out of his eye by one of the nurses, so it looked as if he would be able to talk to the doctor without fear of interruption.
    ‘Good afternoon, Doctor,’ said Carson. ‘I wonder if you can help me.’
    She gave him a brief, intent, wholly professional look, then seeing no indications of physical or mental distress, she relaxed and said, ‘If I can, Mr Carson. Please sit down.’
    ‘Thank you,’ said Carson. ‘I’m trying to find out as-much as I can about a man called Pebbles.,’
    It was obvious that she was not too happy about this one, even if she did feel obliged to him.
    ‘I don’t want you to betray a medical confidence or anything like that,’ Carson went on. ‘This is not idle curiosity. You may have heard about a small fire we had a few days ago.