herbert, frank - a-w-f unlimited

8/11/2019 Herbert, Frank - A-W-F Unlimited

1/25

A-W-F Unlimited

Frank Herbert, 1961

The morning the space armor problem fell into the agencys lap, !"en #$erest

had breakfast at her reg%lar resta%rant, an a%tomated single-niche place catering tobachelor girls& Her order popped o%t of the slot onto her table, and immediately the

tabletop pro'ecta-men% s"itched to selling (nterdormas ne"est (nterpreti$e Telelog&

)o%r o"n pri$ate dream translator* The secret companion to e$ery ne%rosis*

!"en stared at the inch-high "ords doing a skitter dance abo$e her fried eggs&+he had "ritten that copy& Her food beneath the ad looked s%ddenly tasteless& +he

p%shed the plate a"ay&

Along the speed"alk into anhattan a you-seeker, its roboflier senses

programmed to her s%sceptibilities, fle" beside her ear& (t "as selling a years s%pplyof !eramyl - the breakfast drink that helps yo% (.# longer*

(n s%dden anger, she t%rned on the roboflier, "hispered a code phrase she had"heedled from an engineer "ho ser$iced the things& The roboflier darted %p"ard in

s%dden erratic flight, crashed into the side of a b%ilding&

A small break in her control& A beginning&

Waiting for !"en along the pri$ate corridor to the +ingle-master, H%cksting and/attlemont e0ec%ti$e offices "ere displays from the recent eligion of the onth

2l%b campaign& +he ran a gam%t of adecals, layo%ts, slogans, pro'os, 3%artersheets,skinnies& The "orks&

+%bscribe no" and get these religions absol%tely F##* 2omplete te0t of the

/lack ass pl%s Abridged ysticism*

+he "as forced to "alk thro%gh an adecal anno%ncing4 5ont be Half +afe*/elie$e in #$erything* Are yo% s%re that African /ant% Witchcraft is not the Tr%e

Way

At the t%rn of the corridor stood a male-female graphic "ith flesh-stim%lant

skinnies and s%pered $oices, Find peace thro%gh Tantrism&

The skinnies made her flesh cra"l&

!"en fled into her office, sl%mped into her desk chair& With mo%nting horror, shereali7ed that she had either "ritten or s%per$ised the "riting of e$ery "ord,

prod%ced e$ery selling idea along that corridor&

The interphon on her desk emitted its fl%ted !ood morning& +he slapped the

blacko%t s"itch to keep-the instr%ment from prod%cing an image& The last thing she"anted no" "as to see one of her co-"orkers&

Who is it she barked&

!"en 8o mistaking that $oice4 Andre /attlement, bottom name on the agency

totem&


2/25

What do yo% "ant she demanded&

%r !"enny is feeling nasty this morning, isnt she

h, Fre%d* +he slapped the disconnect, leaned for"ard "ith elbo"s on the desk,p%t her face in her hands& Let's face it, she tho%ght, I'm 48, unmarried, and a prime

mover in an industry that's strangling the universe. I'm a professional strangler.

!ood morning, fl%ted the interphon&

+he ignored it&

A strangler, she said&

!"en recogni7ed the basic problem here& +he had kno"n it since childhood& Her%ni$erse "as a contin%al replaying of The #mperors 8e" +%it& +he sa" the

nakedness&

!ood morning fl%ted the interphon&

+he dropped her right hand a"ay from her face, flicked the s"itch& 8o" "hat

5id yo% c%t me off, !"en

What if ( did

!"en, please* We ha$e a problem&

We al"ays ha$e problems&

/attlemonts $oice dropped one octa$e& !"en& This is a /ig problem&

Uncanny the way he can speak capital letters, she tho%ght& +he said4 !o a"ay&

)o%$e been lea$ing yo%r (nterdorma t%rned off* acc%sed /attlemont& )o%

m%stnt& 8e%rosis can creep %p on yo%&

(s that "hy yo% called me she asked,

f co%rse not&

Then go a"ay&

/attlemont did a thing then that e$eryone from +inglemaster on do"n kne" "asdangero%s to try "ith !"en #$erest& He p%shed the o$erride to send his image

dancing abo$e her interphon&

After the momentary flash of anger, !"en correctly interpreted the act as one ofdesperation& +he fo%nd herself intrig%ed& +he stared at the ro%nd face, the pale eyes

:definitely too small, those eyes;, the p%g nose and "ide gash of mo%th abo$ealmost no chin at all&


3/25

)es*

+he mo$ed her right hand to"ard the interphons emergency disconnect& !ood-by, Andre&

!"en* y !od* )o% cant let me do"n at a time like this*

Why not

He spoke in breathless haste& Well raise yo%r salary& A bon%s& A bigger office&

ore help&

)o% cant afford me no", she said&

(m begging yo%, !"en& %st yo% ab%se me

+he closed her eyes, tho%ght4 he insects! he damned little insects with their

crummy emotions! "hy can't I tell them all to go to composite hell# +he opened hereyes, said4 Whats the militarys flap

/attlement mopped his forehead "ith a pastel bl%e handkerchief& (ts the +pace

+er$ice, he said& The female branch& The W+& #nlistments ha$e fallen to almostnothing&

+he "as interested in spite of herself& Whats happened

+omething to do "ith the space armor& ( dont kno"& (m so %pset&

Why ha$e they tossed it into o%r laps like this The %ltimat%m, ( mean&

/attlemont glanced left and right, leaned for"ard& The grape$ine has it theyre

testing a ne" theory that creati$e people "ork better %nder e0treme stress&

The


4/25

What he "as doing on the prayer r%g "as practicing )oga breathing to calm thosener$es& The military co%ld "ait& They had to "ait& The fact that he faced the general

direction of ecca "as left o$er from t"o months before& )oga "as a month old&There "as al"ays some carry-o$er&

/attlemont had 'oined the eligion of the onth 2l%b almost a year ago - sed%cedby his o"n agencys deep moti$ation campaign pl%s the /rotherhood 2o%ncils seal of

appro$al& This month it "as the einspired 8eo-2%lt of +t Fre%d& A test adecals%perimposed itself on the clo%d-floor $ie" beneath him& (t began playing the latest

!"en-#$erest-inspired pitch of the (/a%sole%m& !iant rainbo" letters dancedacross the fleecy backgro%nd&

ake yo%r ad$ice immortal* et %s store yo%r $oice and tho%ght patterns ine$erlasting electronic memory circ%its* When yo% are gone, yo%r lo$ed ones may

listen to yo%r $oice as yo% ans"er their 3%estions e0actly the "ay yo% "o%ld mostlikely ha$e ans"ered them in ife*

/attlemont shook his head& The agency, fearf%l of its dependence on the li$e!"en #$erest, had secretly recorded her at a staff conference once& .ery illegal& The

%nions "ere death on it& /%t the (/a%sole%m had broken do"n "ith the first

3%estion p%t to !"ens ghost-$oice&+ome people ha$e tho%ght patterns that are too comple0 to permit acc%rate

psyche-record, the engineer e0plained&

/attlemont did not del%de himself& The sole geni%s of the agencys three o"nerslay in recogni7ing the geni%s of !"en #$erest& +he was the agency&

(t "as like riding the tiger to ha$e s%ch an employee& +ingle-master, H%ckstingand /attlemont had ridden this tiger for @@ years& /attlemont closed his eyes,

pitched her in his mind4 a tall, lean "oman, b%t "ith a certain grace& Her face "as

long, dominated by cold bl%e eyes, framed in "a$es of a%b%rn hair& +he had a "itthat co%ld slash yo% to ribbons, and that priceless commodity4 the geni%s to p%ll

selling sense o%t of %tter conf%sion& /attlemont sighed&

He "as in lo$e "ith !"en #$erest& Had been for @@ years& (t "as the reason hehad ne$er married& His (nterdorma e0plained that it "as beca%se he "anted to be

dominated by a strong "oman& /%t that only e0plained& (t didnt help&

For a moment, he tho%ght "istf%lly of +inglemaster and H%cksting both taking

their ann%al three-month $acation at the geriatrics center on ah%& /attlemont"ondered if he dared ask !"en to take her $acation "ith him& %st once&

8o&

He reali7ed "hat a pitif%l fig%re he made on the prayer r%g&


5/25

ne cannot r%n a"ay from fate, he m%ttered&

That "as a carry-o$er from the Barma month&

According to !"en the agencys conference room had been copied from a

Florentine bordellos #mperor oom& (t "as a gigantic space& The corners "ere allflossy c%rli3%es in hea$y gilding an effect carried o$er into deep car$ings on the "all

panels& The ceiling "as a mating of 2ellini c%pids "ith 5ali landscapes&


6/25

/eyond "ling sat eo


7/25

director of coordination, said /attlemont&

Why* Thats a "onderf%l title* said !"en& ( m%st get it printed on my stationery&+he patted /attlements hand, faced him and, in her best %nderco$er-agent-going-

into-action $oice, said4 ets ha$e it, 2hief& Who are these people Whats going on

!eneral "ling nodded to !"en& (m "ling, !eneral, +pace #ngineers& He

gest%red to the rocket splash insignia on his sho%lder& y companion is !eneralFinnister, W+&

!"en had recogni7ed the famo%s Finnister face& +he smiled brightly, said4

!eneral Woms*

Finnister* snapped the female general&

)es, of co%rse, said !"en& !eneral Finnister Woms& %st not go too informal,yo% kno"&

Finnister spoke in slo" cadence4 ( &&& am &&& !eneral &&& +onnet &&& Finnister &&&of &&& the &&& Women &&& of &&& +pace* The W+*

h, ho" st%pid of me, said !"en& f co%rse yo% are& +he patted the generals

hand, smiled at /attlemont&/attlemont, "ho "ell kne" the falsity of this mood in !"en #$erest, "as trying to

scr%nch do"n o%t of sight in his chair&

(n that moment, !"en reali7ed "ith a t"inge of fear that she had reached apsychic point of no ret%rn& +omething slipped a cog in her mind& +he glanced aro%nd

the table& Familiar faces leaped at her "ith %nreal clarity& +taring eyes& :The bestpart of a conference "as to "atch !"en in action&; I can't take any more of this,

tho%ght !"en& I have to declare myself.

+he foc%sed on the military& The rest of the people in this room o"ned little pieces

of her, b%t not these t"o& "ling and Finnister& +pace generals& +ymbols& Targets*

Let the chips fall where they may! ire when ready, (ridley. %hoot if you must

this old gray head ... "ait until you see the whites of their eyes.

!"en nodded to herself&

ne misstep and the agency "as r%ined&

"ho cares#

(t all passed in a split second, b%t the decision "as made&

)e*ellion!

!"en t%rned her attention on "ling& Wo%ld yo% be kind eno%gh to end this

stalling aro%nd and get the meeting %nder "ay

+tall &&& "ling broke it off& The intelligence report had said !"en #$erest "as

fond of shock tactics& He ga$e her a c%rt nod, passed the nod to Finnister&

The female general addressed /attlemont& )o%r agency, as "e e0plained to yo%

earlier, has been chosen for a $ital task, r /attlefield&

/attlemont, said !"en&

Finnister stopped short& What


8/25

His name is /attlemont, not /attlefield, said !"en&

What of it

8ames are important, said !"en& (m s%re yo% appreciate this&

The Finnister cheeks fl%shed& C%ite*

"ing stepped into the breach& We are a%thori7ed to pay this agency do%ble the%s%al fee for performance, he said& Ho"e$er, if yo% fail %s "ell draft e$ery male

employee here into the +pace ser$ice

What an asinine idea* said !"en& %r people "o%ld destroy the +pace +er$ice&

From "ithin& Again she smiled at /attlemont&

Andre here co%ld do it all by himself& 2o%ldnt yo%, d%cky +he patted

/attlemonts cheek&

/attlemont tried to cro%ch farther do"n into the chair& He a$oided the eyes of the

space brass, said 4 !"en &&& please&

What do yo% mean, destroy the +pace +er$ice demanded Finnister&

!"en ignored her, addressed "ling& This is another one of the


9/25

(ts the space armor, said Finnister& Women dont like it&

Too mechanical, said "ling& Too practical&

We need &&& ah &&& glamor, said Finnister& +he ad'%sted the brim of her cap&

!"en fro"ned at the cap, cast a glance %p and do"n the Finnister %niform& ($e

seen the %s%al ne"s pict%res of the armor, she said& What do they "ear %nderneathit +omething like yo%r %niform

Finnister s%ppressed a s%rge of anger& 8o& They "ear special fatig%es&

The armor cannot be remo$ed "hile they are in space, said "ling&

h said !"en& What abo%t physical f%nctions, that sort of thing

Armor takes care of e$erything, said "ling&

Apparently not uite e$erything, m%rm%red !"en& +he nodded to herself, m%llingtactics&

/attlemont straightened, sniffed the atmosphere of the conference room& +taff all

alert, 3%iet, attenti$e& ood had lightened some"hat& !"en appeared to be takingo$er& !ood old !"en& Wonderf%l !"en& 8o telling "hat she "as %p to& As %s%al&

+hed sol$e this thing, tho%gh& Al"ays did& Unless &&&

He blinked& 2o%ld she be toying "ith them He tried to imagine !"ens tho%ght

patterns& (mpossible& (/a%sole%m co%ldnt e$en do it& Unpredictable& All /attlemontco%ld be certain of "as that !"en "o%ld get a gigantic belly la%gh from the pict%re

of the agencys male staff members drafted, sla$ing a"ay on space freighters&

/attlemont trembled&

!eneral Finnister "as saying4 =The problem is not one of getting "omen to enlistfor #arth-based ser$ice& We need them in the ships, the asteroid stations, the &&&

ets get this straight, said !"en& y great-great-grandmother "as in some kindof armed ser$ice& ( read her diary once& +he called it the ="hackies= or something

like that&

WA2+, said Finnister&

)es, said !"en& (t "as d%ring the "ar "ith +pain&

apan, said "ling&

What (m dri$ing at is, "hy all the s%dden interest in "omen y great-great-grand-mother had one merry old time r%nning a"ay from some colonel "ho

"anted &&& Well, yo% kno"& (s this some kind of a dodge to pro$ide "omen for yo%rspace colonels

Finnister sco"led her blackest&C%ickly s%ppressed ch%ckles so%nded aro%nd the table&

"ling decided to try a ne" tack& y dear lady, o%r moti$es are of the highest&We need the abilities of "omen so that mankind can march side by side to the stars&

!"en stared at him in open admiration& !o-"an* she said&

( mean it, said "ling&

)o%re a poet* said !"en& h &&& and ($e "ronged yo%& Here ( "as - dirty-


10/25

minded me - thinking yo% "anted "omen for base p%rposes& And all the time yo%"anted companions. +omeone to share this glorio%s ne" ad$ent%re&

Again, /attlemont recogni7ed the danger signals& He tried to s3%ee7e himself into

as small a target as possible& ost of the staff aro%nd the table sa" the same

signals, b%t they "ere intent, fascinated&

#0actly* boomed Finnister&

!"ens $oice er%pted in an angry snarl4 And "e name all the little bastards afterthe stars in .irgo, ehhh

(t took a long moment for Finnister and "ling to see that they had been g%lled&Finnister started to rise&

+iddo"n* barked !"en& +he grinned& +he "as ha$ing a magnificent time&ebellion carried a sense of e%phoria&

"ling opened his mo%th, closed it "itho%t a ho"l&

Finnister sank back into her chair&

+hall "e get do"n to b%siness snapped !"en& ets look at this glorified h%nk

of tin yo% "ant %s to glamori7e&

Finnister fo%nd something she co%ld foc%s her shocked attention on& +pace armoris mostly plastic, not tin&


11/25

most hideo%s thing ($e e$er seen&

Well of all the-

Are yo% a fashion designer asked !"en politely&

Finnister shook her head as tho%gh to clear it of cob"ebs&

)o% are not a fashion designer pressed !"en&

Finnister bit the "ords off& ( ha$e had some e0perience in choosing -

The ans"er is no, then, said !"en& Tho%ght so& +he bro%ght her attention backto the folder, t%rned a page&

Finnister glared at her in open-mo%thed rage&

!"en glanced %p at "ling& Whyd yo% p%t the finger on this agency

"ling appeared to ha$e tro%ble foc%sing his attention on "ens 3%estion&


12/25

and temperat%re, he said& (t cant be made any smaller and still permit a h%manbeing to fit into it&

kay, said !"en& ( ha$e the beginnings of an idea&

+he closed her eyes, tho%ght4 hese military erks are a couple of sitting ducks.

/lmost a shame to pot them. +he opened her eyes, glanced at /attlemont& His eyes

"ere closed& He appeared to be praying& 0ould *e the ruination of poor /ndre andhis lovely people, too, she tho%ght& "hat a marvelous collection of professionalstranglers! "ell, can't *e helped. "hen (wen 1verest goes out, she goes out in a

*la2e of glory! /ll flags flying! ull speed ahead! $amn the torpedoes!

Well said "ling&

ire one! tho%ght !"en& +he said4


13/25

pro*lem. 3o pro*lem could resist her. 3o pro*lem would dare!

!eneral "ling had become a !"enophile&

.ery "ell, then, snarled Finnister& ( "ill reser$e my '%dgment&

!eneral Finnister had become a !"enophobe&

Which "as part of !"en #$erests program&

( pres%me yo% t"o "ill be a$ailable for technical cons%ltations from time to time,said !"en&

%r s%bordinates take care of details, said "ling& All !eneral Finnister and ( are

interested in is the big pict%re, the key to the p%77le&

/ig pict%re, key to p%77le, m%sed !"en& Wonderf%l idea&

What "ling stared at her, p%77led&

8othing, said !"en& %st thinking o%t lo%d&

"ling stood %p, looked at Finnister& +hall "e be going=

Finnister also stood %p, t%rned to"ard the door at the end of the room& )esss*Together, one on each side of the table, they inarched the length of the room4

t%mp-a-th%mp-a-t%mp-a-th%mp-a-t%mp &&& %st as they reached the door and "ling

opened it, !"en '%mped to her feet& 2harrrge* she sho%ted&

The t"o officers fro7e, almost t%rned, tho%ght better of it& They left, slamming the

door&

/attlemont spoke plainti$ely into the silence& !"en, "hy do yo% destroy %s

5estroy yo% 5ont be silly*

/%t, !"en &&&


14/25


15/25

Uhh &&&


16/25


17/25

Ahhh, perhaps "ed better "ait for iss #$erest, said /attlemont& +he is bringinga solido pro'ector&

)o% ha$e mock%ps already asked "ling&

)es&

!ood* Ho" many models

ne& %r receptionist& /ea%tif%l girl&

What Finnister and "ling in %nison&

h* )o% mean &&& that is, "e ha$e the one to sho" yo%& (t is really t"o &&& b%t only

one of &&& He shr%gged, s%ppressed a sh%dder&

Finnister and "ling looked at each other&

/attlemont closed his eyes& (wen, please hurry. He tho%ght abo%t her sol%tion to

the military problem, began to tremble& Her basic idea "as so%nd, of co%rse& !oodpsychological roots& /%t the military "o%ld ne$er go for it& #specially that female

general "ho "alked like a sergeant& /attlemonts eyes snapped open as he heard adoor open&

!"en came in p%shing a portable display pro'ector& A glance of m%t%al dislikepassed bet"een !"en and Finnister, "as masked by m%t%al bright smiles

immediately&

!ood morning, e$erybody, chirped !"en&

$anger signal! tho%ght /attlemont& %he's mad! %he's &&& He stopped the tho%ght,

foc%sed on it& 5ay*e she is. "e work her so hard.

An0io%s to see "hat yo% ha$e there, said "ling& %st getting ready to ask for aprogress report "hen yo% called this meeting&

We "anted to ha$e something first that yo% co%ld appreciate as an engineer, said!"en&

"ling nodded&

Finnister said4 %r people report that yo%$e been $ery secreti$e abo%t yo%r

"ork& Why

The $ery "alls ha$e ears& oose lips lose the


18/25

Finnister nodded, her dislike of !"en s%bmerged in attention to the "ords&

They "ant se$eral things, said !"en& They "ant tra$el &&& ad$ent%re &&& theknight errant sort of thing& Tally-ho*

/attlement, Finnister and "ling snapped to shocked attention&

!i$es yo% pa%se "hen yo% think abo%t it, m%rm%red !"en& All those "omenlooking for something& ooking for the free ride& The brass ring& The pot at the end of

the rainbo"&

+he had them nodding again, !"en noted& +he raised her $oice4 The old caro%sel*

The 'ingle-dingle 'oy 'o%rney*

/attlement looked at her sadly& 5ad. &hhh, my poor, poor (wenny.

"ling said4 ( &&& %h &&&

/%t they all "ant one commodity* snapped !"en& And "hats that omance*

Thats "hats that& And in the %nconscio%s mind "hats that romance That romanceis se0*

( belie$e ($e heard eno%gh, said Finnister&

8o, said "ling& ets %h &&& this is all, (m s%re, preliminary& ( "ant to kno"

"here &&& after all, the model &&& models they$e de$eloped &&&

Whats "ith se0 "hen yo% get all the folderol off it demanded !"en& The

psychological roots& Whats do"n there

"ling scratched his throat, stared at her& He had a basic distr%st of s%b'ecti$e

ideas, b%t he al"ays came smack %p against the fear that maybe :'%st maybe no";they "ere correct& +ome of them appeared :and it co%ld be appearance only; to

"ork&

(ll tell yo% "hats do"n there, m%ttered !"en& otherhood& Home& +ec%rity

"ith a man& The flag&

"ling tho%ght4 It all sounds so sensi*le ... ecept.,&

And "hat does yo%r armor do asked !"en& Armor e3%als no amo%r* Theyrelocked %p in dese0ed ch%nks of metal and plastic "here no men can get at them&

!reat Fre%d* en cant e$en see them in there*

Women dont really want men to get at them* barked Finnister& f all the

disg%sting ideas ($e e$er -

%st a min%te* said !"en& A normal "oman al"ays "ants thepossi*ility. Thats

"hat she "ants& And she "ants it %nder her control& )o%$e eliminated the possibility&)o%$e taken all control o%t of their hands, p%t yo%r "omen at the mercy of the

elements, separated from cold, masc%line, ang%lar A/U


19/25


20/25

armor appeared to be hanging in the center of the room& (n the s%it, "earing a form-fitting 'acket, stood the agencys b%sty receptionist& The s%it of armor aro%nd her

"as transparent from the "aist %p&

The bottom half remains opa3%e at all times, said !"en& For reasons of

modesty &&& the connections& Ho"e$er, the top half &&&

!"en p%shed another st%d& The transparent %pper half faded thro%gh gray toblack %ntil it concealed the model&

For pri$acy "hen desired, said !"en& Thats ho" "e$e %sed the ne" m%table

plastic& !i$es the girl some control o$er her en$ironment&

Again, !"en p%shed the first st%d& The %pper half of the model reappeared&

Finnister gaped at the form-fitting %niform&

!"en stood %p, took a pointer, gest%red in thro%gh the pro'ection& This %niform

"as designed by a leading co%t%rier& (t is made to re$eal "hile concealing& A "oman"ith only a fair fig%re "ill appear to good ad$antage in it& A "oman "ith an e0cellent

fig%re appears st%nning, as yo% can see&


21/25

Finnister said4 (f yo% think yo% can stop me from going thro%gh "ith o%r threat,diss%ade yo%rself& (m perfectly a"are that yo% had that %ni &&& that clothing designed

to make me look hideo%s*

Why not asked !"en& ( "as only doing to yo% "hat yo% did to $irt%ally e$ery

other "oman in the W+&

!"en* pleaded /attlemont in horror&

/e still, Andre, said !"en& (ts '%st a matter of timing, any"ay& Today&Tomorro"& 8e0t "eek& 8ot really important&

h, my poor !"enny, sobbed /attlemont&

( "as going to "ait, said !"en&


22/25

/%t ( "o%ld, said !"en& +he smiled at him&

/attlemont t%gged at "ens arm& +he shook him off&

(t "o%ld r%in me, "hispered "ling&


23/25


24/25

( told yo% they "ere f%77y-heads, said !"en&

)o% be still, !"en, said /attlemont&

)es, Andre&

Well, "hatre "e going to do demanded "ling&

( tell yo% "hat, said /attlemont )o% lea$e %s alone, "e lea$e yo% alone&

/%t "hat abo%t my enlistments "ailed Finnister&

)o% think o%r !"en, sick or "ell, cant sol$e yo%r problems asked /attlemont&For yo%r enlistments yo% %se the program as o%tlined&

( "ont*

)o% "ill, said "ling&

!eneral "ling, ( ref%se to ha$e &&&

What happens if ( ha$e to d%mp this problem on the !eneral +taff asked

"ling& Where "ill the head-chopping start (n the


25/25

( didnt "ant to h%rt anyone here, Andre& nly those t"o -

)es, yes& ( kno"& )o%re all mi0ed %p&

Thats tr%e& +he felt like crying& +he hadnt cried &&& since &&& she co%ldntremember "hen& )o% kno", she said, ( cant remember e$er crying&

Thats it* said /attlemont& ( cry all the time& )o% need a stabili7ing infl%ence& )o%need someone to teach yo% ho" to cry&

Wo%ld yo% teach me, Andre

Wo%ld ( &&& He "iped the tears from his eyes& )o% are going on a $acation&

(mmediately* ( am going "ith yo%&

)es, Andre&

And "hen "e ret%rn -

( dont "ant to come back to the agency, Andre& ( &&& cant&

+o thats it* said /attlemont& The ad$ertising b%siness* (t b%gs yo%*

+he shr%gged& (m &&& ( '%st cant face another campaign& ( &&& '%st &&& cant&

)o% "ill "rite a book, anno%nced /attlemont&

What

/est therapy kno"n, said /attlemont& 5id it myself once& )o% "ill "rite abo%t the

ad$ertising b%siness& )o% "ill e0pose all the dirty tricks4 the hypno-'ingles, thes%b$is%al flicker images, the ad$ertisers "ho finance te0tbooks to get their sell into

them, the "omb rooms "here the you-seekers are programmed& #$erything&

( co%ld do it, she said&

)o% "ill tell all, said /attlemont&

Will (*

And yo% "ill do it %nder a pse%donym, said /attlemont& +afer&

When do "e start the $acation, Andre

Tomorro"& He e0perienced a moment of his old panic& )o% dont mind that (m &&&

%gly as a pig

)o%re '%st bea%tif%l, she said& +he smoothed the hair across his bald spot& )o%dont mind that (m smarter than yo%

Ah, hah* /attlemont dre" himself to attention& )o% may be smarter in the head,my darling, b%t yo% are not smarter in the heart*

herbert, frank - a-w-f unlimited

Documents