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"No, they'll just take me out one time to be con-sumed."
The voice from the robot said, "Well, if it's any conso-lation, that's what happens to everybody
here."
Puzzled, THX said, "You told me this was a hospital."
"Yes," the voice explained pleasantly, "we take in the people who are incurably ill and put them
into cryogenic stasis. If we can cure them, we do. If we decide they can't be cured, then we consume
them for their organs. Sooner or later, everyone who comes here is consumed. It's economically
efficient."
The police robots came into view. THX said, "Every-body is consumed."
"Yes," the Mercicontrol robot said. "So don't feel bad about it. We all have to go sooner or
later."
"Thanks," said THX as the police robots came up and silently stood before him.
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They walked him in an amazingly short time back to a point where he could just barely make out
a dark fleck in the middle of the white nothingness.
One of the police robots pointed to it. "That is your area. Go to it and stay there until sent for.
This is your final warning."
THX felt an urge to spit at them, but he did nothing. The robots stood there and watched as he
walked toward the modules.
After a long time walking he could make out the flat bed modules and the standing, gesticulating
people. One of them -- the boy, perhaps -- climbed up on a bed and began waving to him.
THX walked steadily. Their voices began drifting toward him:
"I can just barely see him. . ."
"He's free! Can't you see, he's free!"
"No. I think he's coming back."
"I don't see anything. . . I can't see him at all. I think he's been destroyed."
"I can see him. He's coming back. There."
Finally he was close enough for even old PTO to see him. "Fool!" the old man called out
"Completely reckless behavior. I'm not responsible."
Finally he was close enough for a few of them to run out to him.
"What stopped you?"
"How cold was it?"
THX said nothing, simply kept walking. SEN was standing by the edge of the nearest bed, legs
straddled like an emperor surveying his domain.
"Wait," he said. "Let me talk to him. I know how to handle these things."
THX walked right past him, toward his own bed.
PTO eyed him narrowly, "You have nothing to fear. . . you're safe again."
DWY went to SEN and clutched at his arm. "Ask him about the air. He sounds out of breath."
SEN nodded and went to THX's bed. Sitting beside him, SEN said, "We have to face the facts. .
. you know? We have come down to practical reality. I'm a practical man. Forget the personal side of
things."
Hovering behind SEN, DWY nodded eagerly. THX, bone-tired, so tired his hunger had gone,
wordlessly stretched out on the bed.
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"I think he's deficient," DWY snapped.
Annoyed, SEN snapped back, "Why don't you go find something else to do?"
"Why doesn't he speak? Can't he hear?" DWY edged away from the bed. "I don't think he
knows."
THX closed his eyes and tried to sleep. But he felt SEN still sitting alongside him. He heard PTO
droning a history lesson at CAM. His legs ached, his head was buzzing.
"I want to help you," SEN said, so low it was almost a whisper. "You can help me. Here, take
some food."
THX looked at him. SEN was holding out one of the food cubes that he had been hoarding.
THX frowned at him.
"You understand," SEN went on, "we're all in this together. Youwant to leave. You're not like the
rest of them. What did you see out there?"
THX turned his head away.
"As soon as you give me a detailed description of the barrier, I can begin delegating
responsibility. I'll see to it that we all get out of here safely."
The barrier,THX thought.The only barrier is your own blindness. Then LUH's face filled his
memory and he added bitterly,And mine.
Suddenly there was a loud yell, scuffling, shouting and cursing. THX looked over his shoulder
and saw DWY and CAM fighting on the floor near the bed where TWA lay. They banged into the bed,
jarring TWA so hard that he nearly fell on top of them. Swearing angrily, he swung his legs down over
them, stood up, and pulled the boy away from DWY.
"He took my food!" CAM yelled, struggling to get past TWA. "He stole it!"
DWY was holding a single brown cube. It was cracked and its edges rubbed raw. Crumbs from
it were scattered on the floor around them.
TWA turned toward DWY. "Well?" he asked, menac-ingly, as he released his hold on CAM.
"I. . . I thought it was mine," DWY said lamely. "I couldn't tell."
SEN shook his head and said to THX, "Look at them. . . it's pitiful. They've even begun to go
intomy module and look for things. My things. It's all for them anyway. . . it's all for their own good. . .
After all my saving. . . starving. . ." He shook his head like a disap-pointed savior.
With a loud sigh, he added, "You can't really blame them, though, can you? But we've got to find
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