Assassins -- Fiction; Science fiction; Short stories
The ten-over-mode male wrestling tester pinned Ellaby in less than two
minutes, a fact which was duly noted on his employment blank. He was
given fifteen minutes of rest, then squared off on the mat with a
skinny, five-under-mode male. Ellaby bested him in four minutes flat,
took another fifteen minute break, mopping the sweat from his body
with an already sodden towel, then defeated the ten-under-mode female
wrestler in two minutes and some seconds. It developed into a knock
down, drag out fight with the two-over-mode female, who finally forced
Ellaby's shoulders to the mat for the necessary five seconds after
half an hour.
Ellaby showered, ate a hot Thursday lunch and took his employment
blank to the emotion lab. His electroencephalogram revealed nine alpha
cycles to the second, but too much theta.
"Are you nervous?" the technician asked Ellaby. "You're thetaing all
over the place."
"I guess so. Yes, I'm nervous."
"Then let's try it again."
They did, the technician rubbing the greasy electrode salve on
Ellaby's forehead before the electrodes were fastened there for the
second time. The result was the same. "More than modal theta," said
the technician, writing something in code on his employment blank.
"See the personnel advisor, please."
For Ellaby, it came as a distinct shock. His heart pounded against his
temples, in his ears. He was emotionally unstable. Had the ten years
been for nothing?
* * * * *
"Sit down, Ellaby," the personnel advisor said. He was a man of middle
age, irritatingly careless about his appearance. He had dyed his
graying hair, of course, but if you looked close you could see gray at
the roots. He wore a green Thursday tunic which was poorly starched.
Having had a full week to get it ready, that was naturally
inexcusable.
"You have a splendid record, Ellaby," the sloppy personnel clerk said.
"Mentally, within tenths of the mode. Physically, even closer.
Unfortunately your emotional--"
"That never happened to me before, not in High Falls, it didn't,"
Ellaby interrupted.
"This is not High Falls. Every community, you must realize, has its
own security testing center. And the capitol requires the tightest
security of all."
"I know but I was nervous. You're going to tell me my theta was too
high, aren't you?"
"That's correct. You needn't feel so bad about it. You're going to be
cleared for secret work. You're damn close to modal, Ellaby. You're a
good security risk. Incidentally, just why were you nervous?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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