"Mines?" Jeb paled at the thought. "That Melbonite dust. One speck
through the sealed-in suit and you've got a burn they still can't
heal." He shuddered; then, seeing the face of the Unassigned Citizen,
he said soothingly, "But those suits are foolproof, I understand."
"Not always," said the man in gray. "Anyway, they haven't licked the
ventilation problem. The last suits they tried to air-condition, so
much Melbonite dust filtered in...." He took a deep breath of horror.
"So the ones in use become awfully sweaty. I'm going to a living
hell...."
Bong!
Jeb's Monitex glowed red with a violation. "Living Hell" was an
old-fashioned dramatic phrase somebody sharp had dug up after diligent
study and copyrighted in the hope of picking up a few credits.
As Jeb numbly listened to the droning voice detail the facts and four
credits charge, the man in the gray suit said mirthlessly, "Well, well,
that's just fine. Thanks a lot, my friend, for a nice sendoff."
Jeb snapped off the Monitex. "Look," he said hurriedly, "that was an
accident. This one is on me. Here." He took four credit tokens from a
pocket and thrust the silvery rectangles at the Unassigned Citizen.
"Put these aside until you're billed for the violation and pay it with
my credits. Okay?"
"Thanks," said the man gratefully. "I'll remember you."
Jeb gave him a twisted grin. "You may not have to, pal. I may be right
beside you in the next shipment. My wife is ready to certify me for
non-support. If I don't clean up a nice fat commission by tonight,
blooey, it's the mines for me, too."
* * * * *
The Unassigned Citizen started to form the words _Good luck!_ when Jeb
hastily interrupted, "That's on Copyright. Take it easy."
"Uh ... my heart goes beside yours," said the man, choosing his words
carefully. "My sympathy has arms, one of which is around your mighty
shoulders. I say to you farewell."
"Wonderful!" exclaimed Jeb. He pumped the other's hand. "I like the way
you put that. It's new. It has a freshness."
They smiled at each other. Then the oval building that housed The
SuperMonitex Feeder came into view and Jeb waved good-by and swung out
of the commuter stream in the regulation spiral under the cold eyes of
a golden-clad traffic cop. Jeb landed on the balcony ledge outside the
ninetieth-level corridor and walked in, finally entering a huge room in
the center of which was a circular wall with plug outlets and sets of
dials and screens at intervals all the way around.
Jeb greeted a few of his co-workers, but didn't pause to gossip. He
wasn't in a gay mood this morning, as were many of them who were
gleefully recounting some of the slick violations they'd picked up. Jeb
went to the circular wall and plugged his Monitex into a receptacle. He
punched a button marked _New Copyrights_ and waited for the humming to
stop indicating that his Monitex had been fed all the latest phrases
added to the huge group protected by law.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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