He had failed in his plans to end the psychological Famine because of his own attunement to the Broadcasters. He wouldn't fail in stopping the new physiological Famine. V "Put that thing down," Joel said. "I don't trust you any further than I can spit, and that looks like a radio. You trying to warn the city council?" Danniels put down the instrument. One wouldn't do it, and he could tell from Joel's eyes that he would get a very bad experience out of disobeying him. "You were going to do something," Julie said. "What were you trying to do with that pseudie?" "How do you know so much about this stuff?" Danniels demanded. "My father told me all he found out from the records. He's Councilman Aldrich." He rested his eyes for a second. "But your name--?" he heard himself say. "My stepfather, I should have said. Mother married him when I was two. _What were you going to do?_" "I," he said, "intended to end it all. All of this. All of it Outside. End everything." The girl turned from him. "Then why don't you do it?" "You mean you don't want our friends to succeed in torturing a sick world?" "I don't like pain," she said. "There's something clean, positive and challenging about killing. I'd like to kill. But pain seems so pointless. If you can stop them, go ahead. I'll help you." He was exhausted and in fever. "Joel won't let me." "Then--kill him," she said. * * * * * He knew it was all useless, tired, stale, unrewarding. It was done. He was nothing, and the girl was less. The Pack would succeed and a tortured world would die of a greater famine because he had failed all down the line. And he blamed himself for making a mistake that actually was unimportant. For a moment, he had trusted the girl. "You _can_ kill him." Julie turned back and faced him. "How much do you think those Broadcasters can really control human beings? We aren't fighting wars because we don't want to. We've finally seen what war can do and we're scared. We've retreated. The human race is hiding just like you are now." Danniels laughed. She lunged forward, tense. For a moment he thought she had actually stamped her foot. "It's true, you fool! Doesn't the actions of these men prove it to you? They are going to risk destroying the planet. If pacifism really controlled them do you think they could do that?" He mumbled something about Wolf Pack members. "There's never been any law or moral credo that human beings couldn't break and justify within themselves some way," Julie intoned carefully. "People can do the same with the induced precepts of the Broadcasters. If you really want to stop them, you can--by killing Joel and going ahead." "Maybe later," Danniels mumbled. "I'll think about it." Julie slapped his face. He wondered why he didn't feel it. "You don't have much time left," Julie whispered. "Don't you know what's wrong with your foot? _Gangrene._ You have to get those toes amputated soon or you'll die."