"I'm going to make a recommendation in your case, TRH-247," the big
man said gravely. "You understand, it is only a recommendation, but I
believe it will be accepted. Because of the far-reaching implications
of the Merger, and its manifest importance for all mankind, the
Organization is prepared to deal very generously with emotional
disturbances which have occurred as a result."
"I see," Hendley said, not understanding at all. Why was he finding it
so difficult to concentrate?
"Now," the Investigator said, with the air of a parent about to produce
an unexpected tidbit. "That newsview you went to see this afternoon--it
was about a Freeman Camp, wasn't it?"
"Well--yes," Hendley said, puzzled by the abrupt change of subject.
"You've always wished that you could see inside a Freeman Camp, haven't
you? Don't be embarrassed. It's a natural wish."
"I guess everyone would like to."
"It's quite impossible for that universal wish to be granted,
of course. Privacy is one of freedom's obvious privileges," the
Investigator said. "And the unrest that would result among those still
far removed from Freeman status, if they were to see all they were
denied, would be detrimental to general morale. That's a risk I'm
taking in your case, TRH-247," he added. "But I think it's justified."
Hendley wondered what the man was leading up to. The smug air of
benevolence was compounded by an evident relish for the secret about to
be revealed. Or was it a secret? Hendley's heart began to beat rapidly
as a glimmer of understanding came. The possibility so overwhelmed him
that he felt faintly dizzy.
"In cases like yours," the Investigator said, "where there is clear
indication of perplexity created by sincere doubts and understandable
confusion, there is a precedent for the recommendation I'm going to
make." He paused with deliberate drama. "You probably didn't know this,
but there are circumstances in which visitors are allowed in Freeman
Camps."
"No," Hendley said, his heart hammering now, "I didn't know."
Was this what he wanted? Had the incident with ABC-331, the adventure
under the sun, been merely a substitute--a prelude?
"There will be a penalty, of course, for your failure to report for
work. That cannot be erased. But I think I can promise you it won't
be too severe. And I think you'll feel that the price is well worth
paying."
"A--a Freeman Camp?" Hendley stammered.
The Investigator rose. His towering figure seemed to fill the room with
an overpowering presence of Authority. _This_ was the personification
of the Organization--huge, benevolent, kindly, all-knowing,
all-powerful. "You will be one of the few fortunate ones, TRH-247,"
the gray-haired man said triumphantly. "You will see what freedom
really means. You will know the goal for which you work--to which we
all aspire. You will see it with your own eyes--what even I have never
seen! You will visit a Freeman Camp!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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