Free In Deep by Damon Knight Page B

kindness done him when he was humble youth.”
    (“Youth,” muttered Urban. “But it really means “ungainly one”—or “fat boy”! Oh, my heavens! ”)
    “Now that he has become an elder, it will be his most pleasure to repay all kindness in agreeable legislative manner.”
    (“What does that mean?” Alvarez said aggrievedly. “Why can’t he talk for himself, anyway?”
    “It would be. beneath his dignity now,” said Nasalroad. “Hush!”)
    “— If ,” said the gorgon, “you will succeed in giving elder person, known by name George, proper punishment as aforesaid.”
    While the others stared with dumb dismay, Carver briskly snapped open his wristcom. “Exactly how long have we got till that gorgon deadline is up?” he demanded.
    There was a pause, while ears strained to catch the tiny voice.
    “ Just under half an hour .”
    “This meeting will come to order!” said Carver, banging on the table, George and the other two gorgons were sitting opposite him, with the centerpiece of nasturtiums and ferns between them. Grouped around Carver were Dominick, Urban, Womrath, Alvarez, Nasalroad, Kelly and Ritner.
    “Now this is the situation,” Carver said aggressively. “This gorgon turns out to be a member of their ruling council, I don’t understand why, but never mind that now—the point is, he’s friendly disposed towards us, so we’ve succeeded in this mission if we can find that proper punishment—otherwise we’re in the soup. Suggestions.”
    (Dominick craned his bald head toward Alvarez across the table. “Doctor, I had a thought,” he murmured. “Would you say—is there anything peculiar about the gorgon’s body constitution, as compared say to ours?”
    “Certainly,” said Alvarez, dourly. “Any number of things. You name it, they—”
    Giving them a dirty look, Carver nodded to Ritner. “Yes?”
    “Well, I was thinking. I know the rack was a washout, but there was another. thing they used to use, called the Iron Virgin. It had a door, like, with spikes on it—”
    (“What I had in mind,” Dominick said, “is there anything that would tend to limit their body size—any danger or disadvantage in growing large?”
    Alvarez frowned and looked at Nasalroad, who hitched his chair closer. “The pressure—?” said Nasalroad tentatively. They rubbed their chins and looked at each other with professional glints in their eyes.
    “What about the pressure?” Dominick prompted eagerly.)
    “How long would it take you to build a thing like that?” Carver was asking Ritner.
    “Well—ten, eleven hours.”
    “Too long. That’s out. Next!”
    (“They’re actually a single cell—all colloidal fluid, at a considerable osmotic pressure. The bigger they get, the more pressure it takes to keep that shape. If they got too big, I rather imagine—”
    Alvarez snapped his fingers, awed. “They’d burst!”)
    Carver turned with an indignant glare. “Gentlemen, if I could get a little cooperation out of you, instead of this continual distraction—All right, Womrath?”
    “Sir, I was just wondering, suppose if we let him turn into a fish, the way he did before in the pool—but then we’d net him and take him out of the water fast. That way, maybe—”
    “It wouldn’t work,” said Kelly. “He changed back in about a second, the other time.”
    Nobody was paying any attention to him. One of the big gorgons, who had been staring fixedly at the flowers in the middle of the table, had suddenly grabbed a handful and was stuffing them into his mouth. George said something shrill in gorgon talk, and snatched. the flowers away again. The other gorgon looked abashed, but flushed pink.
    George, on the other hand, was distinctly blue.
    His “hand,” clutching the mangled flowers, hesitated. Slowly, as if with an effort, he put them back in the bowl.
    The other two gorgons twined their “arms” around him. After a moment George looked more like his old self, but a hint of blue