Chapter 11

The tech-man  was short,  and his skin glistened  with well-kept plumpness.
His hair was a  fringe and his skull¹ shone through pinkly. The rings on hisfingers  were thick  and heavy, his  clothes were  scented², and he  was thefirst  man  Mallow  had  met  on  the  planet  who  hadn't  looked  hungry.
The tech-man's lips pursed  peevishly³, "Now, my man, quickly. I have thingsof  great importance  waiting for me.  You seem  a stranger? He  seemed toevaluate  Mallow's definitely  un-Siwennese  costume and  his eyelids  wereheavy with suspicion.
"I am  not of  the neighborhood," said  Mallow, calmly, "but  the matter isirrelevant.  I have  had the honor  to send  you a little  gift yesterday?
The tech-man's  nose lifted, "I  received it. An interesting  gewgaw. I mayhave use for it on occasion.""I have  other and more interesting gifts. Quite  out of the gewgaw stage.""Oh-h?" The  tech-man's voice lingered thoughtfully  over the monosyllable.
"I think I already see the course of the interview; it has happened before.
You are  going to  give me some trifle  or other. A few  credits, perhaps acloak, second-rate jewelry⁴; anything  your little soul may think sufficientto corrupt⁵ a tech-man." His lower lip puffed⁶ out belligerently⁷, "And I knowwhat you  wish in  exchange. There have  been others and to  spare with thesame bright  idea. You  wish to be  adopted into our  clan⁸. You  wish to betaught the  mysteries of nucleics and  the care of the  machines. You thinkbecause you dogs of Siwenna ?and probably your strangerhood is assumed forsafety's sake  ?are being daily  punished for your rebellion  that you canescape  what you  deserve by  throwing over  yourselves the  privileges andprotections of the tech-man's guild⁹."Mallow would  have spoken,  but the tech-man  raised himself into  a suddenroar.  "And now leave  before I report  your name  to the Protector  of theCity. Do  you think that I  would betray the trust?  The Siwennese traitorsthat preceded me would  have ?perhaps! But you deal with a different breednow. Why,  Galaxy¹⁰, I  marvel¹¹ that I do  not kill you myself  at this momentwith my bare hands."Mallow smiled to himself. The entire speech was patently artificial in toneand  content,  so  that  all  the dignified  indignation  degenerated  intouninspired farce¹².
The trader  glanced humorously at the two flabby  hands that had been namedas his  possible executioners then  and there, and said,  "Your Wisdom, youare wrong  on three counts. First, I am not a  creature of the viceroy cometo test  your loyalty¹³. Second, my gift is  something the Emperor himself inall his  splendor¹⁴ does  not and will  never possess. Third, what  I wish inreturn is very little; a nothing; a mere¹⁵ breath.""So you say!" He descended¹⁶ into heavy sarcasm¹⁷. "Come, what is this imperialdonation that  your godlike power  wishes to bestow¹⁸ upon  me? Something theEmperor  doesn't have,  eh?"  He broke  into  a sharp  squawk of  derision.
Mallow rose  and pushed the chair  aside, "I have waited  three days to seeyou, Your Wisdom, but the display will take only three seconds. If you willjust  draw   that  blaster  whose   butt  I  see  very   near  your  hand?
"Eh?""And shoot me, I will be obliged.""What?""If  I  am killed,  you can  tell  the police  I  tried to  bribe¹⁹ you  intobetraying guild  secrets. You'll receive  high praise. If I  am not killed,you may have my shield."For  the  first  time,   the  tech-man  became  aware  of  the  dimly-whiteillumination that hovered²⁰ closely  about his visitor, as though he had beendipped  in  pearl-dust. His  blaster  raised  to the  level  and with  eyesa-squint in wonder and suspicion, he closed contact.
The molecules²¹ of air  caught in the sudden surge of atomic disruption, toreinto  glowing, burning  ions, and  marked out  the blinding thin  line thatstruck at Mallow's heart ?and splashed!
While Mallow's look of patience never changed, the nuclear forces that toreat him  consumed themselves against that  fragile, pearly illumination, andcrashed back to die in mid-air.
The  tech-man's  blaster dropped  to  the  floor with  an unnoticed  crash.
Mallow said,  "Does the Emperor have a personal  force-shield? You can haveone."The tech-man stuttered, "Are you a tech-man?""No.""Then ?then where did you get that?""What do  you care?"  Mallow was coolly  contemptuous. "Do you  want it?" Athin, knobbed chain fell upon the desk, "There it is."The tech-man snatched it  up and fingered it nervously²², "Is this complete?""Complete.""Where's the power?"Mallow's  finger fell  upon  the largest  knob,  dull in  its leaden  case.
The tech-man looked up, and his face was congested with blood, "Sir, I am atech-man, senior  grade. I have twenty years behind  me as supervisor²³ and Istudied under the great  Bier at the University of Trantor. If you have theinfernal charlatanry²⁴ to tell me that a small container the size of a ?of awalnut,  blast it,  holds  a nuclear  generator²⁵, I'll  have you  before theProtector in three seconds.""Explain   it  yourself   then,  if   you  can.   I  say   it's  complete."The tech-man's  flush faded slowly as  he bound the chain  about his waist,and,  following  Mallow's  gesture,  pushed  the knob.  The  radiance  thatsurrounded him  shone into dim relief.  His blaster lifted, then hesitated.
Slowly, he adjusted it to an almost burnless minimum.
And  then, convulsively,  he  closed circuit  and the  nuclear  fire dashedagainst his hand, harmlessly.
.He  whirled,  "And  what  if  I  shoot  you  now, and  keep  the  shield.""Try!" said Mallow. "Do you think I gave you my only sample?" And he, too,was solidly incased in light.
The tech-man giggled²⁶ nervously. The blaster clattered²⁷ onto the desk. Hesaid, "And what is this mere nothing, this breath, that you wish inreturn'?""I want to see your generators²⁸.""You realize that that is forbidden. It would mean ejection into space forboth of us?
"I don't want to touch them or have anything to do with them. I want to seethem ?from a distance.""If not?""If not, you have your shield, but I have other things. For one thing, ablaster especially designed to pierce that shield.""Hm-mmm." The tech-man's eyes shifted. "Come with me."

1 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

2 scented   

adj.有香味的；洒香水的；有气味的v.嗅到(scent的过去分词)

参考例句：

• I let my lungs fill with the scented air. 我呼吸着芬芳的空气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The police dog scented about till he found the trail. 警犬嗅来嗅去，终于找到了踪迹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 peevishly   

adv．暴躁地

参考例句：

• Paul looked through his green glasses peevishly when the other speaker brought down the house with applause. 当另一个演说者赢得了满座喝彩声时，保罗心里又嫉妒又气恼。
• "I've been sick, I told you," he said, peevishly, almost resenting her excessive pity. “我生了一场病，我告诉过你了，"他没好气地说，对她的过分怜悯几乎产生了怨恨。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

5 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

6 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 belligerently   

参考例句：

• Cars zoomed helter-skelter, honking belligerently. 大街上来往车辆穿梭不停，喇叭声刺耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Harass, threaten, insult, or behave belligerently towards others. 向其它交战地折磨，威胁，侮辱，或表现。 来自互联网

8 clan   

n.氏族，部落，宗族，家族，宗派

参考例句：

• She ranks as my junior in the clan.她的辈分比我小。
• The Chinese Christians,therefore,practically excommunicate themselves from their own clan.所以，中国的基督徒简直是被逐出了自己的家族了。

9 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

10 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

11 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

12 farce   

n.闹剧，笑剧，滑稽戏；胡闹

参考例句：

• They played a shameful role in this farce.他们在这场闹剧中扮演了可耻的角色。
• The audience roared at the farce.闹剧使观众哄堂大笑。

13 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

14 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

15 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

16 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

17 sarcasm   

n.讥讽，讽刺，嘲弄，反话 （adj.sarcastic）

参考例句：

• His sarcasm hurt her feelings.他的讽刺伤害了她的感情。
• She was given to using bitter sarcasm.她惯于用尖酸刻薄语言挖苦人。

18 bestow   

v.把…赠与，把…授予；花费

参考例句：

• He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.他希望将那些伟大的荣誉授予这位英雄。
• What great inspiration wiII you bestow on me?你有什么伟大的灵感能馈赠给我？

19 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

20 hovered   

鸟( hover的过去式和过去分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovered over the hill. 一只鹰在小山的上空翱翔。
• A hawk hovered in the blue sky. 一只老鹰在蓝色的天空中翱翔。

21 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

22 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

23 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

24 charlatanry   

n.吹牛，骗子行为

参考例句：

25 generator   

n.发电机，发生器

参考例句：

• All the while the giant generator poured out its power.巨大的发电机一刻不停地发出电力。
• This is an alternating current generator.这是一台交流发电机。

26 giggled   

v.咯咯地笑( giggle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The girls giggled at the joke. 女孩子们让这笑话逗得咯咯笑。
• The children giggled hysterically. 孩子们歇斯底里地傻笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 clattered   

发出咔哒声（clatter的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He dropped the knife and it clattered on the stone floor. 他一失手，刀子当啷一声掉到石头地面上。
• His hand went limp and the knife clattered to the ground. 他的手一软，刀子当啷一声掉到地上。

28 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》