dened. It was too nightmarish to be real. I wasn't seriously
worried about his threat to wipe out the entire Geig Corps, since it was
unlikely that one man in a wheelchair could pick us all off. No, it
wasn't the threat that disturbed me, so much as the whole concept, so
strange to me, that the human mind could be as warped and twisted as
Ledman's.

I saw the horror on Val's face, and I knew she felt the same way I did.

"Do you really think you can succeed?" I taunted him. "Really think you
can kill every Earthman on Mars? Of all the insane, cockeyed--"

Val's quick, worried head-shake cut me off. But Ledman had felt my
words, all right.

"Yes! I'll get even with every one of you for taking away my legs! If we
hadn't meddled with the atom in the first place, I'd be as tall and
powerful as you, today--instead of a useless cripple in a wheelchair."

"You're sick, Gregory Ledman," Val said quietly. "You've conceived an
impossible scheme of revenge and now you're taking it out on innocent
people who've done nothing, nothing at all to you. That's not sane!"

His eyes blazed. "Who are you to talk of sanity?"

* * * * *

Uneasily I caught Val's glance from a corner of my eye. Sweat was
rolling down her smooth forehead faster than the auto-wiper could swab
it away.

"Why don't you do something? What are you waiting for, Ron?"

"Easy, baby," I said. I knew what our ace in the hole was. But I had to
get Ledman within reach of me first.

"Enough," he said. "I'm going to turn you loose outside, right after--"

"_Get sick!_" I hissed to Val, low. She began immediately to cough
violently, emitting harsh, choking sobs. "Can't breathe!" She began to
yell, writhing in her bonds.

That did it. Ledman hadn't much humanity left in him, but there was a
little. He lowered the blaster a bit and wheeled one-hand over to see
what was wrong with Val. She continued to retch and moan most horribly.
It almost convinced me. I saw Val's pale, frightened face turn to me.

He approached and peered down at her. He opened his mouth to say
something, and at that moment I snapped my leg up hard, tearing the
tangle-cord with a snicking rasp, and kicked his wheelchair over.

The blaster went off, burning a hole through the Dome roof. The
automatic sealers glued-in instantly. Ledman went sprawling helplessly
out into the middle of the floor, the wheelchair upended next to him,
its wheels slowly revolving in the