Read Online Eye in the Sky (1957) by Philip K. Dick - Free Book Online

other time, it doesn’t matter. If
anybody can save your immortal soul from
the fires of Eternal Dam nation, the Prophet Horace Clamp can.”

    V

    AS HAMILTON uncertainly made his way
from the EDA buildings, a small group of men followed quietly along
behind, hands in their pockets, faces blank and be nign. While he was fumbling for his car keys, the men moved
purposefully forward, across the gravel parking lot, and up to him.
    “Hi,”
one of them said.
    All
were young. All were blond. All had crew cuts and wore ascetic white lab smocks. Tillingford’s
bright young technicians,
super-educated employees of EDA.
    “What
do you want?” Hamilton asked.
    “You’re leaving?” the
leader inquired.
    “That’s
right”
    The group considered the
information. After a time the leader
observed, “But you’re coming back.”
    “Look,” Hamilton began,
but the young man cut him off.
    “Tillingford hired you,”
he stated. “You’re showing up for work next week. You passed your entrance
tests and now you’ve been poking and nosing around the labs.”
    “I may have passed my
tests,” Hamilton acknowledged, “but that doesn’t mean I’m showing up
for work. As a matter of fact—”
    “My name’s Brady,” the
leader of the group broke in. “Bob Brady. Maybe you saw me in there. I was
with Tillingford when you showed up.” Eying Hamilton, Brady finished:
“Personnel may be satisfied, but we’re not. Personnel is run by laymen.
They have a few routine bureaucratic qualification tests and that’s all.”
    “We’re not laymen,” one of
Brady’s group put in.
    “Look,” Hamilton said,
with partially regained hope. “Maybe
we can get together. I wondered how you quali fied people could agree to
that random book-opening test. That’s no
adequate measure of an applicant’s train ing and ability. In advanced
research of this type—”
    “So
as far as we’re concerned,” Brady continued inexorably, “you’re a
heathen until proved otherwise. And no heathens go to work at EDA. We
have our professional standards.”
    “And you’re not
qualified,” one of the group added. “Let’s see your N-rating.”
    “Your N-rating.” Extending
his hand, Brady stood waiting. “You’ve had a nimbusgram taken recently, haven’t you?”
    “Not that I can recall,”
Hamilton answered uncer tainly.
    “That’s what I thought. No
N-rating.” From his coat pocket Brady got out a small punched card.
“There isn’t anybody in this group with less than a 4.6 N-rating. Offhand,
I’d guess you don’t reach 2.0 class. How about that?”
    “You’re
a heathen,” one of the young technicians said severely. “Some nerve, trying to worm your
way in here.”
    “Maybe
you better get going,” Brady said to Hamilton. “Maybe you
better drive the hell out of here and not come
back.”
    “I have as much right here as
any of you,” Hamilton said,
exasperated.
    “The ordeal approach,”
Brady said thoughtfully. “Let’s settle this once and for all.”
    “Fine,”
Hamilton said with satisfaction. Pulling off his coat, and tossing it in
the car, he said, “I’ll wrestle any of
you.”
    Nobody paid attention to him; the
technicians were clustered around in a circle, conferring. Overhead, the late
afternoon sun was beginning to set. Cars moved along the highway. The EDA
buildings sparkled hygienically in the fading light.
    “Here we go,” Brady decided.
Brandishing an ornate cigarette lighter, he solemnly approached Hamilton.
“Stick out your thumb.”
    “My—thumb?”
    “Ordeal by fire,” Brady
explained, igniting the lighter. A flash of
yellow flame glowed. “Show your spirit. Show you’re a man.”
    Tm
a man,” Hamilton said angrily, “but I’ll be damned if I’m
going to stick my thumb into that flame just so you lunatics can have your frat-boy ritualistic initiation. I
thought I got out of this when I left college.”
    Each technician extended his thumb.
Methodically, Brady held the lighter under