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Perhaps, thought Morrison, they bring enough food to feed six and, since we two are the only ones here, we should only consume a third. And after a while, he had to admit that with a full stomach he felt a little mollified. He said, "Madame Boranova -"
"Why not call me Natalya, Dr. Morrison? We are very informal here and we will be colleagues for perhaps an extended period of time. The repeated 'madames' will give me a headache. My friends even call me Natasha. It could come to that."
She smiled, but Morrison felt stubbornly indisposed to be ingratiated. He said, "Madame, when I feel friendly, I will certainly act friendly, but as a victim and an involuntary presence here, I prefer a certain formality."
Boranova sighed. She bit off a sizable chunk of bread and chewed moodily. Then, swallowing, she said, "Let it be as you wish, but please spare me the 'madames.' Let me have my professional title - and I don't mean 'academician.' Too many syllables. - But I interrupted you."
"Dr. Boranova," said Morrison, more coldly than before. "You haven't told me what it is you want of me. You mentioned miniaturization, but you know and I know that that is impossible. I think that you spoke of it merely to mislead - to mislead me and to mislead anyone overhearing us. Let us drop that, then. Surely here we have no need to play games. Tell me why I am really here. After all, eventually you must, since you apparently expect me to be of some use to you and I can't be that if I am left completely ignorant of what it is that you wish."
Boranova shook her head. "You are a hard man to convince, Dr. Morrison. I have been truthful with you from the start. The project is one of miniaturization."
"I ca
"Why, then, are you in the city of Malenkigrad?"
"Small city? Littletown? Tinyburg?" said Morrison, feeling a pleasure in hearing his own voice sound the phrases in English. "Perhaps because it is a small city."
"As I have had periodic occasion to say, Dr. Morrison, you are not a serious man. Still, you will not be in doubt long. There are a few people you should meet. One of them should, in fact, be here by now." She looked around with an a
Morrison said, "I notice that no one approaches us. Every once in a while, the people at the other tables look at me, but then they look away if they catch my eye."
"They have been warned," said Boranova absently. "We will not waste your time with irrelevancies and almost everyone here is an irrelevancy as far as you are concerned. But some are not. Where is he?" She rose. "Dr. Morrison, excuse me. I must find him. I will not be gone long."
"Is it safe to leave me?" said Morrison sardonically.
"The soldiers will remain, Dr. Morrison. Please do not give them cause to react. Intellect is not their forte and they are trained to follow orders without the painful necessity of thinking, so they might easily hurt you."
"Don't worry. I'll be careful."
She left, moving hurriedly out the door after exchanging a few words with the soldiers as she passed.
Morrison watched her go, then glanced over the dining room morosely. Having found nothing of interest, he bent his eyes upon his clasped hands on the table and then stared at the still-sizable portions of unconsumed food before him.
"Are you all through, comrade?"
Morrison looked up sharply. He had decided "comrade" was an archaism, hadn't he?
— A woman was standing, looking at him, with one balled fist on her hip in a negligent ma
"Who are you?" asked Morrison, frowning.
"My name? Valeri Paleron. My function? Hardworking serving woman, but Soviet citizen and member of the party. I brought you this food. Didn't you notice me? Am I beneath your notice, perhaps?"
Morrison cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, miss. I have other things on my mind. - But you had better leave the food. Someone else is supposed to be coming here, I think."
"Ah! And the Tsarina? She will be back, too, I suppose?"
"The Tsarina?"
"You don't think we have Tsarinas any longer in the Soviet Union? Think again, comrade. This Boranova, the granddaughter of peasants and a long line of peasants, considers herself quite a lady, I'm sure." She made a sound with her lips like a long "psh-sh-sh," redolent with contempt and a touch of herring.
Morrison shrugged. "I do not know her very well."
"You are an American, aren't you?"
Morrison said sharply, "Why do you say that?"
"Because of the way you speak Russian. With that accent, what would you be? The son of Tsar Nicholas the Tyrant?"
"What's wrong with the way I speak Russian?"
"It clashes as though you learned it in school. You can hear an American a kilometer away as soon as he says, 'A glass of vodka, please.' He is not as bad as an Englishman, of course. Him you can hear two kilometers away."
"Well, then, I'm an American."
"And you'll be going home someday?"
"I certainly hope so."
The serving woman nodded her head quietly, pulled out a rag, and wiped the table thoughtfully. "I would like to visit the United States someday."
Morrison nodded. "Why not?"
"I need a passport."
"Of course."
"And how does a simple, loyal serving woman get one?"
"I suppose you must apply for one."
"Apply? If I go to a functionary and I say, 'I, Valeri Paleron, wish to visit the United States,' he will say, 'Why?'"
"And why do you want to go?"
"To see the country. The people. The wealth. I am curious how they live. - That would not be reason enough."
"Say something else," said Morrison. "Say you want to write a book about the United States as a lesson to Soviet youth."
"Do you know how many books -"
She stiffened and began to wipe the table again, suddenly absorbed in her work.
Morrison looked up. Boranova was standing there, her eyes hard and angry. She uttered a harsh monosyllable that Morrison didn't recognize but that he could have sworn was an epithet and not a very polite one, either.
The serving woman flushed dully. Boranova made a small gesture with her hand and the woman turned and left.
Morrison noticed that a man stood behind Boranova - short, thick-necked, with narrowed eyes, large ears, and a broad-shouldered, muscular body. His hair was black, longer than usual for a Russian, and it was in wild disarray, as though he clutched at it a great deal.
Boranova made no move to introduce him. She said, "Was that woman talking to you?"
"Yes," said Morrison.
"She recognized you to be an American?"
"She said my accent made it obvious."
"And she said she wants to visit the United States?"
"Yes, she did."
"What did you say? Did you offer to help her go there?"
"I advised her to apply for a passport if she wanted to go."
"Nothing more?"
"Nothing more."
Boranova said with discontent, "You must pay no attention to her. She is an ignorant and uncultured woman. - Let me introduce to you my friend, Arkady Vissarionovich Dezhnev. This is Dr. Albert Jonas Morrison, Arkady."
Dezhnev managed a clumsy bow and said, "I have heard of you, Dr. Morrison. Academician Shapirov has spoken of you often."
Morrison said coldly, "I am flattered. - But tell me, Dr. Boranova, if that serving woman a
Dezhnev laughed harshly. "Not a chance, Comrade American - which I expect is what she called you -"
"Not actually."
"Then she would have sooner or later, had we not interrupted you. That woman, I suspect, may be an intelligence operator and is one of those who keeps a close eye on us.