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"I think it would be a good idea for you to lie down on the bed and get some rest before di
"Lie down…" His glass fell to the rug and he stumbled across the room and sprawled full length on the nearest bed.
"See, you were tired. Go to sleep and I'll wake you later."
Obedient to the hypnodrug, he closed his eyes and began snoring at once. If anyone were listening at the bug they would detect nothing wrong.
Di
The first thing was of course an injection that acted as a nerve block and numbed all sensation in my face. As soon as this took effect I propped the snoring flight-major up and trained the reading light full in his face. This would not be a hard job at all. We both had about the same bony structure and build, and the resemblance did not have to be perfect. Just close enough to match the prison-camp picture on his ID card. The quality of this picture was what one learns to expect from an identification photo, looking more like a shaven ape than a human.
The chin was the biggest job in every sense and massive injections of plastic jell built mine up to Vaska's heroic size. I molded its shape before it set, cleft and all, then went to work on the eyebrows. More plastic built up the brow ridges, and implanted black artificial hair drove home the resemblance. Contact lenses matched the color of his eyes and expanding rings in my nostrils flared them to the original's cave-like size. All that remained then was to transfer his fingerprints to the skintight and invisible plastic that covered my own fingers. Nothing to it.
While I altered Vaska's best uniform to a better fit for me he rose—as instructed—and ate some of the cold di
I mixed a stiff drink and retired early. The morrow would be a busy day in my new identity. I was going into the Space Armada.
With a little luck I might get a clue as to the nature of their remarkable military powers.