"Hell, yes," I said, "my dad crashed in the Hellers, and a band of
trailmen found me, half dead. I lived there until I was about fifteen,
then their Old-One decided I was too human for them, and they took me
out through Dammerung Pass and arranged to have me brought here. Sure,
it's all coming back now. I spent five years in the Spacemen's
Orphanage, then I went to work taking Terran tourists on hunting parties
and so on, because I liked being around the mountains. I--" I stopped.
Forth was staring at me.
"You think you'd like this job?"
"It would be tough," I said, considering. "The People of the Sky--"
(using the trailmen's name for themselves) "--don't like outsiders, but
they might be persuaded. The worst part would be getting there. The
plane, or the 'copter, isn't built that can get through the crosswinds
around the Hellers and land inside them. We'd have to go on foot, all
the way from Carthon. I'd need professional climbers--mountaineers."
"Then you don't share Allison's attitude?"
"Dammit, don't insult me!" I discovered that I was on my feet again,
pacing the office restlessly. Forth stared and mused aloud, "What's
personality anyway? A mask of emotions, superimposed on the body and the
intellect. Change the point of view, change the emotions and desires,
and even with the same body and the same past experiences, you have a
new man."
I swung round in mid-step. A new and terrible suspicion, too monstrous
to name, was creeping up on me. Forth touched a button and the face of
Jay Allison, immobile, appeared on the visionscreen. Forth put a mirror
in my hand. He said, "Jason Allison, look at yourself."