It was wrong, she thought suddenly, it was the wrongest thing she had ever done in her life. She knew that with sudden clarity. All the money in the universe would not be worth the life of this—this human beside her. Yes, that was it, android or not, he was as human as anyone she had ever known.
The loudspeaker hummed briefly and a voice said, "In thirty seconds we will enter subspace. All passengers will remain seated until the changeover is complete."
The voice repeated the message, and Silvia thought frantically, we'll be on our way to Arcturus and somewhere along the line the stranger will kill George!
She leaped up.
"Sit down," George cried, pushing at her. "We're going into subspace."
"I've got to see somebody," she said, struggling.
"It can wait," George insisted.
She went limp, as she heard the whine of the motors deep down within the spaceship. "Yes," she said, "yes, I suppose it will." But not too long. She didn't know when, or even how, but each moment might be George's last.
She braced herself involuntarily, as the whine rose to the threshold of inaudibility. A sudden rumbling came. The spaceship shook, the walls twisting as though grasped by a giant's hand. The room tilted precariously. A woman screamed.