"You feel then," Cecil Cuff, the other man in the room, said, "that you're in the grip of something over which you have no direct control?"
"Yes."
"Are you certain that it is not the contact Wagner imposed on you?"
"It came before Wagner was present," Buckmaster replied.
Cuff turned to Oliver. "I know he believes what he is saying," he said. "But it's obvious that his mind has been tampered with. If we let him live, we'll be taking the risk that the General and Wagner are getting at us, through him."
"That's right," Oliver answered.
"I think he should be killed," Cuff said.
Oliver was thoughtful for a long moment. "What do you think, Clifford?" he asked gently. He always called Buckmaster by his first name.
Buckmaster breathed deeply. "Naturally I want to live," he answered. "But from the viewpoint of the Underground, I suppose Cuff is right."
"You say that you feel that this Force is a protective one," Oliver said. "Does it seem to you that perhaps we couldn't kill you—that it would prevent us?"