"I know that you're twenty-four. Born July 10, 1971. Orphaned at four, you attended Boys Town in the Catskills till you were 19. You graduated from the Academy at White Sands last June with a major in Astrogation. Your rating for the five-year period was 3.8—the second highest in a class of fifty-seven. Your only low mark in the five years was a 3.2 in History of Martian Civilization. Want me to go on?"
Fascinated, Ben nodded.
"You were accepted as junior astrogation officer aboard the Odyssey. You did well on your flight from Roswell to Luna City. In a barroom fight in Luna City, you struck and killed a man named Arthur Cobb, a pre-fab salesman. You've been charged with second degree murder and escape. A reward of 5,000 credits has been offered for your capture. You came to Hoover City in the hope of finding a renegade group of spacemen who operate beyond Mars. You were looking for them in the Blast Inn."
He gaped incredulously, struggling to rise from his pillows. "I—don't get it."
"There are ways of finding out what we want to know. As I told you, we have many friends."
He fell back into his pillows, breathing hard. She rose quickly.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have told you yet. I felt so happy because you're alive. Rest now. We'll talk again soon."
"Maggie, you—you said I'd live. You didn't say I'd be able to walk again."
She lowered her gaze. "I hope you'll be able to."
"But you don't think I will, do you?"