It was all over within a matter of seconds. Under different circumstances Pell might have found time to admire their technique.
As it was, he was now face down on the floor and Red was straddling him, holding him there. The pain in his stomach made him gasp. His face and the back of his neck ached terribly.
Red had his arm in the small of his back. Pell tried to struggle.
"I can break the arm if you move," said Red cheerfully.
And then Pell felt the bite of the needle just below his shoulder.
A misty feeling came. He felt as though he were in a red whirlpool, spinning, going down—down.... He fought to rise. He could still hear. He could hear footsteps and the slam of the door when somebody else came into the room. And then he seemed abruptly to be detached from his own body and floating in a huge gray void....
Words hammered at his brain. Larkin's voice, at his ear now and no longer metallic. "You will be loyal to the Supremist cause. You will do nothing against the Supremist doctrine. You will believe that Earthmen are meant to rule the Universe—"
He felt an overpowering impulse to nod, to agree, to believe that it was right to do this. He fought this impulse, straining his mind and his very being until it seemed that something might burst with the effort.
"You will work for the cause; you will give your life for it if necessary."
Yes, perhaps it was better to succumb. The words were too strong. He couldn't fight them. Larkin was right, Earthmen were supreme, and they were destined to rule....