"You're a lot of b****y cowards. You, Birek. You're scared of the death creeping over you, and the only way you can forget the fear is to make someone else suffer.
"It's the same with all of you. You have to trample me down to your own level, break me for the sake of your souls as much as your bodies."
He looked at the numbers of them, at Birek's huge impervious bulk and his great fists. He touched his silver collar, remembering the agony of the shock through it.
"And I will break. You know that, damn you."
He gave back three paces and set his feet. "All right. Come on, Birek. Let's get it over with."
The Venusian came toward him across the heaving floor. Loris still looked at his feet and Pendleton's eyes were agonized. MacVickers wiped his hands across his buttocks. The palms were f
