Soft come the dragons

a fan of yours. Though I must say I don't often like those unrhymed ones."
    He breathed more easily. The man was certainly not a forceful, probing, hard policeman. He seemed rather meek, in fact. Why, Cauvell thought, he can't even meet my eyes directly. . . .
    "Is your wife—Mrs. Cauvell—at home?"
    His heart jumped a little, but he did not hesitate. "Yes, she is. Laurie!" he shouted, perhaps a bit too loud. "Laurie!"
    She came in from the kitchen and stood next to his chair, eyeing the android suspiciously. Too suspiciously, Cauvell was afraid. Would T notice and become suspicious of her suspicion?
    "Please sit down, Mrs. Cauvell," Jameson said. He addressed both of them then. "We are running a survey of the neighborhood and would like to ask you both a few questions."
    They both nodded.
    "T," Jameson said.
    The android's throat seemed to hum for a moment; then a deep, hoarse voice groaned from a plate in the lower portion of his neck. this interview is being recorded. are you aware of this, mr. and mrs. frank cauvell?
    "Yes," they answered ceremoniously.
    all information recorded may be used in a court of law. are you aware of this, mr. and mrs. cauvell?
    "Yes."
    this is android t of city division cooperating with inspector harold jameson. mr. cauvell, a hallucino-child is a person born of parents whose genes were altered by their use of lsd-25. these children become either physical freaks or mental freaks. do you understand the use of the term hallucino-child?
    "Yes."
    and you, mrs. cauvell?
    "I do."
    the physical freaks are cared for by the government. the hallucino-chtldren who are born with the congenital defect of esp sensitivity are a danger to the state and cannot be afforded full citizenship. because of the nature of their power—which can only be studied at the critical point and which is too dangerous at the critical point to study—many of these mutants must be put to sleep, humanely. do you understand this, mr. and mrs. cauvell?
    They said that they did. The formalities were over.
    we have reason to believe there is a hallucino-child in this vicinity. have either of you knowledge of said person?
    They said no.
    did either of you leave the house last night?
    "No."
    The question suddenly became very pointed. then
    how did the driveway and entrance to the superhighway become cleared?
    "We noticed as we came in," Jameson said, "that your driveway seems to have been cleared by melting bars."
    "I went out this morning for a few groceries," Cauvell answered a bit too quickly.
    "You do your own shopping?" Jameson asked, raising his eyebrows.
    "Yes." Cauvell was suddenly glad that he had never gone completely modem. Less than a fifth of the population did their own grocery shopping in person anymore. The banks of robot clerks that took the orders by phone had more-or-less depersonalized food purchasing. Cauvell, however, had always liked to see the steak before he bought it Perhaps it was his picky appetite.
    mrs. cauvell's father was a college professor, t said gratingly. the college instructors of the sixties
    and seventies were often quite liberal and as anxious as their students to experiment. mrs. cauvell, did your father take lsd-25?
    They had prepared themselves, long ago, for the possibility of questions like these. And they had agreed that a little bit of the truth would be better than a complete lie. "I believe he tried it twice with bad experiences both times," Laurie said.
    Cauvell was proud of her firm, unshaken answers.
    he was not a regular user?
    "No."
    "How can you be so certain, my dear?" Jameson asked kindly.
    Cauvell realized that Jameson was anything but stupid, anything but meek. He was T's straight man, but some of his own lines hit the mark close to center.
    "My mother told me," Laurie said. "My father died when I was seven. My mother spent the rest of her life telling me about everything he did. I heard all the stories a thousand times. I couldn't forget them. He took LSD twice and had bad trips both times."
    which party do you belong to? t asked.
    "The party in power for the last thirteen years. The Constitutional Tolerant Party." Cauvell tried to force pride into his voice while he forced his gorge down.
    and why did you join the party?
    "Because we feared the Communist countries and realized the subversive trends within our own society must stop."
    and you have seen nor heard nothing of the hallucino-child?
    "Nothing."
    was this interview recorded with your knowledge, mr. and