Badge of Infamy

Badge of Infamy, by Lester del Rey

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Title: Badge of Infamy
Author: Lester del Rey
Release Date: October 5, 2006 [EBook #19471]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from an Ace Books paperback, 1973. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.

[Illustration: BADGE OF INFAMY
LESTER DEL REY
EARTHMEN BECOMING MARTIANS]
The computer seemed to work as it should. The speed was within acceptable limits. He gave up trying to see the ground and was forced to trust the machinery designed for amateur pilots. The flare bloomed, and he yanked down on the little lever.
It could have been worse. They hit the ground, bounced twice, and turned over. The ship was a mess when Feldman freed himself from the elastic straps of the seat. Chris had shrieked as they hit, but she was unbuckling herself now.
He threw her her spacesuit and one of the emergency bottles of oxygen from the rack. "Hurry up with that. We've sprung a leak and the pressure's dropping."
* * * * *
Turn this book over for a second complete novel.
[Transcriber's Note: The second novel is not present in this etext.]
* * * * *
BADGE OF INFAMY
By LESTER DEL REY
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ace books A Division of Charter Communications Inc. 1120 Avenue of the Americas New York, N.Y. 10036

BADGE OF INFAMY
Copyright ? 1963 by Galaxy Publishing Corp. Copyright ? 1957 by Renown Publications, Inc.
A shorter and earlier version of this story appeared in Satellite Science Fiction for June, 1957.
* * * * *
First Ace printing: January, 1973
* * * * *
THE SKY IS FALLING Copyright ? 1954, 1963 by Galaxy Publishing Corp.
* * * * *
Printed in U.S.A.

I
Pariah
The air of the city's cheapest flophouse was thick with the smells of harsh antiseptic and unwashed bodies. The early Christmas snowstorm had driven in every bum who could steal or beg the price of admission, and the long rows of cots were filled with fully clothed figures. Those who could afford the extra dime were huddled under thin, grimy blankets.
The pariah who had been Dr. Daniel Feldman enjoyed no such luxury. He tossed fitfully on a bare cot, bringing his face into the dim light. It had been a handsome face, but now the black stubble of beard lay over gaunt features and sunken cheeks. He looked ten years older than his scant thirty-two, and there were the beginnings of a snarl at the corners of his mouth. Clothes that had once been expensive were wrinkled and covered with grime that no amount of cleaning could remove. His tall, thin body was awkwardly curled up in a vain effort to conserve heat and one of his hands instinctively clutched at his tiny bag of possessions.
He stirred again, and suddenly jerked upright with a protest already forming on his lips. The ugly surroundings registered on his eyes, and he stared suspiciously at the other cots. But there was no sign that anyone had been trying to rob him of his bindle or the precious bag of cheap tobacco.
He started to relax back onto the couch when a sound caught his attention, even over the snoring of the others. It was a low wail, the sound of a man who can no longer control himself.
Feldman swung to the cot on his left as the moan hacked off. The man there was well fed and clean-shaven, but his face was gray with sickness. He was writhing and clutching his stomach, arching his back against the misery inside him.
"Space-stomach?" Feldman diagnosed.
He had no need of the weak answering nod. He'd treated such cases several times in the past. The disease was usually caused by the absence of gravity out in space, but it could be brought on later from abuse of the weakened internal organs, such as the intake of too much bad liquor. The man must have been frequenting the wrong space-front bars.
Now he was obviously dying. Violent peristaltic contractions seemed to be tearing the intestines out of him, and the paroxysms were coming faster. His eyes darted to Feldman's tobacco sack and there was animal appeal in them.
Feldman hesitated, then reluctantly rolled a smoke. He held the cigarette while the spaceman took a long, gasping drag on it. He smoked the remainder himself, letting the harsh tobacco burn against his lungs and sicken his empty stomach. Then