What do you want? she asked. It isnt paper time yet; weve had milk time; Ive given my Decency Donations regularly. All my papers are in order.
I think your little boy dropped his ball, Charles Wallace said, holding it out.
The woman pushed the ball away. Oh, no! The children in our section never drop balls! Theyre all perfectly trained. We havent had an Aberration for three years.
All up and down the block, heads nodded in agreement.
Charles Wallace moved closer to the woman and looked past her into the house. Behind her in the shadows he could see the little boy, who must have been about his own age.
You cant come in, the woman said. You havent shown me any papers. I dont have to let you in if you havent any papers.
Charles Wallace held the ball out beyond the woman so that the little boy could see it. Quick as a flash the boy leaped forward and grabbed the ball from Charles Wallaces hand, then darted back into the shadows.The woman went very white, opened her mouth as though to say something, then slammed the door in their faces instead. All up and down the street doors slammed.
What are they afraid of? Charles Wallace asked. Whats the matter with them?
Dont you know? Meg asked him. Dont you know what all this is about, Charles?
Not yet, Charles Wallace said. Not even an inkling. And Im trying. But I didnt get through anywhere. Not even a chink. Lets go. He stumped down the steps.
After several blocks the houses gave way to apartment buildings; at least Meg felt sure that that was what they must be. They were fairly tall, rectangular buildings, absolutely plain, each window, each entrance exactly like every other. Then, coming towards them down the street, was a boy about Calvins age riding a machine that was something like a combination of a bicycle and a motorcycle. It had the slimness and lightness of a bicycle, and yet as the foot pedals turned they seemed to generate an unseen source of power, so that the boy could pedal very slowly and yet move along the street quite swiftly. As he reached each entrance he thrust one hand into a bag he wore slung over his shoulder, pulled out a roll of papers, and tossed it into the entrance. It might have been Dennys or Sandy or any one of hundreds of boys with a newspaper round in any one of hundreds of towns at home, and yet, as with the children playing ball and jumping rope, there was something wrong about it. The rhythm of the gesture never varied. The paper flew in identically the same arc at each doorway, landed in identically the same spot. It was impossible for anybody to throw with such consistent perfection.
Calvin whistled. I wonder if they play baseball here?
As the boy saw them he slowed down and stopped, his hand arrested as it was about to plunge into the paper bag. What are you kids doing out on the street? he demanded. Only newspaper boys are allowed out now, you know that.
No, we dont know it, Charles Wallace said. Were strangers here. How about telling us something about this place?
You mean youve had your entrance papers processed and everything? the boy asked. You must have if youre here, he answered himself. And what are you doing here if you dont know about us?
You tell me, Charles Wallace said.
Are you examiners? the boy asked a little anxiously. Everybody knows our city has the best Central Intelligence Centre on the planet. Our production levels are the highest. Our factories never close; our machines never stop rolling. Added to this we have five poets, one musician, three artists and six sculptors, all perfectly channelled.
What are you quoting from? Charles Wallace asked.
The Manual, of course, the boy said. We are the most oriented city on the planet. There has been no trouble of any kind for centuries. All Camazotz knows our record. That is why we are the capital city of Camazotz. That is why CENTRAL Central Intelligence is located here. That is why IT makes ITs home here. There was something about the way he said IT that made a shiver run up and down Megs spine.
But Charles Wallace asked briskly, Where is this Central Intelligence Centre of yours?
CENTRAL Central, the boy corrected. Just keep going and you cant miss it.You are strangers, arent you! What are you doing here?
Are you supposed to ask questions? Charles Wallace demanded severely.
The boy went white, just as the woman had. I humbly beg your pardon. I must continue my round now or I will have to talk my timing into the explainer. And he shot off down the street on his machine.
Charles Wallace stared after him. What is it? he asked Meg and Calvin. There was something funny about the way he talked, as though well, as though he werent really doing the talking. Know what I mean?
Calvin nodded, thoughtfully. Funny is right. Funny peculiar. Not only the way he talked, either. The whole thing smells.
Come on. Meg pulled at them. How many times was it she had urged them on? Lets go find father. Hell be able to explain it all to us.
They walked on. After several more blocks they began to see other people, grown-up people, not children, walking up and down and across the streets. These people ignored the children entirely, seeming to be completely intent on their own business. Some of them went into the apartment buildings. Most of them were heading in the same direction as the children. As these people came to the main street from the side streets they would swing round the corners with an odd, automatic stride, as though they were so deep in their own problems and the route was so familiar that they didnt have to pay any attention to where they were going.
After a while the apartment buildings gave way to what must have been office buildings, great stern structures with enormous entrances. Men and women with brief cases poured in and out.
Charles Wallace went up to one of the women, saying politely, Excuse me, but could you please tell me But she hardly glanced at him as she continued on her way.
Look. Meg pointed. Ahead of them, across a square, was the largest building they had ever seen, higher than the highest skyscraper, and almost as long as it was high.
This must be it, Charles Wallace said, their CENTRAL Central Intelligence or whatever it is. Lets go on.
But if fathers in some kind of trouble with this planet, Meg objected, isnt that exactly where we shouldnt go?
Well, how do you propose finding him? Charles Wallace demanded.
I certainly wouldnt ask there!
I didnt say anything about asking. But we arent going to have the faintest idea where or how to begin to look for him until we find out something more about this place, and I have a hunch that thats the place to start. If you have a better idea, Meg, why of course just say so.
Oh, get down off your high horse, Meg said crossly. Lets go to your old CENTRAL Central Intelligence and get it over with.
I think we ought to have passports or something, Calvin suggested. This is much more than leaving America to go to Europe. And that boy and the woman both seemed to care so much about having things in proper order. We certainly havent got any papers in proper order.
If we needed passports or papers Mrs Whatsit would have told us so, Charles Wallace said.
Calvin put his hands on his hips and looked down at Charles Wallace. Now look here, old sport. I love those three old girls just as much as you do, but Im not sure they know everything.
They know a lot more than we do.
Granted. But you know Mrs Whatsit talked about having been a star. I wouldnt think that being a star would give her much practice in knowing about people. When she tried to be a person she came pretty close to goofing it up. There was never anybody on land or sea like Mrs Whatsit the way she got herself up.