Атлант расправил плечи
The Face without Pain or Fear or Guilt
Whentheyweregone,hefeltwhatonefeelsatthelossofadreamonehadnotknowntillafteritwaslost.
Therewerefewpeopleontheplatformaroundhimandtheyseemedtomovewithself-consciousstrain,asifasenseofdisasterclungtotherailsandtothegirdersabovetheirheads.Hethoughtindifferentlythatafteracenturyofsafety,menwereoncemoreregardingthedepartureofatrainasaneventinvolvingagamblewithdeath.
Herememberedthathehadhadnodinner,andhefeltnodesiretoeat,buttheundergroundcafeteriaoftheTaggartTerminalwasmoretrulyhishomethantheemptycubeofspacehenowthoughtofashisapartment—sohewalkedtothecafeteria,becausehehadnootherplacetogo.
Thecafeteriawasalmostdeserted—butthefirstthinghesaw,asheentered,wasathincolumnofsmokerisingfromthecigaretteoftheworker,whosataloneatatableinadarkcorner.
Notnoticingwhatheputonhistray,Eddiecarriedittotheworker’stable,said,"Hello,"satdownandsaidnothingelse.Helookedatthesilverwarespreadbeforehim,wonderedaboutitspurpose,rememberedtheuseofaforkandattemptedtoperformthemotionsofeating,butfoundthatitwasbeyondhispower.Afterawhile,helookedupandsawthattheworker’seyeswerestudyinghimattentively.
"No,"saidEddie,"no,there’snothingthematterwithme...
