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'What? Well, it was my charitable duty-'

'You're the Fifth Horseht, you've been hu time You want me to find out You want me to Thousands of years of a life like this It's curled you in on yourself You'll fightyour nalowed 'I look after my oeeper'

'I'm one of yours, am I?'

'You have certain hile points' They stared at one another 'I'll take you back to where I found you,' said Ronnie Soak 'That's all I don't do that other stuff any more' The Auditor lay on its back, mouth open Occasionally it ain, Mr-'

'Dark Avocado, Mr White'

'Is that a real colour?'

'Yes, Mr White!' said Mr Dark Avocado, asn't entirely sure that it was 'Try again, then, Mr Dark Avocado' Mr Dark Avocado, with great reluctance, reached doards the supine figure's ers were a few inches ahen, apparently of its own volition, the figure's left hand ripped them There was a crackle of bone 'I feel extreme pain, Mr White'

'What is in its mouth, Mr Dark Avocado?'

'It appears to be cooked fer'

'A foodstuff?'

'Yes, Mr White The sensations of pain are really quite noticeable at this point'

'Did I not give an order that there should be no eating or drinking or unnecessary experimentation with sensory apparatus?'

'Indeed you did, Mr White The sensation known as extreme pain, which I mentioned previously, is now really quite acute What shall I do now?' The concept of 'orders' was yet another new and intensely unfamiliar one for any Auditor They were used to decisions by co whatsoever about the matter in question had been exhausted Decisions made by everyone were decisions made by no one, which therefore precluded any possibility of blame But the bodies understood orders This was clearly so with it in a spirit of investigation There was no choice, in any case All kinds of sensations arose when they were given instructions by ahow smoothly the i desire to do what the weapon said 'Can you not persuade hio of your hand?'

'He appears to be unconscious, Mr White His eyes are bloodshot He isnoise Yet the body seems deterain the issue of the unbearable pain?' Mr White signalled to two other Auditors With considerable effort, they pried Mr Dark Avocado's fingers loose 'This is so ill have to learn ade spoke of it Mr Dark Avocado?'

'Yes, Mr White?'

'Do the sensations of pain persist?'

'My hand feels both hot and cold, Mr White'

'How strange,' said Mr White 'I see that ill need to investigate pain in greater depth' Mr Dark Avocado found that a little voice in the back of his head screaht of this, while Mr White went on: 'What other foodstuffs are there?'

'We know the names of three thousand, seven hundred and nineteen foods,' said Mr Indigo- Violet, stepping forward He had beco for the Auditors They had never had experts before What one knew, all knew Knowing so that others did not know marked one as, in a save you power and value, which ht not die quite so easily It was a lot to deal with, and like so a number of facial tics and twitches as his mind tried to cope