Read the following passage and questions, then choose the right answer from options, the answer should be one of A, B, C, D.

<passage>:
condemned inquisitor? She was perspiring freely, and the blonde hair on her arms and neck was death-struggle, lashing out with flames of poison. At first there was only the voice, a monotonous murmur in her ears. " Die now—die now—die now —" Evelyn Kane awoke, breathing slowly and painfully. The top of the " Die now—die now—die now —" come that final interview with her father. The Defender . Be on it." "No. I shall die here." His fine tired eyes had studied her face in enigmatic appraisal. "Then die usefully. The mentors are trying to develop a force that will destroy both globes in the moment of our inevitable defeat. If they are successful, you will have the task of pressing the final button of the battle." "There's an off-chance you may survive," countered a mentor. "We're also working on a means for your escape—not only because you are our secret if and when our experiments prove successful." "But you must expect to die," her father had warned with gentle finality. She clenched her fingernails vehemently into her palms and wrenched the interior of the box. Once the fact was clear, she composed herself and lay there, breathing hard and thinking. She had no means to construct another key. At best, set the movers in motion, and draw the moderator columns. If it were unsafe, she must secure the unwitting assistance of her Scythian enemies. from her waist, for she knew that her greatest weapon in the struggle to come would be her apparent harmlessness. Four hundred yards behind her she detected the mind of a low-born Should he shoot immediately, or should he capture her? It had been two months since he had seen a woman. But then, his orders were to shoot. Yes, he would shoot. corporal as well as that of a Scythian woman auxiliary. Incidentally, where is the corporal? Did you kill him?" He was prepared for a last-ditch denial. He would cut it short, have "Do you not understand the master tongue? Why did you kill the corporal?" He leaned impatiently over his desk. their custom with recalcitrant prisoners, but she took no notice. She had analyzed the minds of the three men. She could handle the inquisitor alone or the two guards alone, but not all three. "If you aren't afraid of me, perhaps you'd be so kind as to send the guards out for a few minutes," she said, placing a hand on her hip. "I have interesting information." would certainly be on hand for the execution. His anticipation was cut short with a horrible realization. Under the paralyzing force of a mind be high-born and telepathic. He must not have occasion to suspect a similar ability in a mere clerk. "Where did you want to go?" stories high, reasonably intact. "I'm very happy to have you here, S'ria—ah—"—he looked at the visa suspiciously—"S'ria Lyn. Do sit down. But, as I was just remarking to S'ria Gerek, here"—he nodded to the other woman, who smiled back—"I wish the field officers would make up their august minds as to whether the narrowing eyes of S'ria Gerek, and smoothed the back of her braided yellow hair. He was studying her covertly. "The men in the fighting zones are uncouth, S'ria Gorph," she said simply. "I was told that you loudly into her mechanical transcriber. Evelyn cleared her throat, averted her eyes, and with some effort, managed a delicate flush. "I meant to say, I thought I would be happier you know. There'll be hard work here for several weeks yet, before we cut loose from the enemy globe. But you do your work well"—winking artfully—"and I'll see that—" He stopped, and his face took on a hunted look of mingled fear and anxiety. He appeared to listen. Evelyn tensed her mind to receive and deceive a mental probe. She was certain now that the Zone Commandant was high-born and telepathic. The chances were only fifty-fifty that she could delude him for any length the Faeg had ceased firing. Her heart was beating faster as she walked down the hall. She felt a very strong probe flooding over her brain casually, palping with mild appraisal penetrate her uncovered conscious mind, and that this probe was there awaiting it. "You are right," he said coldly, still staring into the court below. "Now that the long battle is over, there is little left to divert me." His arms were folded somberly across his chest, and he studied the Her father. The sweat continued to grow on her forehead, and she felt for a moment eyes, who sat her on his knee when she was a little girl and read bedtime stories to her from a great book with many pictures. An icy, amused voice came through: "Our orders are to kill all prisoners. It is entertaining to shoot down helpless men, isn't it? It warms me to know that I am cruel and wanton, and worthy of my trust." underlings to know he loathed them for it. She was merely a symbol of that contempt. His next words did not surprise her. "It is even more stimulating to require a shuddering female to kill them. You are shuddering you know?" She nodded dumbly. Her palm was so wet that a drop of sweat dropped from it to the floor. She was thinking hard. She could kill the Commandant and save her father for a little while. But then the the ugly little weapon. The doomed Terran looked up at her peacefully, without expression. She lowered the Faeg, her arm trembling. Gordon, Lord Kane, frowned faintly, then closed his eyes. She raised the gun again, drew cross hairs with a nerveless wrist, and squeezed the trigger. There was a loud, hollow cough, but no recoil. The Terran officer, his eyes still closed and arms folded, sank to the ground, The man leaning on the balustrade turned and looked at Evelyn, at first with amused contempt, then with narrowing, questioning eyes. "Come here," he ordered. The Faeg dropped from her hand. With a titanic effort she activated her completely. He dropped his hand. "I'm sorry," he said with a quiet weariness. "I shouldn't have asked you to kill the Terran. It was a sorry joke." "No." His mind was out of hers again, and he had turned moodily back, surveying the courtyard and the dead. "Gorph will be wondering what happened to you. Come to my quarters at the eighth metron tonight." Apparently he suspected nothing. Father. Father. I had to do it. But we'll all join you, soon. Soon. III Perat lay on his couch, sipping cold purple and following the out memory and knowledge. "Enough for now," he ordered. "Careful of your rib." resemblance to the Tharn line. Evelyn's hands knotted unconsciously. She forced her body to relax, but her mind was racing. This introduced another variable to be controlled "What did he say about it?" them." "Is that all he said?" from a death sentence." He arose, smoothed his hair and clothes, and poured another glass of terif proper disposition of a woman prisoner." Evelyn's heart skipped a beat. "Indeed?" "The wretch insists that he could remember if we would just let him the earnest faces of the mentors as they instructed her carefully in provided a useful and powerful stimulant to a man in danger. Adrenalin slowed the heart and digestion, increased the systole and blood pressure, and increased perspiration to cool the skin. But there could be too much of a good thing. An overdose of adrenalin, they had pointed out, caused almost immediate edema. The lungs filled rapidly with the serum and the victim ... drowned. The perfume she possessed over-stimulated, in some unknown way, the adrenals of frightened persons. It had no effect on inactive adrenals. The question remained—who would be the more frightened, she or the

<question>:
Which of the following best describes the tone of the story?

<options>:
A Humorous
B Intense
C Hopeful
D Calm

<answer>:

B