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

<passage>:
relentlessly toward him. He awoke still screaming.... A night without darkness passed. Ben lay waiting for Maggie's return, a question already formed in his mind. the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] With never a moment to rest, the pursuit through space felt like a game of hounds looking for him, weren't you?" Ben Curtis eased his pale, gaunt body through the open doorway of the Blast Inn, the dead man following silently behind him. "Who is he?" Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that "Where is he?" there, Ben saw moving figures. He could not tell if they were Earthmen, Someone tugged at his greasy coat. He jumped, thinking absurdly that it was the dead man's hand. we operate?" He told her the tales he'd heard. She nodded. "There are quite a few of us now—about a thousand—and a Ben looked down. but with almost every advance in space, someone dies." "I'm American," Ben muttered. a temporary base when we have cases like yours. The new base—I might as well tell you it's going to be an asteroid. I won't say which one." "Venus is getting too civilized. We're moving out and this dome is only Ben shook his head. "It is deal, monsieur ? Five dollars or twenty Ben scowled. "What happens if there keelis for visit ignore you then." "Then we move on. We dream up new gimmicks for our crates and take them to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. In time, maybe, we'll be The boy grabbed his hand. Because Ben could think of no reason for Ben stiffened. "And that's why you want me for an astrogator." Several times, Ben glimpsed the bulky figures of CO 2 -breathing unblinking. They certainly didn't look like telepaths, as Ben had heard that had coursed through her. Once he spied a white-uniformed officer of Hoover City's Security again. We'll try this afternoon. Okay?" "Okay," he said. , Ben told himself. He remembered a little picture book his mother had given him when she The officer passed. Ben breathed easier. Ben winced. How did this kid know he wanted to sit in the shadows? Frowning, he sat down—he and the dead man. For an instant, Ben's mind rose above the haunting vision of the dead The dead man was real. His name was Cobb. He was stout and flabby and about forty and he hated spacemen. His body was buried now—probably in the silent gray wastes outside Again, its face would be a pop-eyed mask of surprise as Ben's fist been successful. Ben, quietly and moderately, wanted to celebrate. He stopped alone in a rocketfront bar for a beer. The man named Cobb Ben smiled. "If it weren't for spacemen, you wouldn't be here." Ben stiffened. He was twenty-four and dressed in the white, He'd sought long for that key. At the age of five—perhaps in order to dull the memory of his parents' death in a recent strato-jet crash—he'd spent hours watching the night At sixteen, he'd spent every weekend holiday hitchhiking from Boys the grizzled veterans of the old Moon Patrol, he'd found friends who And a month ago, he'd signed aboard the Odyssey Ben rose and started to leave the bar, but Cobb grabbed his arm and Until this instant, Ben had suppressed his anger. Now, suddenly and Ben knew that he was dead. Then, for a single absurd second, Ben was seized with terror—just as, a moment before, he'd been overwhelmed with anger. At last, abruptly, he realized that he was alone and in silence. He saw He huddled in a dark corner of a loading platform and lit a cigarette. That would eliminate the escape charge. You'd get off with voluntary manslaughter. Under interplanetary law, that would mean ten years in prison and a dishonorable discharge. And then you'd be free. But you'd be through with rockets and space. They don't want new , Ben reflected, you can take a beer-and-pretzels tale seriously. You can hide for a couple of days, get rid of your uniform, change your Earth. After all, was it right for a single second, a single insignificant memory of the dead man's face would haunt him, torment him, follow him So now he sat searching for a perhaps nonexistent red-bearded giant, He jumped. "Oh. You still here?" n'est-ce-pas ?" "This isn't my first night here," Ben lied. "I've been around a while." Ben didn't answer. "They say it is because after women come, they want first thing a Ben raised his hand as if to strike the boy. Light showered the room in a dazzling explosion. Ben, half blinded, Ben whirled away from the advancing police, made for the exit into He stumbled forward. They were using deadly neuro-pistols now, not the He froze as if yanked to a stop by a noose. His body seemed to be needle had imbedded itself deep in his flesh, knew that the paralyzing his body. He staggered like a man of stone moving in slow motion. He'd have fifteen—maybe twenty—seconds before complete lethargy of mind and body overpowered him. In the dark world beyond his fading consciousness, he heard a voice A soft feminine voice spoke to him. "You're wounded? They hit you?" "I'm sure," Ben managed to say. His mind fought to comprehend. With the anti-paralysis injection, within half a day. Without treatment, the paralysis could spread to heart and lungs. It could become a paralysis of death. An effective He didn't hear the answer or anything else. Ben Curtis had no precise sensation of awakening. Return to voice he'd heard in the Blast Inn. "Don't talk. Just lie still and rest. Everything'll be all right." Everything all right , he thought dimly. There were long periods of lethargy when he was aware of nothing. There "Swallow this now. That's it. You must have food." Or, "Close your eyes. Don't strain. It won't be long. You're getting better." Better , he'd think. Getting better.... Finally he saw the face and figure that stood at his side. and thirty. Her features, devoid of makeup, had an unhealthy-looking pallor, as if she hadn't used a sunlamp for many weeks. Yet, at the "You will live." He thought for a moment. "How long have I been here?" "Nine days." "You took care of me?" He noted the deep, dark circles beneath her sleep-robbed eyes. in readiness. He shook his head, not wanting it. "Why?" he asked again. "It would be a long story. Perhaps I'll tell you tomorrow." A new thought, cloaked in sudden fear, entered his murky consciousness. His own eyes widened. "How did you know that?" "How did you learn my name? I destroyed all my papers—" "I know that you're twenty-four. Born July 10, 1971. Orphaned at four, Your rating for the five-year period was 3.8—the second highest in a class of fifty-seven. Your only low mark in the five years was a 3.2 in History of Martian Civilization. Want me to go on?" Fascinated, Ben nodded. Rest." He tried to relax, but his mind was a vortex of conjecture. "Just one more question," he almost whispered. "The man I killed—did he have a wife?" "Children?" "Two. I don't know their ages." She left the room. Ben stared at the photo for a long time. At length, he slipped into The dead man returned to him. Bloodied lips cursed at him. Glassy eyes down and beckoned to him. Ben crawled through the night on hands and

<question>:
How long ago had it been since Ben had first encountered the dead man?

<options>:
A 3 weeks
B 1 month
C 3 months
D 1 week

<answer>:

D