"Bruchner," said Hal with mild irritation. "All I hear around here lately is Bruchner. What is he, anyway? Nothing but a savage."

"Eh?" said his father softly, raising his eyebrows again in polite inquiry.

"If Bruchner is such a brilliant fellow, why doesn't he take the Treatment and become civilized? I sometimes get a little tired of an employee who tells me I'm wrong all the time."

"But he is almost always right when he makes such statements, Hal," Webber pointed out mildly. "For instance, just the other day I asked him about the color range to be used with the new process on the Formair Skydome. He stated flatly that blue was a normal color for sky. Just like that. I was a little startled, of course, at his lack of courtesy. But after I thought it over a while, blue did seem to be a nice color for sky."

"Aaa, blue," Hal muttered. "What's wrong with the green we've always used in the past?"

Mr. Webber sighed and squirmed a little to get the chair into a more comfortable fit. Attendant's chairs were not quite as comfortable as the Executive type, even if they were Formair. Then he cocked an eyebrow and looked at his son with mild concern. "Hal, my boy, what's the trouble? I've never seen you so completely upset in all my life."

"I feel funny," murmured Hal. "As a matter of fact, I feel awful. Maybe there's some connection."

"Ill," the old man nodded agreeably. "Yes, I thought you looked it when I came in here. Something in the set of your mouth. Tight, sort of."

With an expression of mild surprise, Hal reached up and tentatively felt around his mouth with a cleanly manicured forefinger.

"Son," Webber murmured, "how long has it been since you had your last CC Treatment?"

"Eight years," Hal admitted. "It's a little overdue, I suppose, but surely—" His voice trailed off softly, as his mind seized upon the possibility.

"That's probably what it is," Webber replied. That was a pretty definite statement for someone to make about another's sensations, but anyone could see that the old man was concerned over his son. "Five years is the standard period at your age. Why haven't you taken it?"

"Well, you know," Hal whispered. "It's that new thing they have in it now."

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