sweating faces of the three G-2 psychiatrists that gleamed at McQuine's left on the opposite end of the big oval-shaped conference-table—they were more than familiar. They had never thought he, Thorn, was really sane. What really sane man who had flown twice too many missions in one war would volunteer to fly in the next that followed? What sane man would go begging for military flight-test assignments in weird ships that had never been flown anywhere but in a wind-tunnel and on computer-tapes. And what sane man—God help him—what man in his senses would ask to be fired a thousand miles off the Earth with only the knowledge that a thing the size of a basketball had circled the planet successfully for almost a year before it fell back and burned up?

Had the Major ever had thoughts of—well, of doing away with himself? Had the Major hated his father when he was young? Been afraid of girls? (Oh, is that a fact, Major? Well! Well, now....)

Only the faces of the three Senate Committee members were different. But they usually were.

"Yes sir, one question. It was my understanding—and Captain Streeter's, I'm sure—that Final Security and Briefing had been scheduled for about nine weeks from now. There has been no acceleration in the final phases of our program, so—"

"I, ah—" McQuine interrupted smoothly, "think that question might best be answered by your Final Briefing officers, Major. Now, any other questions?"

"No sir." So that was it, all right. The rumors, as usual, had a germ of truth in them. All rumors did. And these had been more persistent than most. Cold war not so cold anymore. General Adams transferring. That last note from Big Red—didn't all get to the papers! Cold war not so cold anymore....

"Now, Major, when you were a sophomore in high-school—the book entitled A World United not on your required English or Political Science reading lists, was it?"

"No sir, not as I recall, but—"

"Then why did you read it? You have admitted before that you did read it—"

Pause. All up to him. Every single word, every single inflection, up to him....

"I took quite an interest in my studies, both in high-school and in college, sir, as I believe my records will show you. They'll show that I also read books relating to other courses that weren't a regular part of the curriculum...."

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