He listened a long time to her quiet breathing. I wonder what she looks like? Is the rest of her as beautiful as her voice? I can't help it—I'm in love with her. I wish I was more than a brain in a bottle. I wish I could touch her—hold her hand. Silly thought. Like a kid on his first date.

He pictured her in his mind—lovely, vibrant, beautiful. How, he thought savagely, could she ever fall in love with me? Simple—she couldn't. No woman could love a freak. And I wouldn't want it that way. She'd be throwing her happiness away.

But damn it!—I can't help it if I want her.

I'm neck deep—if I may be permitted to use such an expression—in world affairs. The good doctor read six newspapers to me while you were gone.

Karen laughed. "I thought he sounded a bit hoarse."

Well—out with it, woman! Did you enjoy your first day off in almost three weeks?

Her voice was happier than he had heard it in days. "I went shopping, George, for the first time in months, and really splurged. Got a new outfit. You should see me."

I wish I could.

"You will soon enough."

What do you mean by that?

"Your body's ready. You move in tomorrow."

Thank God! Tomorrow! It is—rather hard to believe, after all this time! I'm going to have a body. He could almost feel a lump form in his throat, only of course he didn't have a throat—yet. I don't know if I'm going to like having to put up with the pains of the flesh again.

She laughed. Then her voice turned wistful, or maybe it was just his imagination. "Not only the pains, George, but the pleasures, too."

Yeah. He was silent for a moment. Then he forced his voice to be light. I can't wait for those eyes, Karen. Tell me about the outfit. What color is it—how does the cloth feel? Tell me all about it, Karen.

The next day, Karen warned him just before Dr. Chase released the sedative into his blood supply. George peacefully went into a deep, dreamless sleep. In his mind, he could still hear Karen's voice speaking gently to him, assuringly.

Almost instantly, it seemed, he was awake, though it took hours. The first thing he was conscious of was a dull throbbing pain in his head—and then he realized—it 

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