“Ouch!” Bruno said. “Thanks.”

“Any time,” Morrissey said cheerfully. “Get some rest now. I’ll be back.”

He went out with the nurse. Bruno blew out his breath and let his gaze wander around the room. Everything looked perfectly solid and normal. No black, thundering abyss lurked under the floor. An unpleasant dream!

He reached for pad and pencil and made careful notes on the curious double-delusion before he let himself relax. Then he felt the sedative creeping slowly along his nerves, a warm, pleasant sensation that he was glad to encourage. He didn’t want to think. Later would be time enough. The empathy surrogate experiment, Gregson, the physicist Parsons, Barbara—later!

He drowsed. It seemed only a moment before he opened his eyes to see sunlight beyond the window. Brief panic touched him, then he looked at his wrist-watch and was reassured to see that it said eleven o’clock. He could hear the muffled sounds of the ordinary hospital routine going on outside door and window. Presently, feeling refreshed, he got up and dressed.

In Nurse Harwood’s office he telephoned Morrissey, exchanged brief greetings, and then went to his own office to shower and shave.

He telephoned Barbara.

“Hello, there,” she said. “Morrissey notified me you were doing all right. So I thought I’d wait till you woke up.”

“I’m awake now. Suppose I come over to the house for lunch?”

“Swell. I’ll be waiting.”

“Half an hour, then?”

“Half an hour. I’m glad you called, Bob. I was worried.”

“You needn’t have been.”

“Was your experiment a success?”

“Can’t tell yet. Keep your fingers crossed.”

 Prev. P 9/15 next