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the bed, a magazine in her hands.
    "Hi, I'm Séamus.  I've been told to call you Jenny.  We'd like you to come down."
    The girl was small with a slight build, a pretty face, and brown hair that had an orangey hue.  She nodded and followed him to the office.  The professor stood as she entered, grasped her uncertain hand, and asked her what she would like to drink.  She took a glass of water.
    "I'm James Wilkie, the professor in charge of this project.  The young lady is Dr Alice Turner, a mathematics guru whose work is vital to the project's success, as I will explain.  The young man is Séamus FitzGerald.  His job is to look after you and the other girls, and to make sure you comply with the rules of the experiment.  I can assure you, based upon our knowledge of Séamus, that you are very safe in his hands.  However, if you have some concern about a man playing that role instead of a woman, please feel free to express it."
    The girl shook her head firmly.  "It's better with a man."
    "Good.  Now, if you don't mind, could I ask you to give a brief introduction to yourself?  You can mention anything you want.  I just want Séamus and Alice to hear you speak a while."
    She frowned, then said.  "OK, I'm Jenny, age 23.  I've lived all my life in Western Japan.  I picked up all my languages by watching movies and TV shows.  My parents are divorced.  My father's an alcoholic and my mother is a gambling addict.  For a number of years they've depended upon my money, which is why I took this job.  I've stolen a lot of stuff from expensive stores, which was all sold to pay for my parents' medical bills – they've been huge.  I was only caught once for something quite small – I got away with an awful lot.  Sorry, am I being too explicit?  Your people back home know all this, so I assume it's in my file.  I like to be very open and up-front.  If I'm going to work with you for months, I want you to know who I am.  People say I look like a little angel, but that couldn't be further from the truth."  She paused. "Did I say enough?"
    The professor nodded.  "Thank you, Jenny.  That was perfect."  He turned to Alice and Séamus. 
    "Your British accent is flawless," Alice remarked.
    "Yes," the Professor answered for her. "Would you believe, she learned it only through movies and TV shows.  Jenny, would you like to repeat a summary of what you just said, but with an American accent?"
    She did so with perfection, at least to British ears.
    "She can do Australian and Canadian accents well, but not perfectly.  A South African or New Zealander could probably tell she wasn't from their countries, but it's a lot better than most Hollywood actors could do.  Yet she'd never met an English-speaker until she was interviewed by our people in Tokyo. She can also speak Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, French, Russian and Spanish.  She can get by in a pinch with another five languages, and knows sizeable chunks of another dozen or so."
    Jenny gave a forced smile to Séamus and Alice. 'I'm a freak."
    Wilkie shook his head. 'No, Jenny, you are the envy of all educated people the world over.  Many prominent folk would give up a year or more of their lives to have your gift so that they could communicate directly with people all around the world.  And this gift of yours, though possessed by less than one in a million adults in Asia and less than one in ten million elsewhere, is perfectly natural.  All young children possess it, and then start losing it gradually from the age of five or six.  By their teenage, most people cannot pick up native accents, and by twenty have a tough time with native grammar.  By thirty, all the grammar is tough, and by forty many of the words won't stick.   But for those with your gift, Jenny, language facility seems to get better, not worse, until you are in your mid-twenties.  You're approaching your peak ability around now."
    From the expression on her face, this all appeared to be news to