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specialists listen to you. Maybe someone at the meeting could come up with an intelligent guess."
    "Will there be a lot of Soviet bloc scientists there?" Sam asked. "At this stage, it would be a mistake to let them know that we're asking questions."
    "It's an international colloquium. It'd look funny if we tried to exclude anybody. Let me talk to the chairman of the scientific organizing committee. He's an acquaintance of mine, from West Germany. I know we can trust him and he might be able to think of something. There may be nothing to worry about. This kind of event is like sports or cultural exchanges. When diplomatic relations are strained, the Soviets stay home in protest. Right now, relations are pretty strained."
    "Tell me about it," Sam concurred.
    Bridges turned to Laine. "I'm glad you've come to America, Dr. Tammsalu. Do you plan to go into teaching or research?"
    "Research, if I can find a position," she said, smiling radiantly.
    "What's your specialization in astrophysics? I may be able to help you. I'm afraid I'm not well acquainted with the names of astronomers in the Soviet Union."
    "There is no reason for you to have heard of me. I was never terribly important. My personal interest has been high energy astrophysics, in particular gamma-ray astronomy. We have not done much experimental work in this field, although we did have a rather ambitious plan for gamma-ray and x-ray satellites as a scientific arm of Project Peter the Great. Now, I have no idea as to what will become of that project, much less about its scientific satellite programs."
    "Let me look into it," Bridges said. "There may a good position open for you. Let me write some colleagues. Can't make any promises, of course. Funding for scientific work's gotten pretty tight again. A few years ago, you'd have had your pick of a dozen jobs."
    "You are very kind. It is good to know that someone is willing to take in a wandering Estonian."
    "Actually, you're not the first Estonian astronomer I've met. Back when I was a grad student, far too long ago, I attended a seminar given by Ernst Opik. It was a great privilege. After that, I specialized in symbiotic stars. Do you have a number where I can get in touch with you?" There was an exchange of telephone numbers, then Sam put on his best official smile and they shook hands with Bridges and took their leave.
    "High-energy astrophysics," Sam said, as they trudged down the long hall, "x-ray and gamma-ray astronomy, symbiotic stars." Head down and hands in pockets, he was a picture of perplexed dejection. "I haven't felt so lost since my first day in boot camp. At any rate, I think you've won a fan."
    "It's good of him to want to help me," Laine said, "and if you really want to feel lost, try defecting to an alien culture. Your '56 Chevy is as strange to me as a gamma-ray telescope to you."
    Sam released one of his infrequent laughs. "Thanks. I was starting to feel sorry for myself."
    Outside, Laine pointed at the modernistic facade of the Air and Space Museum. "Could we go in there?"
    "Sure. We're in no rush. I should've thought of it myself. Here you've been in D.C. for days and you haven't had a chance to be a tourist yet."
    "How could I? I've spent all my waking hours since I got here in one of those interrogation rooms."
    He took her arm and escorted her across the street. "Please, ma'am," he said with mock gravity, "We have no 'interrogation rooms.' Those were debriefing rooms.' "
    "How can you take a briefing back from somebody?"
    "True, but 'interrogation room' puts people in mind of blinding lights and rubber hoses. If you think 'debriefing' sounds evasive, I'll take you up on the Hill and you can hear some real doubletalk." At the entrance to the museum he remembered something. "Wait here a minute." Laine watched bemusedly as he ran back across the street and fed coins into a meter next to his Chevy. He made it just as a woman in a police uniform came into sight mounted on an odd, three-wheeled