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silence them. Forever.
    No. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t kill Penny. Gary, yes. He could kill Gary in the blink of an eye. Easily. Without remorse. But Penny might still be his. She might see the light. Recognize that he was the only one who truly loved her. For months he had watched her from a distance. He had been afraid to approach her, afraid that she would reject him. Just like the one other girl he had been brave enough to approach had rejected him. But now he was ready to act. He had to act—before it was too late.
    He silently backed away from the tent until he couldn’t hear the noises inside. Slowly his insides cooled. His skin cooled off more rapidly, matching the temperature of the night air. He shivered. He forced himself to start walking back toward his car. He needed to get some sleep. If he could.

    CHAPTER 5
    Penny laughed as she put a dime into the slot that turned on the water for the shower. A shower with class—cobwebs, peeling paint, and aromatic canvas curtains. What a way to start her wedding day. A nontraditional wedding day if there ever were one. Their conformity scores had been correct.
    She and Gary had met through a computer matching service called Human Inventory. Although as Gary, the IBMer, had pointed out, the probability that the service actually used a computer in 1964 was not high. Computers were just barely up to that kind of challenge, and the programmers who could make them work were still too scarce for a startup company to employ.
    The concept sounded good. Even if they’d only used a punched card sorter, it had worked for her and Gary. All applicants had taken a series of tests for interests and attitudes. Interests of matched couples didn’t have to coincide exactly; some diversity was good, but the scores should be close on several attitudes. And they were. They had both scored very low on conformity. Thus her easy acceptance of the current situation. And they had both scored high on—she peeked through the curtains to make sure nobody else was about, afraid that somebody might read her thoughts—attitude toward sex. Those scores had also been correct.
    ***
    Gary fired up the Coleman stove he and Penny had purchased by pooling their Blue Chip Stamps and pondered how his life had changed so much in four short months. Well, okay, six months. Although it was just four months since Penny and he had met each other face to face. But for two months before that they had corresponded anonymously, through Human Inventory. He was Adam plus a number, and she was Eve.
    Their letters covered a lot of territory, and by the time they went on their first date to the San Diego Zoo, they knew each other better than many couples do after months—or years—or forever. Gary wondered what would have happened if one or both of them hadn’t been truthful in the letters. They would certainly have found out on that marathon first date which had lasted twelve hours. It would have been two months down the drain, but then, life was a risky business.
    Fortunately, they had been truthful, and they were still being truthful with each other. Although, Penny hadn’t told him about the notes and phone calls she had received until the night before last. However, he trusted her, and she trusted him.
    Since their families were both on the east coast, if they were going to get married at all it was easier to do it this way than try to coordinate from long distance. He had mentioned the possibility of marriage to his mother on the phone a few weeks ago. She had immediately started naming the dates they weren’t available, including right now. They were in Europe on an extended vacation.
    He put a pot of water on the stove to heat for cocoa, and a frying pan for eggs. He was happier than he’d ever been.
    ***
    Alfred didn’t know whether it was the sunlight or the cold or the noises of other campers that woke him, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he was startled enough to take a quick look at his