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three times, while he collected his thoughts. “Subsequent reports have not developed promise of first.” Something was wrong; badly wrong. There we re three possibilities. That Hu mayun had somehow, for some reason, not submitted correct reports to Graz. That Graz was engaged in some tortuous course of deceit which involved putting one of their own Managers off the scent. Or that the flip from Nikko- Tsi was a private forgery of Ledbetter’s. The second possibility seemed much the most likely. In any case, since two out of the three possibilities involved trickery within United Chemicals, the obvious thing for him to do was to watch his step. He pushed the message back to Ledbetter.
    Ledbetter said: "Well?”
    And something else was wrong. Ledbetter was too amiable, too anxious not to embarrass him. He tried fitting himself into Ledbetter’s position, an imaginative exercise more difficult for him than it would have been for many others, because so infrequently practiced. Ledbetter had wondered whether there might not be some truth in his suspicions, and had got in touch with Graz— with the clear intention of ducking the problem should it offer any major difficulties. Having got this kind of reply it was reasonable enough that he should have rejected Charles’ theory, but surely there was another implication to be drawn as well? Immediately before 41
    Ledbetter showed him the message from Graz, Charles had referred to the work of the laboratory in veiled but portentous terms. Ledbetter had known—on the basis of his information—that there could be nothing in such a claim. His obvious move should be to put a disaffected and self-important subordinate in his place. Instead, he was watching Charles with friendly sympathy.
    Charles said, striving to be noncommittal: “The flip seems clear enough. Your view then is—”
    Ledbetter shrugged. “You’ve seen something of one of the missing three, so you’re at an advantage there. But in my experience human beings can be very deceptive in that respect. I prefer to stick to the big picture. And that takes me back to the original question—what reason could there be to justify the kind of thing you have suggested? I’m not blinking the fact that there are several managerials who would stick at very little if they thought there really was something that would give them the advantage. I haven’t forgotten the little shot Atomics had at—shall we say, centralization?—a few years ago. Or the Hydroponics—Agriculture combination in the ’Thirty-six famine. But what is there in this for anyone? Can you see anything?”
    The solicitude was wrong, altogether wrong. There was one possibility, he reflected wryly, that might account for it. Stenner seemed to have had some doubts as to his mental balance. It might be that Ledbetter had them, to an even greater degree. Some people were naturally polite and considerate to the insane.
    Temporizing, he said: “I suppose you must be right” He hesitated, summoning up words that would deceive the tall friendly man opposite him. “I won’t conceal the fact that my assistant—Sara Koupal —made a very great impression on me.” He smiled. “I couldn’t conceal it, anyway, could I? It’s in Stenner’s report. There is no doubt in my mind that I love her. I found it hard to recognize that she might be dead; harder that her death had been of her own volition.” He looked at Ledbetter, 42 his embarrassment producing a good effect of honesty. “I still do.”
    “Naturally you do,” Ledbetter said. “I don’t think we need to call in Stenner’s amateur psychoanalysis. Whether the affections are conditioned or free, one feels them—and damned painfully at times. This has been a bad business, even if an innocent one. Of course you would be inclined to see things the way you did. Anyone would. And it can’t be much consolation to you now to be told that you will get over it—though you will. Work is a useful thing in that