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buzzing again. He decided to ignore it. He was amazed when it came alive anyway, and Jarvis Dommer's grinning face appeared on the monitor.
    "I know, I know." Dommer held up his hand. "You didn't expect to see me again so soon." "Ever, if I had my way."
    "Ha ha!" Dommer's smile did not fade. "Well, you'll change your mind when you hear what I have to say."
    Bey decided not to waste time on insults. Dommer clearly had a hide like a rhinoceros.
    "I'd like to know how you did that," Bey said. "I mean, how you activated my system. I'm supposed to be protected from unwanted calls."
    "I'm sure you are. But that word doesn't apply to this call." Dommer's face took on a look of grave reverence. "Behrooz Wolf, it is my privilege to grant you a rare honor. Trudy Melford wishes to meet with you— in person. I have here"—he held up his right hand— "your travel voucher to Melford Castle. Not by any standard method of travel, either, but by Mattin Link. Price no object!"
    "I'm not interested."
    Dommer's eyes popped. "You can't be serious. I'm talking about meeting Trudy Melford. The Trudy Melford, Gertrude Zenobia Melford, the outright owner of—"
    "I know very well who Trudy Melford is. I've known all about her since the day she inherited Corly Melford's stock and became the Biological Equipment Corporation's majority owner. I've even met her. She was there when I signed the license with BEC to give you people the right to use the multiforms. She personally signed off on the purchase."
    "But if she approved buying rights to your forms, then she's the reason you're a rich man today. If it weren't for Trudy Melford, you wouldn't own that island."
    "Maybe. But she didn't buy my ideas as a favor to me. She and BEC have made far more from the use of the multiforms than I have. So you can tell her, thanks but no thanks."
    "But Mr. Wolf, I can't do that! If I were to call Ms. Melford, and tell her that you refuse—"
    Bey reached out and slapped the cut-off switch. That made two terminated calls in ten minutes. As an extra precaution he turned off communicator power completely. Jarvis Dommer and BEC might have enough clout to change an on/off setting remotely, but not even they could operate a dead system.
    Frowning, he went once more to the form-change tank. The experiment in it was clearly failing. The hive cluster, despite everything that he could do, was breaking up. Individual bees were lifting lazily free of the swarm and seeking a way out of the basement lab.
    Bey decided to try one more set of changes to the tank operating parameters. He set to work, but after a few minutes he muttered in annoyance and leaned back in his chair, the task incomplete. This wouldn't do. Only a small part of his mind was on a job that demanded full attention. Although Jarvis Dommer had not succeeded in persuading Bey to do what Trudy Melford wanted, he had certainly succeeded in interrupting Bey's work.
    Trudy Melford.
    Bey knew her rather better than he had suggested to Dommer. From his days at the Office of Form Control Bey was aware that she kept a complete file on his own activities. But that had been more than three years ago, when it made good sense for the owner of BEC to monitor closely the activities of the head of the Office of Form Control. Bey's office was one of the few organizations whose official decisions could have an effect on BEC operations. But why would Trudy Melford care what he did now, when he was long retired? And what possible reason could she have for wanting to meet with him personally ?
    Bey sighed, went back to his communications unit, and turned it on again. He placed a call to BEC. Not to Trudy Melford, or even to Jarvis Dommer. He needed to talk to Maria Sun. She was his oldest friend there, one of the few people whose opinions and talents Bey respected when it came to form change.
    She was in. That was predictable. Maria was a workaholic, someone who was more likely to be in her office than anywhere else in the world.