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in early to talk to you."
    "Me?" he asked in surprise.
    "Well, it seems she's unhappy with her situation here," Lusela said, frowning. "She came to me about it—but I think it's something she really should discuss with you."
    Jonders muttered under his breath and glanced at the time. "Is she here now?"
    "In the debriefing room."
    He sighed. "Let's go." He followed Lusela down the hall and into the room where Mozelle was sitting quietly, fussing with her hair. She raised her eyes as they sat down across the table from her. "Hi. What's up, Mozelle?" he asked, putting on his best supervisory manner.
    Mozelle cleared her throat, fidgeting. He raised his eyebrows. She shrugged. "It's . . . about the job."
    "So I hear. Is there something that you're unhappy with?"
    "Well, Lusela told me that it's ending soon. And I . . . was a little shocked by that. I had thought . . . because of something you said once earlier, that I might . . . be able to stay on longer."
    Jonders blinked and slowly shook his head. "I'm not sure what you mean, really. If we gave you the wrong impression, I'm sorry. Did Lusela explain that we're near the end of the phase of the project that you're helping us with?"
    Mozelle sighed heavily, and nodded.
    "We were going to formally tell all of you next week," Lusela added gently.
    Mozelle nodded again and said. "Right. I get that—now. But—" she shifted positions "—this is hard to explain—but it makes me uncomfortable, not knowing what's going to happen after this, or what goes on behind the sessions." She pulled at her hair. "I wish I could be more involved, really. I'd even work full time, if I could. But now, I don't even really feel a part of it. Do you know what I mean?"
    "I think I do," Jonders said, thinking, I shouldn't be surprised by this—but why did it have to happen now?
    "I don't even feel like I want to keep working," she said abruptly. "I feel like I'm not important here."
    Jonders raised both hands. "Whoa, that's not true at all. You're extremely important to us. I understand that it's frustrating—but we did explain that there were certain parts of the work that had to be kept secret, because of the nature of the experiment. Do you remember that?" She nodded. "Well, even though we haven't been able to share with you exactly what your contribution has been, you certainly have helped us—more than we can say. And we need your help for a few weeks more, to see it through to the end."
    She sighed again. "There's no chance of my working beyond that?" The sparkle in her eyes, normally present, was missing.
    "I'm sorry," he said sympathetically. "I appreciate your interest, but what we need is for you to help us finish what you've started, on schedule."
    Mozelle nodded unhappily. She seemed to want to say something else; then whatever was in her expression was gone. Jonders glanced at the time. "Can we count on you?" he said gently.
    Mozelle's thoughts seemed turned inward. Finally she said, "Yes." And she nodded again.
    "Wonderful. Now, why don't you go grab yourself some coffee, since we have an hour until your session. Okay?" Jonders smiled, and ushered her out of the debriefing room. Lusela followed, giving him a wink as she left.
    Lord, he thought, sitting alone at the briefing table. His head was throbbing. He had visions of frenzied hordes at the stockades, and vultures circling overhead. All of them thundering inside his skull.
     
    * * *
     
    The afternoon clattered by. Everything got done, somehow, and Mozelle's scenario rated high marks all around. Mozelle seemed muted at the start, but only until she was in the link with Kadin. Then she blossomed with enthusiasm and just the right blend of vulnerability and stubbornness to provoke an excellent performance by Kadin. Jonders doubted that motivation would be a problem with her again.
    At six-thirty, Lusela dropped the day's summaries on his desk. "What else needs to be done?" she asked.
    "Go home," he