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down. ‘May I?’ he said to Helena. ‘My dear lady. Circumstances have arisen which make it necessary for me to take you into my confidence. Do I make myself clear?’
    â€˜Not particularly,’ Martin was leaning forward. ‘As a matter of fact I did tell Helena that you were thinking of lifting the ban on wives knowing anything at all about the work here. That’s it, isn’t it? She has to go to London this morning by the way.’
    â€˜Too bad; you’ll have to postpone it.’ Mayo glanced at Helena and spoke with complete finality. He had dropped his manner and reverted to type. He hitched one arm over the back of his chair and stretched his legs, ignoring her rising colour. ‘I’ve just had a long briefing from Lord Ludor’s office. The VIP luncheon today is to be more important than we’d thought. An American Admiral is flying over, so is the man Martin knows of from Reykjavick. General Smythe-White will be there and so will someone from the Ministry. We shall need you Helena, Martin and I, and that’s why I’m going to give you my lecture right away.’
    â€˜I’m so sorry, Paggen we . . .’
    â€˜Be quiet, dear.’ He was much more of a force now that he had given up presenting himself. ‘I shan’t tell you any more than I think is good for you but if you’re going to be any use at all you must understand enough to know what not to talk about. I’m only trusting you because I’ve got to. The first thing to remember is this: although every important country in the world is having a stab at what we’re trying to do the whole subject is still considered pretty absurd by all but the initiated.
That is how we want it
.’
    Helena looked at her watch openly and Martin shook his head at her but Mayo went on as if he had not noticed.
    â€˜Extra Sensory Perception, Thought-reading, Telepathy, they are all the same thing to the uninformed: mumbo jumbo. Splendid! Keep it that way as long as you can. Do you follow me?’ She nodded politely, her ears strained for the sound of a car on the track outside.
    â€˜Well now,’ he said. ‘As you know, modern communications in almost every form are all in our orbit here at Godley’s and there aren’t many gaps, but a little while ago it became necessary to explore every other conceivable means of one man getting in touch with another . . . I shan’t be more specific than that and don’t let it worry you; just take it from me that in America and the Soviet Union, in West Germany, Holland, Sweden, France and here in Britain some very intelligent people started thinking around merely because no one could afford not to, and no possibility, however wild and unlikely, was neglected.’ He had a slightly nasal intonation and a very penetrating voice but he knew what he was talking about and it was difficult not to be impressed. ‘From now on,’ he said, pointing the umbrella at her, ‘I’m only interested in scientific actuality and so are our clients. Get that straight. If your lady mother in Suffolk started to worry in the night that you were in distress and suffocating and got on the telephone and woke you from a nightmare in which you were being strangled and you both came and told me about it I might be entertained but I shouldn’t be very interested. My subject is electronics. I’m an engineer. Before I’m convinced a message has passed I want something which
someone else,
someone other than the two people originally concerned, can see, hear or taste. I want a light or a bell or I might conceivably accept a stink. I don’t know. Do you understand me?’
    â€˜Yes,’ she said. ‘But . . .’
    â€˜If you’re going to be a good girl and not a blasted nuisance to me and your brilliant young husband, you’ll have to listen and understand this,’ he said. ‘The people who