plete obliteration of my whole life, my whole
being. It was like one of these European novels when one sane man
tries to live and find another sane person in a world of madness. A
posthumous decoration. A medal for one that is dead and rotting. A
nightmare with no waking up.

"And perhaps--oh, certainly!--a pension. You can rest assured your
wife will never want. You see, Mr. Miller, we want to test you, and
your ... ability. Perhaps this unbelievable control you have can be
duplicated, or understood. That we want to find out. We want to turn
inside out all the enormous potential you have. In short we want--we
must--have you in strictest custody and under rigid observation. If
you like, I can see that you have a military or naval commission of
rank commensurate with your importance. And don't think, Mr. Miller,
that you're any less important than I've stated. Right now, from this
side of the fence, it looks to me that you're the most important thing
this side of the invention of the wheel."

I didn't want a commission. I wanted to lead a normal life, and I
wanted my wife.

* * * * *

"The Marines, perhaps? Or the Air Corps?"

It wasn't just the Army, or the Navy; it was the system. If I had to
be a Sad Sack I'd be a civilian.

"As you like. Agreed?"

I looked at him. "Agreed? What do you want me to say? Agreed. That's a
good word for you to use to me."

"You can rest assured--" He saw what must have been on my face, and
stopped short. For a long minute we sat there, he thinking his
thoughts, and me thinking mine. Mine weren't pleasant. Then he got up
and came over to me. "Sorry. This is a pretty big meal to digest all
at once. I know how you must feel."

I stared up at him. "Do you?"

Then he turned and left. Later, I don't know when, the young fellow
came back alone and took me to my cell. I must have finally gotten to
sleep.

The young fellow, who turned out to be a fairly good citizen named
Stein, came after me the next day. He wanted me to pack. Pack? All the
clothes I had were on my back.

"Toothbrush, things like that. Tell me what you want in the line of
clothes and you'll get them. Or anything else, within reason."

"Anything? Anything at all?"

"Well, I said anything reasonable." We didn't have to go any further
into that. He knew what I meant.

When it was dark they took us away, Stein and myself. In the back of a
mail truck, cramped and silent we rode for wh