too far, Wendell. A little grief is
proper--but this much is actually morbid."

"It's all within my rights."

She tossed her head petulantly. "Well, I've done my share. I can't
stand any more. It makes a person think and get depressed. I don't
care what you're going to do. I'm going out to enjoy a Preliminary."

"Can't blame you for that," he nodded.

When she had gone he started to work on new instruction tapes for
activating the servo-cryotron. Nothing could be surrendered to chance.
Every possible circumstance in the pile had to be anticipated. There
had to be instructions for action if Eric was crushed below fifty feet
of metal, for assembling any kind of scrambled wiring, for adapting
all types of parts in its immediate surroundings, for using these
parts to absorb parts further away and for timing the operation to the
start of the Highest Rite.

Some tapes had been prepared earlier, so it was possible to put
everything in the cryotron box before Marie returned, as well as to
attach the tiny contact that would reach out from the box until it
reached its first external scrap of wire or metal.

"You poor darling," she pouted. "You missed the most wonderful thing!
They demolished a whole thirty-story building!"

His blood, atavistically effected, pulsed faster until his new creed
came to grips with his old emotions. "They usually don't bother with
buildings for the Rites."

"I know--that's what was so wonderful! The State has decided to make
this one the biggest Day of all time. We'll have enough work to fill
the whole ten years! Everybody was so happy."

"I'm sure they were." He caught himself in mid-sarcasm and said, "I'm
sorry I missed it."

"And I'm sorry I've been so selfishly self-centered." She frowned. "I
forgot about it, but there were people in the crowd boasting they had
been assigned to fight anti-social movements. I had to boast back that
my husband had been honored too."

He tensed. "Oh? What did they say to that?"

"Frankly, they laughed."

"I should think so. The Central Scanner didn't pick up anything except
a lot of ineffective propaganda. The sabotage business was all
hysteria."

"That's just what they said--the assignments were an empty honor." She
coldly considered Eric. "I want to wreck him too."

"I've smashed the insides," he said. "You'd better just work the
surface."

"That's all I want to do," she answered, starting to scratch
traditional marks all over the dead robot.