interested in helping with his tutoring. You can
wait if you want, or release him and begin his lessons when you see the
eroticine taking effect. It'll definitely be noticeable--and as I told
him, he won't be interested in minor distractions like fighting."

Odeon nodded. "I'll do whatever looks best when he shows a reaction."

"Good enough." Cortin left, thinking it would be useful if she could
help in the redirection. Mike, plus any of the other men on the team
and any Inquisitors who were interested, could handle the positive
aspects of Powell's reorientation, but it would be even better if a
woman could provide negative reorientation. She was incapable in one
way, Piety in another, and you couldn't ask a civilian--even a
paid-woman--to take part in something like this. There might be a few
female enlisted personnel willing to take part, but by the time one
could be found and brought here, it would be well after the Strike
Force teams had left. Too late, in other words; she'd just have to
hope the reorientation worked without that. She scowled, angry at
herself. If she'd realized, rather than just read, that even a
simulation of sexual function could be this important, she'd have
insisted on what little Dr. Egan had admitted to being able to do. Too
late for that as well, now, though; she'd talk to Sis later, see what
she could do when they had some time available. A synthetic vaginal
passage shouldn't be more than minor surgery, well within a medic's
abilities--and Sis would be able to understand why she wanted it, even
knowing its limitations.

* * * * *

The Powell project proved even more popular with her team and the
Inquisitors than Cortin had expected. And, after a night of
considerable thought, she'd reluctantly decided that she couldn't
direct it properly if she couldn't take part, so she'd turned direction
of the project over to Illyanov, who'd promised to handle it as well as
he could, as far as the subject was concerned acting under her
instructions. She made it a point to spend some time in the
observation center every morning, though, following Powell's progress.

The redecoration she'd ordered was in place the first morning; the
third-stage room of Interrogation Suite Delta now looked more like a
courtesan's room at the New Eden. Most of the equipment was still in
place, she knew, but the surgical table had been replaced by a wide
bed, the floor now had thi