He lifts his gaze ceilingwards. "I'm asking for three volunteers."

Silence. Manning the hopper is definitely second best. Then light
suddenly bursts on me and I lift my hand and hack B on the ankle.

"I volunteer," I say.

B gives me a most dubious glance and then lifts her hand, too.

Cray on the other side of the table is slowly opening his mouth when
there is an outburst of waving on the far side of B.

"Me too, colonel! I volunteer!"

Mr. Yardo proceeds to explain that his special job is over and done,
he can be more easily spared than anybody, he may be too old to take
charge of _Gilgamesh_ but will back himself as a hopper pilot against
anybody.

The colonel cuts this short by accepting all three. He then unfolds
his paper again.

"Piloting _Gilgamesh_," he says. "I'm not asking for volunteers now.
You'll go to your cabins in four hours' time and those who want to
will volunteer, secretly. To a computer hookup, Computer will select
on a random basis and notify the one chosen. Give him his final
instructions, too. No one need know who it was till it's all over. He
can tell anyone he likes, of course."

[Illustration]

A very slight note of triumph creeps into the next remark. "One point.
Only men need volunteer."

Instant outcry from Kirsty and Dilly: B turns to me with a look of
awe.

"Nothing to do with prejudice," says the colonel testily. "Just facts.
The crew of _Gilgamesh_ were all men. Can't risk one solitary woman
being found on board. Besides--spacesuits, personal background
sets--all designed for men."

Kirsty and Dilly turn on me looks designed to shrivel and B whispers
"Lizzie how wonderful you are."

* * * * *

The session dissolves. We three get an intensive session course of
instruction on our duties and are ordered off to sleep. After
breakfast next morning I run into Cray who says, Before I continue
about what is evidently pressing business would I care to kick him,
hard?

Not right now I reply, what for anyway?

"Miss Lee," says Cray, dragging it out longer than ever, "although I
have long realized that your brain functions in a way much superior to
logic I had not sense enough yesterday to follow my own instinct and
do what you do as soon as you did it; therefore that dessicated meat
handler got in first."

I say: "So you weren't picked for pilot? It was only one chance in
ten."

"Oh," says Cray, "did you really think so?" He gives me