n, that is. He had found out a good deal about the sex life of
Genus Homo--information that made him even more glad than before that
his was a one-sexed race.

* * * * *

With work over and tools put away and Alice in the restroom gleefully
thinking about the red Friday night tag she was slipping onto her ID
badge, he was as far from success as ever. For a moment he considered
leaving her, looking for another subject. But he'd probably not be
able to find one. No, the only thing to do was stay with her, curl
deep in her mind and go through the Shielding boost, and later on....

The line. Alice's nervousness.... _Oh, oh, there's that guy with the
meter--the one from maintenance. What's he want?_

"Whaddya mean, my shield's low? How could it be?" _... If he checks
the tag I'll be fired for sure. It's a lot of nonsense anyway. The
enemy is everywhere, they keep telling us. Whoever saw one of them?_
"No, honest, I didn't notice anything. Can I help it if.... It's okay,
huh? It'll pass...."

Down to fifteen per cent, the guy said. Well, that's safe, I guess.
Whew.

"Oh, hello, Paula. Whatcha talking about, what am I doing here
tonight? Shut up...."

And then, in the midst of her thoughts, the pain, driving deep into
Riuku, twisting at him, wrenching at him, until there was no
consciousness of anything at all.

He struggled back. He was confused, and there was blankness around
him, and for a moment he thought he'd lost contact altogether. Then he
came into focus again. Alice's thoughts were clearer than ever
suddenly. He could feel her emotions; they were a part of him now. He
smiled. The Shielding boost had helped him. Integration--much more
complete integration than he had ever known before.

"But Pete, honey," Alice said. "What did you come over to the gate
for? You shouldn't of done it."

"Why not? I wanted to see you."

"What if one of Susan's pals sees us?"

"So what? I'm getting tired of checking in every night, like a baby.
Besides, one of her pals did see us, last night, at the bar."

_Fear. What'll she do? Susan's a hellcat. I know she is. But maybe
Pete'll get really sick and tired of her. He looks it. He looks mad.
I'd sure hate to have him mad at me...._

"Let's go for a spin, baby. Out in the suburbs somewhere. How about
it?"

"Well--why sure, Pete...."

Sitting beside him in the copter. _All alone up here. Real romantic,
like something on the video. But I sho