"I wasn't checking on you. We all feel badly about Dr. Thiesen. Has she
made any progress?" I asked.
"No," he said flatly. "Whatever it is, we'll have to wait and hope she
gets better. I've tried talking to her." His face was set in hard lines
as he spoke. "She doesn't know me. Talks a little about the field at El
Paso. Not much sense to it."
"Why did she have to come?" I asked. It had bothered me since I first
placed my background. I hadn't known her very well at the base. There
had been conferences we attended together, but her clinical attitude
and the shapeless white uniform she wore gave her a neutral quality. I
had never seen what she was like physically until now. I sat with her
and Paul at a night club one night, staring across a table at a tanned
goddess in a low cut gown that shimmered in the candlelight. She had
spoiled the moment when she laughed and teased me about taking time out
for a drink. Later there had been a few dances, brief conversations
about people and events. Nothing on a personal basis. I had been in
love with her for months but preparations for the trip kept me too busy
to do anything about it. Now she was here.
"You asked me that several times," Paul said. "She's a trained
technician. Isn't that enough?"
"You knew her better than anyone at the base, didn't you?"
"Better than most guys. There were always plenty of guys who asked
her out. I knew she could only see one guy. That's all we ever talked
about."
"I'm sorry I mentioned it."
"Forget it. He didn't give her a tumble."
"Real brainy guy, I'll bet."
Paul changed the subject. "Anything of interest yet. We didn't pick up
a thing."
"Carl is checking again. If we don't hit it we'll have to go farther
out," I said.
"It may be out there, but the chances get down to infinitesimal
percents," he said wearily.
"You said it was possible."
"Anything is possible. Find a mass that has cooled sufficiently to
provide the right temperature for the accomplishment of chemical
processes, maybe you'll find a system capable of supporting life."
"We may not find it, but I had to see what was this close."
Paul smiled briefly. "Whither thou goest ... I can't get sympathetic
about an overcrowded condition on Earth. Hell, birth control could have
helped the balance of nature, but this--this is worth looking for."