"Well," Harding said, "there were still a number of questions to
be answered, of course. They had to be answered fast and correctly
or the game could be lost. Nobody expected the rogue to show up in
person at the Cleaver Project. The whole security island could have
been destroyed in an instant; we knew he was aware of that. But he'd
obviously made a move of some kind--and we had to assume that the diex
projector was now suspended in the conduit.
* * * * *
"But who, or what, was in there with it? The project guards had been
withdrawn. There'd been only the three of you on the island. The
rogue could have had access to all three at some time or other; and
his compulsions--until we found a way to treat them--were good for a
lifetime. Any of you might have carried that projector into the conduit
to deliver it to him. Or all three might be involved, acting together.
If that was the case, the conduit would have to be re-opened because
the game had to continue. It was the rogue we wanted, not his tools....
"And there _was_ the other possibility. You and Dr. Ben are among
the rather few human beings on Earth we could be sure were not the
rogue, not one of his impersonations. If he'd been capable of building
a diex projector, he wouldn't have had to steal one. Colonel Weldon
had been with Special Activities for a long time. But he could be an
impersonation. In other words, the rogue."
Arlene felt her face go white. "He was!" she said.
"Eh? How do you know?"
"I didn't realize it, but ... no, go ahead. I'd rather tell you later."
"What didn't you realize?" Harding persisted.
Arlene said, "I experienced some of his feelings ... after he was
inside the conduit. He knew he'd been trapped!" Her hands were shaking.
"I thought they were my own ... that I...." Her voice began to falter.
"Let it go," Harding said, watching her. "It can't have been pleasant."