Again the cold, superior smile. "You will receive conditioning similar
to that which we gave the Raimees. And we will want to examine your
memories to aid us in our search for your planet. It would be good to
find a new inhabitable place."
"Why did they trap us like this?" asked Martha Graham.
"It's lonely work," the man explained. "Your house is actually a type of
space conveyance that travels along your collection route--and there is
much travel to the job. And then--you will not have friends, nor time
for much other than work. Our methods are necessarily severe at times."
"_Travel?_" Martha Graham repeated in dismay.
"Almost constantly."
Ted Graham felt his mind whirling. And behind him, he heard his wife
sobbing.
* * * * *
The Raimees sat in what had been the Grahams' trailer.
"For a few moments, I feared he would not succumb to the bait," she
said. "I knew you could never overcome the mental compulsion enough to
leave them there without their first agreeing."
Raimee chuckled. "Yes. And now I'm going to indulge in everything the
Rojac never permitted. I'm going to write ballads and poems."
"And I'm going to paint," she said. "Oh, the delicious freedom!"
"Greed won this for us," he said. "The long study of the Grahams paid
off. They couldn't refuse to trade."
"I knew they'd agree. The looks in their eyes when they saw the house!
They both had ..." She broke off, a look of horror coming into her eyes.
"One of them did not agree!"
"They both did. You heard them."
"The baby?"