As a matter of fact he had brought back several moribund examples of Martian fauna; he had smuggled them through customs. After all, they posed no menace; they couldn’t survive in Earth’s heavy atmosphere.
Reaching into his coat pocket he rummaged for the container of Martian maw-worms
And found an envelope instead.
Lifting it out he discovered, to his perplexity, that it contained five hundred and seventy poscreds, in ‘cred bills of low denomination.
Where’d I get this? he asked himself. Didn’t I spend every ‘cred I had on my trip?
With the money came a slip of paper marked: one-half fee ret’d. By McClane. And then the date. Today’s date.
“Recall,” he said aloud.
“Recall what, sir or madam?” the robot driver of the cab inquired respectfully.
“Do you have a phone book?” Quail demanded.
“Certainly, sir or madam.” A slot opened; from it slid a microtape phone book for Cook County.
“It’s spelled oddly,” Quail said as he leafed through the pages of the yellow section. He felt fear, then; abiding fear.
“Here it is,” he said. “Take me there, to Rekal, Incorporated.
I’ve changed my mind; I don’t want to go home.”
“Yes sir, or madam, as the case may be,” the driver said. A moment later the cab was zipping back in the ‘opposite direction.
“May I make use of your phone?” he asked.
“Be my guest,” the robot driver said. And presented a shiny new emperor 3-D color phone to him.
He dialed his own conapt. And after a pause found himself confronted by a miniature but chillingly realistic image of Kirsten on the small screen. “I’ve been to Mars,” he said to her.
“You’re drunk.” Her lips writhed scornfully. “Or worse.”
” ‘S god’s truth.”
“When?” she demanded.
“I don’t know.” He felt confused. “A simulated trip, I think. By means of one of those artificial or extrafactual or whatever it is memory places. It didn’t take.”
Kirsten said witheringly, “You are drunk.” And broke the connection at her end. He hung up, then, feeling his face flush. Always the same tone, he said hotly to himself. Always the retort, as if she knows everything and I know nothing.
What a marriage. Keerist, he thought dismally.
A moment later the cab stopped at the curb before a modern, very attractive little pink building, over which a shifting, polychromatic neon sign read: REKAL, INCORPORATED.
The receptionist, chic and bare from the waist up, started in surprise, then gained masterful control of herself. “Oh hello Mr. Quail,” she said nervously. “H-how are you? Did you forget something?”
“The rest of my fee back,” he said.
More composed now the receptionist said, “Fee? I think you are mistaken, Mr. Quail. You were here discussing the feasibility of an extrafactual trip for you, but” She shrugged her smooth pale shoulders. “As I understand it, no trip was taken.”
Quail said, “I remember everything, miss. My letter to Rekal, Incorporated, which started this whole business off. I remember my arrival here, my visit with Mr. McClane. Then the two lab technicians taking me in tow and administering a drug to put me out.” No wonder the firm had returned half his fee. The false memory of his “trip to Mars” hadn’t taken at least not entirely, not as he had been assured.
“Mr. Quail,” the girl said, “although you are a minor clerk you are a good-looking man and it spoils your features to become angry. If it would make you feel any better, I might, ahem, let you take me out …”
He felt furious, then. “I remember you,” he said savagely.
“For instance the fact that your breasts are sprayed blue; that stuck in my mind. And I remember Mr. McClane’s promise that if I remembered my visit to Rekal, Incorporated I’d receive my money back in full. Where is Mr. McClane?”
After a delayprobably as long as they could managehe found himself once more seated facing the imposing walnut desk, exactly as he had been an hour or so earlier in the day.
“Some technique you have,” Quail said sardonically. His disappointmentand resentmentwere enormous, by now.
“My so-called ‘memory’ of a trip to Mars as an undercover agent for Interplan is hazy and vague and shot full of contradictions. And I clearly remember my dealings here with you people. I ought to take this to the Better Business Bureau.”
He was burning angry, at this point; his sense of being cheated had overwhelmed him, had destroyed his customary aversion to participating in a public squabble.
Looking morose, as well as cautious, McClane said, “We capitulate. Quail. We’ll refund the balance of your fee. I fully concede the fact that we did absolutely nothing for you.” His tone was resigned.
Quail said accusingly, “You didn’t even provide me with the various artifacts that you claimed would ‘prove’ to me I had been on Mars. All that song-and-dance you went intoit hasn’t materialized into a damn thing. Not even a tick-et stub.
Nor postcards. Nor passport. Nor proof of immunization shots. Nor”
“Listen, Quail,” McClane said. “Suppose I told you” He broke off. “Let it go.” He pressed a button on his intercom.
“Shirley, will you disburse five hundred and seventy more ‘creds in the form of a cashier’s check made out to Douglas Quail? Thank you.” He released the button, then glared at Quail.
Presently the check appeared; the receptionist placed it before McClane and once more vanished out of sight, leaving the two men alone, still facing each other across the surface of the massive walnut desk.
“Let me give you a word of advice,” McClane said as he signed the check and passed it over, “Don’t discuss your, ahem, recent trip to Mars with anyone.”
“What trip?”
“Well, that’s the thing.” Doggedly, McClane said, “The trip you partially remember. Act as if you don’t remember; pretend it never took place. Don’t ask me why; just take my advice: it’ll be better for all of us.” He had begun to perspire.
Freely. “Now, Mr. Quail, I have other business, other clients to see.” He rose, showed Quail to the door.
Quail said, as he opened the door, “A firm that turns out such bad work shouldn’t have any clients at all.” He shut the door behind him.
On the way home in the cab Quail pondered the wording of his letter of complaint to the Better Business Bureau, Terra Division. As soon as he could get to his typewriter he’d get started; it was clearly his duty to warn other people away from Rekal, Incorporated.
When he got back to his conapt he seated himself before his Hermes Rocket portable, opened the drawers and rummaged for carbon paperand noticed a small, familiar box.
A box which he had carefully filled on Mars with Martian fauna and later smuggled through customs.
Opening the box he saw, to his disbelief, six dead maw-worms and several varieties of the unicellular life on which the Martian worms fed. The protozoa were dried-up, dusty, but he recognized them; it had taken him an entire day picking among the vast dark alien boulders to find them. A wonderful, illuminated journey of discovery.
But I didn’t go to Mars, he realized.
Yet on the other hand
Kirsten appeared at the doorway to the room, an armload of pale brown groceries gripped. “Why are you home in the middle of the day?” Her voice, in an eternity of sameness, was accusing.
“Did I go to Mars?” he asked her. “You would” know.”
“No, of course you didn’t go to Mars; you would know that, I would think. Aren’t you always bieating about going?”
He said, “By God, I think I went.” After a pause he added, “And simultaneously I think I didn’t go.”
“Make up your mind.”
“How can I?” He gestured. “I have both memory-tracks grafted inside my head; one is real and one isn’t but I can’t tell which is which. Why can’t I rely on you? They haven’t tinkered with you.” She could do this much for him at least even if she never did anything else.
Kirsten said in a level, controlled voice, “Doug, if you don’t pull yourself together, we’re through. I’m going to leave you.”
“I’m in trouble.” His voice came out husky and coarse.
And shaking. “Probably I’m heading into a psychotic episode; I hope not, butmaybe that’s it. It would explain everything, anyhow.”
Setting down the bag of groceries, Kirsten stalked to the closet. “I was not kidding,” she said to him quietly. She brought out a coat, got it on, walked back to the door of the conapt. “I’ll phone you one of these days soon,” she said tonelessly. “This is goodbye, Doug. I hope you pull out of this eventually; I really pray you do. For your sake.”
“Wait,” he said desperately. “Just tell me and make it absolute; I did go or I didn’ttell me which one.” But they may have altered your memory-track also, he realized.