Gina twitched uncomfortably and gulped at her drink, spilling a drop on her slacks. She drew a tissue from a pack on a side table and dabbed it dry.
“What was it that bothered you so much when you got into VISAR?” Hunt asked.
“Does this really have anything to do with what we’re talking about?” Gina objected.
“Yes, I think it does.” The sudden crispness in Hunt’s voice made her eyebrows lift in surprise. He waited for a moment. “Sandy said that it doesn’t just create fantasy realities. It can mold them to reflect things about yourself that you mightn’t like—things you didn’t even know existed. And that’s important to you. You said as much a few minutes ago, when you thought you’d been betraying your friends. What other things did VISAR let out of the box that you’d rather it had left there?”
“What the hell does this have to do with anything?” Gina demanded, her voice rising.
“What’s the matter, can’t you handle it?” Hunt leered tauntingly. “We’ve all got something. Power trips, like Baumer. Sandy found that she gets a kick out of seeing blood, and people screaming. What about you?”
“Vic, stop it! I don’t want to talk about this.”
“Do you like older men because a favorite uncle felt up your knickers when you were a little girl? Was it something like that?”
“Mind your own fucking, goddamn business!”
“Ahah, something like that, then, was it? You said on the Vishnu that you might tell me your fantasies one day. Do you remember?”
Gina slammed the glass down on the side table, breaking the stem. She glowered across at Hunt and thrust out her chin defiantly. “All right! I used to be married to this guy who was into the swinging scene, okay. You know the kind of thing? He had other friends too, and liked threesome things and lots-of-people things. He was always trying to get me into it, too, but it never happened. Okay? Got your thrill for today? I’ve heard lots of weird things about you English guys.”
“And what? Did it bother you that you hadn’t figured him before?” Hunt had dropped the sarcasm suddenly, but just at that moment Gina wasn’t registering.
“No, Doctor, it didn’t!” she shouted. “Deep down I was pissed because I’d been chicken. VISAR would have delivered, and I wasn’t sure I wanted that. In fact I was terrified. Okay? Satisfied?” Her voice fell. “Now get out of my room.”
But Hunt was staring at her intently, his face serious, as if inviting her to think about what she had just said. She realized then that he had been shamming, and for a reason. Her expression changed to puzzlement.
“And you went back to it, here in Shiban, with Baumer?” He gave her a moment to reflect, then shook his head. “No way. Oh, I’ve heard all your reasons, and I don’t buy them. Neither do you.”
Gina looked back at him, totally confused. Her belligerence evaporated. “I know. . . It’s made me wonder, too. I don’t .know why I did it . . . I guess, maybe, I couldn’t see any way to refuse.”
Hunt shrugged. “It’s easy. You tell him it’s not your thing. Let’s go and have a drink.”
Gina leaned back wearily and ran a hand through her hair. “Is it really that important?”
“Yes, very. Because I don’t think it happened. I don’t think you went there at all.”
“Now you’re being stupid.”
“We’ve just agreed that you wouldn’t have gone near the place. Sandy says the same thing. It was she who convinced me.”
Gina stared at him and shook her head as if wondering if she were dreaming. “Look, what’s the point of talking like this? Why keep saying I couldn’t have gone there when I did?”
“How do you know you did?”
“Well. . . What the hell kind of question is that to ask? How do you know you went to the bathroom this morning? I remember it, that’s why.”
Hunt sat back, still regarding her steadily, and gave a satisfied nod. “Funny things, heads,” he said again. “Aren’t they?”
He waited. Gina stared down at the floor. A trickle of drink from her upset glass had run down a leg of the side table and was spreading into the carpet. She leaned forward to mop it with a tissue. And then she froze, suddenly, and looked up, the first glimmer of comprehension illuminating her eyes. “What are you getting at?” she whispered.