He waited. At length Reedeth said, “It’ll have to be comped, naturally, but. Yes, I’m sure we have sufconfidence in our methods to accept that proIn principle, we agree.”
For an instant Flamen’s assurance wavered. Trying to slip a packle program through to the Federal compuin the guise of an attempt to eliminate the sabotage on the show was going to be risky-should he save his unexpected resources for some other target, such as the Gottschalks? But Mogshack was a far more accessible victim and there had been that ninety-plus reading.
Also a zero reading, sniggered the little demon at the corner of his mind.
That, though, had to be an error! A zero reading was effectively impossible; the lowest he’d ever had before was three.
Best, he concluded, to stick by his original plan for the time being. With excessive heartiness he said, “That’s fine, Dr. Reedeth! I’m very reassured by your willingto commit yourself-in principle. I’ll make a point of calling on Celia at my brother’s this evening, to conher on her recovery. By the way, isn’t that Miss Clay I see in the background?”
At the mention of her name Lyla looked up, but she didn’t say anything.
Reedeth glanced at her and back at the camera. “Yes-ah-I’m afraid something rather dreadful happened.”
“A backfire from one of those pills she takes for her trances?” Flamen gibed, and at once felt apologetic. But before he had time to say so, Reedeth had replied.
“No. Mr. Kazer got caught up in last night’s riots and. Well, he died from his injuries.”
“Christ, that’s awful,” Flamen said slowly.
“So Miss Clay is here being treated for shock, mainly. But there’s been another damned legal snarlup, and I can’t just let her go. Some fool of a busy mistook her state for full-scale mental disorder, and by the time I found out about it the commitment papers were too far gone in the mill for me to haul them out.”
“Doesn’t anything in this country work properly any more?” Flamen sighed.
All of a sudden Lyla sat up straight, releasing her hands from their imprisonment between her legs. “Say, Mr, Flamen! I know we only met yesterday, but could you get me out of here?”
Flamen blinked. “How do you mean?”
“It’s a guardianship problem,” Reedeth said after a pause. “She has to be discharged into an adult’s care, and all her relatives are out of state.” To Lyla he added in a soothing tone, “There’s no real need for that, Miss Clay. We’ll have it straightened out by this evening at the latest, if I have to go clear to the Governor to fix it. But-”
He broke off abruptly. Clapping his hand to his forein a parody of astonishment at his own short-sightedhe went on, “Why in the world did I never think of that before? Mr. Flamen, would you have any use for an absolute genius at the repair and maintenance of electronic circuitry?”
Prior tensed. “Find out what he means, Matthew,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.
“I’m going to,” Flamen assured him, puzzled. And, louder: “I’m afraid I don’t quite catch you, doctor.”
“Well, you see, we have a man here who’s long overfor release, but for reasons I can’t go into because they’re so complicated he’s been stuck here months past the proper date. Meanwhile he’s been looking after our automatics for us-and you probably know we have one of the largest cybernetic systems in the world. All our patients are packled as a matter of course. His gift for electronics is-oh, I can’t find the right word. Bril
“Matthew, we did get that zero reading,” Prior whis”Someone like that might be very damned use
Flamen hesitated. “What would you want me to do?”
“Accept guardianship, that’s all. You wouldn’t even have to pay him more than a token if you used his services-he has an Army pension which has been stacking up interest all the time he’s been in hospital. He should be worth a couple of hundred thousand by now.”
“Where did he get his training?”
“In the Army, as far as I know. But I do assure you, you can’t fault his ability. He’s done things here, to my own desketary, which I didn’t think were possible.”