Chapter 16

Katherine Adams was a Brain. Without doubt the smartest student in the school, she was afflicted with the shyness that often goes hand in hand with great intelligence. Now a senior, she had never dated. She wore baggy clothes, her hair in an unattractive cut, and ugly glasses. She spent little time with her few friends. No nicknames for her, she was simply Katherine.

She had been invisible except in the girls' locker room. Her female classmates knew she was hiding an incredible body. They never teased her and never revealed anything about her to others. They felt sorry for her, really. She was very nice, scary smart and beautiful, but completely unable to handle her gifts.

That lasted until the Program began and she had to undress, shower and swim with the boys. Still, when they saw how much pain their attention inflicted on her, they pretty much left her alone. Most of the boys limited themselves to ogling her. Innocent, it never dawned on her that all the erections she saw were caused by her.

Some of the boys, jocks of course, found her irresistible. They wondered how she had hidden such great beauty for so long. They found the combination of her body, her innocence, her naivety and her deep shyness a guarantee of an easy conquest. The sharks were circling, and she didn't know what to do about it.

Meanwhile, the Program itself was doing wonders for Katherine. She was holding her own at boxing, and successfully managing the anger and fear that went with it. She had even resigned herself to swimming nude and was working hard to improve her skill and speed. She was beginning to realize that people would follow her if she showed leadership.

Sarah was as close a friend as Katherine had, although Katherine had always studiously avoided even slightly embarrassing topics with her. Today, Katherine steeled her nerve and asked Sarah to join her at an empty lunch table.

"Sarah, I'm scared!" hissed Katherine. "I'm suddenly getting a lot of attention from boys. I don't want that. I don't know how to fend them off. Can you give me some advice?"

Sarah smiled and sighed. "Sure, Katherine, I'll do my best. It does take some courage, because running and hiding only makes it worse. It will actually help you if you let your frustration run. One way or another, you'll have to confront them, one at a time. You'll have to tell them you have no interest in them and they should go look for another conquest."

Katherine slumped. "Part of me knew you were going to say that. At least hearing it from you, aloud, is helpful. I see that the more I dodge some of them, the more they're encouraged."

"I'll keep an eye out for you during the day, and check in with you when I see you. Maybe my being with you will help you eliminate the first few. You won't hurt the feelings of the boys bold enough to really pester you. But be careful: a boy who has to use every last ounce of his courage to simply talk to you is easily damaged."

"Oh, Sarah," Katherine said, "that would be wonderful. I really appreciate your offer."

"Once you've succeeded in running off one or two," Sarah said, "it gets easier. I've been fending off the boys for a long time."

Katherine's head fell. "I have an even bigger problem. I have to pick a family, and I have no idea what to do. I'm a virgin, Sarah. I'm naturally shy. I dream I've created my own nightmare, picking the wrong boy."

Sarah smiled sympathetically. "I'm not going to pick a boy at all." Katherine gave her a quizzical look. "Oh, I need a male. But I realized that I need a dad for all the children. Any boy can father children. I want a dad, a man who will nurture and love the children. I'm afraid boys are too young to be a good dad. I'm going to find a shy, grandfatherly man to take. He'll have to be basically happy, and friendly and very considerate."

"Why didn't I think of that?" said Katherine. "That's a wonderful idea."

"I don't suppose your dad qualifies?" Sarah asked. "I'm not taking my dad. I'm going to be the sponsor in my household, and he'd never be able to be my subordinate."

"My dad is long gone, Sarah," Katherine sighed. "I do want to take my mother. She'll be OK with me. She's as shy as I am. How are you going to find such a man? If you find two, will you share?"

"I haven't found him yet," Sarah admitted. "I've put a bug in the ear of some folks who I trust. I'll find him. Yes, if I find more than one, I'll share."

"Thank you so much, Sarah," Katherine smiled. "I hate to bring up another thing. You've done so much for me already."

"Katherine," Sarah's harsh tone was softened by her smile. "You haven't asked anything I wouldn't gladly do for you. Come on, what is it?"

Katherine blushed. "I said it, but we blew right by it. A lot of girls are really frightened that they'll be virgins at the pickup. I'm a volunteer, but I'm still a virgin. I don't want to be a virgin when we're extracted. I don't want my concubine to be my first."

Sarah sighed, but smiled. "For that, I have an easy answer. I heard the girls sharing their fears. A lot of them don't have a brother or a father to do the deed. You're one of those girls. I asked a man that I know and respect to help some of those girls. He's such an honorable guy that, at first, he didn't want to. I went to his wife and prevailed upon her. She's all for it. Together, they've helped at least three girls that I know of. I talked to those girls. It was the most magical night they've ever had."

"Oh, Sarah! Will he help me, too?" breathed Katherine.

"Of course he will. I will tell you who it is, but I don't want you to brood about it. Tell me which night you want to do it. If the schedule works, I'll let you know. You tell your mom you're sleeping over at my house. I'll cover for you if she calls. I'll escort you to their house. They'll both greet you warmly and treat you like a princess."

"I trust you, Sarah," said Katherine. "Please tell me who it is."

"He's one of our proctors," Sarah said. "The mass extraction was his idea. He's on the Core Group committee guiding the Program." Katherine's mind flashed on the answer before Sarah said, "Bob Minter."

"The daytime segment of the Program is going very well," Jean reported at the beginning of the fifth Core Group meeting. We are beginning to see the attrition we expected. At my request, Dave buttonholed some students late last week. We chose the students who had natural ability but were slacking through the Program. Dave offered them the chance to proctor the adults, and perhaps to go on to manage the paintball, on condition that they personally put on the afterburners on their own effort. The alternative given them was that they were wasting their time and our resources, and that they should drop out. Seven did drop out, but we got a good group that really got religion. They tore through the work on Friday, Monday and today. I'll let Dave tell you about the evening segment.

"We did get more attrition yesterday morning. Six students came to me and withdrew from the Program. Amy is doing a nice job of re-constituting broken teams to keep the remaining teams at full strength."

Dave added, "We had about 120 adults show up last night for their first night. I'll bet eighty percent of them were men. I thought it went very well. My fear-of-God speech at the beginning wasn't as good as Jean's was for the students, but it worked out OK. Last night was the first night. I don't know if the buzz will bring more people in. I don't know how many from last night are jokers who won't stay. We'll just play it by ear. The student proctors did very well, by the way."

Ellen asked, "Were there very many injuries last night?"

"Amazing you should ask that, Dr. Waters," laughed Dave. "Typical weekend warrior injuries. Mostly pulled muscles. A couple of bad landings trying somersaults. Nothing serious that I know of. No problems in the boxing or pugil stick areas. I think the proctors kept them on a tight rein there. Some of those guys will hobble on those pulled muscles for weeks."

"Now that I think of it," quipped Bob, "it might not be a bad idea to choose some students who aren't natural leaders and make them proctor. The student, boy or girl, would have to demand obedience and respect from adults. Whaddya think, Jean?"

Jean answered, "That's a good idea. Maybe we can isolate some good candidates from the CAP sub-scores as well as from the teachers."

"Jean," John said, "I appreciate the segue. A truck and trailer containing CAP testing machines will be here in the morning. I'm not sure how many machines there'll be. Ellen, there's also going to be a 'med pod' in the truck. Can you clear your schedule long enough to learn how to use it? Sounds like those remaining in town should be fit as a fiddle when we go."

"Wonderful," said Ellen. "Maybe I ought to get my patients to see me in the truck, or something. Let me see what I have to work with, and what the technician wants to do. They are sending a human to teach me, aren't they?"

"Yes," said John. As I understand it, the driver won't even know what cargo he's hauling. The driver will drop off the trailer and leave. A Confederacy representative will arrive first. They didn't say how or when. How many of you can meet me tomorrow on short notice?"

When they thought about it, just about all of them could. They couldn't just drop-everything-and-come-running, but they could assemble well within an hour.

"Before we get with the Confederacy rep tomorrow," said Jim, "why don't we try to get our heads around where we are and what we want?"

"Let me try to answer," said Andy. "In a nutshell, we've got all the students and a whole bunch of adults in a program that's designed to indirectly teach them attributes we hope will raise sub-scores, and thereby the total CAP score, so that more can volunteer or the volunteers can take more concubines. Even the Confederacy doesn't know how to equate sub-scores with the total CAP score."

"That's pretty good, Andy," said John. "The Confederacy tells me they regard what we're doing as an important experiment. Nobody else has ever examined sub-scores, sent prospects off through a training program, and looked at what happens. Maybe the guy I'm talking to is a big fish in a small pond. But he says this experiment has huge potential for the way they teach students in the colonies.

"The guy tells me that, because this is an important experiment, they have waived all restrictions on the CAP testing centers. There is virtually no limit on the number of uses of the CAP testing machines. We can test people as often as we want. They asked us not to test those under age 14, but they won't stop us.

"They want us to do our analysis of sub-scores in an office built into the trailer that's coming tomorrow. The trailer is equipped with an AI -- whatever that is -- that will help us and will absorb our thinking and conclusions.

"So, let's go back to the students. We know already that most of them won't be volunteers. We haven't looked closely at individual CAP sub-scores. I think the first thing we should do is re-test every student, compare the sub-scores with the prior scores, and see if we can make any sense out of it."

"Wait a minute," Sarah said. "I think I just heard you say you want the Program only for those we think have real potential to significantly improve their CAP scores. Who is going to babysit the majority of former students who get expelled from the Program?"

"Hmmm," said John. "I guess I did mean that, and I hadn't thought of the consequences."

"There is merit to John's thinking," said Jim, "and Sarah's issue is also valid. The kids do OK during summer vacation but, in this case, I don't know how the former students will respond. It's like we're on a journey to paradise, and they've been abandoned to die."

Bob put in, "I heard another unspoken assumption in John's suggestion, that the Program should somehow be changed to make it better for those that remain. I'm not sure the Program should be changed. I don't mean this as disparagement, but we've always known that the Program would not benefit most of the students. I don't see why we ought to rub their noses in that."

"At the same time," said Amy, "the Program is one-size-fits-all. We don't need to teach leadership to the quarterback, and we don't need to teach mathematics to the nerds, for instance. It might be time for us to try to tailor the Program to emphasize some attributes over others."

The members fell silent for a time, contemplating. "This is the essence of this group," said Andy, "but we've digressed. Let's get the comparative data. The solutions we seek may jump out at us. But, for tonight, let's get ourselves back on track."

"OK," said John, "we re-test the students, Michael and Amy and others study the results and the changes, and we meet again to hash out the meaning. Let's go back to the test center."

"Where are they going to put the trailer?" asked Sarah.

"I'm sure the truck driver will drop it wherever we want," said Jim. "Where is that?"

"If we're focused on re-testing students," said Michael, "then it ought to put it in the school parking lot." There was no disagreement there.

"John," asked Amy, "what do you know about who is going to run the test center, how long it will be here, hours of operation, accommodations for the personnel, and such?"

"They were kinda hazy about that," allowed John. "The trailer will be here as long as we need it. I can't see them hauling it away nightly. I got the impression they'd follow our lead on when it should be open for business. How the technician gets here, and where he stays, weren't discussed."

"I guess tomorrow's meeting will be very useful," said Bob. "Let's move on."

"The shooting is about ready to go," said Jim. "Abner Honig insisted that we use two separate pastures to shoot skeet. We need four structures for the clay pigeon throwers, but that won't take long."

"It won't take any time at all," laughed Bob. "They're already out there. We talked on Saturday. Fred told John Underwood what we needed. John and his friends just went out to Abner's with materials, and built them. I think those structures would withstand artillery. The attendants will be safe. Abner's wife wants us to use their house to store guns, ammo and supplies. That way, Margaret gets some visitors."

"Bill's got the indoor shooting range completely done," added Jim.

"Our giant supply order hasn't arrived yet?" asked John. Bob shook his head. "I guess I oughta tell you that I authorized Fred to bill the town for about $40,000 worth of shooting and paintball supplies," he chuckled. "That brings us smoothly to the idea I spoke about earlier."

John produced a financial statement for the town. "This is for last year-end. You can see that there's a lot of money. A lot of the surplus is in the pension fund for town and school employees. There's only a handful of people that won't be extracted. More money is for maintenance. There's no sense maintaining empty buildings that'll never be used again.

"We can't do anything about the fact that some of us won't be extracted. If we do nothing, all of the town assets escheat to the state. There won't be enough people around here to have a viable town anyway. Let's have your thoughts."

Andy asked, "Can the state reverse our actions and make the town folk pay the money back?"

"No," said Jim, "if we observe the ritual, ordinances and such, it'd all be legal and it'd stand up. The question is, should we?"

"I hate to point this out," said Jean, "but this isn't the town council."

Andy laughed. "Anybody who gets extracted won't care. Anybody who stays gets a pile of manna from heaven. Who's gonna complain?"

"That was easy," chuckled John. "I thought we'd struggle over that for a long time. I'll get the town council on the paperwork, and paying off our bills and such. The effective date would be the date of extraction."

"Remember," said Jean, "that the extraction could occur at any time, no matter what that Confederacy guy says. The charter cancellation and payout should be all teed up for execution on short notice." There were murmurs of agreement.

"What's next?" asked Amy.

"A report on the database would be good," said Andy. "Matchups and such."

"That's my cue," chuckled Michael. "Of the original 1,187 total population we recorded, there are only seventy male and twenty female volunteers, a total of ninety. The total population was 802 adults and 385 children, so ninety volunteers isn't as bad as it sounds. So far, thirty-seven people have moved back into town and checked in using their CAP cards. Only one of those is a volunteer. The matchups, and the family-building, are still going slowly. There doesn't seem to be any hurry, I guess, or some want to keep their plans secret."

Jean said, "Again, the extraction may occur on very short notice. We need to strongly encourage people to formalize their family groupings. I guess it starts at the top. We need to show some leadership, and I'll tell you what we've done. Mike and I are both volunteers. Our Brandon is in service, and can't go. We're taking our Megan with us. We're also taking Amy and her sister Angie. We still need three more and we haven't decided who they will be."

John, Jim and Andy admitted they'd not begun working on this issue for themselves, except that all were taking their wives and children. The group teased Dave that he had so many choices, he couldn't make up his mind. Sarah had only decided on her mother. Michael was taking his mother and probably his sister.

All eyes turned to Ellen. With a sigh, she began. "No secret survives for long in a small town. I have invited Bob, his Kathy and daughter Sandy to join me. They have accepted. I'll take my housemate, Julie. I haven't decided on the rest. If Bob's CAP score improves sufficiently so that he can volunteer, we're going to have a joint family."

Ellen was surprised at the very favorable response she got from the group. She and Bob exchanged significant looks. The entire team promised to put serious effort into formalizing their family-building. Michael said he'd get the information shared at the meeting into the database.

They soon wound up the meeting and headed for their various homes. As they parted, they expressed support and pleasure to Jean and Amy and to Ellen and Bob. When the others were out of earshot, Jean told Ellen that Amy, her sister and the two children had moved in with them. When Ellen expressed hesitation to follow suit, Jean pointed out that now was the time to discover whether the new family could live in harmony. After the extraction, their options would be greatly limited.

Jean and Amy waved goodbye and walked toward their home, arm in arm. Bob persuaded Ellen to drop in on Kathy and Sandy to discuss it. They headed toward Bob's house, but maintained a distance between themselves.

"You didn't mention the boys," Bob said to Ellen.

"I just couldn't bring myself to reveal that just yet," Ellen admitted.

"I think that's fine, Ellen," Bob murmured. "You've made miles of progress already and, from what I can see, you're doing very well."

"Bob," Ellen giggled, "I can't tell you how well I'm doing. But let's get to your house before we start on this. Kathy and Sandy should participate."

"What about your Julie?" Bob asked.

"Julie will gladly go along with whatever she thinks will make me happier and more comfortable," Ellen smiled.

As they entered the back door, Bob called out, "Kathy! I've brought Ellen with me!"

Sandy scampered in and threw herself at Ellen in a big hug of greeting. Kathy's entrance was more sedate, but the hugs and greetings were just as warm.

"We need to talk for a while," Bob said. Beverages were served and the four moved into the living room and sat down.

"Are Travis and Becky in bed already?" Ellen asked. Kathy nodded.

Bob got right to the point. "At the end of our meeting, Jean announced that she had selected Amy Rogers and Amy's sister Angie to join their family for the extraction. After the meeting, Jean told Ellen and me that Amy, Angie and Angie's two kids have moved in with her. Jean encouraged us to do the same. She said we need to know now if we can't live in harmony."

Sandy let out a whoop and began jumping up and down. Bob and Kathy reeled her back in and got her back in her seat. "Well," chuckled Ellen, "one vote is in." They laughed.

Kathy looked pensive. "Ellen, we're dedicated to you and our new family. I'm ready to live with you right now. I'm ready for everything that implies. But I know you're fragile, and I don't want to do anything that will crowd you, or raise your stress level, or any such. So, I say, it's up to you. We have a loving family here and you will only bring more love."

Bob said, "We haven't really met Julie yet. Julie and Kathy and Sandy will be spending all their time together after the extraction. I have no doubt that Kathy and Sandy will welcome Julie and make her feel completely at home. Does Julie need some time to find out how she'll respond to Kathy and Sandy? How she'll respond to Travis and Becky?"

"For myself," Ellen said, "I don't worry about you smothering me. I'm so happy these days, I'm almost giddy. Julie is a lot different from you, Kathy. She's been abused. I hope, and I believe, that you will help heal Julie just by acting as you do. You know without any doubt that you deserve, and you expect courtesy, respect, and kindness. I am the only person who has ever given her those things, and she's not at all sure that another soul can deliver those for her.

"If we move in together, all of you, it will be rough to begin with. You all know each other's verbal and body language cues, and you know how to respond to them. You don't know Julie's cues or how to respond to them. If we're lucky, there will only be a lot of tears. Julie won't fight with you, I can tell you that."

Ellen sighed deeply, with a sad smile. "I want you all so much, it almost hurts. I think I would like to accept. Can we do this right now? I'm not sure. Let me think about it. Let me talk to Julie about it. You are coming tomorrow night for dinner. Let's all talk about it over dinner. If we decide to consolidate, we can start on Thursday."

"Ellen," Kathy smiled, "that is the right answer. That's perfect. Every one of us will be on tippy toes for a while, but we'll get used to each other. I was thinking I'd send Travis and Becky to my mother's house for the night. Now, I don't know. Julie deserves to meet Travis and Becky before she decides. How do you want me to handle it?"

Ellen chuckled. "Julie never wears clothes in the house. Actually, Julie very rarely leaves the house. Nudity will probably common in our home in the colonies. Are Travis and Becky ready to see that?"

"Yes," answered Kathy. "I'll prepare them a bit. When we arrive, we can discuss it with them and with Julie. In only a few moments, it'll become a non-event."

"Travis and Becky won't go to sleep at your house, Ellen," Sandy said. "I'm not sure you'll be able to do much of a test drive."

Ellen's eyes sparkled. "Maybe you and I can entertain Travis and Becky while your mom and dad go play with Julie?" Sandy giggled and nodded.

Ellen rose to leave. Kathy asked, "Don't you want a dose of loving before you go?"

Ellen smiled. "I already know I'm loved, every minute of the day. I'm not fertile any longer, Kathy. I'm either pregnant, or I'm not. After all those years, I've had Bob two times in five days. If you don't mind, I'll pass for tonight."

With that, they bid good night.

Bob checked in with Jean when he first arrived at school. He told her that he'd be sure there were enough proctors so that the Core Group members could meet with the Confederacy rep. Jean pointed out that Megan was there to take one proctor slot, and that one proctor could handle all of the outdoor activities. They'd be fine.

John called Jean just before 8:00 and let her know that the Confederacy rep had arrived, but the truck was still in transit. Jean volunteered to call Jim and Andy and then meet him at his bakery. She sent Megan to fetch Dave, Amy, Bob, Sarah and Michael.

Fortunately, they were all still in the gymnasium, the first section about to begin. The students quickly changed back into street clothes and met the rest in Jean's office. The group walked together to the bakery.

"Good morning!" John said to them all as they entered. "Come, grab yourselves some coffee and pastry and then I'll introduce you."

When they were seated, John introduced each of them to Brian Quincy from the Confederacy. Rather than answer their thousand questions piecemeal, he gave them a little spiel. He apologized if John had already made some of his points.

The Confederacy, he said, was very interested in their Program and its results. No humans in the Confederacy could accurately relate sub-scores with the total score. There were hundreds of thousands of children in the colonies being taught and trained based upon customary education standards on Earth. There were machines, 'sleep trainers' he called them, which could instill facts in a human brain. The sleep trainers had no ability to alter or improve psychological factors or muscle learning. The example he gave was that a sleep trainer could teach how to field strip and reassemble a rifle. An unpracticed soldier would take a while to complete the process. A trained soldier could do it blindfolded in mere seconds -- his muscles were trained. Psychological factors, he said, included all the elements of a solid citizen. The machine couldn't teach courage, or honesty.

The problem, he said, is that in the colonies a child is CAP tested at age 14 and sent on one track or the other -- either a sponsor or a volunteer. There really was no way for a colony child to be CAP tested, trained, and then CAP tested again.

So the AI's and Confederacy personnel were hungry for data. The Program administrators were encouraged to test Program participants frequently. Not too frequently, he asked, because they feared that too-frequent tests would create 'noise' in the data. Test, train for two weeks or a month and test again. See what happened. Change the areas being trained for. Test again. He asked that the analysis work be conducted in the office of the trailer, and that the 'AI' would assist.

As for the equipment itself, he said, the truck trailer contained six testing stations and a 'med tube'. Quincy would administer all of the tests, and would train and assist Dr. Waters in the use of the 'med tube'. The CAP tests, as everyone knew, lasted from one to three hours, depending upon the candidate being tested. It would take only a few minutes to unpack the trailer and make it ready for use. Quincy would be at the trailer beginning as early as 7:30 a.m. 'local time' until perhaps 6:00 p.m. depending upon the volume. The last CAP tests would begin at perhaps 4:30, subject to the town's wishes.

He finished his opening remarks and readied himself for the barrage of questions he knew was coming. John instead called a break for coffee refills, and he foisted more pastries on everyone.

When all were back in their seats, Quincy opened it up for questions. No, he wouldn't need accommodations because he would be going home every night. No, he didn't have a car. His home, he said, was on the moon, that transit was all but instantaneous, and that the means of transit was something like Scotty's transporter beam on the old Star Trek series. The equipment would remain in place overnight, he said. Security? They were familiar with the interdiction field produced during a pickup? The trailer was able to produce an interdiction field that would remain on whenever he, Quincy, was away from the trailer.

As for his mention of local time, he repeated that he lived and worked on the moon, where Greenwich Mean Time was observed. No, the trailer didn't need a sanitary hookup. He would be eating and drinking items produced by a replicator within the trailer. He explained that a replicator was a machine that could alter materials at the molecular level to produce anything that would fit inside the machine.

An 'AI', he explained, was an artificial intelligence computer that whose interface was oral and visual. He explained that he -- and all volunteers -- had an interface implanted in his head and he could interact with it by vocalizing. Michael was nearly frantic with excitement over the AI.

The 'med tube', he said, was capable of curing or correcting any known disease or injury. The person had only to be alive when placed in the med tube. Cures took various amounts of time, which he'd expand to Ellen when they began work.

They had a general discussion for the next hour or so. They talked about details and arrangements, issues and opportunities, on and on. As if on cue, the truck pulled up and stopped in front of the bakery, blocking the minor amount of traffic for a time. Dave gave the driver directions, and off he went.

Everyone had had all the coffee, and all the pastry, they could hold. The meeting broke up. Jim and Andy headed back to work. John elected to stay at the bakery. The rest began walking to the school.

It was decided that a brief consultation at the end of each CAP re-test would be useful. Brian said there was room in the office area of the trailer for two or more people to work in privacy. He chuckled as he explained that the AI could cordon off 'privacy' areas and contain sight and/or sound. Michael said one of his computers could quickly be set up, providing details on the prior test sub-scores. Brian said the AI would be useful in articulating changes in sub-scores, but would be unable to draw conclusions.

Amy made the point that some students would be completely disheartened after new test scores showed little or no improvement in the overall score. Brian stressed the Confederacy's interest in as many Program participants as possible, and urged them to attempt to keep the students in the Program.

Jean decided to make an announcement in each of the two academic rooms. Half the students were in academics now, and the other half would be in academics right after lunch. She gave Brian her cell phone number and asked that he call when he was ready for the first batch.

The tractor driver had disconnected the trailer and was long since gone. The trailer was more like a mobile home than a trailer on an eighteen-wheeler. While the others were talking outside the trailer, Brian had opened the trailer and brought out a sturdy but collapsible stairs. Brian got a faraway look on his face. He shook that off and invited them on a tour. He showed them the waiting area, the six testing stations, the med tube area, and the spacious, nicely appointed office area. They returned to the front lobby and waiting area.

Brian said, "AI, please greet our guests."

"Hello," a voice from everywhere at once replied. "I am the AI, the artificial intelligence, responsible for this testing station. You will learn how to interact with me, and to use me, as time passes."

"AI, you have your instructions as to who and when and how to interact with the townspeople?" Brian asked.

"Affirmative."

"Are you ready to begin conducting CAP tests?"

"Affirmative."

Brian turned to Jean and the others. "There are seven of you. Which six of you will be the first to be tested?"

Jean said, "I need to make those announcements and get a team out here for the next test. May I be dismissed now? What if I have six students here one hour from now?"

Brian said, "I think that is excellent. One hour will be fine. They'll need some form of entertainment for themselves. They'll be going in for their tests one by one as the stations become available."

Jean excused herself and departed. Brian turned to the others. "Not much to it. I'm sure you've all been tested before. Simply walk in, sit down, and follow instructions. When you're finished, report to the office area in the rear." Six people headed for six test stations to begin.

An indeterminate time later, Bob was informed that his test was complete. Rising from his chair on wobbly legs, he made his way down to the office area in the rear. There he found Brian and Ellen sitting, apparently waiting for him.

"Well, Bob," said Ellen, the effort required to maintain a straight face not visible, "you didn't get a 6.5." She held out her hand, a CAP card in her palm. Bob's heart sank as he reached out to take the proffered card. With a sigh, he turned the card over.

Robert Peter Minter

CAP Overall Score

7.2

Ellen leaped into his arms and hugged him fiercely, which only made it harder for his weak knees to support him. He felt tears running down his cheeks. "Congratulations, partner," she whispered. She then applied a long, loving kiss to his lips. He returned the kiss with passion, his pride and joy evident.

They broke their embrace and acknowledged Brian's presence. "You were the last of us six to finish," Ellen said. "The others went back to work."

Brian said, "Congratulations, Bob. I'd like to conduct a review of your new sub-scores compared with the last time you were tested. Please pay attention, because you've been drafted to conduct these reviews with the students."

Brian first asked Ellen to demonstrate her new skill at building a privacy barrier, first one that blocked sound but not sight, then the other way around and then one that blocked both sight and sound. Ellen demonstrated each time. Bob was impressed.

Brian told Bob that he would call for privacy when the next student was finished testing and came to the office. Until then, Brian allowed Ellen to listen.

To give Bob an idea what to say when he began an interview, Brian congratulated Bob again, told him they would be reviewing the sub-scores underlying Bob's overall score, and comparing these with the sub-scores from the last CAP test. Brian and Bob -- and the AI -- began going over individual sub-scores. Brian didn't need to look up anything. In response to Brian's prompt, the AI reported on the first sub-score category the current result, the prior result, and the change. Brian then asked Bob how he felt about the change, what Bob thought might have contributed to the change, and so on. Brian himself was neutral as to all of the changes.

A student presented herself during the interview, and Brian simply said, "AI, oral privacy, for the two of us, please." As Bob watched, Ellen engaged the student and had her sit down. Bob couldn't hear any part of that. However, a CAP card came into a tray on the wall beside Brian. The CAP card belonged to the newly-arrived student, Brian said.

Brian and Bob went through the sub-scores fairly rapidly. If Bob didn't, or couldn't give a good response as to a sub-score category, Brian smoothly went on to the next. When they were finished, Brian gave Bob encouragement about working hard in the Program, as though Bob was a student. The interview ended, and Brian asked the AI to lift the privacy screen. Brian told Bob that, if Bob were a student, Brian would excuse him back to work.

With Brian's encouragement, Bob invited the girl to join him. Brian introduced himself, but told her Bob was going to conduct the interview. When another student appeared in the doorway, Bob smoothly called for privacy.

After Bob briefly explained what they were doing, they began. The AI reported the new overall CAP score, the prior score, and the difference. The girl's new score was 4.6, an increase of 0.3. The girl was disappointed, but Bob pointed out that the Program had only been under way for a week, and that she should continue to work hard. She seemed to take solace in his words. They continued through individual sub-scores until they were finished. Bob excused her back to work, and released the privacy screen.

Bob completed the interview with the waiting boy and excused him back to work. Bob, Ellen and Brian were alone for a few moments. Ellen briefly explained to Brian her hope to include vulnerable females in their combined family, which would now count twelve concubines. Brian assured them that the AI would provide useful assistance.

Brian pointed out with a chuckle that he had little to do now that Bob was conducting the exit interviews. The AI was handling greetings, was directing students to the proper CAP testing station, and was conducting the CAP tests. He wanted to begin teaching Ellen how to use the med tube.

In a flash of inspiration, Ellen called Julie and insisted that Julie come down to the CAP testing station as soon as possible -- wearing clothes. Blushing, she told Bob that Julie had some 'cosmetic' issues before their dinner tonight. She left unsaid that Julie's prized welts and bruises were becoming discolored and would distress Bob's family.

Another student appeared. Bob turned and started to help her.

Brian and Ellen began an animated discussion of the med tube, its controls and its capabilities. Brian told Ellen that the AI had by now learned which issues required routine correction, and which required explicit direction from a human. Cancer was one example. The med tube would remove all traces of cancer from a patient's body and simply report having done so. For cosmetic changes, the AI would request direction.

The med tube was located in a separate room in the very rear of the trailer, beyond the rear door. Brian brought Ellen into the room and showed her its features. Soon, the AI reported that Julie had arrived and was in the waiting room. Brian asked the AI to direct Julie to the rear. Ellen found Bob between interviews and invited him to briefly join them.

An obviously fearful Julie arrived and was introduced to Brian and Bob. Brian got a handshake. Bob got a warm hug. When Ellen instructed, Julie did not hesitate to undress completely. Ellen gave Bob a brief tour of Julie's body and told him Julie had collected the welts and bruises on Saturday night. Although acutely shy, Julie seemed quite proud of them and lamented that the pain was waning.

Bob excused himself back to his work. Ellen got Julie into the med tube and, with supervision from Brian, started it up. In a surprisingly short time, the med tube lid opened. Bob knocked on the door and entered. The AI had advised Bob that Julie's treatment was nearly complete.

Julie got out of the med tube and Ellen examined her body, now free of any sign of her abuse. Satisfied, she asked Bob to inspect. Both were amazed at the results.