"Cynthia," said Asya.

"No," said Toivo firmly. "No Cynthias. She's Martha. Martha Posadnitsa.

And the screen well call Posadnik."

I am not planning to maintain that this was the exact conversation they had late on the evening of May 8. But then, I do know for sure that they spoke an this topic often, argued, did not agree. And that neither of them could convince the other -- I know that for sure, too.

Asya, naturally, was incapable of transmitting her universal optimism to her husband. Her optimism fed on the atmosphere itself, on the people she worked with, the essence of her work, tasty and kind. Toivo had been beyond the limits of this optimistic world, in the world of constant anxiety and tension, where optimism is pa.s.sed from person to person only with great difficulty, under a confluence of proper circ.u.mstances, and not for long.

And Toivo was unable to convert his wife into an ally, to infect her with his sensation of pending doom. His arguments lacked concreteness. They were too speculative. They were a worldview, unconfirmed for Asya. He never did "horrify her," infect her with his revulsion, indignation, and hostility...

That is why, when the storm broke, they were so unprepared, as if they bad never had these arguments and lights, these ferocious attempts to convince each other.

On the morning of May 9, Toivo left for Kharkov to meet with the clairvoyant Hirota and to close the case on the visit of the Wizard for good.

[End of Doc.u.ment 9]

DOc.u.mENT 10: T. Glumov: Theme 009 "A Visit from an Old Lady"Addendum to Report 061/99

DOc.u.mENT 11: T. Glumov: Memorandum on The Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics

DOc.u.mENT 12: T. Glumov: A Working Phonogram

DOc.u.mENT 13: T. Glumov: Information on the Events at Little Pesha.

DOc.u.mENT 14: Glumov Requests a Leave of Absence to visit Pandora.Permission Denied.

REPORT COMCON-2No.017/99 Urals-North Date: 9 May 99.

FROM: T. Glumov, InspectorTHEME: 009 "A Visit from an Old Lady"CONTENTS: Addendum to report No.016/99 Susumu Hirota, a.k.a. Senrigan, received me in his office at 10:45. He is a short, well-built old man who looks much older than his age. He is quite taken with his "gift," and uses any opportunity to demonstrate the gift: your wife is having problems at work... she will definitely fly to Pandora; don't hope that it will be settled without her... this pen was a present from a friend, and you forgot to give it to your wife... And so on, in the same manner. Rather unpleasant, I might add. The Wizard's Exit, according to him, looked like this: "He must have been afraid that I would learn something secret about him, and he turned to flee. It never occurred to him that I saw him as an empty whitish screen with a single contrast detail. After all, he is a creature from another world..."

T. Glumov [End of Doc.u.ment 10.]

IMPORTANT! REPORT COMCON-2No.018/99 Urals - North Date: 9 May 99.

FROM: T. Glumov, InspectorTHEME: 009 "A Visit from an Old Lady"CONTENTS: The Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics is interested in the witnesses to the incident in Little Pesha.

During my conversation with the dispatcher on duty at the Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics, on May 9 at 11:50 the following incident took place.

In talking to me, the duty dispatcher, Temirkanov, was simultaneously transferring data from the display terminal into the main computer very quickly and professionally. The data appeared on the control display and were in this format: surname, name, patronymic; (apparently) age: town (place of birth? place of residence; place of work?);profession; a certain six-digit index. I had not been paying attention to the display until it read: KUBOTIEVA ALBINA MILANOVNA 96 BALLERINA ARKHANGELSK 001507.

Then two surnames that said nothing to me, and then: KOSTENETSKY KIR 12 SCHOOLBOY PETROZAVODSK 001507.

A reminder: these two are witnesses of the incident in Little Pesha, of my report No.015/99 of 7 May.

Apparently, I must have lost self-control for a few seconds, because Temirkanov asked what was so amazing. I got out of it by saying that l was surprised to see Albina Kubotieva, a ballerina my parents had always talked about, being wild balletomanes; it seemed strange to see her name here; was the Great Albina a metapsychological talent, too? Temirkanov laughed and said that it wasn't ruled out. According to him, all the branches of the Inst.i.tute receive a steady list of people who theoretically could be of interest to the metapsychotogists. The majority of the information comes from the terminals of clinics, hospitals, first-aid stations, and other medical establishments equipped with standard psychoa.n.a.lyzers. In the Kharkov branch alone, hundreds of candidates are listed over a twenty-four-hour period, but they're almost all useless: "eccentrics" make up only one hundred-thousandth of a percent of all the candidates.

In the situation at hand, I felt it was proper to change the topic.

T. Glumov [End of Doc.u.ment 11.]

WORKING PHONOGRAM.

Date: 10 May 99 INTERLOCUTORS: M. Kammerer, head of UE department; T. Glumov, inspectorTHEME: 009 "A Visit from an Old Lady"CONTENTS: Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics is a possible object for theme 009.

KAMMERER: Curious. You notice things, though, fellow. What an eye! But you have a theory ready, I'm sure. Go on.

GLUMOV: The final conclusion or the reasoning?

KAMMERER: The reasoning, please.

GLUMOV: It's easiest to a.s.sume that the names of Albina and Kit were sent to Kharkov by some enthusiast of metapsychology. If he had been a witness to the event in Little Pesha, he could have been amazed by the anomalous reaction of those two, and reported his observations to competent authorities. I thought about it: at least three people could have that.

Basil Neverov, the emergency-squad man. Oleg Pankratov, lecturer and former astroarchaeologist. And his wife Zosya Lyadova, artist. Of course, they weren't witnesses in the narrow meaning of the word, but in the present situation it doesn't matter... Without your permission, I did not risk talking to them, even though I consider it a possibility -- to just clear it with them, did they give information to the Inst.i.tute or not...

KAMMERER: There's an even simpler way...

GLUMOV: Yes, the index. Ask the Inst.i.tute. But that way is no good, and here's why. If it was a volunteer enthusiast, it'll be cleared up, and there won't be anything to talk about. But I'd like to look at another version. To wit: there were no volunteer informants, but there was a special observer from the Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics.

GLUMOV: Let's a.s.sume that there was a special observer from the Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics at Little Pesha. That would mean that some psychological experiment was going on there, with the aim of sorting out, say, normal people from extraordinary people. For Instance, to then seek "eccentricity" among the extraordinary people. In that case, one of two things. Either the Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics is an ordinary research center, where ordinary researchers work and set up ordinary experiments -- however dubious morally, but in the final a.n.a.lysis intended for the benefit of science. But then it is not clear where they get the technology that far surpa.s.ses even the prospective capabilities of our embryomechanics and our bioconstruction.

(Pause) GLUMOV: Or the experiment in Little Pesha was organized not by people, as we had a.s.sumed before. Then in what light do we see the Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics?

(Pause) GLUMOV: Then the Inst.i.tute is no inst.i.tute, the eccentrics are no eccentrics at all, and the personnel is not working on metapsychology at all.

KAMMERER: On what, then? What are they doing and who are they?

GLUMOV: You mean you don't consider my arguments convincing again?

KAMMERER: On the contrary, my boy. On the contrary! They are too convincing, your arguments. But I would like you to formulate your idea directly, dryly, and unambiguously. As if in a report.

GLUMOV: All right. The so-called Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics is actually a weapon of the Wanderers to sort out people according to a sign unknown to me for now. That's it.

KAMMERER: And consequently, Danya Logovenko, the deputy director there, my longtime friend -- GLUMOV: (interrupting) No! That would be too fantastic. But perhaps your Danya Logovenko had been sorted out a long, long time ago. His longtime acquaintance with you doesn't guarantee against it. He's been sorted out and works with the Wanderers. Like all the personnel at the Inst.i.tute, not to mention the "eccentrics."...

GLUMOV: They' been sorting for a least twenty years. When they had enough sorted ones, they organized the Inst.i.tute, put in their chambers of sliding frequencies, and under the excuse of searching for "eccentrics"

check out ten thousand people a year... And we don't even know how many other inst.i.tutions like that there are under the most varied labels.

(Pause) GLUMOV: And the Wizard ran off back to Saraksh not because he was insulted or had a stomach ache. He sensed the Wanderers! Like our whales and the lemmings... "When the blind see the seeing" -that's about you and me.

"Me sees the mountains and forests and doesn't see a thing" -- that's also about us, Big Bug!

(Pause) GLUMOV: So we can be the first people in history to catch the Wanderers red-handed.

KAMMERER: Yes. And it all began with two names which you accidentally noticed on the display. By the way, are you sure it was no accident'!

(quickly) All right, all right, let's skip it. What do you suggest?

GLUMOV: Me?

KAMMERER: Yes, you.

GLUMOV: We-ell, if you want my opinion... The first steps, I think, are obvious. First of all, we must determine if the Wanderers are there and figure out the sorted ones. Organize hidden mentoscopic observation and, if necessary, do enforced extra-deep mentoscopy on everyone there... I a.s.sume they're prepared for that and will block out memory... That's not so bad, that would be evidence... It would be worse if they know how to paint false memory...

KAMMERER: All right. Enough. You're a fine boy. Congratulations, you did good work. And now, listen to my orders. Prepare for me lists on the following people. First: people with the inversion of the Penguin Syndrome, everyone registered with doctors to this day. Second: people who did not undergo f.u.kamization -- GLUMOV: (interrupting) That's more than a million people!

KAMMERER: No, I mean the people who refused the "maturity injection."

That's twenty thousand people. You'll have to work, but we must be fully armed. Third: Collect all our data on people who vanished without a trace and put it all into one list.

GLUMOV: Including those who returned later?

KAMMERER: Especially those. Sandro is working on that; I'll put him on this with you. That's it.

GLUMOV: A list of inverts, a list of refusers, and a list of the reappeared. Fine. But still, Big Bug...

KAMMERER: Go on.

GLUMOV: Still allow me to talk with Neverov and that couple from Little Pesha.

KAMMERER: For the sake of your conscience?

GLUMOV: Yes. What if it's just an ordinary volunteer enthusiast...

KAMMERER: Permission granted. (after a brief pause) I wonder what you'll do if it does turn out to be an ordinary volunteer enthusiast...

[End of Doc.u.ment 12.]

I've just played that phonogram over again. My voice then was young, important, confident, the voice of a man who determined people's fates, for whom there were no mysteries in the past, the present, or the future, a man who knew what he was doing and who was right all around. Now I am simply astounded at what a marvelous actor and hypocrite I was then. Actually, I was on the last of my nerves and willpower then. I had a plan of action, I was waiting and couldn't wait for the President's sanctions, and I was trying to build up the nerve to go to Komov without the sanctions.

And for all that, I remember clearly the enormous pleasure I experienced listening to Toivo Glumov and watching him. For this really was his hour of triumph. He had looked for them for E ordinary volunteer enthusiast five years -- those non-humans who had secretly invaded his Earth -- looked for them, despite constant failure, almost alone, unsupported, tormented by his beloved wife's disbelief, looked for them and found them.

He was right. He was more persistent than the rest -- more patient, more serious -- than all those wise guys, those lightweight philosophers, the intellectual ostriches.

Actually, I am ascribing that feeling of triumph to him. I don't think that he felt anything at that moment except pathological impatience -- to grab the enemy by the throat at last. For having proved incontrovertibly that his enemy was on Earth and acting, he still had no idea how he had proved it.

But I did. And still, looking at him that morning, I was so proud of him, so delighted in him, he could have been my son. And I would have wanted a son like him.

I loaded him up with work primarily because I wanted to keep him in his office at his desk. There was still no reply from the Inst.i.tute, and the work on the lists had to be done anyway.

REPORT COMCON-2No.019/99 Urals-North Date: 10 May 99 FROM: T. Glumov, InspectorTHEME: 009 "A Visit from an Old Lady"CONTENTS: Information on the events in Little Pesha was sent to the inst.i.tute of Eccentrics by O. O. Pankratov.

In accordance with your requests, I conducted conversations with B.

Neverov and O. Pankratov and Z. Laydova with the object of determining if any of them sent information to the Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics about the anomalous behavior of certain people during the incident at Little Pesha on the night of 6 May of this year.

1. The conversation with Basil Neverov, emergency-squad member, took place by videochannel yesterday around noon. The conversation held no operative interest. B. Neverov had certainly never heard of the Inst.i.tute before I mentioned it.

2. Oleg Olegovich Pankratov and his wife, Zosya Lyadova, I met in the corridors of the regional conference of amateur astroarchaeologists in Syktyvkar. Over a casual cup of coffee, Oleg Olegovich actively and with pleasure picked up the conversation I began on the marvels of the Inst.i.tute of Eccentrics and, on his own initiative, without any forcing from me, conveyed the following facts:-- For many years now he has been a steady activist of the Inst.i.tute and even has his own index as a separate and steady source of information;-- It was thanks to efforts that such marvelous phenomena as Tira Glazuzskaya ("Black Eye"), Lebey Malang (psychoparamorph), and Konstantin Movzon ("Lord of the Flies V") came to the attention of the metapsychologists;-- He was very grateful to me for the information on the amazing Albina and the fantastic Kir, which t had given him so kindly that day in Little Pesha, and which he immediately sent on to the Inst.i.tute;-- He had been to the Inst.i.tute three times -- at the annual conferences of activists; he did not personally know Daniil Alexandrovich Logovenko, but he had great respect for him as an outstanding scientist.

3. In connection with the above, I feel that my report No.018/99 has no interest for theme 009.

T. Glumov [End of Doc.u.ment 13.]

REPORT To Head of UE Dept -- M. KammererFrom Inspector T. Glumov Please give me a leave of absence for six months because I need to accompany my wife on a long business trip to Pandora.

10/5/99.

T. Glumov RESOLUTION: Permission denied. Continue your a.s.signment.

10 May 99 M. Kammerer [End of Doc.u.ment 14.]

DOc.u.mENT 15: Unusual Events Department: 11 May.

DOc.u.mENT 16: Theme 101 "Rip Van Winkle." Mtbevari, Inspector.

DOc.u.mENT 17: The Head of the UE Department from the President

DOc.u.mENT 18: Charles Laboraut to Mac!

DOc.u.mENT 19: Memorandum from 17; Interlocutors 13 May 99.

DOc.u.mENT 20: T. Glumov: Theme 009 "A Visit from an Old Lady"