it took effort for him to proceed. “I’ve mentioned the power of the human mind. We do a good deal of experimentation with that, much of it in a lab setting with some fairly elaborate equipment. You’re being asked to volunteer.”
Jesse laughed. “Is that all? Evidently you’ve never heard what a person goes through to qualify for a starship crew, or you wouldn’t find it so hard to broach the subject.”
“Stress testing? Endurance of pain?”
“Certainly, when I was a Fleet cadet. It’s not that big of a deal.” But it had been then, he remembered. There’d been a spice to it then; there was, when you still thought your life was leading somewhere.
“I was afraid you’d say that,” Peter told him. “Your biggest hurdle’s going to be complacency. I’ve read a lot of what’s been published on human endurance. Fleet knows little or nothing about it.”
“I’m ready to learn more.”
“That’s fortunate,” Peter said dryly.
“You’re trying to scare me. That’s an old game too, but since reason tells me I won’t be harmed in research experiments, there’s only so far you can go.” Which, he thought, might be anticlimactic after a medical workup that had approached the point of injury more than once.
“What we do won’t harm you,” Peter agreed, with surprising intensity, “although it will scare you more than you think. There are reasons why it has to, but we can’t share them with you yet. These particular endurance studies require naive subjects.” He appraised Jesse thoughtfully. “That’s a technical term; are you familiar with it?”
“Sure—subjects who don’t know what to expect.”
“Yes, so you won’t be informed even of the aim. Nothing unprecedented will be done to you; the rest of us have been through the same protocol.”
“Where is this lab?” Jesse asked, realizing that Peter had stayed after the others in order to escort him there.
“Downstairs.” Peter pointed to the Lodge, silhouetted now against the darkening sky.
“Here?” The place was more than a safe house, then; it was a cover. For what, exactly? An underground lab with elaborate equipment would be difficult and expensive to install anywhere, let alone on a wild island; the group obviously had vast resources. Affluent as colonial citizens might be, its members could not all be carefree young people. Those he had met perplexed him more than ever, now. Peter’s informed remarks on endurance studies were out of character, however much activism he might be involved in. Jesse remembered him on the rock, laughing, seemingly unburdened by worries; now he was indeed revealing another side.
Yet still he was drawn. Besides, there was Carla, who evidently had planned all along to recruit him. “I guess I’ve underestimated a lot of things,” he reflected.
“Yes. You can back out—‘volunteer’ means exactly what it says. It’s up to you to decide if you want to proceed.”
“I think you know that decision’s already made. I—I get the feeling you knew before you approached me.” It was as if Peter had read his mind, his feelings, right from the first. . . .
“We know a lot about people,” Peter agreed. “I would not bring you into this without believing you won’t be sorry.” He looked, Jesse thought, as if it were he who had just taken on a hard trial.
Part Two
~ 12 ~
In the plane, Carla looked down at the fading expanse of water, wishing the coming workweek behind her. When she next saw Jesse, she’d know the outcome . . . but before then, she would hear it from Peter. He had not allowed her to stay. She hadn’t argued; she wouldn’t want to watch, couldn’t bear that, though for Jesse’s sake she had offered. But her presence could not help Jesse. Only her love might help. She sent it out across the distance, a desperate, inner surge, wondering if she’d be equal to the days and weeks to come.
Her own ordeal had begun during
Jesse laughed. “Is that all? Evidently you’ve never heard what a person goes through to qualify for a starship crew, or you wouldn’t find it so hard to broach the subject.”
“Stress testing? Endurance of pain?”
“Certainly, when I was a Fleet cadet. It’s not that big of a deal.” But it had been then, he remembered. There’d been a spice to it then; there was, when you still thought your life was leading somewhere.
“I was afraid you’d say that,” Peter told him. “Your biggest hurdle’s going to be complacency. I’ve read a lot of what’s been published on human endurance. Fleet knows little or nothing about it.”
“I’m ready to learn more.”
“That’s fortunate,” Peter said dryly.
“You’re trying to scare me. That’s an old game too, but since reason tells me I won’t be harmed in research experiments, there’s only so far you can go.” Which, he thought, might be anticlimactic after a medical workup that had approached the point of injury more than once.
“What we do won’t harm you,” Peter agreed, with surprising intensity, “although it will scare you more than you think. There are reasons why it has to, but we can’t share them with you yet. These particular endurance studies require naive subjects.” He appraised Jesse thoughtfully. “That’s a technical term; are you familiar with it?”
“Sure—subjects who don’t know what to expect.”
“Yes, so you won’t be informed even of the aim. Nothing unprecedented will be done to you; the rest of us have been through the same protocol.”
“Where is this lab?” Jesse asked, realizing that Peter had stayed after the others in order to escort him there.
“Downstairs.” Peter pointed to the Lodge, silhouetted now against the darkening sky.
“Here?” The place was more than a safe house, then; it was a cover. For what, exactly? An underground lab with elaborate equipment would be difficult and expensive to install anywhere, let alone on a wild island; the group obviously had vast resources. Affluent as colonial citizens might be, its members could not all be carefree young people. Those he had met perplexed him more than ever, now. Peter’s informed remarks on endurance studies were out of character, however much activism he might be involved in. Jesse remembered him on the rock, laughing, seemingly unburdened by worries; now he was indeed revealing another side.
Yet still he was drawn. Besides, there was Carla, who evidently had planned all along to recruit him. “I guess I’ve underestimated a lot of things,” he reflected.
“Yes. You can back out—‘volunteer’ means exactly what it says. It’s up to you to decide if you want to proceed.”
“I think you know that decision’s already made. I—I get the feeling you knew before you approached me.” It was as if Peter had read his mind, his feelings, right from the first. . . .
“We know a lot about people,” Peter agreed. “I would not bring you into this without believing you won’t be sorry.” He looked, Jesse thought, as if it were he who had just taken on a hard trial.
Part Two
~ 12 ~
In the plane, Carla looked down at the fading expanse of water, wishing the coming workweek behind her. When she next saw Jesse, she’d know the outcome . . . but before then, she would hear it from Peter. He had not allowed her to stay. She hadn’t argued; she wouldn’t want to watch, couldn’t bear that, though for Jesse’s sake she had offered. But her presence could not help Jesse. Only her love might help. She sent it out across the distance, a desperate, inner surge, wondering if she’d be equal to the days and weeks to come.
Her own ordeal had begun during
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