need someone for whom chances of success are most nearly certain, and in whom it would be most demonstrable. We don't want someone so low in mental capacity that we must use dangerously large doses of the disinhibitor; nor do we want someone so bright that the effect will not be sufficiently noticeable. We need someone who's average. Fortunately, we have the full physical and psychological profiles of all the employees at Quantum and in this and, in fact, all other ways, Mr. Heath is ideal."
"Dead average?" said Susan.
John looked stricken at the use of the phrase he had thought his own innermost, and disgraceful, secret. "Come on, now," he said.
Ignoring John's outcry, Kupfer answered Susan, "Yes."
"And he won't be, if he submits to treatment?"
Anderson's lips stretched into another one of his cheerless smiles. "That's right. He won't be. This is something to think about if you're going to be married soon - the firm of Johnny and Sue, I think you called it. As it is, I don't think the firm will advance at Quantum, Miss Collins, for although Heath is a good and reliable employee he is, as you say, dead average. If he takes the disinhibitor, however, he will become a remarkable person and move upward with astonishing speed. Consider what that will mean to the firm."
"What does the firm have to lose?" asked Susan, grimly.
Anderson said, "I don't see how you can lose anything. It will be a sensible dose which can be administered at the laboratories tomorrow - Sunday. We will have the floor to ourselves; we will keep him under surveillance for a few hours. It is certain nothing could go wrong. If I could tell you of our painstaking experimentation and of our thoroughgoing exploration of all possible side effects - "
"On animals," said Susan, not giving an inch.
But John said, tightly, "I'll make the decision, Sue. I've had it up to here with that dead-average bit. It's worth some risk to me if it means getting off that dead-average dead end."
"Johnny," said Susan, "don't jump."
"I'm thinking of the firm, Sue. I want to contribute my share."
Anderson said, "Good, but sleep on it. We will leave two copies of an agreement we will ask you to look over and sign. Please don't show it to anybody whether you sign or not. We will be here tomorrow morning again to take you to the laboratory."
They smiled, rose, and left.
John read over the agreement with a troubled frown, then looked up. "You don't think I should be doing this, do you, Sue?"
"It worries me, sure,"
"Look, if I have a chance to get away from that dead average - "
Susan said, "What's wrong with that? I've met so many nuts and cranks in my short life that I welcome a nice, average guy like you, Johnny. Listen, I'm dead average too."
"You dead average. With your looks? Your figure?"
Susan looked down upon herself with a touch of complacency. "Well, then, I'm just your dead-average gorgeous girl," she said.
3
The injection took place at 8 A.M. Sunday, no more than twelve hours after the proposition had been advanced. A thoroughly computerized body sensor was attached to John in a dozen places, while Susan watched with keen-eyed apprehension.
Kupfer said, "Please, Heath, relax. All is going well, but tension speeds the heart rate, raises the blood pressure, and skews our results."
"How can I relax?" muttered John.
Susan put in sharply, "Skews the results to the point where you don't know what's going on?"
"No, no," said Anderson. "Boris said all is going well and it is. It is just that our animals were always sedated before the injection, and we did not feel sedation would have been appropriate in this case. So if we can't have sedation, we must expect tension. Just breathe slowly and do your best to minimize it."
It was late afternoon before he was finally disconnected. "How do you feel?" asked Anderson.
"Nervous," said John. "Otherwise, all right."
"No headache?"
"No. But I want to visit the bathroom. I can't exactly relax with a bedpan."
"Of course."
John emerged, frowning. "I don't notice any particular memory improvement."
"That will take some time and will be gradual. The disinhibitor must leak across the blood-brain barrier, you know," said Anderson.
4
It was nearly midnight when Susan broke what had turned out to be an oppressively silent evening in which neither had much responded to the television.
She said, "You'll have to stay here overnight. I don't want you alone when we don't really know what's going to happen."
"I don't feel