Yulin heard the elevator door open below. He looked over the balcony and saw Nikki, dressed only in that flimsy nightgown, walk normally and deliberately into the lab chamber and step up onto the disk. Centering herself, she stood erect, her eyes closed, and she seemed frozen, a statue except for barely perceptible breathing.

“Record subject in aux mode, Obie,” Yulin instructed. The big mirror overhead swung out, centered over the disk, and shot out the blue ray. Nikki flickered once or twice, then vanished. The ray cut off.

It would be tempting, Yulin thought, just to leave her there. But, no, the risk was too great. She would probably have to be produced in the end, and he didn’t want her on that disk with Zinder at the controls.

“Obie, this will be an unstable equation. It will not adjust. The act of change shall in itself be part of reality.”

“Yes, Ben,” the computer responded. “There will be no reality adjustment.”

Yulin nodded in satisfaction.

“Psychological adjustment only, Obie,” he told the great machine.

“Ready,” responded Obie.

“Maximum emotional-sexual response level,” he ordered. “Subject is to be fixated on Dr. Ben Yulin, data in your banks. Subject will be madly, irrationally in love with Yulin, and will think of nothing but Yulin. Will do anything for Yulin, will be loyal only to Yulin, without exception. Subject will consider herself the willing property of said Ben Yulin. Code it ‘love-slave mode’ for future reference and store in aux one.”

“Done,” the computer acknowledged.

“Sequence, then store as soon as both humans have left the lab.”

“Sequencing,” the computer said, and Yulin looked over the balcony. The blue light had flipped on again, and Nikki, still the same and still wearing the same nightgown, winked back in. She was still frozen.

Yulin cursed himself. It’d been less than twenty minutes since he had administered the dosage which was good for probably three times that. He’d taken no chances.