The two men walked side by side down to the first of the computer rooms. Usually Lord Leighton came out to meet them at this point. But there was nobody in the room except two technicians in white coats, seated in steel swivel chairs and monitoring the visual readouts on a bank of consoles.

One of them turned in his chair as the two men entered. «Lord Leighton says he's using a new variant on the main sequence. It doesn't allow as much time as before, so you're going to have to hurry.»

J raised an eyebrow and exchanged looks with Blade. In both their minds was the thought, «The old bugger might have told us in advance.» But when Lord Leighton got a technical bee in his balding bonnet, there was no power on earth that could halt or delay him.

They practically trotted up to the door of the main room. Lord Leighton was waiting for them there, scurrying back and forth on his polio-twisted legs, rubbing his hands together. With his hunchback under his white coat, he looked like an overworked gnome.

«Ah, very good,» he said briskly as the two men came up. «The new sequence is underway and I'd rather not interrupt it. So if Richard can be in the chair within-oh, five minutes-it will make life simpler for all of us.»

J fixed Lord Leighton with a singularly chilly stare. «It might have made life simpler for us if you'd told us beforehand. We could have been here earlier.»

«Oh, quite, quite. But-«

Blade knew that he would never have time to listen to the argument and still be in the chair on time. He nodded politely to both men and darted into the chamber.

In the little changing booth in one corner, he stripped to the skin. Then he smeared himself with greasy, foul-smelling cream for protection against electrical burns and knotted a loincloth around his waist. By the time he stepped out into the chamber again, Lord Leighton was already standing by the black metal chair in its glass cubicle.