As though reading her mind, Dr. Villiers said, "Don't let the exterior mislead you, Marcy – or the interior either, for that matter. I have found that, unlike other experimental animals, human beings function best for my purpose in luxurious surroundings. And so, in the interest of science, I provide them. But please keep in mind that you are, first and last, a research tool and nothing more." He took a small notebook from his pocket and consulted it. "You are Laboratory Animal Number X-999, to be specific. Do you understand?"

Marcy lowered her eyes and nodded silently.

"Very good, my dear. Now let's go inside."

He helped her from the car, and Marcy followed him up to the house on legs that felt like rubber. Her heart was thudding with fear and something else something she couldn't quite identify, or didn't dare to.

As they stepped through the door into a luxuriously furnished entrance hall, a young couple came running eagerly to greet them. The young man was tall, slender, and handsome. His light auburn hair gleamed in the subdued light, and his bare chest above his tight white pants was tanned to a golden hue. The girl with him had a pretty, doll-like face, hair a little darker red than his, and skin like golden cream. She wore white velvet hot pants and a bolero to match, and her bare breasts bounced into view as she ran.

"Dr. Dirk, you have returned!" the young man said. "You have come back to direct our symphony of eroticism!"

"I am not conducting a symphony, Kyle," Dr. Villiers said. "You are taking part in a carefully coordinated, multi-faceted scientific investigation."

"I don't care what you call it," the young man said. "Karla and I have missed you. Deprived of your inspiration, our human potential has stagnated."