"Mrs. Zanderson…" a voice at the door intoned gently. The woman did not move; there was not a flicker of response in the vacant blue eyes.

"Mrs. Zanderson?" A white-uniformed attendant slipped into the room silently and came to stand by the chair. "It's time for your medication, Caroline. Here now."

The nurse held out a green capsule in a white paper cup and placed it in the woman's hand. She took the hand and lifted it toward the woman's mouth and tipped it in.

"There, now. Would you like to go for your walk this morning?"

The woman stared unmoving out the open doors.

"All right, then. Let's get up now. That's right. We'll have a nice walk before lunch. Come along. That's right."

The nurse pulled her gently to her feet and with a hand under her arm guided her out onto the broad green lawn. As they crossed the threshold the woman looked back to her room as if she had left something of inestimable value behind and feared for its safety. "My chair!" she cried.

"Your chair will be safe while we're gone. It will be there when we return."

The woman accepted the attendant's assurance. She turned back to her stroll with a look of grim determination as if she were embarking on a walking tour of the continent. She tilted her head toward her nurse and confided as one with a dark secret, "They are waiting for me back there. They want my chair, you know."

"We won't let them take your chair. Don't you worry about it."

"You don't believe me. No one believes me. They want my chair."

"Who wants your chair, Caroline? Tell me all about it."

"You're playing with me. You don't believe me."

"Then you tell me. Who wants your chair?"

The voice became a dry whisper. "The Dream Thief-he wants me, but he can't get me. So he wants my chair. You won't let him take it, will you?" The deep blue eyes went wide.

"No, no. He won't get your chair. And he won't get you, either. We'll fix him. Don't you worry."

They walked out upon the lawn in the yellow sunlight of a clear, cloudless day. Several other patients strolled the grounds under the watchful eyes of attendants in white. Mrs. Zanderson calmed under the warmth of the day and forgot her agitation of a few moments before. Recognition drifted back to those troubled eyes.

"Why, I know you-you're Belinda."

The nurse smiled and nodded. "That's right; you remembered."

"Is my Ari here? I want to see my little girl."

"Ari is all grown-up now, remember? She isn't here now, but she'll be coming to see you soon."

"I have to see her right now! I must warn her!"

"Warn her, Caroline? What would you warn her about?"

"The Dream Thieves, silly. They are after her, too. I know it. I can feel them. They're after her. You don't believe me, do you?"

"I think you're getting yourself all worked up over nothing, Caroline. We won't let the nasty old dream thieves get your Ari, will we? No. Of course not."

"You're making fun of me!"

"No, I'm not. Maybe we'd better go inside and lie down for a little while before lunch. You'll feel much better after a little rest."

"No-no! I'll be good. Let's walk some more. I won't say anything else. Please, let's walk."

"All right, Caroline. Just as you say. We'll walk-but we won't talk about the dream thieves anymore, shall we? You just let me take care of them for you. Look at the pretty flowers, Caroline. All the red ones and yellow ones-aren't they beautiful?"

"Yes. Beautiful."

Mrs. Zanderson had withdrawn into her shell. She stared ahead dully; her features appeared cast in gray stone. After a short tour of the grounds the nurse brought her back to her room where she once again took up her vigil, gripping the arms of the faded red chair with her thin hands like an eagle guarding her clutch.

21

… ALL THE PICTURES SPENCE had ever seen of the red planet failed to do it justice. Mars shone with a rosy glow like a big, pink harvest moon, its mysterious canals traced in dark red across the surface. Against the black of space with its litter of stars the planet seemed serene and inviting.

The transport streaked ever nearer and the red orb grew larger by the hour, but the Gyrfalcon was still two weeks away from rendezvous.

"It's something, isn't it?" Spence recognized the voice and turned to meet his friend.

"That it is, Adjani. I know I'm supposed to be nonchalant about this sort of thing, but I can't help staring at it-so strange, so alien."

"I'll tell you a secret: everyone else feels exactly as you do – even Packer. He lets on that he's seen it all before and could not care less. But I've seen the look on his face when he thinks no one is watching. He's as taken with it as anyone else." Adjani spoke in his light, rippling voice, his black eyes glowing with the sight before them.

Spence tore himself away from the window and took Adjani by the arm. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."

They walked out of the gallery and along the cramped corridor aft to the galley. There were several groups huddled over steaming mugs at the long tables. A chronometer over the galley window at one end of the rectangular room read 1:25.

"Good," said Spence. "We've got an hour of burn time left. We can still have some coffee and a bite to eat like regular human beings."

Kalnikov accelerated the transport periodically during the voyage. During these times the thrust of the engines produced the effect of gravity for the passengers and crew. Then the galley filled with people who were tired of sucking their meals out of vacuum bags and sipping their drinks through tubes in zero gravity.

They filed past the galley window and picked up mugs of coffee, sandwiches, and thick squares of crumbly brownies. They settled themselves at one of the tables and wolfed down the sandwiches.

"You're looking much better, Spence."

"I'm feeling much better. I guess I'm an astronaut at heart this trip agrees with me."

Spence and Adjani had become close friends in the long days of the trip. They had spent endless hours talking over Adjani's magnetic chessboard until Spence felt he could trust the slim Indian with his life. He had been thinking of revealing his secret to him for several days, and had decided to risk it the moment they sat down to eat. Adjani sensed this and provided the opportunity. He watched his friend quietly, waiting patiently for what Spence would say.

"I guess you already know that I was under some kind of pressure back there." He jerked his head to indicate Gotham.

"I sensed as much, yes."

"You read my mind that first time I came to see you. It scared me a little. I'm glad we've had some time to get to know each other here, because I want to tell you about it."

Adjani said nothing, but leaned forward a fraction and inclined his head in a listening attitude.

"I don't know how to say this without sounding like a raving madman. But trust me, Adjani, and hear me out." Spence took a deep breath and launched into his story from the beginning right up to the moment he boarded the transport in secret. Adjani sat still as a stone-only his eyes showed that spark which indicated that he attended every word.

"… I couldn't tell you before. I was afraid you wouldn't believe me." Spence sipped his chilled coffee and watched his listener for a reaction.

"What you have told me disturbs me greatly, my friend. I wish that you had told me sooner-perhaps that afternoon in my quarters. This is a very dangerous game that you have become involved in."

Spence viewed Adjani's grave features with alarm. He had not expected the reaction he was receiving. "Surely you don't think…"

"If it were just a matter of what I think, you would be right to tell me to mind my own business. But what I have to say to you is not conjecture. I have seen it with my own eyes."