"So does the couch, Rob. You can pull them out of the sides. Just feel around . . . there. Isn't that better?"

"No, it isn't."

"I think," he says softly, "that you should let me decide whether for therapeutic reasons some sort of change is in order, Bob."

I sit up. "And that's another thing, Sigfrid! Make up your flicking mind what you're going to call me. My name isn't Rob, or Robbie, or Bob. It's Robinette."

"I know that, Robbie--"

"You're doing it again!"

A pause, then, silkily, "I think you should allow me the choice of the form of address I prefer, Robbie."

"Um." I have an endless supply of those noncommittal nonwords. In fact, I would like to conduct the whole session without revealing any more than that. What I want is for Sigfrid to reveal. I want to know why he calls me by different names at different times. I want to know what he finds significant in what I say. I want to know what he really thinks of me. . . if a clanking piece of tin and plastic can think, I mean.

Of course, what I know and Sigfrid doesn't is that my good friend S. Ya. has practically promised to let me play a little joke on him. I am looking forward to that a lot.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me, Rob?"

"No."

He waits. I am feeling somewhat hostile and noncommunicative. I think part of it is because I am so much looking forward to the time when I can play a little trick on Sigfrid, but the other part is because he has changed around the auditing room. That's the kind of thing they used to do to me when I had my psychotic episode in Wyoming. Sometimes i'd come in for a session and they'd have a hologram of my mother, for Christ's sake. It looked exactly like her, but it didn't smell like her or feel like her; in fact, you…

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MISSION REPORT

Vessel 1-8, Voyage 013D6. Crew F. Ito.

Transit time 41 days 2 hours. Position not identified. Instrument recordings damaged.

Transcript of crewman's tape follows: "The planet seems to have a surface gravity in excess of 2.5, but I am going to attempt a landing. Neither visual nor radar scanning penetrates the clouds of dust and vapor. It really is not looking very good, but this is my eleventh launch. I am setting the automatic return for 10 days. If I am not back by then with the lander I think the capsule will return by itself. I wish I knew what the spots and flares on the sun meant."

Crewman was not aboard when ship returned. No artifacts or samples. Landing vehicle not secured. Vessel damaged.

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…couldn't feel it at all, it was only light. Sometimes they'd have me come in there in the dark and something warm and cuddly would take me in its arms and whisper to me. I didn't like that. I was crazy, but I wasn't that crazy.