Before Shirley could answer, the door crashed open and the Major strode in with Travis at his heels. “What’s going on?” he shouted. He crossed the room in three steps and leaned forward to stare at the monitoring screen.

“It’s Eric. They’ve cut his wrist computer. He’s dead.”

“Dead? He can’t be dead!”

“They didn’t give up,” Nicole said, the tightness in her throat making her voice harsh. “They were in the kitchen together. I was getting some pain readings from Eric, but I assumed he was simply remembering what he had done at the museum. Dr. Cameron must have cut his band, not knowing what would happen.”

“Not knowing?” Travis interjected. “Of course he knew what would happen. He explained the whole system to Eric back in the detention cell, remember.”

That brought the Major upright. “That’s right. So why would he do it?”

“Maybe Eric did it,” Shirley volunteered. “He was very depressed when he came back.”

“Eric wouldn’t commit suicide,” Travis snapped, his mind racing. “Somehow they thought they could beat the system.”

“Is that Cameron now?” the Major demanded, jabbing his finger at the screen.

“Yes. He hasn’t moved since it happened.”

“That’s odd. Is he all right? What’s his reading?”

Nicole turned to her terminal and quickly punched in the code numbers. The readouts appeared almost instantly, causing her eyebrows to lift in surprise. “He’s lying down, and his brain scan shows a comatose state.”

“Comatose?” the Major said, his eyes narrowing. “Eric’s just been terminated, and he’s comatose? What’s going on there?”

“Lieutenant Robertson is on his way there now,” Shirley said.

“Was Eric lying down when this happened?”

“I can check.” Again her fingers flew over the terminal keys. Then, even more surprised, she nodded. “Yes, in exactly the same place. And look, just before termination, his pain level jumped sharply. That’s when Clayne came in, and we were checking on Dr. Cameron’s position, so I didn’t see that.”

The Major’s fist crashed down against the top of the table so hard that Nicole jumped. “They’re operating on each other!”

“What?” Nicole and Travis had blurted it out together.

“Eric’s not dead. If he were, would Cameron be lying there like a sick ox?”

“But how could they take out the implantations without triggering the wrist computer?”

“Because they’ve cut off the wrist computer!” he roared, his face a mottled patchwork of red and gray. “Somehow they’ve done it simultaneously. The computer shows Eric terminated, but if the silicon chip was out of his head when the terminal voltage was sent, it would be completely harmless.”

Travis shook his head, his expression dubious. “I don’t think—”

Suddenly the Major’s face contorted in shock as his mind carried his conclusion one step further. “Nicole, hit Cameron’s PMT button!” he shouted.