He made a face. “You’re going to keep doing that?”

“I’m definitely not doing anything worthwhile. In fact, I can’t tell you what a relief it is to have had a career rather than having to make one. Now I’m going to enjoy my six months.”

“You’re really going back into your slack old bodysuit?”

“This is an experiment. I wanted to find out what this would be like. But I’m still afraid of anything too … unnatural.”

He had been pacing about. Now he sat down opposite me. His tone was more than businesslike; he was firm, but not quite threatening, though it seemed he could become so.

He said, “You can sell that one, then.”

“Sell what?”

“That body.”

“Sell it?”

“Yeah, to me. I’ll pay you well. You will make a substantial profit which you and your family can live on for the rest of your God-given life.”

“What about my old body?”

“I’ll get that back for you. No problem. An old body sack is about as valuable as a used condom.” He was looking at me passionately. “It’s a good deal. What do you say?”

“I’m puzzled. You’ve got the money. Go and buy one. I went to a place, a kind of small hospital. I’m sure you did the same.”

“I did. You think those places are easy to find? It’s not that simple anymore.”

“What d’you mean?”

“You were either well connected or lucky,” he said. He was drumming his fingers. “Things have changed already.”

“In what way?” He didn’t want to say. “To put it objectively,” I went on, “if people want bodies so badly, they could eliminate someone. Unlike you, I’m not recommending it, only suggesting what seems obvious. This isn’t the only desirable body around.”

“Bodies have to be adapted. The ‘mark’ on the head tells you that’s been achieved. The body you are in now isn’t valuable in itself, but the work that’s been done on it is. The people who do it are like gods, extending life. There are only three or four doctors in the world today who can do this operation, and they’re like the men who made the atomic bomb-hated, admired, and feared, having changed the nature of human life.”

“Do you know these body artists?”

“I can get to at least one of them,” he said. “And I have ill acquaintances who will pay a great deal to be moved into another body facility.”

“People who will give everything rather than die. I can understand that. Wow, I’m in big demand,” I said. “But I’ll wait for my six months to be up. What’s the rush?”

“Someone might be dying in awful pain with only weeks to live. They might not be able to wait for your little ‘tryout’ to come to an end.”

“That, as they say, is life.”