“I guess it’s something to think about. Anyway, is there anything else you need?”

“Who’s Rainer?”

It was a knee-jerk response to USA Today, reckless. I had to bring myself under control. The emotional structure of an interview should never be apparent.

“Rainer who?” she said.

“I don’t know his last name. He worked for Rubicon in Retreat.”

“Right,” she said. “Rainer was a technician.”

“Not anymore?”

“No, not anymore.”

“He would run tests on the subjects after discharge, is that right?”

“Who told you that?”

“I can’t reveal my sources,” I said. “But do I have that right?”

“Yes, Rainer had the unenviable task of tracking down our subjects—who, as you know, can be somewhat nomadic—and running tests to ensure everybody’s safety.”

“Who’s responsible for that now?”

“Now? Lots of different people. But those tests are strictly proprietary, so I’m not sure it matters to your story.”

“Can I ask if you were romantically involved?”

“What?”

“With Rainer,” I said. “Did you have a relationship?”

“Who’s feeding you this stuff? Jesus, no, we didn’t. It’s hurtful that someone would say that. Just because I’m a woman, I have to be romantic with everyone I work with?”

When I didn’t respond, Dr. Kriss mastered herself.

“Look, I have an idea,” she said. “If your deadline isn’t so tight after all, why don’t you come to Arcade? Inland is hosting a tour of my lab for some investors next month. It won’t be easy—I’m probably crazy even for suggesting it—but there’s an outside chance I can persuade them to let you come along. Maybe I can use my new standing in the company to leverage an invitation.”

“That would be great.”

“Alright. Don’t worry, I’m still committed to this. I’m just new to the process, and a little impatient.”

“It’s okay.”

“I’m thinking of the first time we met,” she said. “Do you remember?”

“Of course.”

“I promised you a great story, didn’t I?”

8.

The Bystander closed an issue that week. When Mort first green-lighted my story, I told him I’d help with little things on the culture file, so I set Dr. Kriss aside and circulated the office, offering captions and headlines and reworking copy.

Closing a magazine is always frantic. After the long lead times for features, and the indolent manufacture of essays, it all comes down to a few hours’ crush. The writers have had weeks to move their words around, now they have five minutes. But if closing weren’t chaotic, the issue wouldn’t hit newsstands with the proper verve. A magazine has to bottle up that last-minute energy so it stays hot all month.

The War on Terror dominated the issue. Mort had tasked his political writers with dismantling the Bush Doctrine, from the neoconservative mandate abroad to the civil liberties violations at home.