But this is not the pain; this is not the dread of Demolition. The horror lies in the fact that the consciousness is never lost; that as the psyche is wiped out, the mind is aware of its slow, backward death until at last it too disappears and awaits the rebirth. The mind bids an eternity of farewells; it mourns at an endless funeral. And in those blinking, twitching eyes of Ben Reich, Powell saw the awareness… the pain… the tragic despair.

“Now how the hell did he fall down there? Do we have to keep him tied?” Dr. Jeems poked his head over the terrace. “Oh. Hi, Powell. That’s a friend of yours. Remember him?”

“Vividly.”

Jeems spoke over his shoulder: “You go down to the lawn and pick him up. I’ll keep an eye on him.” He turned to Powell. “He’s a lusty lad. We’ve got great hopes for him.”

Reich squalled and twitched.

“How’s the treatment coming?”

“Wonderful. He’s got the stamina to take anything. We’re stepping him up. Ought to be ready for rebirth in a year.”

“I’m waiting for it. We need men like Reich. It would have been a shame to lose him.”

“Lose him? How’s that possible? You think a little fall like that could—”

“No. I mean something else. Three or four hundred years ago, cops used to catch people like Reich just to kill them. Capital punishment, they called it.”

“You’re kidding.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“But it doesn’t make sense. If a man’s got the talent and guts to buck society, he’s obviously above average. You want to hold on to him. You straighten him out and turn him into a plus value. Why throw him away? Do that enough and all you’ve got left are the sheep.”

“I don’t know. Maybe in those days they wanted sheep.”

The attendants came trotting across the lawn and picked Reich up. He fought and screamed. They handled him with the deft and gentle Kingston judo while they checked him carefully for breaks and sprains. Then, reassured, they started to lead him away.

“Just a minute,” Powell called. He turned to the stone bench, picked up the mysterious parcel and unwrapped it. It was one of Sucre et Cie’s most magnificent candy boxes. He carried it to the demolished man and held it out. “It’s a present for you, Ben. Take it.”

The creature lowered at Powell and then at the box. At last the clumsy hands came out and took the gift.

“Why damn it, I’m just his nursemaid,” Powell muttered. “We’re all of us nursemaids to this crazy world. Is it worth it?”

Out of the chaos in Reich came an explosive fragment: “Powell- peeper- Powell- friend- Powell- friend…”

It was so sudden, so unexpected, so passionately grateful that Powell was overcome with warmth and tears. He tried to smile, then turned away and wandered across the lawn toward the pavilion and Barbara.

“Listen,” he cried in exaltation. “Listen, normals! You must learn what it is. You must learn how it is. You must tear the barriers down. You must tear the veils away. We see the truth you cannot see… That there is nothing in man but love and faith, courage and kindness, generosity and sacrifice. All else is only the barrier of your blindness. One day we’ll all be mind to mind and heart to heart…”