He could take the boy's spider and open himself—make himself vulnerable—to whatever the boy was experiencing. But he wasn't at all clear on what that meant. Would he give up his free will, become an agent of whoever controlled the spiders? Perhaps the spiders controlled themselves—more examples of machine intelligence.

There was no way of knowing whether or not they were controlled by the machines threatening the Earth. Another layer of deception.

Hicks sought the safety of the men's room and locked himself in a stall. Even after he had urinated, he stood behind the door, trying to control his shivers. Why a spider? Not the most reassuring shape to choose.

A battle in the asteroids. But perhaps it's not a battle at all; just part of the demolition and making of more planet-killer probes.

He closed his eyes and saw a shower of huge starships radiating outward, leaving behind the rubble of a ruined solar system. Would even the sun become part of this interstellar disease?

He fumbled at the stall latch and stepped out, brushing past a well-dressed, elderly gentleman with a cane. "Windy day out," the gentleman said, nodding and half turning to track Hicks with his gentle eyes.

"Yes indeed," Hicks returned, pausing at the door, glancing back.

The gentleman nodded at him again, and their gazes held. God. Is he one? Possessed by a spider?

The old man smiled and proceeded into the stall Hicks had vacated.

Hicks returned to the cafeteria and resumed his seat in the booth. "How many people have been recruited, so far?"

Reuben had eaten nearly all of his second hamburger. "They haven't told me," he said.

Hicks clasped his hands in front of him. "Do you feel that you've been possessed?"

Reuben squinted. "I honestly don't know. If they're not lying to me, they're helping all of us, and I'd rather be doing this than something else. Wouldn't you?"

Hicks swallowed hard. "Do you still have free will?"

"Enough to argue. It takes my advice, sometimes. Sometimes, it doesn't listen, and then it moves me around, so I suppose then I don't have control. But it seems to know what it's doing, and as it says, there isn't time enough to explain to everybody."

"You are extraordinarily persuasive," Hicks said.

"Thank you. And thanks again for the food." Reuben dabbled a french fry through a smear of catsup and lifted it in salute before biting into it.

"Where's the spider?"

"Back in my pocket."

"Can I take it with me, make up my mind later, after I've talked to people?"

"No, man, you touch that spider, it's going to . . . you know. Have you. I'm obliged to tell you that much."

"I can't really agree under those circumstances," Hicks said. Fear and caution win out.

Reuben stared at him, disappointed. "It really needs you."

Hicks shook his head, adamant. "Tell them, it, that I cannot be coerced."

"Looks like I made a mistake, then," Reuben said.