“Would you? I doubt we’d get any warning. He may have incautiously mentioned the idea to a friend and/or confessor, but now that it’s in his head, we’ll hear no more about it.” Moore snorted. “In fact, I’d feel considerably reassured if he did mention it to us.”

Castillo let out a long breath. “Nevertheless, that physicist Schulze predicted exactly this chain of events. If we accept that he was right, then even if Pritchard is still mostly Pritchard, he is nevertheless dancing to an alien puppet master’s orders.”

“That’s the way it looks to me, Alan. I occasionally find myself wondering if we should even be faking Pritchard’s death. Perhaps we’d be better off to actually do what we’re going to claim.”

“Well, the module is on its way to the new location. We’re installing the package while it’s en route. Either way, we’ll be ready, Ted.”

Castillo was silent for a moment, examining the ceiling, before continuing. “It does bring up the question of whether we should stop Pritchard or support him.”

“Oh, come on, Alan. You can do Risk Matrices as well as I can. If we were in control of First Contact, sure, maybe. But thrust on us like this, the downside risk is full extinction of the human race. There is no potential payoff that can balance that.”

“I don’t disagree. I just think it’s a question we might ourselves be asked, sooner or later.”

Moore looked down at his phone, where a Caller Waiting alert was blinking. “Perhaps sooner, as it turns out. Alan, I have to get this. Can we continue our discussion later?”

Castillo stood and gave him a brief nod on the way out.

* * *

“Better and better.” Moore put down the phone with a silent snarl and signaled to Lt. Bentley. “Get Castillo back in here, please.”

Castillo arrived within two minutes. “More problems?”

“Not totally unexpected, I think.” Moore grimaced. “I was just on the phone with Dr. Hall, the new UEN administrator. Seems Dr. Narang from the ICDC would like to send a team for some follow-up with Pritchard. Duration indefinite.”

“That can’t be coincidence.”

“No, I wouldn’t think so. I told him I’d discuss it in staff meetings, but that’s only good for twenty-four hours. It would seem that Kemp has put two and two together. They’re trying to bracket us. If we allow a team in, we can’t do anything with Pritchard. And you can bet they’ll be harder to get rid of than a tick infestation. If we deny the request, we cast suspicion on ourselves, especially if Pritchard meets an unfortunate end soon after.”

Moore slammed the desk with his fist. “This forces our hand. We have to commit to a strategy, and take steps. No more bobbing and weaving and waiting to see how the wind blows.”