The first thing that Steel noticed was that it was still the room of the ambush. Distinctions between rooms were subtle, but he had been getting around, so to speak. Checking the floor and the bed, he saw that all the women were gone and that he was all neat and clean in a remade bed.
"We figured, you're here already, we may as well set you up here for the time being," a woman's voice told him. "You didn't leave us much time for much else."
Dr. Larissa Luckey stepped out of a corner of the room and drew up a chair at the foot of Steel's bed. This was the most crisply, formally, and conservatively dressed he had ever seen her -- that was, lately.
She flashed a wry smirk. "You know how to play to a girl's ego. I was so hoping, Wow, he really DOES want me! Anyway, your little trick has worked, so all that's left is for us to play it out and see where it goes now."
"Little trick?"
"Oh, come on. The great Dr. E. Quill Wright will be walking in here any minute, as per that little telephone stunt you pulled."
"Then, it's game over for you."
Her wicked smile held. "I'm not so sure. I hear that Svanhild talked to you."
"She babbled a lot, about ancient species and race memory."
"You don't appreciate what a living walking breathing revolution you are. For years, we had a highly respectable reputation. Organizations like NOCLUE could rely on us to put to rest all kinds of silly ideas about sex. But you ... " Larissa gave a deep and wistful sigh. "You have turned everything upside down. What was that line from 'A Few Good Men'? 'You can't handle the truth!' The whole world can't handle the truth -- and it's all because of one good man, not even a few. But the world will learn. Human sex is about to be taken back from the human mind. It's all going straight back to good old physical attraction. No brain necessary."
"You've gone nuts, and Dr. Wright will settle that."
"You would think, wouldn't you? But I believe that my convictions will triumph."
There was a rapping at the door.
"Time for my comeuppance," Larissa teased, then went to the door.
As Larissa left and Dr. Wright stepped in, Steel strove to keep a positive outlook. After having being surrounded by sneaky predatory grins for so long, it was refreshing to at last meet someone clearly sober and serious, someone clearly upset and concerned about a place like the Luckey Institute going bonkers.
Yet Steel also had to keep in check a sudden deep paranoia -- for as grim as Dr. Wright's expression was, the fact remained that she was one hell of an attractive woman. Her face was cool, but her body, in abbreviated formal wear, was all heat, her bold curves clearly visible, her bosom bulging forward very noticeably, and not even her glasses could detract from her angelic beauty. She set down her briefcase, sat on the chair before him, crossed her legs and cleared her throat.
"I understand your name is Steel," she said in a serious but still very pleasant voice. "I am Dr. Wright, but you may call me Quill. Now -- what exactly is this all about?" |