--Not good at all, Kramer thought to himself, as he stood looking down the hillside at the work going on below him. A warm wind blew along the hill, rustling the weeds and grass. At the bottom, in the valley, the mechanics had almost finished; the last elements of the reflex system had been removed from the ship and crated up. All that was needed now was the new core, the new central key that would take the place of the mechanical system. A human brain, the brain of an intelligent, wary human being. But would the human being part with it? That was the problem. Kramer turned. Two people were approaching him along the road, a man and a woman. The man was Gross, expressionless, heavy-set, walking with dignity. The woman was--He stared in surprise and growing annoyance. It was Dolores, his wife. Since they'd separated he had seen little of her.... "Kramer," Gross said. "Look who I ran into. Come back down with us. We're going into town." "Hello, Phil," Dolores said. "Well, aren't you glad to see me?" He nodded. "How have you been? You're looking fine." She was still pretty and slender in her uniform, the blue-grey of Internal Security, Gross' organization. "Thanks." She smiled. "You seem to be doing all right, too. Commander Gross tells me that you're responsible for this project, Operation Head, as they call it. Whose head have you decided on?" "That's the problem." Kramer lit a cigarette. "This ship is to be equipped with a human brain instead of the Johnson system. We've constructed special draining baths for the brain, electronic relays to catch the impulses and magnify them, a continual feeding duct that supplies the living cells with everything they need. But--" "But we still haven't got the brain itself," Gross finished. They began to walk back toward the car. "If we can get that we'll be ready for the tests." "Will the brain remain alive?" Dolores asked. "Is it actually going to live as part of the ship?" "It will be alive, but not conscious. Very little life is actually conscious. Animals, trees, insects are quick in their responses, but they aren't conscious. In this process of ours the individual personality, the ego, will cease. We only need the response ability, nothing more." Dolores shuddered. "How terrible!" "In time of war everything must be tried," Kramer said absently. "If one life sacrificed will end the war it's worth it. This ship might get through. A couple more like it and there wouldn't be any more war." * * * * * They got into the car. As they drove down the road, Gross said, "Have you thought of anyone yet?" Kramer shook his head. "That's out of my line." "What do you mean?" "I'm an engineer. It's not in my department." "But all this was your idea." "My work ends there." Gross was staring at him oddly. Kramer shifted uneasily.