Harker shook hands all around. He knew most of the senators at least casually; Dixon and Westmore represented the Far West branch of the Nat-Libs, while Brewster and Vorys were arch-Conservatives. Thurman was the chairman of the committee, and would have the deciding vote in case of a tie. Harker felt apprehensive of that. The venerable Senator was ostensibly a Nat-Lib; at least he was elected every six years under that label. But in the past decade he had been trending increasingly toward conservative ways of thinking, and away from the party he had helped to found forty years earlier, in the great political upheaval and reshuffling of the 1990's. Each of the senators was accompanied by a staff assistant. That made ten in all. Thurman said, "The hearings will begin next week, Mr. Harker. We're here for a preliminary look-see, you understand." "Of course." Harker glanced at Raymond and said, "Mart, have you been introduced?" Raymond nodded. Harker went on, "Mr. Raymond is the director of the labs. He'll conduct you wherever you would like to go, on the premises." Raymond looked worried; Harker had seen the faint harried expression growing on the dapper lab director's face in the past few days. It troubled Harker. Raymond was a good organizer, a level-headed scientist--but he was showing alarming signs of crumbling under the sudden pressure brought about by Mitchison's treasonous press release. Harker edged close to him and murmured, "What's on the schedule for the senators?" Through tight lips Raymond replied, "The main event's a cadaver." "You're going to risk it?" Raymond shrugged. Worry lines tightened his cheeks. "We'll have to do it sooner or later. Why not now?" Harker made no reply. Attempting a human reanimation in front of the senators was a long-shot gamble, even with odds of five to one in favor of success. If the experiment succeeded, they had gained very little; if it failed, they had lost everything right at the start. The odds of five to one were highly deceptive. But Harker decided to go along with Raymond, just this one time. He said, "Shall we begin our tour, gentlemen?" * * * * * Raymond had evidently been working frantically all morning to set things up. The labs were spotlessly clean, everything well-ordered and well-dusted. The researchers had received their instructions, too; every one of them looked Constructively Busy, doing something scientific-looking no matter how trivial. In reality, most of them spent a good half their time staring into space, making doodles on scrap paper, or thumbing through textbooks--but senators could never be expected to believe that such idle acts were part of genuine scientific research. The tour began with a rapid and exhausting general survey of the labs; Raymond served as guide, giving forth bristling scientific terminology at every possible opportunity. The senators looked impressed.