The machine in Room 33 extracted whatever information it was set to receive, then spewed Clarey out and sent him on his way to Rooms 34, 35, and 36, where other machines repeated the same process. Room 37 proved to be that rare thing in the hierarchy of rooms--a destination. There was a human Employment Commissioner in it, splendidly garbed in crimson silvet and alexandrites--very Upper Echelon, indeed. He wore a gold mask, a common practice with celebrities who were afraid of being overwhelmed by their admirers, an even more common practice with U-E non-celebrities who enjoyed the thrill of distinguished anonymity. Then Clarey stopped looking at the Commissioner. There was a girl sitting next to him, on a high-backed chair like his. Clarey had never seen a U-E girl so close before. Only the Greater Archivists had direct contact with the public, and Clarey wasn't likely to meet a U-E socially, even if he'd had a social life. The girl was too fabulous for him to think of her as a woman, a female; but he would have liked to have her in his archives, in the glass case with the rare editions. "Good morning, Sub-Archivist Clarey," the man said mellowly. "Good of you to come in. There's rather an unusual position open and the machines tell us you're the one man who can fill it. Please sit down." He indicated a small, hard stool. Clarey remained standing. "I've been a perfectly competent Sub-Archivist," he declared. "If MacFingal has--if there have been any complaints, I should have been told first." "There have been no complaints. The reclassification is upward." "You mean I've made it as a Musician!" Clarey cried, sinking to the hard little stool in joyful atony. "Well, no, not exactly a Musician. But it's a highly artistic type of job with possible musical overtones." Clarey became a hollow man once more. No matter what it was, if it wasn't as duly accredited Musician, it didn't matter. The machine could keep him from putting his symphonies down on tape, but it couldn't keep them from coursing in his head. That it could never take away from him. Or the resultant headache, either. "What is the job, then?" he asked dully. "A very important position, Sub-Archivist. In fact, the future welfare of this planet may depend on it." "It's a trick to make me take a job nobody else wants," Clarey sneered. "And it must be a pretty rotten job for you to go to so much trouble." The girl, whom he'd almost forgotten, gave a little laugh. Her eyes, he noticed, were hazel. There were L-E girls, he supposed, who also had hazel eyes--but a different hazel. * * * * * "Perhaps this will convince you of the job's significance," the interviewer said huffily. He took off his mask and looked at Clarey with anticipation. He had a sleek, ordinary, middle-aged-to-elderly face. There was an awkward interval. "Don't you recognize me?" he demanded. Clarey shook his head. The girl laughed again.