"My capac--capacity's increasing," he told the girl. "At first I couldn't finish one bottle. Now I can almost finish two." "Ool, listen--" she caught at his arm. He brushed her aside and reached for the bottle in the waiter's hand. The girl beckoned the waiter aside, whispered to him. He shook his head, then nodded as she slipped something into his hand. They came to the table. "You'd better go with the lady," the waiter advised, but Ool ignored him and took another drink. The waiter lifted him to his feet. Through the thickening fog Ool saw the man's fist go back. Then came the oblivion he wanted. * * * * * He awoke in what seemed to be a laboratory. It seemed familiar. So did the voices he heard, both talking at once. They broke off as he moved. "Ryyn, he's coming to," the girl's voice cried. Ool looked up. Standing over him were two figures in white tunics. Both had the same blue eyes and short golden hair. He closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it, then wished he hadn't. The girl laughed happily. "You're not seeing double," she assured him. "Don't you remember us?" Ool opened his eyes once more. The words, the girl's tone, set his fuzzy brain to working. Of course--the man was Ryyn, who had been one of his best friends at the Academy. Ryyn, whose brilliant mind had already won him a recommendation for a place on the committee; the youngest man ever to be considered. Then the girl--the girl who had come after him--must be Ryaa, his twin sister. Ool remembered her as a slim, boyish kid. There was certainly nothing boyish about her appearance now. Ool tried to sit up and instantly Ryaa was by his side, helping him. "Just take it easy," she advised. "Ryyn is going to give you something to make you feel better." "Ryaa, I am not in the business of making hangover remedies," Ryyn growled. But at the same time he thrust something into Ool's hand. "Drink," he commanded. Ool obeyed, shuddering. "Anything that tastes that bad should either kill or cure," he said. "Probably be better for me if it killed." "Don't say that," Ryaa cried. "Ryyn is going to help you, aren't you?" "Nobody can help me." He buried his face in his hands. "For all I know I really may have killed them." Ryyn nodded. "There's always that chance but I don't think so. Anything that deadly would show up in a test. But I'll have to know more about what happened--" Step by step he led Ool back over every detail, from his meeting with each girl to her death. Ryaa sat beside Ool, her hand in his, trying not to wince when he tightened his grip at some painful memory.