Wondered, more practically, if that odd feeling of kinship with McLafferty meant the other man had felt it too? Smiled, thinking: _All that work and sweat. And suppose the big oaf has turned into a gentleman?_ It wouldn’t matter much. Actually, all the sweat had not been needed. Johnny was already on his way. _Damned rude of him not to wait for me to push_, Phil thought, delighted. PART TEN _October 5-9, 1977_ _The Shack--Wednesday, October 5, 4_ P.M. (_C.S.T._) She switched off the half-track engine, and as the spotlight faded, the world directly ahead of her blinked out. She opened the cab door and stepped out into heaven. Above her, the gorgeous enormous full Earth, gleaming blue-greenly against the black velvet stardiamonded backdrop of everywhere--always out there. And right ahead, now, the muted twin glows of the Shack itself and the Shack guardhouse. She flashed on her helmet lamp, picked her way over Moon crust to the guardhouse. Looked in, exchanged smiles, and went on to the Shack. She sat down in front of the tank, where the greyish-white ganglions had long since ceased to show discrete patterns. Now they crowded together, piled on each other, multiplied, multiplying. The daily “watering” of a month ago would have been hopelessly inadequate now; a steady trickle of nutrient fed the tank from a storage drum--and even the daily ten gallons hardly seemed to account for the burgeoning of the white cells. Lisa looked. Watched. Stared. And _listened_. A nagging thought stopped her. She switched on her radio. “Jim?” “That you, Miss Trovi?” From the guardhouse. “Yes. I meant to ask--will you call me at six? I want to get back for dinner tonight.” “Sure thing.” “Thanks.” She switched off, and let herself drift into--what? where?-- Far out. Or far in? That used to be a joke, _so far out you’re in, so far in you’re out, but it’s no joke, it’s not funny, it’s fun_. _Swing on a star ... climb up a moonbeam_ ... featherlight, fearfree, far sands of home.... _Hello!... Hello, I know you, don’t I?... Don’t know your name, but ... funny-fun! ... the soul is familiar_.... Foolish to want a name. Baby has no name. What name for baby? _Doug, we’ll call him Doug.... Hello, Doug_.... ... and the well opened up again, great valentine lake of lovelygood, lace-edged, beating heart, two hearts in three-quarter phase.... _Where are you? Hello? Hello?_ _Oh!_ “Oh. Oh, hi. Six _already_?” “No,” Jim, the guard, was leaning over her, helmet to helmet. “They been trying to call you from Dome, Miss Trovi. We kept gettin’ the call on our sets, but you didn’t answer, so I figure your radio’s off, and come in to tell you.” “Oh. Thanks, Jim.” She switched on the helmet set. “Hello?” “Lee! Thank God! You had us worried. Been trying to get you the last twenty minutes!” “Who’s that? Thad?” “Yuh. Listen, we’ve a call for you. Earthside. Better hurry. We can’t hold the frequency much longer.” _Earthside?_