"Gentlemen," Hamelin said hesitantly. "Gentlemen, I have a--a rather unusual request. And, I am afraid, a rather selfish one." A brief, nervous laugh. "Selfish in both senses, if you will pardon me the pun. You need feel no hesitation in refusing me, but...." Abruptly he appeared to find it impossible to go on. Carson mentally crossed his fingers and plunged in. "You would like to undergo the process yourself?" he said. "Well, yes. Yes, that's exactly it. Does that seem inconsistent? I should know, should I not, what it is that I'm advocating for my following? Know it intimately, from personal experience, not just theory? Of course I realize that it would conflict with your policy, but I assure you I wouldn't turn it to any political advantage--none whatsoever. And perhaps it wouldn't be too great a lapse of policy to process just one civilian among your seven thousand soldiers." Subverted, by God! Carson looked at Mudgett with a firmly straight face. It wouldn't do to accept too quickly. But Hamelin was rushing on, almost chattering now. "I can understand your hesitation. You must feel that I'm trying to gain some advantage, or even to get to the surface ahead of my fellow-men. If it will set your minds at rest, I would be glad to enlist in your advance army. Before five years are up, I could surely learn some technical skill which would make me useful to the expedition. If you would prepare papers to that effect, I'd be happy to sign them." "That's hardly necessary," Mudgett said. "After you're Re-Educated, we can simply announce the fact, and say that you've agreed to join the advance party when the time comes." "Ah," Hamelin said. "I see the difficulty. No, that would make my position quite impossible. If there is no other way--" "Excuse us a moment," Carson said. Hamelin bowed, and the doctor pulled Mudgett off out of ear-shot. "Don't overplay it," he murmured. "You're tipping our hand with that talk about a press release, Colonel. He's offering us a bribe--but he's plenty smart enough to see that the price you're suggesting is that of his whole political career. He won't pay that much." "What then?" Mudgett whispered hoarsely. "Get somebody to prepare the kind of informal contract he suggested. Offer to put it under security seal so we won't be able to show it to the press at all. He'll know well enough that such a seal can be broken if our policy ever comes before a presidential review--and that will restrain him from forcing such a review. Let's not demand too much. Once he's been re-educated, he'll have to live the rest of the five years with the knowledge that he _can_ live topside any time he wants to try it--and he hasn't had the discipline our men have had. It's my bet that he'll goof off before the five years are up--and good riddance." They went back to Hamelin, who was watching the machine and humming in a painfully abstracted manner.