Nothing much happened. The sound of ECAIAC became a steady inundant drone; or did Beardsley just imagine that he detected something of the _gleeful_ in it? With an effort he put the thought from him, and keeping a cautious distance he took a turn around the monster, up one side and down the other. He stopped by Jeff Arnold, who was jotting down figures from the chrono. That seemed silly, as nothing had happened yet. Arnold glanced up and grinned at him, as if totally unconcerned that this was the most repercussive case in the entire history of Crime-Central! A little disconcerted, Beardsley said, "What happens first?" "Oh, plenty is _happening_. But the first you'll notice will be a total reject. Watch when that happens. Complete silence, every light red for exactly two and a half seconds--the reject, and then everything continues." "How about Transferral Impress? You know--possible to Logical, or Logical to Prime?" Arnold paused over his notes for the merest instant. "Why--it's progressive, of course. _That_ you won't notice!" Beardsley stared at him curiously, started to speak and then changed his mind. He wandered again, watching the techs but not interfering. And suddenly he was aware that the first total reject had come. It happened with smooth and sudden silence just as Arnold had described, ECAIAC breaking pace for mere seconds ... then all was clear again, and one of the techs hurried down the aisle with the tape, which he handed to Arnold. * * * * * Beardsley was aware of a wild pounding of pulse as he stared at the anonymous tape. One of the fifteen "possibles"? It might even be a rejected Logical. Mrs. Carmack? She was borderline. Or a Prime! It could be Mandleco himself--or Losch or Pederson. No ... it was unlikely any Primes would fall this early.... But maybe they were no longer Primes! Maybe _right now_ Transferral Impress was at work, maybe one or more of them was being relegated to lower coördinate-status somewhere there in the entrails.... He felt a bounding excitement. And, as if reading his thoughts, Jeff Arnold gave him an amused look. "Don't let it get to you, Raoul. I used to find it the same; we all do. But then you get to thinking, hell, why try to guess? Identities don't matter now!" He indicated the coded tape. "A total reject--anonymous. ECAIAC's way of telling us _that_ person could not possibly be the murderer." "But--you're not even curious?" "At rejects? Why?" Arnold seemed perplexed. "Oh, you mean because _I'm_ among the 'possibles.' Frankly it doesn't bother me. I know I'm not the murderer, and I have faith in ECAIAC. If this isn't my tape, the next will be--or the eighth, or the fifteenth."