Blood Pact

with an instant of recognition. Dr. Burke closed her own eyes for a moment and when she opened them again, muttered. "Maybe this has gone too far.”

    Catherine frowned. "What has?”

    "All of this.”

    "But, Dr. Burke, you don't understand. If number nine killed that boy, he acted on his own. It wasn't anything we programmed in.
    It means he can learn. He is learning.”

    "It means he, it, killed someone, Catherine. That boy is dead.”

    "Well, yes, and that's too bad, but nothing we can do will bring him back." She paused, weighing possibilities, frowned, and shook her head. "No. It's too late." Her eyes refocused. "But we can explore and develop this new data. Don't you understand?
    Number nine must be thinking. His brain is functional again!”

    "Cathy!" Donald jumped down off his stool and came over to her, incredulity written across his face. "Don't you understand?
    Some guy is dead . This bit of your experiment," he whacked number nine's box, "is a killer and the other is, is . . ." He couldn't find the words. No, that wasn't exactly true. He knew the words. He just couldn't say them. Because if he said them, he might have to believe them. "Dr. Burke, you're right. This has gone too far. We've got to close down and get out of here before the police track number nine back to his lair!”

    "Donald, be quiet. You're hysterical. The police do not now believe, nor are they likely to, that a dead man is out roaming around committing homicide.”

    "But . . .”

    Dr. Burke silenced him with a look, her own crisis of conscience pushed aside in the light of new information. She hadn't actually considered the incident from the perspective of experimental results. This could indicate a giant step forward. "If number nine is thinking, Catherine, I don't like what it's thinking about.”

    Two spots of color appeared on Catherine's cheeks. "Well, yes, but he's thinking. Isn't that the important thing?”

    "Perhaps," the older woman allowed. "If it is actually thought and not merely reaction to stimuli. We may have to devise a new series of tests.”

    Donald swallowed and tried again. "But, Dr. Burke, that kid is dead!”

    "Your point?”

    "We have to do something!”

    "What? Give ourselves up?" She caught his gaze with hers and, after a moment, half smiled. "I didn't think so. Terminate the experiment? That wouldn't bring him back to life." She squared her shoulders. "That said, I am very annoyed about your carelessness.
    You will make certain it doesn't happen again. Remove them from their boxes only when absolutely necessary. Never leave them alone and unconfined. Have you run an EEG on number nine since it happened?”

    Catherine's color deepened. "No, Doctor.”

    "Why not?”

    "Number eight died in the night, and we had to begin . . .”

    "Number eight has been dead for some time, Catherine, and isn't going anywhere. Run the EEG now. If there's a brain wave pattern in there, I want it recorded.”

    "Yes, Doctor.”

    "And for heaven's sake, keep them under control. I will not have my career destroyed by premature discovery. If anything like this happens again, I will not hesitate to pull the plug. Do you understand?”

    "Yes, Doctor.”

    "Donald?”

    He nodded toward the second box. "What about her? What if. . what if . .”

    What if we've trapped Marjory Nelson's soul? She read the words off his face. Heard them whispered in the silence. And refused to share his fear. "We're here to answer what ifs, Donald; that's what scientists do. And now," Dr. Burke glanced at her watch. "I have an appointment with Marjory Nelson's daughter.” She paused at the door and turned to face the lab again. "Remember. Anything else goes wrong and we're cutting our losses.”

    As her footsteps faded down the corridor, Donald drew a long and shaky breath. Things were getting just a little too deep for him.
    Maybe it was time he started thinking about cutting his own losses. "Can you believe that, Cathy? Some guy gets offed and she's annoyed .”

    Catherine ignored him, her full attention on the muffled pounding coming from the box in front of her. She didn't like the way things were going. Surely Dr. Burke realized the importance of number nine acquiring independence and how vital it was to protect the integrity of the experiment. What did careers have to do with that? No, she didn't like the way things were going at all. But all she said was, "He doesn't like being confined.”

    Daughter .

    The word filtered