once into excited speech. "What's going on here? Capman cancelled all his appointments for today, just half an hour ago. He told me to wait here for you. It's completely unprecedented."
Wolf's eyes were restless and troubled. "We don't have time to explain now, but we need help. Where is Capman's private lab? It's somewhere on this floor, right?"
"It is, along this corridor. But Mr. Wolf, you can't go in there. The Director has strict orders that he is not to be disturbed. It is a standard—"
He broke off when Wolf slid open the door, to reveal an empty study. The other two followed him as he went in and looked around. Wolf turned again to Morris.
"Where's the private lab?"
"Through here." He led the way into an adjoining room that was equipped as a small but sophisticated laboratory. It too was empty. They quickly examined both rooms, until Larsen discovered an elevator in a corner closet of the lab.
"Doctor, where does this lead?" asked Wolf.
"Why—I don't know. I didn't even know it was there. It must have been left over from the time before the new lift tubes were installed. But that's over thirty years ago."
The elevator had only one working button. Larsen pressed it and the three men descended in silence. Morris was counting to himself. When they stopped, he thought for a moment and nodded.
"We're four floors underground now, if I counted them correctly. I don't know of any hospital facilities this deep under the building. It has to be very old—before my time here."
The room they stepped out into, however, showed no signs of age. It was dust-free and newly-painted. At its far end stood a large vault door, with a combination lock built into the face. Wolf looked at it for a few seconds, then turned to Larsen.
"We don't have too many options. Good thing it's not a new model. Think you can handle it, John?"
Larsen walked up to the vault door and studied it quietly for a few minutes, then nodded. He began to move the jewelled key-settings delicately, pausing at each one. After twenty minutes of intense work, with frequent checks on his percomp, he drew a deep breath and carefully keyed in a full combination. He pulled, and following a moment's hesitation the great door swung open. They walked forward into a long, dimly-lit room.
Morris pointed at once to the line of great sealed tanks that ran along both walls of the room.
"Those shouldn't be here! They're special form-change tanks. They are like the ones we use for infants with birth-defects, but these are ten times the size. There shouldn't be units like this anywhere in this hospital."
He moved swiftly along the room, inspecting each tank and examining its monitors. Then he came back to Wolf and Larsen, eyes wide.
"Twenty units, and fourteen of them occupied." His voice was shaking. "I don't know who is inside them, but I am quite certain that this whole unit is not part of the hospital facilities. It's a completely unauthorized form-change lab."
Wolf looked at Larsen with grim satisfaction. He turned again to Morris.
"Can you tell us just what change work is going on in here?"
Morris thought for a moment, then replied, "If this is the usual lay-out, there has to be a control room somewhere. All the work records on the changes should be there—computer software, experimental designs, everything. It's not at this end."
They hurried together along the length of the room. Morris muttered to himself in satisfaction when he saw the control room there. He went to the console and at once began to call out records for each of the experiment stations in turn. As he worked, his face grew paler and his brow was beaded with sweat. At last he spoke, slowly and in hushed tones.
"There are missing records, but I can already tell you something terrible—and highly illegal—has been going on here. There are humans in fourteen of those tanks. They are being programmed to adapt to pre-specified forms, built into the control software. And I can tell you one other
Wolf's eyes were restless and troubled. "We don't have time to explain now, but we need help. Where is Capman's private lab? It's somewhere on this floor, right?"
"It is, along this corridor. But Mr. Wolf, you can't go in there. The Director has strict orders that he is not to be disturbed. It is a standard—"
He broke off when Wolf slid open the door, to reveal an empty study. The other two followed him as he went in and looked around. Wolf turned again to Morris.
"Where's the private lab?"
"Through here." He led the way into an adjoining room that was equipped as a small but sophisticated laboratory. It too was empty. They quickly examined both rooms, until Larsen discovered an elevator in a corner closet of the lab.
"Doctor, where does this lead?" asked Wolf.
"Why—I don't know. I didn't even know it was there. It must have been left over from the time before the new lift tubes were installed. But that's over thirty years ago."
The elevator had only one working button. Larsen pressed it and the three men descended in silence. Morris was counting to himself. When they stopped, he thought for a moment and nodded.
"We're four floors underground now, if I counted them correctly. I don't know of any hospital facilities this deep under the building. It has to be very old—before my time here."
The room they stepped out into, however, showed no signs of age. It was dust-free and newly-painted. At its far end stood a large vault door, with a combination lock built into the face. Wolf looked at it for a few seconds, then turned to Larsen.
"We don't have too many options. Good thing it's not a new model. Think you can handle it, John?"
Larsen walked up to the vault door and studied it quietly for a few minutes, then nodded. He began to move the jewelled key-settings delicately, pausing at each one. After twenty minutes of intense work, with frequent checks on his percomp, he drew a deep breath and carefully keyed in a full combination. He pulled, and following a moment's hesitation the great door swung open. They walked forward into a long, dimly-lit room.
Morris pointed at once to the line of great sealed tanks that ran along both walls of the room.
"Those shouldn't be here! They're special form-change tanks. They are like the ones we use for infants with birth-defects, but these are ten times the size. There shouldn't be units like this anywhere in this hospital."
He moved swiftly along the room, inspecting each tank and examining its monitors. Then he came back to Wolf and Larsen, eyes wide.
"Twenty units, and fourteen of them occupied." His voice was shaking. "I don't know who is inside them, but I am quite certain that this whole unit is not part of the hospital facilities. It's a completely unauthorized form-change lab."
Wolf looked at Larsen with grim satisfaction. He turned again to Morris.
"Can you tell us just what change work is going on in here?"
Morris thought for a moment, then replied, "If this is the usual lay-out, there has to be a control room somewhere. All the work records on the changes should be there—computer software, experimental designs, everything. It's not at this end."
They hurried together along the length of the room. Morris muttered to himself in satisfaction when he saw the control room there. He went to the console and at once began to call out records for each of the experiment stations in turn. As he worked, his face grew paler and his brow was beaded with sweat. At last he spoke, slowly and in hushed tones.
"There are missing records, but I can already tell you something terrible—and highly illegal—has been going on here. There are humans in fourteen of those tanks. They are being programmed to adapt to pre-specified forms, built into the control software. And I can tell you one other
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