and so did every other member of the small cadre of qualified
CPO's. A good CPO, a dedicated one, could always find loopholes in the
Destiny Code. The past _could_ be shaped in little ways even if the
organization _was_ powerless to stop major catastrophes.

At any rate orders were orders and Mrs. Mimms began to consider the
practical side of leaving Greenlawn. Packing was no problem. All CPO's
were required to be Translation Alert in half an hour if necessary,
inclusive of destroying all telltale evidence such as notes, papers,
etc. Her apparatus was in perfect working order and the rent for that
month was paid. Mrs. Mimms passed over these details quickly. She was
thinking: it was invariably the _priorees_ who suffered in emergency
conversions.

The case book labeled ACTIVE was open on the table. There were two
full pages alone of babysitting appointments she would have to cancel
not to speak of the more serious cases, some of which were Second and
Third Intensity. A heavy discouragement settled over Mrs. Mimms as she
sat down at the apparatus to check certain images as they came and
went on the screen. The Nortons, who hadn't been out for weeks, were
fighting again; that date would have to be canceled. The delinquent
attitude developing in the Bradley youngster was going to rob the
world of a great scientist unless Mr. Bradley's business got back on
its feet and he could spend more time with his son; Mrs. Mimms had a
simple campaign mapped out for this, but it would take time--more time
than she had left. Then there was the cocktail party the Haskells had
been planning for weeks and Frank Haskell's boss was going to be
there; Mrs. Mimms had left that date open especially because Frank's
mother who had promised to take the kids overnight was going to be
sick and they'd have to get someone to help her. And that teenage
picnic--there would be trouble unless she, and not someone else, were
chaperoning it.

She dared not think of the growing list of Third Intensities. Another
Condition Twelve in the far building and one developing on the floor
directly above. Crippled old Mrs. Schaefer on the ground floor who had
tried to commit suicide before with an overdose of sleeping
tablets--and might certainly try it again if Mrs. Mimms didn't spend a
few hours with her every week. And, as usual, on every assignment
after a few months had gone by, the exhausting sleep-beaming by
Destiny apparatus of the cases where she had no d