the past couple of months getting you in shape for your intended
function and I'm going to bring more and more problems in to you." He
explained further, "I've opened an engineering consultant service in the
city and this paint formula alone will bring us all the business we'll
need." He pretended to be busy at one of the computers being installed
but Mel could see that he was glancing out of the corners of his eyes at
the oscilloscope for indication of a brain reaction. Mel had learned
several weeks ago that he could control the output of his brain and had
been careful to conceal the fact from Neil.

His partner said, disappointment in his voice. "Doesn't my attitude
bother you anymore?"

Mel's mechanical voice rolled out. "When you destroyed my body, you
destroyed all emotions. If that's the way you want to do things, that's
the way it'll be."

"But the ethics...."

"I know what would happen to me if you turned me over to the scientists.
I'd be a freak and treated as such. I owe nothing to the world."

"Swell," enthused Neil, this time his face twisted into a grimace of
pleasure. "I've got a lot of plans that you'll fit into."

Experiments had been made with muscular control and they discovered that
Mel could govern an electrically powered table, controlled by short wave
radio. Another "eye" that could swing in a 360 degree circle had been
mounted on it and broadcast its information to Mel's optical circuit. A
mechanical arm had also been installed on it and Mel spent long night
hours when the lab was quiet perfecting his control over it. Before
long, he was as much--if not more--proficient with it as he had been
with his own arms. He began laying his plans.

The first thing he needed was a weapon. Getting his control cart out of
the cubicle was easy since Jenkins, the only assistant allowed in the
entire laboratory, had left his key ring lying on a table one morning.
It had been but the work of a moment to wheel over, pick them up and
then conceal them. Jenkins had spent a frantic hour in search but
finally went into the machine shop to make up a new set. He had first
cautioned Mel against letting Neil know, almost fawning in his gratitude
when Mel promised.

He searched the entire lab the first two nights but discovered that Neil
had taken the revolver he had kept in a drawer of his old desk. It would
take too long to try and machine another one, although their machine
shop had proven its capability of turn