l amused himself by causing his voice
box to rumble, making the rodent scurry around madly for a hiding place
until the imagined danger had passed. Eventually it became used to the
noise and not even talking affected it.

It disappeared from sight for several minutes and Mel had just begun to
wonder if it had a nest in the equipment when it reappeared on top of
the calculator, near the electrical prod that Neil had used on his
brain. Remembering the searing jolt it had given him, Mel watched
anxiously as the mouse pushed an inquisitive nose into the still exposed
components. He became more concerned as the animal became more
intrigued. Not only was there danger that the mouse would push down on a
delicate relay and close it, but he could conceivably short out the main
power supply. The result wasn't pleasant to contemplate. If it didn't
permanently damage some of his brain cells, the pain might drive him
into insanity.

He tried shouting but the mouse paid no attention to him. He called for
first, Jenkins and then Neil until he remembered that his partner had
said they were going in after some special equipment. While he watched
helplessly, the mouse stretched out and touched a relay point. Instantly
pain knifed through his brain and he became aware of a roaring sound
that he realized was his voice blaring out. The extra loud and continued
blast of sound had caused the mouse to withdraw nervously from the
relay. Something about it had made him determined, however, and as Mel
was barely recovering from the first jolt, the mouse moved back. Mel
wished desperately that the cart had been left in operation so that he
might at least use the sound of motion or the mechanical arm to frighten
his tiny tormentor from the vicinity of the relay.

He watched intently as the mouse came closer to the points, oblivious to
everything else in the room. As it almost touched the points, a violent
surge of hate coursed through his brain cells and he was surprised to
see the mouse flung violently back down to the floor. It lay there
motionless and he finally realized, with thankfulness, that it was dead.
As the pain from the jolt subsided to the point where he could barely
feel it, he began to wonder what had happened. The amount of voltage
necessary to hurt him was so small that nothing beyond a direct short
across the primary power would have affected the mouse. He began to
analyze everything preceding the point where the mouse had been