girl.

He thought she might have been pretty, with a touch of lipstick and a
kinder arrangement of her short, ash-blonde hair; but he lowered his
eyes as her hard, wary stare flickered past him. She walked over to the
bulkhead and took a seat at the other end of the little group.

The old man turned, scanning their faces critically. "I am in charge of
a peculiar project," he announced abruptly. "The director of the Lunar
Detention Colony claims that you four are the best he has--_for our
purposes_!"

Long habit kept the seated ones guardedly silent. Seeing, apparently,
that they would not relax, he continued.

"You were chosen because each of you has received a sentence of
detention for life because of tendencies toward violence in one form or
another. In our twenty-second century civilization such homicidal
inclinations are quite rare, due to the law-abiding habits of
generations under the Interplanetary Council."

He had been pacing the cramped space left free by the equipment, the
guards, and the four seated prisoners. Now he paused, as if mildly
astonished at what he was about to say.

"In fact, now that we are faced by a situation demanding illegal
violence, it appears that no _normal_ citizen is capable of committing
such an act. Using you may eliminate costly screening processes ... _and
save time_. Incidentally, I am Anthony Varret, Undersecretary for
Security in the Council."

None of the four showed any overt sign of being impressed. Phillips knew
that the others, like himself, were scrutinizing the old man with cold,
secretive stares. They had learned through harsh experience to keep
their own counsels. Varret shrugged. "Well, then," he said dryly, "I
might as well call the roll. I have been supplied with accurate
records."

* * * * *

He drew a notebook from his pocket, consulted it briefly, then nodded at
the man next to the girl. "Robert Brecken," he recited, "age thirty-one,
six feet, one hundred eighty-five pounds, hair reddish brown, eyes
green, complexion ruddy. Convicted of unjustified homicide by personal
assault while resisting arrest for embezzlement. Detention record
unsatisfactory. Implicated in two minor mutinies."

He glanced next at the youth beside Phillips. "Raymond Truesdale, age
twenty-two, five-feet-five, one-thirty. Hair black, eyes dark brown,
complexion pale. Convicted of two suicide attempts following failures in
various artistic fields. Det