: "How do I look?"

"Incomplete."

"I must be horrible."

A slight pause. "No. Not horrible at all. Not to me. Merely incomplete."

"My husband wouldn't think so."

"I do not know what your husband would think. Perhaps he is not used to
seeing incomplete persons. He might even be horrified at the sight of
himself."

"I--I hadn't thought of that. But he--we'll both be all right?"

"As a medical problem, you offer no insuperable difficulty. None at
all."

"Why--why don't you give me eyes, if you can? Are you afraid--afraid
that I might see you and find you--terrifying?"

* * * * *

Again a pause. There was amusement in the reply. "I do not think so. No,
that is not the reason."

"Then it's because--as you said about Fred--I might find myself
horrifying?"

"That is part of the reason. Not the major part, however. You see, I am,
in a way, experimenting. Do not be alarmed, please--I shall not turn you
into a monster. I have too much knowledge of biology for that. But I am
not too familiar with human beings. What I know I have learned mostly
from your books, and I have found that in certain respects there are
inaccuracies contained in them--I must go slowly until I can check what
they say. I might mend certain organs, and then discover that they do
not have the proper size or shape, or that they produce slightly altered
hormones. I do not want to make such mistakes, and if I do make them, I
wish to correct them before they can do harm."

"There's no danger--?"

"None, I assure you. Internally and externally, you will be as before."

"Internally and externally. Will I--will I be able to have children?"

"Yes. We ourselves do not have your distinctions of sex, but we are
familiar with them in many other races. We know how important you
consider them. I am taking care to see that the proper glandular balance
is maintained in both yourself and your husband."

"Thank you--Doctor. But I still don't understand--why don't you give me
eyes right away?"

"I do not wish to give you eyes that see imperfectly, and then be forced
to take them away. Nor do I want you to watch imperfect arms and legs
developing. It would be an unnecessary ordeal. When I am sure that
everything is as it should be, then I shall start your eyes."

"And my husband--"

"He will be reconstructed in the same way. He will be brought in to talk
to you soon."

"And you don't want either of us to see the other