er
known anyone but me in your marriage bed, Kit."

"You--you're lying."

"No. They did what they did on the eve of your marriage. I have been
your wife for as long as you have had one."

Temple's head whirled. It had been a quick courtship. He had known
Lucy only two weeks in those hectic post-graduate days of 1957. But
for fourteen brief days, it was Sophia he had known all along.

"Sophia, I--"

"There is no Sophia, not any more."

He had hardly known Lucy, the real Lucy. This girl here was his wife,
always had been. Had the first fourteen days with Lucy been anything
but a dream? He was sorry Lucy had died--but the Lucy he had thought
dead was Sophia, very much alive.

He took her in his arms, almost crushing her. He held her that way,
kissed her savagely, letting passion of a different sort take the
place of murder.

_This is my woman_, he thought, and awoke on his white pallet in
Nowhere.

* * * * *

"I am awake," said Temple.

"We see that. You shouldn't be."

"No?"

"No. There is one more dream."

Temple dozed restfully but was soon aware of a commotion. Strangely,
he did not care. He was too tired to open his eyes, anyway. Let
whatever was going to happen, happen. He wanted his sleep.

But the voice persisted.

"This is highly irregular. You came in here once and--"

"I did you a favor, didn't I?" (That voice is familiar, Temple
thought.)

"Well, yes. But what now?"

"Temple's record is now one and one. In the second sequence he was the
victor. The Soviet entry had to extract certain information from him
and turn it over to her people. She extracted the information well
enough but somehow Temple made her change her mind. The information
never went anyplace. How Temple managed to play counterspy I don't
know, but he played it and won."

"That's fine. But what do you want?"

"The final E.C.R. is critical." (The voice was Arkalion's!) "How
critical, I can't tell you. Sufficient though, if you know that you
lose no matter how Temple fares. If the Russian woman defeats Temple,
you lose."

"Naturally."

"Let me finish. If Temple defeats the Russian woman, you also lose.
Either way, Earth is the loser. I haven't time to explain what you
wouldn't understand anyway. Will you cooperate?"

"Umm-mm. You did save Temple's life. Umm-mm, yes. All right."

"The third dream sequence is the wrong dream, the wrong contest with
the wrong antagonist at the wrong ti