the future was a simple
thing and she was lighthearted about it. But not so Kennon. Even after
the initial shock had passed there still remained the moral customs, the
conditioning, and the prohibitions. But Copper--was Copper--and somehow
the conditioning lost its force in her presence. Perhaps, he thought
wryly, it was a symptom of the gradual erosion of his moral character in
this abnormal environment.

"I'm getting stale," he confided to Copper as he sat in his office idly
turning the pages of the Kardon Journal of Allied Medical Sciences.
"There's nothing to do that's interesting."

"You could help me," Copper said as she looked up from the pile of cards
she was sorting. He had given her the thankless task of reorganizing the
files, and she was barely half through the project.

"There's nothing to do that's interesting," he repeated. He cocked his
head to one side. From this angle Copper looked decidedly intriguing as
she bent over the file drawer and replaced a stack of cards.

"I could suggest something," Copper said demurely.

"Yes, I know," he said. "You're full of suggestions."

"I was thinking that we could go on a picnic."

"A what?"

"A picnic. Take a lunch and go somewhere in the jeep. Maybe up into the
hills. I think it might be fun."

"Why not?" Kennon agreed. "At least it would break the monotony. Tell
you what. You run up to the house and tell Kara to pack a lunch and
we'll take the day off."

"Good! I hoped you'd say that. I'm getting tired of these dirty old
cards." She stood up and sidled past the desk. Kennon resisted the
impulse to slap as she went past, and congratulated himself on his
self-control as she looked at him with a half-disappointed expression
on her face. She had expected it, he thought gleefully. Score one for
morality.

He smiled. Whatever the other Lani might be, Copper was different.
Quick, volatile, intelligent, she was a constant delight, a flashing
kaleidoscope of unexpected facets. Perhaps the others were the same if
he knew them better. But he didn't know them--and avoided learning. In
that direction lay ulcers.

"We'll go to Olympus," he said.

Copper looked dubious. "I'd rather not go there. That's forbidden
ground."

"Oh nonsense. You're merely superstitious."

She smiled. "Perhaps you're right. You usually are."

"That's the virtue of being a man. Even if I'm wrong, I'm right." He
chuckled at the peculiar expression on her face.

"Now off wit