, but
they weren't as deep as they had been, not when they formed the network
of a smile. "I can sweep out a ship. Maybe you'd even let me go on a
trip once in a while. I could be a cabin boy."

They had been considered useless and incapable for so long that they
still didn't realize what he was saying. They weren't childish, but they
thought they were. Re-education would have to proceed slowly.

"I had a trip in mind for you," said Marlowe. "And Amantha will have to
go to work, too."

"Young man, it's been a long time since I cooked anything but one
canalberry shortcake, but you just watch what I can stir up."

"I've got just the place for you," Marlowe answered. "One more
stipulation--don't talk about your experiences. If reporters come
around, and I think they will, say merely that we traced the ship and,
after conferring with you, decided to drop all charges. Understand?"

Amantha nodded. "Look bad for you, wouldn't it? Not guarding the ships
any better than that, I mean."

He was thankful their minds had merely been resharpened, that they would
never regain their original edge. She was right--it _would_ look bad.
Also, the company had competitors. And by the time _they_ got wind of
it, he wanted to have a head-start. Only a few of the aged would fit in
with his plans, though the rest would benefit, and by more than a change
of status.

Marlowe nodded. "That's it. Report tomorrow and we'll go over your
assignments."

"Guess you don't know what we're like," said Ethan. "We've hardly seen
our littlest grandson yet. What do you suppose we stole--experimented
with the ship for?"

Marlowe watched them go and, as the door closed, began to write
hurriedly. The others would be here soon. He wanted to have it
summarized by the time they arrived.

Half an hour later, he looked at what he'd put down. It was on the back
of the medical report.

"Memo: Change the design of our lastest ship. Instead of a heavy-hulled,
superfast rocket, requiring the utmost in bodily coordination and
stamina, reverse every specification. Permeability to radiation no
objection."

He chuckled. Demarest would threaten to resign. It violated every
precept he had ever learned. But the engineer would change his mind when
he saw the rest of it.

* * * * *

Marlowe read on: "Top speed need not be high. Emphasis should be placed
on safety. Must be maneuverable by operators whose reactive time is not
fast, b