ions had always
interfered.

"Must be mistaken," mumbled the robot, and swayed. It would collapse in
twenty minutes. The robot pressed a button and the field behind him
flickered off. Jadiver passed through it and the field fell back in
place.

* * * * *

Inside, he looked around. The usual swank, or maybe more so. Impressive,
if he cared to be impressed by it. At the moment he didn't. He had to
find Burlingame or Emily. He had created the faces of the other three as
well, but he had made them into handsome nonentities. Among so many
others who resembled them, he doubted that he could recognize them.

For an instant he thought he saw Emily and made his way through the
crowd. When he got there, he saw his mistake. This girl's flesh hadn't
been put on with a spray gun.

Burlingame was after jewels, of course, to be carefully selected from
two or three of the wealthier guests. He must also have currency in
mind, something negotiable for immediate use. He'd need cash to drop out
of sight for a while.

Time was growing short for a word with Burlingame, just one word,
whispered or spelled out silently: "Police." That was all Burlingame
would need.

Jadiver was weaponless, and aside from warning Burlingame, he couldn't
help. Until now he'd steered clear of violence and illegality. He'd
known the use to which his disguises had been put, but that was the
business of those who paid him.

Now it was different. The police had a line to him, direct. How much
they knew was impossible to estimate. He could visualize a technician
sitting in front of a screen, seeing everything that Jadiver saw. That,
however, was a guess, for he didn't actually know how the circuit
beneath his skin functioned. Until he learned, he would have to continue
guessing, and blunder accordingly.

He made his way to the balcony that encircled half the huge high room.
He didn't know the entire layout or the habits of those who lived here,
but it was reasonably certain that they kept a large amount of cash on
hand and that it would be safeguarded in a room not accessible to all
the guests. It might even be up here.

The few people on the balcony were at the far end. He looked down on the
milling guests. Still no sign of Burlingame or any of his crew. Jadiver
had done his work too well. They were indistinguishable from the others.

At that moment, the lights brightened glaringly. The guests looked less
glamorous. Women