ime off, he had coins
ready. He slipped around a corner and walked down a long quiet corridor.
There were doors on either side, a double deck with a narrow balcony on
the second story. At intervals, stairs led to the balcony.

He walked a third of the way down the corridor, inserted coins in the
slot, and a door opened. He went inside the sleep locker and the door
closed behind, locking automatically.

It was miserable accommodation if he intended to sleep, but he didn't.
It was also a trap if the police were trailing him. He didn't think they
were--they were too certain of him. Nevertheless, the sleep locker had
one advantage: it was all metal. Considering the low power that probably
went into the circuit, it should be a satisfactory temporary shield.

He changed into clothes that looked ordinary--out of style, in fact,
though that was not noteworthy in a solarwide economy--but the material,
following a local terrestrial fad of a few years back, contained a high
proportion of metallic fiber. That solved only part of the problem, of
course. His hands and his head were uncovered.

The pseudo-flesh that he had used on Emily was not for him. In a way, it
was the best disguise, but he was playing this one to live, as much as
he could, all the way. A standard semi-durable cosmetic would do; that
is, it would when he finished altering it to suit his purpose.

The chief addition was a flaky metallic powder, lead. However the signal
worked, radar or not, that should be effective in dampening the signal.
He squeezed the mixture into a tube and attached the tube to a small gun
which he plugged into a wall socket. Standing in front of the tiny
mirror, with everything else cramped in the sleep locker, he went over
his face and hands. He had trouble getting it on his scalp and under his
hair, but it went on.

He looked himself over. He now appeared older, respectable, but not
successful, which fitted neatly into the greatest category on Venus--or
anywhere, for that matter. He stuffed the clothing he'd worn back into
the bag and walked out. He'd been in the sleep locker half an hour.

He was operating blind, but it was all he could do. He had to assume
that the metallic fiber in his clothing and the lead flakes in the
cosmetic would scramble the circuit signal. If they didn't, then he was
completely without protection.

He'd soon know how correctly he had analyzed the problem.

* * * * *

He