She went back into her cabin after watching the sunrise, brisk and red, shining through the pollution of the continent to the east.  She felt more nervous than she had since her days as an undergraduate.  Best to do something to take my mind off Thomas for a while, she thought. As she cast about for something to do, her eyes lit upon her laptop.  She realized that it was Wednesday, and that the results of the experiment she had been waiting for were a day old...
 

<establishing secure connection to AMY>
 

<please enter logon sequence and encryption algorithm>
 

<thank you, please wait>
 
 

"Good morning, Dr. Katsen.  How may I help you?" 

"I'd like to see the results of experiment EV-R32, please. 

"Very well, Dr. Katsen.  Dr. Tanner left a message for you yesterday morning.  Would you like to hear it?" 

"Yes, please, Amy." 

"Good Afternoon, Alice.  I suppose that it's pointless to ask just what do you think you're doing.  Well, can't change our nature, can we?  The results of EV-R32 are promising, although they offer some setbacks.  The changes to the enzyme we made provided the performance we had wanted, and more.  The replication speed of this new enzyme is staggering.  But I'm afraid it's still not what we are looking for.  The changes push the enzyme over the critical size for the biggest virus shell we can use.  We are performing the calculations for a compromise now, but it dosen't look like we are going to come up with much.  This last setback is a biggie.  I don't think that we will be able to synthesize a enzyme with the speed we need that will fit down the shaft of our virus.  We can't make the shaft bigger without rendering it useless for humans.  I don't know what to do at this point, but maybe something will present itself.  I hope that you are enjoying your vacation; it looks like we are really going to need your fresh ideas on this one." 

"The message was recorded yesterday at 9:24.  would you like to record a reply?" 

"No, Amy." 

"Very well, Dr. Katsen.  Downloading the file you requested now." 

Alice deflated.  The virus depended on the speed of it's enzyme to be able to stay ahead of the cancer cells.  The virus only made two copies of itself each time it infected a cell, any more and the cell would rip itself apart, just as a cell infected with a disease virus did.  If the enzyme wasn't fast enough, the cancer would spread faster than the virus could cure it. 

The file transfer completed.  Alice halfheartedly scanned the data, looking for a mistake, some clerical error that made the data look worse than it should.  She could find none.  Everything was in order, as of course it would be, with Amy doing the calculations. 

"Amy, record a message for Dr. Tanner." 

"Very well, Dr. Katsen.  Recording." 

"Well, David, I've looked over the data, and I can't come up with any ideas.  I hope that you can find something.  I agree with your assessment that a compromise is unlikely to provide results.  I am indeed enjoying myself here, but less so now that I've heard the news.  Good luck.  End recording." 

"Message recorded and saved, Dr. Katsen.  Is there anything else I can do for you? 

"No, Amy.  Good-bye." 

"Good-bye, Dr. Katsen."
 

<connection terminated.>
 

She fiddled with the data for a while, trying to get some sort of idea of how to solve the problem.  She felt that the solution existed there somewhere, and she had an uneasy feeling that it was right there in front, staring at her.  After a few minutes, she put the laptop up and got out the novel she had been reading.  Then she put it down, and paced her room a few times.  Then she headed out the door for a stroll.  It occurred to her almost too late to put on a pair of shorts first.  She left the laptop with all the problems and responsibilities it represented behind her in the cabin, but she couldn't quite purge them from her mind. 

She was mentally debating the upcoming date with Thomas.  She genuinely liked him, but the way he could sneak up on you without apparently meaning to spooked her.  Always before, when she was about to make a mistake, her mind told her that all was well with the decision, and it was her heart that warned her of the hazard.  This time it was different.  Her instinct was playing the romantic, and her reason was waving warning flags like a demented ship's signalman.  She felt that there was something sinister behind his gallant demeanor, she just hoped that she could find out what it was before it was too late. 

Alice had wandered far afield, and she came upon a clearing in the forest that had apparently seen recent use.  There was only sparse undergrowth, and she could see where a fire had been built some time ago.  She realized that this place was easily two miles from the resort, and now that the sun was higher in the sky, she turned her steps back the way she had come, without giving the clearing further thought. 

Breakfast was being served when she got back to the resort proper.  Of course, there was always someone happy to get her something if she missed the meal hours, but it made her uncomfortable to rely on that.  She made a quick scan of the Hootch when she arrived, but didn't find any sign of Thomas.   A bit suprised at her disappointment, she got some eggs, grits and coffee from the buffet and wandered over to where Brad was eating alone. 

"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked him. 

"Not at all, Dr. Katsen," 

"Please call me Alice.  Only Amy and little kids call me Dr. Katsen." 

"Amy?" 

"She is the mainframe computer at the lab where I work.  She was an experiment in Artificial Intelligence a few years ago.  Overland Motors decided she was not suited to designing new cars, so they gave her to us." 

"That's mighty generous." 

"Not really.  The Pharmaceutical Division seems to be a hodgepodge of old and obsolete hand-me-downs that the company's bigger concerns can't or won't use.  We were lucky to get her, though.  She is a wonderful help at the lab.  We've got so many absent-minded professors, it takes a supercomputer to keep some semblance of order around the place." 

"I didn't know Overland Motors made anything but cars." 

"They have been collecting small industries for a little while.  Our lab was purchased a few years before I got there.  You would think that a huge company like that would be able to provide it's concerns with a little more in the way of finances, but we've been having to make do with hand-me-downs and a shoestring budget since they bought us." 

"What's a shoestring?" 

"I've no idea.  I wonder what made me say it." 

They both looked mildly confused for a moment. 

"Anyway," said Alice, "I was wondering whatever happened to Thomas this morning." 

"Oh, he promised Rale that he would show him how to cook breakfast over an open fire without using any utensils, and Rale took him up on it this morning.  Frankly, I'm glad he did.  The runt was getting to be a holy terror." 

"Is Thomas that good with kids?" 

"Well, Rale seems to worship him.  The Scouts all like him.  I don't know, but they always seem to remember whatever he tells them.  I guess that's what 'being good with kids' is all about." 

"I don't know a better definition." There was a pause. 

Brad broke it. "He seems to be stuck on you." 

Alice giggled.  "What makes you say that?" 

"Well, he does.  The other day when you were swimming naked in the lagoon, he couldn't take his eyes off you.  He's never been like that." 

Alice blushed, and had nothing to say. 

"I mean it.  He's usually all business, but he's not been the same since you got here." 

"Is it really that bad?"  asked Alice. 

"Bad?  Heck no, it's not bad.  Look at me.  I go running after every other pretty tail that steps foot on this island.  Who am I to say it's bad if my friend sees one he likes?  I'd be after you that fast, too, if I didn't think Thomas would be hurt." 

Alice looked him in the eye, trying to see if he was frank.  She knew that people had attitudes very different from hers here in The Islands, but this was the first time she'd run head-on into it.  After a moment, she decided not to be affronted, and took his comments at exactly face value, which was the way he'd meant them, of course.  "Well," she said, with calmness that she didn't feel, "I like him too." 

Brad looked relieved, but she didn't know why.  "That's great.  He hasn't... well,  I mean..."  she watched with barely concealed humor as Brad's confidence melted and he realized what he was about to say.  She decided to put him on the spot. 

"Hasn't what?" she asked, with all the innocence she could muster. 

"Uh, he hasn't acted that way before.  That's all.  Well, it's time I got to work... We have some pipes to lay to the new guest cabins..." he made as if to leave, half his breakfast still on his tray. 

"Oh, don't let me keep you.  I'm sure you have plenty of tails to chase-- I mean, work to do."  she couldn't resist the final jab. 

Brad looked as if he was glad to get away as he got away. 

Alice smiled to herself and finished her grits. 

Two tables away, Gloria Rumpp narrowed her eyes, staring at the back of Alice's head.