human
Sit down, gentlemen, he said, and indicated chairs.
gpt
I really ... well, I don't know what to say. All this time, all these years, she's been reading my mind! My mind. She's been reading ... looking right into my mind, or whatever it is.
human
Whatever what is?
gpt
Whatever my _mind_ is, Dr. Harman said.
human
Reading it. Oh, my.
gpt
Dr. Harman,
human
Don't you understand? he said.
gpt
She's a telepath.
human
We--
gpt
Excuse me. The phone. He picked up the receiver and said:
human
Hello?
gpt
This is Andrew J. Burris, it said.
human
Is Kenneth J. Malone there?
gpt
Mr. Malone? the psychiatrist said.
human
I mean, Mr. Burris? Mr. Malone is here. Yes. Oh, my. Do you want to talk to him?
gpt
No, you idiot, the voice said.
human
I just want to know if he's all tucked in.
gpt
Tucked in? Dr. Harman gave the phone a sudden smile.
human
A joke, he said.
gpt
It _is_ a joke, isn't it? The way things have been happening, you never know whether--
human
A joke, Burris' voice said.
gpt
That's right. Yes. Am I talking to one of the patients?
human
I'm not at all sure,
gpt
Hello, chief. Things are a little confused.
human
Confused, sure, he said.
gpt
I feel confused already. He took a breath.
human
I called the San Francisco office, and they told me you and Boyd were out there. What's going on?
gpt
We've found a telepath.
human
Another one?
gpt
What are you talking about, another one? Malone said.
human
We have one. Does anybody else have any more?
gpt
Well, Burris said,
human
I hope the one you've got is in better shape than the one I've got, Malone said. He took a deep breath, and then spat it all out at once:
gpt
The one we've found is a little old lady. She thinks she's Queen Elizabeth I. She's a telepath, sure, but she's nuts.
human
Queen Elizabeth? Burris said.
gpt
Of England?
human
That's right,
gpt
Damn it, Burris exploded,
human
This is another one, he said.
gpt
Or, rather, the original one. She also claims she's immortal.
human
Lives forever? Burris said.
gpt
You mean like that?
human
Immortal, Malone said.
gpt
Right.
human
Tell me, Malone, he said.
gpt
She _isn't_, is she?
human
Isn't immortal, you mean? Malone said. Burris nodded. Malone said confidently:
gpt
Of course not.
human
How about that? he said.
gpt
Could she be immortal?
human
She's been here for over forty years, Mr. Malone, ever since her late teens. Her records show all that, and her birth certificate is in perfect order. Not a chance.
gpt
Of course she isn't immortal, chief, he said.
human
She couldn't be. Nobody is. Just a nut.
gpt
I was afraid of that,
human
Afraid?
gpt
We've got another one--if he checks out, he said.
human
Right here in Washington--St. Elizabeths.
gpt
Another nut?
human
Strait-jacket case, Burris said.
gpt
Delusions of persecution. Paranoia. And a lot of other things I can't pronounce. But I'm sending him on out to Yucca Flats anyhow, under guard. You might find a use for him.
human
Oh, sure,
gpt
We can't afford to overlook a thing,
human
I know, he said.
gpt
But all the same--
human
Don't worry about a thing, Malone, Burris said with a palpably false air of confidence.
gpt
You get this Queen Elizabeth of yours out of there and take her to Yucca Flats, too.