II
Dr. Leoh was lecturing at the Carinae Regional University when the news of Dulaq’s duel reached him. An assistant professor perpetrated the unthinkable breach of interrupting the lecture to whisper the news in his ear.
Leoh nodded grimly, hurriedly finished his lecture, and then accompanied the assistant professor to the University president’s office. They stood in silence as the slideway whisked them through the strolling students and blossoming greenery of the quietly-busy campus.
Leoh remained wrapped in his thoughts as they entered the administration building and rode the lift tube. Finally, as they stepped through the president’s doorway, Leoh asked the assistant professor:
“You say he was in a state of catatonic shock when they removed him from the machine?”
“He still is,” the president answered from his desk. “Completely withdrawn from the real world. Cannot speak, hear, or even see—a living vegetable.”
Leoh plopped down in the nearest chair and ran a hand across his fleshy face. He was balding and jowly, but his face was creased from a smile that was almost habitual, and his eyes were active and alert.
“I don’t understand it,” he admitted. “Nothing like this has ever happened in a dueling machine before.”
The university president shrugged. “I don’t understand it either. But, this is your business.” He put a slight emphasis on the last word, unconsciously perhaps.
“Well, at least this will not reflect on the university. That is why I formed Psychonics as a separate business enterprise.” Then he added, with a grin, “The money was, of course, only a secondary consideration.”