"Will we ever see our child after that?"
"Possibly."
Ted Graham said, "What's the joker in this?"
Again the cold, superior smile. "You will receive conditioning similar to that which we gave the Raimees. And we will want to examine your memories to aid us in our search for your planet. It would be good to find a new inhabitable place."
"Why did they trap us like this?" asked Martha Graham.
"It's lonely work," the man explained. "Your house is actually a type of space conveyance that travels along your collection route—and there is much travel to the job. And then—you will not have friends, nor time for much other than work. Our methods are necessarily severe at times."
"Travel?" Martha Graham repeated in dismay.
"Almost constantly."
Ted Graham felt his mind whirling. And behind him, he heard his wife sobbing.