Captain Arnold seated himself on the edge of the chair.
"One of the men," he said, "just committed suicide. He was in charge of the air changing monitor this shift. He went outside without a suit."
The general blinked as though to remove an irritation from his eye. His hand lay still and hard upon the straight-edge. "What was his name?" he asked in a voice that was vaguely puzzled.
"Schuster. Sergeant Schuster, sir."
"Yes, I remember him," the general said. "He came to us about a week before the lift. I think he was from Colorado. He had very broad shoulders. Short and broad. Neat appearing. Uniform always in good order."
General Shorter ran his thumb and forefinger up the bridge of his nose and then, with a very small sigh, placed his palm over his eyes.
"Draw up the report," he said. "Was there a final message?" The question was uttered without hesitation and was followed by a moment of silence.
"No, sir."
General Shorter's breath was audible.
"Please feel free to smoke, David."