"Not thanks, Beth. I couldn't help myself any more than you. I can imagine what you went through; I suspect it was even worse for Jo."
The pretty blonde was startled. "I haven't said anything—"
"The intensity with which you were attracted," Fred broke in. "I didn't know it at the time, but it was the first clue. Women were bound to be more affected."
Charlesworth fingered his jaw again. "Yeah? I thought it was pretty bad."
"You got the full treatment, John, but only for a few minutes. Nevertheless, woman's nature is far more intimately bound up in the life force than man's. What you felt for a short time might have been equivalent to what the girls felt all the time."
The big man shook his head. "Couldn't take it. I'd break...." His voice trailed away, and he looked guilty at reminding them.
"We have to face it," Beth said.
"How is he?" Jo asked.
"Lodgesen hasn't changed," the captain said gruffly. "He hasn't changed all the time we were in hyper. Just lies in his bunk, crying to go home to mama. It's spooky."
"We'll be home in half a day," Joe said hopefully. "Maybe the psychiatrists can help." Beth and John nodded agreement.