"I had a reason," Hendley said.
"What, then?"
"The Merger."
Startled, the Investigator gaped at him, his composure abruptly shattered. "The Merger?"
"Yes. Maybe it was foolish, but I didn't report for work today as a protest." Hendley paused, reminded of one of the exhibits in the Historical Museum. "It was like a—a strike. That's something workers used to do long ago when they wanted to protest."
"Yes, yes, I know—go on!" the Investigator broke in eagerly.
"You wanted to know where I was this afternoon. I was in the Historical Museum. I like to go there. I like to know how things used to be. I was against the Merger all along. It—it's like we're all being swallowed up in something that's too big even to know we exist. In the old days being a man meant something important in itself. Our ancestors—they weren't just parts of a machine!"
"Ah!" The Investigator almost beamed. His eyes held a gleam of pleasure. "An ideological protest!"
"I guess you could call it that," Hendley said slowly, wondering at the reaction his words had produced. "Surely I'm not the only one who's ever felt this way."
"Yes, yes, you're quite right," the gray-haired man said with some enthusiasm. "But an active protest! That is rare in this entire section. Why, I've had only one similar case in three years as a senior Investigator!"