"Well—" Harris gestured. "People couldn't live without society."
Westerburg said nothing to that. Harris watched him, but the youth did not answer.
"Isn't that right?" Harris said.
"Perhaps. It's a peculiar business, Doctor. You know, I struggled for years to get through Training. I had to work and pay my own way. Washed dishes, worked in kitchens. Studied at night, learned, crammed, worked on and on. And you know what I think, now?"
"What?"
"I wish I'd become a plant earlier."
Doctor Harris stood up. "Westerburg, when you come inside, will you stop off at my office? I want to give you a few tests, if you don't mind."
"The shock box?" Westerburg smiled. "I knew that would be coming around. Sure, I don't mind."
Nettled, Harris left the rock, walking back up the bank a short distance. "About three, Corporal?"
The Corporal nodded.