I checked the scales every way I could and finally gave up. I'd tackle the problem again tomorrow. Maybe something on the asteroid, some magnetic rock or something, threw it off. I washed my hands in the laboratory sink and then, while I wiped them on a towel, glanced at Red, who was lying on his bunk reading. For the first time I noticed how skinny he was getting. Lack of exercise, I presumed. We were going to have to do something to build up our muscles again. I supposed I had lost weight just as much as he had. It would be tough to weigh ourselves here, since we had only the balance in the laboratory. Spring scales wouldn't work on the asteroid—we wouldn't have weighed enough to register, even though our mass was probably about the same as an average man's on earth.
Red put the book aside, closed his eyes and smiled. My eyes fell on the book for some reason. Then suddenly I saw a page flip over. I didn't realize at first that this couldn't happen.
There wasn't any draft in the place, I was sure of that. A draft would mean a leak in the laboratory and alarms would tell us when that happened. There was no motion, nothing to cause a page in the book to turn.
Another page turned and I was sure I wasn't dreaming. I pulled myself over to the door, opened it a trifle.
"Red!" I called softly.
"Dollie!" He was dreaming. Dollie was one of the dozen or so girls he was always talking about in his sleep.
I pulled myself to his side and punched him gently. Red woke up. "You're a hell of a guy," he said.
"Yes," I said. "You were dreaming about Dollie. But I saw something happen here and I wanted you to see it too." I pointed at the book. The pages were still now. Suddenly one of them flipped over.
"Somebody, or something is reading your book," I said.