In the morning, everything seemed to be all right; the terrors of the last twelve hours were pale things of the past, no longer exerting pressure on him. He caught the tube and headed to the Ministry.
He donned his uniform in the locker room and took the elevator to the Interrogation Floor. He stepped into his office. It was empty. No prisoners this morning? It didn't seem likely.
He pushed open the inner door and entered the Interrogation Chamber. To his surprise, he saw Matthews, one of his assistants, wearing the uniform of an Interrogator and standing near the robot, arms folded.
"What are you doing in here dressed that way?" Kroll snapped.
"I am the new Interrogator," Matthews told him.
"Since when?"
"The appointment was made very early this morning," the Inquisitor said. "We have all the evidence we need to brand you as a traitor to the State."
The new Interrogator turned a switch, and Kroll heard his own voice come from a speaker. "The State is wrong! Stupid! Wrong! Criminally, disgustingly wrong! How could I have been so foolish?"
"There is no need to deny these words," said the Interrogator. "It is only necessary that you tell us with whom you have been working."
"But there's no one!" Kroll shouted. "You don't understand! I'm loyal! I can explain!"