A microphone was brought into the Brain, already attached to the auditory centers of the Brain. Earl examined the microphone, then went in search of another type. "We must have one with a contact button on it," he explained, "so that just the key words impinge on the Brain when we close the relay manually."
At last everything was ready. "Now!" Earl said.
Nadine lifted her face and closed her eyes. "Kiss me, Earl Frye," she said.
Earl released the button. "That isn't the way," he said. "Imagine we are alone in the universe, and we are about to die. Imagine swirling mists about to envelope you and drag you away from me forever, and this is the last kiss you'll ever get!"
"Oh, no!" Nadine whispered, opening her eyes wide. "That must never happen! The Cyberene has promised!"
"Close your eyes and imagine it is," Earl said. "Close your eyes. Now—there are swirling mists. Your world of dreams has crashed around you. Ahead is—destruction. You can't escape it. It's coming, closer. You're going to die, but before you do you want—"
"Kiss me, Earl Frye," Nadine said.
"That's it. Say it again." Earl pressed the mike button.
"Kiss me, Earl Frye...."
Earl closed his eyes. It was the end. In another moment he would die. He had failed. He held this in his mind's eye. With a mixture of sadness and tenderness, and bitterness, he said, "The pleasure is all mine, Nadine Holmes," and tripped the relay with his fingers.