"It's finished?"
"We paid his wife a visit yesterday. They're the hardest ones to deal with. The man never knows, but the woman does. How can you convince a woman her husband will be happiest away from her—how can you convince her when you're not even sure yourself?"
"I feel sorry for Allerton. You can't help feeling sorry for him."
"But psychological tests indicate he'll be happier this way. Besides—"
"—besides," the secretary finished for him, "it's for the good of the nation. But never mind those psychological tests. Don't have to tell me which came first, the chicken or the egg."
"Have it your way. But Mrs. Allerton understood."
"After we worked on her night and day for three years!"
"Nevertheless, she understood. Allerton is a special breed, a spaceman. Well, isn't he?"
"And Mrs. Allerton playing along with us like that, pretending she had re-married—"
"It was the best way. She knew that."