"Aren't you multiplying entities?" asked Dr. Coleman.
"No, because we're trying to account for a real phenomenon. The effects would be masked by things we already know about-indoctrination, peer pressure, and so on-but these substances, if they exist, would account for a good many rather puzzling things. Ninety-nine point something percent of Mormons who grow up in Mormon communities and go to Mormon colleges remain Mormons. The apostasy rate for Catholics is higher, because they often go to secular colleges, and the rate for Protestants is higher still."
"Because they're exposed to other ideas," said Dr. Fine.
"Yes, and other neurochemicals, especially when they marry, or have intimate relationships with, other students. By the way, these substances could also explain sexual bonding in adults. When we talk about 'making love,' it isn't just a euphemism, it's literal. That's how you really make love." There were murmurs of assent, puffs of pipe smoke.
"And we know these effects are long-lasting, because bonding survives long separations. But it does wear off eventually. The substances are stable, but they're excreted slowly and fall below a threshold value."
"So the whole thing really could be, uh, true."
"Oh, yes, I think so, definitely, yes."
"Mrs. Vernon, thank you for seeing me. How are you today?"
"I'm hurting with my arthritis. Who did you say you are again?"
"I'm from a national research agency. We'd like to ascertain some facts about your parents. Was your father named Edwin L. Stone?"
"My mother called him Ed."
"Ed Stone?"
"Yes, Ed Stone."
"Do you have any family photos, Mrs. Vernon? Do you have a picture of your father?"
"Oh, no. We left him when I was a child."
"Do you know what happened to your father after that?"
"No. We never talked about him."
"Did you have any sisters or brothers?"
"One brother. He died in nineteen eighty-eight."
"What was his name, Mrs. Vernon?"
"Larry. Lawrence."
"Was he married? Did he have any children?"
"He was married twice. The first one, they had three children. His second wife didn't want any."
"Do you remember the names of the children?"
"Well, yes. The oldest was Elsie, she married a mining engineer and went to New Zealand. Then there was Robert, I think he went into real estate. And the youngest was Stephanie, but she died when she was twenty. "
"Where did Robert Stone live, do you know?"
"California. Los Angeles."
"Stone Harris Realty, good morning."
"Mr. Robert Stone, please."
"May I ask who's calling?"
Meredith covered the phone for a moment. "Bingo," he said.
One of Meredith's bright young men flew to Los Angeles and came back with a photo of Robert Stone's grandfather: it showed a young man standing in bright sunlight beside what looked like a Model T Ford. His hat shaded his eyes.
Meredith said, "All this proves is that there was an Ed Stone who lived in Harrisburg at the right time. Neither Mrs. Vernon nor Robert Stone have any recollection that the full name was Edwin L. We can depose Robert and get him to say, yes, to the best of his knowledge and belief this is a photograph of his grandfather Ed Stone, and we'll do that. And we can get a whore to analyze the photo and say, based on bone structure and so on, this is a picture of Ed. But the prosecution can get a whore to say just the opposite. The prosecution could argue, and undoubtedly will argue, that even if we can prove there was an Edwin L. Stone who was born in Altoona and lived in Harrisburg, and so on, that doesn't prove Ed is not an impostor. If he planned this carefully, he could have gone to those places and looked up everything he needed to know. "
"Taken the place of a real Edwin L. Stone?"
"Who was married and had two children, and so on. You can get all that stuff out of newspapers, for Christ's sake. He wouldn't even have to go anywhere, he could use computer databases."
"So you're saying we can't prove he didn't do that."
"No, we can't, and the prosecution can't prove he did, either, but if they produce enough witnesses who claim to have known Ed as Filer, they can sway a jury, and that's what they're counting on."
"What would you say our chances are?"
"Fifty-fifty."
CHAPTER 40
Now, Mr. Stone," said Meredith, playing devil's advocate, "what was going on in the world in April, nineteen thirty-one?"
"There was some kind of disarmament conference m
Europe. Jimmy Walker was in trouble."
''Jimmy Walker was-?"
"Mayor of New York."
"And he was in what kind of trouble?"
"Corruption. They said he was on the take."
"Does 'on the take' mean that he was accepting bribes?"
"Correct."
"What nations took part in the disarmament conference, if you know?"
"Uh, England, Germany and France, I think. Maybe some others."
"What was the last moving picture you saw in nineteen thirty-one?"
"Wheeler and Woolsey, in Coco-Nuts. "
"Mr. Stone, who was the mayor of Harrisburg in nineteen thirty-one?"
"George A. Hoverter."
"And the governor of Pennsylvania?"
"Gifford Pinchot."
"What was your last home address in Harrisburg?"
"One ninety-one Elm Street."
"And the name of your last employer?"
''Jack Wintergarden. He owned a speakeasy down on Tenth Avenue."
"What was the name of the speakeasy?"
"It didn't have one. They just called it Jack's Place."
"Mr. Stone, you contend that you were always cleanshaven, is that correct?"
"Well, sometimes I let it go for a day or two."
"But you never grew a beard?"
"No."
"What brand of shaving cream did you use?"
"I used soap."
"What kind of razor?"
"Gillette."
"Where did you buy the suit you were wearing?"
"I got it from Monkey Ward. "
"Mr. Stone, how can you prove to us that you are not Howard Filer?"
"Look, I remember being on the spaceship. I remember what it was like growing up in Harrisburg. I don't remember this Howard Filer. Okay, if you want to say maybe I've forgotten all about that and remembered this other stuff because I'm crazy, okay, how can I say that isn't true? But how do any of you know that what you remember is true?"
"Now, Ed, this is the part of the procedure that we call 'discovery.' It's where each side shows the other side what evidence they've got and what witnesses they'll put on the stand. So it's almost like a trial, except there's no judge and no jury. "
"I never heard of that. "
"No, because you never see it in holos, but this is the way we always do it. And look at it this way, it's good for us to have this procedure, because if they score any points against you, we'll fix that and make sure it doesn't happen at the real trial. Okay?"
"I guess."
Mrs. Filer was wearing a modest blue suit with a Peter Pan collar, and a little pillbox hat. "That's the way they'll dress her for the trial," Meredith said. "Smart."
In the halo, he was saying, "Now, Mrs. Filer, when your husband left you, it caused you great distress, didn't it?"
"Yes." Her eyes reddened; she put a tissue to her nose.
"I'm sure we can all understand that. And did you make any effort to find your husband?"