"A: "Excellent, we'll do as you suggest."Indios: "I am delighted that you could help the Krinthons so quickly and easily. What can we offer you in exc...ange for the communication devices?"Jim: "That's an easy one. We need the universal translator. Suppose we swap on a one-for-one basis. One communicator for one translator. We can work out further details, later. You rig your devices and we'll rig ours so that they cannot be reverse engineered. That way, we are both protected against unauthorized. I swung my legs out of bed and pulled on my clothes, careful to avoid hurting my side, then left the room and made my way sluggishly towards the front of the ship.When I arrived at the situation room it was packed with people crowding around the many displays and monitors that lined the walls, showing all manner of information on mission status and progress. I found Garcia in the throng of people, and we chatted for a while as we sat on one side of the large room and tried to see the screens. She had changed and wherever we were going, things could never be quite the same. She had been seen out with him and without me by people who lived near us and who had the same friends as us. I wondered how quickly the word would get around that my wife dated other men.I took a little comfort that Michael was moving away, and Maggie had still been clear when she talked about last night being a “final fling”. I didn’t think I could cope with her spending more time with him. It had all got too. The specialist reiterated the need for constant supervision and how wearing it would be on her, even the couple of months Mr Anstruther had warned of."At the moment," he went on, "there's not a queue for your mother's room so I'll keep her in for now although when the time comes I may need you to react promptly." Of course and thank you very much, Dr Rankin." In the meanwhile I suggest you ask Mr Anstruther to send one of his social workers to see me and your mother rather than wait until she.