The Vignette: Sunday

Harrison drummed his fingers on the desk in a staccato pattern that was making Anderson crazy. Wheels were turning in Harrison's head, and being the man he was, he had to give voice to the thought process.

"Everyone agrees. If we're thinking about fighting back, if we were going to commit ourselves to a war... there's no way we would last. That point's simply inarguable. We just don't have the numbers. We would lose. It'd only be a question of how long we could keep it up, and just think about how much we'd have to sacrifice before the end. There'd be no recovery.

"We can't provoke them. We can't subject ourselves to their attack. Everyone knows that. But everywhere we look we see our own destruction. What options do we have?

"Why are we here, Colonel? What are we about to do?"

The monitor flickered. Four.

The Vignette: Saturday

"You like to talk, don't you, Harrison?"

Harrison thought about it. "Yes, sir, I suppose I do."

"That's fine," said Anderson, "there's nothing wrong with talking. Talking has its place; just remember that there's a time for action also. You feel a sense of duty, Harrison, and that's what's called you here. Trust that sense. It will impose some choices on you which you might interpret as difficult or wrong, and in those times duty must be your watchword. It is a compass. It will light a path in the darkness and hold your hand when you sleep. You must learn to trust it. We deal in horror here, Harrison. You'll come to understand when action is necessary."

Harrison nodded sagely. "What does that mean, sir?"

"Stop talking, Harrison."

The clock ticked over to five.

The Vignette: Friday

The key hung from a thick cord anchored at his waist. Harrison idly rotated it between his thumb and forefinger; a distraction from his otherwise intense staring contest with the monitor.

"My nephew is going to a private school," said Harrison after a minute of absolute silence. "His parents were busy so last week I took him to the open day the school was having. It was fascinating. Do you have kids, Colonel? I liked it very much. It was a lot of fun to meet so many people, and not just the teachers and the faculty, but the parents too. I met a lot of really interesting people. And we just talked, you know, we shook hands and introduced ourselves and talked about our lives. I was networking, I was a networker. You never know who you're going to meet or who someone will turn out to be. You don't know what opportunities are going to come out of exchanging business cards or how a connection you made might prove useful in the future. And who knows, you could even meet a special lady! Just kidding. I'm engaged. I guess I just love meeting people! I can't get enough. Are we the only ones in the building right now?"

Anderson choked out a terse "Yes."

Harrison looked back at the monitor. It read: six.