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can finally see the difference between right and wrong.”
    â€œIt was that stupid space pilot and his talk about faith and God, wasn’t it? I knew I should have kept you in solitude all the way from Earth to here. Ever since then you’ve been acting like you’ve heard the voice of God or something.”
    Stupid space pilot. Earth to here. That was my dad. I’d never known before that it was my dad who’d had such an impact on Ashley. Neither of them had talked about it.
    â€œNo matter,” Dr. Jordan continued. “All’s well that ends well. And you’re back under my control again.”
    â€œNo. You can brainwash a person only once.”
    There was a loud slapping sound. Ashley drew in a sharp breath but didn’t cry. Did he just hit her? If so, it made me so mad that I wanted to run up Dr. Jordan’s face and yank out all his nose hairs. But if he found the ant-bot …
    â€œYou think you are so smart,” Dr. Jordan said. “But when the ant-bot disappeared, I knew it had to be you or that wheelchair kid. And when I got reports about stolen food … I finally decided it had to be you. Somehow alive. Especially with the other kid unable to tell me a thing about the ant-bot. Now open your hand, and show me what’s inside.”
    Everything for me swayed as Ashley lifted her hand. I was glad to be tucked under the fabric of her jumpsuit sleeve.
    â€œTurn around,” Dr. Jordan barked. “I said, turn around!”
    More swaying movement.
    Ashley yelped.
    â€œThe transmitter!” Dr. Jordan said. He must have ripped it from her neck-plug. “I thought as much. Which tells me you have been using the ant-bot. So where is it?”
    Silence.
    â€œWhere is it?” It sounded like Dr. Jordan had his teeth gritted.
    Silence.
    â€œI could cheerfully put you on the surface and watch the air get sucked out of you,” he said. “That space torpedo was one of a kind. Now the ant-bot. Together that’s about 30 billion dollars’ worth of science. Just because suddenly you decide you have a conscience. Now tell me where it is!”
    More silence.
    Without warning, everything shifted violently. It felt like I was in the center of a massive earthquake.
    I heard Ashley gasp. Dr. Jordan was shaking her.
    â€œWhere is it?” he shouted, losing control of any calm in his voice. “What have you done with it?”
    Ashley said nothing.
    Just as suddenly, the earthquake stopped.
    â€œWe’re going to my office,” he snarled. “If it’s on you anywhere, my scanner will find it. And if it’s not there, I’ll find a way to make you talk.”

CHAPTER 18
    From the ant-bot’s perspective, it was a strange, strange world.
    The walk from the power plant to Dr. Jordan’s office wasn’t a walk for me. I was a hitchhiker, hidden beneath Ashley’s wristband. It felt like I was on the end of a giant pendulum, slowly swinging back and forth with the movement of her arm. Every few seconds I’d jab her skin as hard as I could, hoping she’d feel it and know I was still with her.
    â€œLet go of my arm!” she told Dr. Jordan.
    â€œNot likely,” he said. “Don’t waste your breath.”
    Dr. Jordan might have thought she’d wasted her breath, but I knew it was Ashley’s way of telling me what was happening.
    Neither of them spoke for a while after that.
    This late at night, even if the scientists and techies weren’t being held hostage in the meeting room, the dome was usually very still. The fabric of Ashley’s jumpsuit muffled whatever other sounds were there, like the fans and the hum of the dome’s power plant.
    Altogether it was a weird experience.
    I might have enjoyed it, but I was desperately thinking of what to do once we got to Dr. Jordan’s office.
    The first thing, obviously, was to get away from Ashley. All Dr. Jordan needed to do was sweep a scanner