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no plans.) “Alligators all over the place and we have joined them. It'th their fault."
    Two cupcakes, two fortune cookies, and three chits pop out. Also a string of large blue beads, and the doctor writes down the one word, alligators, with exclamation point.
    "You may go,” he says. “Take your things and go, and I must say you've utterly worn me out, but in the end you did well. I'll be having another discussion with you soon. Very soon."
    Later on when she reads her fortunes, one says “Consider practical alternatives,” and the other “You will soon fall in love with a much older man.” From the very beginning, the doctor has been quite taken with her.
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Chapter 6: A Sorrowful Leave-Taking
    The malice of a good thing is the barb that makes it stick.
    â€”Richard Brinsley Sheridan
    Basenji no sooner seems to be making some slight recovery than the doctor comes for her again. His policy is to come for them before they are let out of their cages in the morning in order to avoid mass uprising. It's a good thing, because now that he has come for Basenji there surely would have been a spontaneous mutiny. Though Basenji is utterly limp and passive, all the others (except for Pooch, who lies on her back, arms folded across her chest, feet in the air, face partly covered by one golden ear) are frantic. They bang on the bars and call out, “No, not Basenji!” and, “Take me instead. I'll go. I'll say anything you want me to.” Of course it must be remembered that some of them have had quite a pleasant experience in the laboratory—only a few mild shocks and several treats and trinkets. And some would be only too happy to go, simply to add variety to their days though they, of course, are the ones who have not been treated to the worst of what the doctor can do. Some, as mentioned, have even found the doctor fascinating, his long, sad face quite appealing and handsome if you like that type. And, though they dare not confess it to the others, if their fortunes have mentioned a tall, dark stranger, most (as he intended they should) have taken it to mean the doctor himself, even though he is less black-haired than gray. They are thinking of their own desirability in contrast to his dumpy old wife and they are hoping for a meaningful relationship—almost any kind of relationship, even if it is somewhat sadistic.
    There are some, quite a few in fact, who had been beaten by their masters or even their fathers when young, and who nearly swooned with pleasure at the treatment they received in the laboratory as long as it didn't become too painful, and who enjoyed being the center of attention in whatever manner and for whatever reason. Their concern for Basenji is nonetheless genuine.
    The doctor had brought cattle prod, handcuffs, and muzzle when coming for Basenji, but there is no need. She lies in his arms, eyes shut, face expressionless, serene actually. All are so taken by her ethereal beauty and her youth that they stop their clamoring. The doctor and Basenji seem to form a sort of reverse Pietà, the doctor holding her gently and looking a bit compassionate, and Basenji, one graceful, slender limb dangling and the other, as though in modesty, lying across her just barely budding breasts, which are clearly outlined by the folds of the blue smock as it drapes around her.
    Phillip is suddenly very afraid for her. “Fight back,” she yells. “Don't let go. Pleath don't let go.” She is also thinking that Basenji, with one good surprise bite in the right place ... and, in truth, Basenji's mouth is lying against the doctor's jugular vein. She is the one who could save them all. “Right now! Bite!” Phillip screams, but it's no use. Basenji, in her present condition, can no more bite than could a wet rag. And she doesn't come back. They wait for her the whole day, wondering about her and wondering what to do for her when she comes,