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Katharine Hume saw that all six of her colleagues were there before her. The attendance and punctuality, unusual for a Saturday morning, reflected the news, not critical news, or even unexpected, but as interesting as the first bold commitment of the queen in a championship chess match. Quietly, she slipped into the vacant chair. Clark Simmons, a spare, balding man who was senior in the group and who represented State, was speaking. "...two questions to answer. First, is the Russian announcement true? Recall that in February of 'fifty-five Molotov made a somewhat similar boast, although not quite so explicit. At that time the AEC decided it wasn't true. Secondly, if true, why a public announcement of H-Parity, and why at this time?" As usual, as he spoke Simmons kept his eyes on the white scratch-pad in front of him and doodled. He raised his eyes to acknowledge Katharine and said, "We waited for you, lady. We've just started."

"Sorry I'm late," she said. "I stopped off at my shop on the way."