Professor Atticus put his hands behind his back again and paced in a wide circle for a full minute. Machina knew better than to interrupt him. He finally stopped and looked at both of them in turn.
"I've just read through Feng's final report of his interviews, and it concerns me greatly. He's made conclusions with which I can't disagree and given me a proposal, in private, that frightens me to no end."
"You have our full attention," Silver Head said. Machina nodded.
Professor Atticus continued. "I've known all along that Deirdre Tomikins was behind the strange things happening throughout some of the Realities. There've been whispers that he has a new invention, something terrible—something abominable. And I no longer have any doubt it's directly related to the people who are going insane. I'm quite sure of it."
"What is this invention?" Silver Head asked.