We worked through the night. In the mess hall, we built a makeshift diagnostic machine with an embedded emotion indicator. Vanderhuse and I put it together out of random spare parts. The device turned out to be weak, anemic, with disgusting sensitivity, but it could still measure some physiological parameters fairly well; as to the indicator, it could only read three major positions: clearly negative emotions (red light on the panel), clearly positive emotions (green light), and the rest of emotional spectrum (white light). What else could we do? In the medical bay, there was a great stationary diagnostic machine, but it was clear as day that The Little One wouldn’t agree to be placed into a matte-white casket with a massive airtight lid. Anyway, by nine o’clock we were somewhat ready, and
