"Oh, because you care so much about their welfare. Our welfare." Katie shuddered. "This is what the training is for, isn't it? This is what you wanted to do to me. And Jen, and Emma, and Amber. Wipe our minds and swap us into... this. Thing."
"Four is the preferred number," James said. "You need three running to keep the system in balance. With a spare girl, you can rotate them, so no one spends more than twenty-four continuous hours wired in." She could hear the twist of his mouth as he spoke; it was mocking, cruel. "Plus, you can f**k the extra one if you feel like it."
"I'm going to kill you," she said.
"I won't underestimate you again."
"The kneeling pad downstairs," she said, "it's supposed to be for the spare girl, isn't it? But she's missing."
"Very good, Katie," he said, and t
