Something had happened to them.

That flash! There had been one just before Galen discovered Sue. A flash from the ball-hurling machine. He had forgotten it, in the surge of his emotion. The Japanese, more objective than he, had done what he should have done, and investigated the exact circumstances of the conversion.

The two walked quickly together and embraced. Sue stared; evidently she had never seen her parents do that. Then she took advantage of the distraction to turn to Galen and kiss him again. Galen had heard that Orientals did not display passion in public. So much for that.

The older folk separated. "It is a love device," the man said. "It has made us love each other as we did soon after our marriage. This is what happened to you."

A love device! Something that focused on the man in one court, and the woman in another, and zapped their emotions. It had made his "Love 40" score become halfway literal. This could indeed account for the resort's mystery. Because Galen was ready to dump his career and elope with Sue, and he knew that she felt the same.

But that was foolhardy. They were superbly ill-matched. They would never have gotten together, except for this random zapping. His common sense informed him that what they needed was not togetherness, but an antidote.

He faced Sue. He tried to tell her of his conclusion. Instead he kissed her.

Meanwhile the older couple went to one of the ball machines. Efficiently they dismantled it.

"As we suspected," the man said. "A device has been added."

Galen realized that they were doing his job. "We'd better get over there," he told Sue. "I—I love you, but there's something I have to tell you."

"And something I must tell you," she agreed.

The man had removed the extra device, which looked like an elaborate camera. As Galen approached, he handed it over. "Hide this, while we get the other."

"But I have to tell you, I'm with the police. This is evidence. We can't tamper with it."

The man gave him a straight look. "The police will reassign you, and you will never see Sue again. Do you desire this?"

"No!" Sue cried, clinging to him. She was merely echoing his own sentiment.

Galen held the device, while the older couple worked on the one in the other court. He was helpless to interfere, because he knew that his report would indeed destroy his romance.

The Japanese family evidently had something better in mind.

"We are not police, we are business," Sue murmured. "We intercepted reports of something odd, and came to investigate. We have been looking for several days. Then we realized that you too were looking, so I was assigned to keep an eye on you. I think you did not notice me, before."

"I sure didn't!" he said, amazed. She must be very good at being inconspicuous.

"A thing like this—it could be excellent business," she continued. "Because surely there is much market for love." She turned her eyes up to him. "But I did not expect to be caught in it myself. I did not realize at first that we had found what we sought."

"Maybe the thing can be reset," he said. "To reverse love. So we can be free of this nonsense."

"My father will have it analyzed," she said. "If there is a way, he will find it. Then, as you say, we can be free."

"But meanwhile—" he started.

"Meanwhile—" she echoed.

They kissed. It was as if they could not survive for more than a minute or two without it.

The man approached with the other device. "Come to our suite," he said. "We know that is private."

Galen followed, holding the one device in his left hand, his right arm around Sue's waist.

"You must understand, I never intended—"

"We understand." Obviously they did, for they were walking with their arms linked.

In the suite, the man got serious. "We want three things from you, Mr. Holt. We want you to bury your police report, so that we can take this device directly to Japan for analysis. We want you to locate the one who made this device, so we can hire him. And we want you to join our company, and keep its secrets. We can make this worth your while."

Galen had heard that Orientals could take forever to get to the point. Evidently when in America, they played by American rules. "I don't know," he said. "I would lose my job, if I didn't report."

"We will quadruple your present salary, guaranteed for life, indexed to inflation, with generous bonuses."

That was persuasive. But Galen hesitated. "I don't like leaving my job undone. This device has made some real mischief, and could make more."

"We are removing the device, so there will be no more incidents. The resort will be satisfied that the problem has been handled. Indeed, you have already fulfilled your obligation in that respect."

Galen remained doubtful. "I don't know anything about Japan."

"You can work in America. It is your loyalty we want, not your location."

Galen realized that he was in danger of being swept off his feet. It was tempting. Yet he temporized. "And it might take some time to locate whoever made this thing. I don't know how well I could function, apart from Sue. Until we get the antidote."

"She is actually an employee, not our daughter. She will remain with you for the duration."

Galen looked at Sue. She smiled. That was what he needed. He made one more effort to resist, knowing it would be instantly shot down. "There will be complicated paperwork—I mean, I can't just say I quit the police and am working for someone I met on a tennis court."

"We will handle it. There are ways."

Galen considered, and realized that it was a good deal—the best he was ever likely to be offered. "Okay."

They shook hands. Then Sue fetched her things and carried them to Galen's room. They tarried there for an intense half hour before feeling ready to get back to work, and they still didn't know anything about each other's minds.

The older couple vanished from the scene, with the two devices. They would be in Japan before the resort management realized they were gone.

Galen and Sue set up a watch on the two tennis courts. They found a supply shed where they could hide, and took turns peering out the slitlike window. Sooner or later, the proprietor of those devices should come to check on them. Then the two of them would follow him.

It was a dull watch, but a pleasant time. While Galen watched, Sue rested against him, rubbed his back, massaged his shoulders, and kissed the back of his neck. While Sue watched, he hugged her, stroked her hair, and ran his hands across places that he should have lost interest in after their session in the hotel room. Their love might be artificial, but it was thorough; all they wanted was more of each other.

As dusk loomed, a technician came to check the equipment. When he looked at the first ball-hurler, he froze. Quickly he checked the other. Then he hurried away.

"That's our man," Galen whispered.

They piled out, tucking in their clothing as they went. They tracked the man to his car, and noted the license tag. But they also followed him, in Galen's car. It wasn't difficult, because he seemed distracted. That was understandable; he had just discovered that someone had stolen his special devices. Did he think it was the resort management? Was he going to clear out before he got arrested?

"Best to handle this immediately," Galen said. "Before he can take his stuff and disappear to another state or country." Sue nodded agreement, and squeezed his arm.

Galen went up to the front door, while Sue circled to the back, just in case. When the man answered, Galen introduced himself. "I helped take your love devices," he said. "I have a deal to offer you, if you're the one who made them."

The man let him in. "You're not a cop?"

"I am a cop, but that's not why I'm here. A Japanese company is taking your two boxes to Japan to analyze and reproduce. They figure to make a considerable profit marketing those things. They want to hire you too. Or whoever knows how to make them."

The man walked back to a small makeshift laboratory and machine shop. "I make them, but they're not for sale," he said. "I'm testing them, to see how well they work, before I get rich selling the secret." He opened a trunk and brought out a device similar to those on the tennis courts. "I've got just one more, but it's enough."

"I don't think you have a choice," Galen said. "Several people have been harmed by them, and you are liable for that. I got put into love with a Japanese woman, and now I'm working for her company. The Japanese will pay you well, and they already have two boxes to copy if you don't cooperate. So you might as well deal with them."

The man laughed. "Think I'm an idiot? Those machines are set to self-destruct the moment anyone tries to get into them. You're lucky you didn't get your head blown off when you took them out of the ball-throwers. They won't be any good to anybody. I'm the only one who knows the secret, and I stumbled on it by such sheer blind chance that no one else will ever duplicate it. I set those two out at the resort so I could see how well they worked with one emotion. Now I know they work perfectly. They should work just as well on the other settings."

"Other settings?" Galen asked, feeling a chill.

"They're emotion tuners. They can lock in any emotion. I can make two people love each other, or hate each other, or forget each other. Or anything else. I'll make others fiercely loyal to me alone, and then I'll give them more tuners so they can use them on the leaders of the world and make them swear fealty to me. I'll be king of the world!"

"That's a megalomaniac dream," Galen said.

The man pointed the device at Galen. "You are about to change your attitude." He adjusted a setting.

Galen's chill intensified. He knew how well the device worked! "You're going to make me loyal to you?"

"No, I don't know you. I'm not ready for followers yet. I'm just going to make you forget everything. This one's set on amnesia. I'll dump you off somewhere, and by the time they figure out what happened to you, I'll be long gone with my equipment and notes. I've got everything packed, here." He nudged the open trunk with one foot. "I was going to leave the moment anything happened, and now it's happened. I'll be gone within the hour."

Galen realized that it was possible. Those devices were far more versatile than he had assumed. Not just love, but all the emotions, and amnesia too! The man could eliminate anyone who tried to interfere with him, and convert those he chose. By what fluke he had stumbled on the secret Galen might never know, but it obviously hadn't given the man a mature perspective. He wanted to rule the world, and didn't care how much mischief he made in the process.

Was there any way to escape? He doubted it. All the man had to do was click the device on, and he could do that before Galen managed to move more than a couple of feet.

Galen knew he was done for. In that moment he suffered a revelation. This had to be stopped! But he was afraid he wasn't going to be able to stop it.

Then a shape appeared in the far doorway, behind the man. Sue!

"Stop him before he zaps me!" Galen cried to her.

The man ignored him, probably thinking it was a ruse. He lifted his free hand to the top of the device.

Sue hurled herself across the room. She grabbed the device from the man's hands and moved on to the front of the room beside Galen. "I couldn't let him hurt you, my love," she gasped.

"I'm grateful for that!" he said, taking the box from her. He pointed it at the man and touched the button on the top. There was a flash.

The man looked around. "Where am I?" he asked plaintively. "Who am I?"

"You're in the condition you had in mind for me," Galen said. Then he threw the device at the trunk on the floor.

The man had not been bluffing about the self-destruct mechanism. The device exploded, setting fire to the papers in the trunk. In a moment there was a hearty little blaze.

Galen turned to Sue. "I love you, and it tears me up to make you unhappy. But whatever that device is, it can't be trusted to any living person. Not the one who made it, not me, not your employers. So I have destroyed it, and the notes to make it, and wiped the memory of the only one who knows how to make it. It's gone. Now hate me if you have to; I did what I felt I had to do." He stopped, waiting for her fury.

"I had come to the same conclusion," Sue said. "I heard him talking, and realized that it was much worse than I feared. I thought I would have to use the device on you, before I could destroy it." She paused. "But my employer will not understand. I dare not return to Japan. I must hide. Do you think you can help me?"

He took her in his arms. "You know this artificial love is bound to wear out in a year or two.

We probably have nothing to hold us together. We're just two people who happened to get zapped at the same time."

"Then perhaps we should make the most of our limited time together," she said, smiling.

They had, perhaps, just saved the world from emotional slavery. But a stranger passing at that moment would have been hard put to distinguish them from any other couple in the first intense flood of romantic love.

Maybe, Galen thought, their love would last after they did get to know each other. Maybe for forty years. After all, it had started at love 40.