"I do," she says, and holds out to Crichton a small clear plastic vial, sealed, with the broken fragments of the chip inside it. (It used to hold beads; she's moved them to a section of her jewelry box for the time being.)

"I wondered if it might not be a good idea to keep one piece of it separate, just to be sure that it can't be repaired, but ... I thought you would be the best judge of that."