"How should I know? I'm not Johnny Mayhem." "If he doesn't board her, it's certain death for all of them." "And if he does board her, what the hell can he do about it? Besides, there isn't any dead body awaiting his _elan_ on that ship or any ship. He wouldn't make a very efficacious ghost." "But there are live people. Scores of them. Mayhem's _elan_ is quite capable of possessing a living host." "Sure. Theoretically it is. But damn it all, what would the results be? We've never tried it. It's liable to damage Mayhem. As for the host--" "The host might die. I know it. But he'll die anyway. The whole shipload of them is heading on collision course for the sun." "Does the SOS say why?" "No. Maybe Mayhem can find out and do something about it." * * * * * "Yeah, maybe. That's a hell of a way to risk the life of the most important man in the Galaxy. Because if Mayhem boards that ship and can't do anything about it, he'll die with the rest of them." "Why? We could always pluck his _elan_ out again." "_If_ he were inhabiting a dead one. In a live body, I don't think so. The attraction would be stronger. There would be forces of cohesion--" "That's true. Still, Mayhem's our only hope." "I'll admit it's a job for Mayhem, but he's too important." "Is he? Don't be a fool. What, actually, is Johnny Mayhem's importance? His importance lies in the very fact that he is expendable. His life--for the furtherance of the new Galactic Federation." "But--" "And the President is aboard that ship. Maybe he can't do as much for the Galaxy in the long run as Mayhem can, but don't you see, man, he's a figurehead. Right now he's the most important man in the Galaxy, and if we could talk to him I'm sure Mayhem would agree. Mayhem would want to board that ship." "It's funny, we've been working with Mayhem all these years and we never even met the guy." "Would you know him if you saw him?" "Umm-mm, I guess not. Do you think we really can halt his _elan_ in subspace and divert it over to the _Glory of the Galaxy_?" "I take it you're beginning to see things my way. And the answer to your question is yes." "Poor Mayhem. You know, I actually feel sorry for the guy. He's had more adventures than anyone since Homer wrote the _Odyssey_ and there won't ever be any rest for him." "Stop feeling sorry for him and start hoping he succeeds." "Yeah." "And let's see about getting a bead on his _elan_." The two young men walked to a tri-dim chart which took up much of the room. One of them touched a button and blue light glowed within the chart, pulsing brightly and sharply where space-sectors intersected. "He's in C-17 now," one of the men said as a gleaming whiteness was suddenly superimposed at a single point on the blue. "Can you bead him?"