"--a site in England," Smale said. "American aircraft were dispatched to investigate the object. Before they could make identification, it rose again, accelerated at tremendous speed, and was lost at an altitude of several hundred miles." "I thought we had better radar than that," I said. "The satellite program--" "No such specialized equipment was available," Smale said. "An intensive investigation turned up the fact that two strangers--possibly Americans--had visited the site only a few hours before the--ah--visitation." I nodded. I was thinking about the close call I'd had when I went back to see about putting a bomb down the shaft to obliterate the beacon station. There were plain-clothes men all over the place, like old maids at a movie star's funeral. It was just as well; they never found it. The rocket blasts had collapsed the tunnel, and apparently the whole underground installation was made of nonmetallic substances that didn't show up on detecting equipment. I had an idea metal was passé where Foster came from. * * * * * "Some months later," Smale went on, "a series of rather curious short films went on exhibition in the United States. They showed scenes representing conditions on other planets, as well as ancient and prehistoric incidents here on Earth. They were prefaced with explanations that they merely represented the opinions of science as to what was likely to be found on distant worlds. They attracted wide interest, and with few exceptions, scientists praised their verisimilitude." "I admire a clever fake," I said. "With a topical subject like space travel--" "One item which was commented on as a surprising inaccuracy, in view of the technical excellence of the other films," Smale said, "was the view of our planet from space, showing the Earth against a backdrop of stars. A study of the constellations by astronomers quickly indicated a 'date' of approximately 7000 B.C. for the scene. Oddly, the north polar cap was shown centered on Hudson's Bay. No South Polar cap was in evidence. The continent of Antarctica appeared to be at a latitude of some 30°, entirely free of ice." I looked at him and waited. "How, studies made since that time indicate that nine thousand years ago, the North Pole was indeed centered on Hudson's Bay," Smale said. "And Antarctica was in fact ice-free." "That idea's been around a long time," I said. "There was a theory--" "Then there was the matter of the views of Mars," the general said. "The aerial shots of the 'canals' were regarded as very cleverly done." He turned to Pruffy, who opened his briefcase and handed a couple of photos across. "This is a scene taken from the film," Smale said. It was an 8 × 10 color shot, showing a row of mounds drifted with pinkish dust, against a blue-black horizon. Smale placed another photo beside the first. "This one," he said, "was taken by automatic cameras in the successful Mars probe of last year."