"Shut up!" Alpha snapped. He whirled towards the thunder of the Digger. It was very near, swerving, slowly turning away from the control with a ponderous gyration. "It's going to hit!" Alpha cried, leaping back. The edge of the huge metal mouth struck the corner of the control tower, shaking the entire building and sending an avalanche of concrete down from the facade. Alpha was struck by pieces of the debris as he bounded away from the door of the building. The debris piled into the doorway, jamming it. Beta's head rose over the pile. "Beat it!" he screamed, "I'll never get past that Digger!" Alpha ran towards the ship and climbed into it. Crazy thoughts ran through his head as he squeezed himself into the seat. It was a one to one bet. A fifty-fifty chance. Better than some odds he had had. It was a decent gamble, but the stakes.... He sealed the door and Miss Kanton sent the rocket spiraling up into the clear sky. She drew out of the range of the imminent explosion and circled the little asteroid, waiting. * * * * * Inside the control tower, Beta brushed the dust of the wreckage from him and hurried down the corridor, pulling the girl-dupe by the arm. "What are you doing? What if you're the real one? Oh, Doyle...." she moaned irrationally. Beta went back to the engine room. He waded through the fuel with the girl-dupe behind him. "We have another bet, just in case," Beta said. "Those hoses...." He pointed at the wall above the humming engines. The dupe's eyes brightened. "If only we have time!" she said. "I'll get them. It's dangerous up there. You might be electrocuted. It doesn't matter with myself." Beta started to protest, then he saw the logic of the girl's suggestion. He nodded curtly, and helped her climb upon the engine. She teetered precariously, slipping on the slime of the fuel which was on her feet. She reached up and twisted the nozzle of a hose, unscrewing it from the engine. Her face was twisted awry with effort, her slim body bent in straining against the stubborn threads. It loosened and she dropped it down to Beta who was standing in the swirling blue fluid, waiting. He snatched it up. "Get the others, quick!" he shouted, watching with horrified fascination as the fuel crept up to meet the network of sparks. The girl struggled silently. Beta could hear her quick breathing in his head phones. The engines whirred, the sparks flashing down towards the explosive fluid. She dropped another of the hoses to Beta. The third one was free and in his hands when she began working on the fourth. She slipped; the sparks danced up, touching the legs of her suit. The lower part of her suit burst into flame, soaked as it was with the fuel. She watched the flames, her face blanched white, as they ate into her suit.