"Not bad payment, Mr. Channing, for five years of life! In any case, it's all over now--just a bad memory." The executive smiled at him from his comfortable, familiar chair, aware of the torrents of confused thoughts hidden behind the gray eyes. When he had come out of the stupor that succeeded the almost disintegrating effects of his re-metamorphosis, Jim Channing remembered clearly the terms of the bargain he had made. He was to become a Jube, a living nightmare, living in a nightmare world, for five years. At the end of that time, Planet Enterprises promised him, he would be given back his humanity and he would have earned enough money to keep him in luxury for the rest of his life. They had kept their promise--to the letter. He felt it ungrateful of him that his paramount emotion was fury. He had been happy; no human attachment could ever make him as happy again. He longed for the glorious love and trust he had shared during that tremendous five years. Perhaps he had been a repulsive monster from whom any woman would run screaming. But he didn't want a woman. He wanted Aln Muh. He said, picking his words with the greatest care, "Would a further metamorphosis be possible?" * * * * * Folan's jaw dropped. It was a question he'd never expected to hear from any of the men who had taken the terrible choice for the glittering reward he held out to them. Most of them had picked up their vouchers and asked the way to the nearest tavern; many of the alien races did not find alcohol compatible with their metabolisms. A few had inquired tentatively about his current receptionist. Planet Enterprises had a big turnover in pretty receptionists, but they didn't lose them to men who had been unhuman horrors for five years. One big red-haired character had wanted to start a private war against the Sirians, whose brother he had been until two days previously. But none of them had wanted to go back. He said, "It's possible, Mr. Channing. But I must tell you that a second metamorphosis is very expensive--and it's permanent." "You mean if I become a Jube again, I must stay one?" The executive nodded. Channing gestured toward the payment voucher. "You said it was expensive. Is there enough there to cover it?" Folan looked curiously at him. "Yes, more than enough." He waited to hear what the big man would say next. Channing licked dry lips. A terrible doubt assailed him. Maybe Aln Muh had been metamorphosed too. Maybe she had returned to her former self--whatever that may have been--while he sat here. He looked down at the big, freckled hands resting on his knees. They were trembling and his palms felt moist. Without looking up, he asked, "Is the period of metamorphosis, always for a term of five years?" "Invariably. No other term is possible in the present state of our knowledge of the technique--except permanency."