Wilcox sat where he was, frozen, knowing nothing. * * * * * Pell turned fast. "Come on, Steve. Let's get it." They both stepped to the refrigerator. They had only seconds; Kronski's weapon had been set at a low reading. The time of paralysis varied with the individual and Doc Wilcox looked husky enough not to stay frozen very long. If Pell and Kronski returned to their original positions after he came out of it he would never know that anything had happened. Far back on a lower shelf of the refrigerator were a dozen small bottles of the same type. Pell grabbed one, glanced at the label, nodded, and dropped it into his pocket. They took their places again. A few moments later Wilcox moved slightly and said, "Yup. Moon's a funny place all right. You either like it or you don't." The rest of the conversation was fairly uninspired. Pell didn't want to walk out too quickly, and had to keep up the pretense of interviewing Wilcox for a magazine story. It wasn't easy. They excused themselves finally, saying they'd be back for more information as soon as they made up some notes and got the overall picture--whatever that meant. Wilcox seemed satisfied with it. They hurried back along the tunnel, descended to another level and found the Augea Post Office. They showed the postmaster their C.I.B. shields and identification cards and arranged for quick and special handling for the bottle of vaccine. Pell marked it _Attention, Lab_, and it was scheduled to take a quick rocket to the Endymion landing and the next unmanned mail rocket back to World City. Pell stayed at the Post Office to make out a quick report on the incident so he wouldn't have to bore Ciel by doing it in the room, and Kronski sauntered on back to the hotel. There was a fax receiver there and Pell, missing the hourly voice bulletins of World City Underground, checked it for news. The pages were coming out in a long tongue. He looked at the first headline: VENUSIAN OBSERVERS ADMITTED TO WORLD CONGRESS Well, that was a step in the right direction. Maybe one of these days they'd get around to a Solar Congress, as they ought to. The recent open war with Venus had taught both Earthmen and Venusians a lot about space travel, and it was probably possible to explore the solar system further right now. No one had yet gone beyond the asteroids. Recent observations from the telescope stations here on the moon had found what seemed to be geometrical markings on some of Jupiter's satellites. Life there? Could be. Candidates for a brotherhood of the zodiac--if both Terrans and Venusians could get the concept of brotherhood pounded through their still partially savage skulls. Another headline: 'WE CAN LICK UNIVERSE'--WAR SEC