"Uncle Trig, my conclusions frighten me. Can you conceive of the possibility that it was contact with _my_ mind, not yours, that made 'X' run away?" "That is the only tenable conclusion. I know the limitations of my own mind, but I have never been able to guess at the capabilities of yours. I fear that I, at least, underestimated our opponent." "I know that I did, and I was terribly wrong. I shouldn't have tried to fool you, either, even a little bit. There are some things about me that I just _can't_ show to most people, but you are different--you're _such_ a wonderful person!" "Thanks, Camilla, for your trust." Understandingly, he did not go on to say that he would keep on being worthy of it. "I accept the fact that you Five, being children of two Second-Stage Lensmen, are basically beyond my comprehension. There are indications that you do not as yet thoroughly understand yourself. You have, however, decided upon a course of action." "Oh--I'm _so_ relieved! Yes, I have. But before we go into that, I haven't been able to solve the problem of 'X.' More, I have proved that I cannot solve it without more data. Therefore, you can't, either. Check?" "I had not yet reached that conclusion, but I accept your statement as truth." "One of those uncommon powers of mine, to which you referred a while ago, is a wide range of perception, from large masses down to extremely tiny components. Another, or perhaps a part of the same one, is that, after resolving and analyzing these fine details, I can build up a logical and coherent whole by processes of interpolation and extrapolation." "I can believe that such things would be possible to such a mind as yours must be. Go on." "Well, that is how I know that I underestimated Mr. 'X.' Whoever or whatever he is, I am completely unable to resolve the structure of his thought. I gave you all I got of it. Look at it again, please--hard. What can you make of it now?" "It is exactly the same as it was before; a fragment of a simple and plain introductory thought to an audience. That is all." "That's all I can see, too, and that's what surprises me so." The hitherto imperturbable and serene Camilla got up and began to pace the floor. "That thought is apparently absolutely solid; and since that is a definitely impossible condition, the truth is that its structure is so fine that I cannot resolve it into its component units. This fact shows that I am not nearly so competent as I thought I was. When you and Dad and the others reached that point, you each went to Arisia. I have decided to do the same thing." "That decision seems eminently sound." "Thanks, Uncle Trig--that was what I hoped you would say. I have never been there, you know, and the idea scared me a little. Clear ether!"