"I know, Mr. Secretary. I have something here of the utmost importance and--" "Bureau of Racial Maturity, isn't it? I never did know exactly what you people do. Sort of progress records or something?" "Of the utmost importance," Lambert repeated doggedly. Simpkin smiled. "I hear that all day, but go ahead." "I want to show you a chart. A historical chart of the Argonaut civilization." Lambert put the projector in position and plugged it in. He focused it on the wall screen. "It was decided," Simpkin said firmly, "that the Argonauts are not a menace to us in any--" "I know that, sir. Please look at the chart first and then, when you've seen it, I think you'll know what I mean." "Go ahead," Simpkin agreed resignedly. "I can be accused of adding apples and lemons in this presentation, sir. Note the blank chart. The base line is in years, adjusted to our calendar so as to give a comparison. Their recorded history covers twelve thousand of our years. That's better than four times ours. Now note the red line. That shows the percentage of their total population involved in wars. It peaked eight thousand years ago. Note how suddenly it drops after that. In five hundred years it sinks to the base line and does not appear again. "Here comes the second line. Crimes of violence. It also peaks eight thousand years ago. It drops less quickly than the war line, and never does actually cut the base line. Some crime still exists there. But a very, very tiny percentage compared to ours on a population basis, or to their own past. The third line, the yellow line climbing abruptly, is the index of insanity. Again a peak during the same approximate period in their history. Again a drop almost to the base line." * * * * * Simpkin pursed his heavy lips. "Odd, isn't it?" "Now this fourth line needs some explaining. I winnowed out death rates by age groups. Their life span is 1.3 times ours, so it had to be adjusted. I found a strange thing. I took the age group conforming to our 18 to 24 year group. That green line. Note that by the time we start getting decent figures, nine thousand years ago, it remains almost constant, and at a level conforming to our own experience. Now note what happens when the green line reaches a point eight thousand years ago. See how it begins to climb? Now steeper, almost vertical. It remains at a high level for almost a thousand years, way beyond the end of their history of war, and then descends slowly toward the base line, leveling out about two thousand years ago." Lambert clicked off the projector. "Is that all?" Simpkin asked. "Isn't it enough? I'm concerned with the future of our own race. Somehow the Argonauts have found an answer to war, insanity, violence. We need that answer if we are to survive." "Come now, Lambert," Simpkin said wearily.