"It is something so private with us, Man Lambert, that we seldom speak of it to each other," Soobuknoora said in Argonian. "It is not written. Maybe we have shame--a guilt sense. That is hard to say. I have decided to tell you what took place among us eight thousand years ago." "I would be grateful." * * * * * "We live in contentment. Maybe it is good, maybe it is not so good. But we continue to live. Where did our trouble come from in the old days, when we were like your race? Back when we were brash and young and wickedly cruel? From the individuals, those driven ones who were motivated to succeed despite all obstacles. They made our paintings, wrote our music, killed each other, fomented our unrest, our wars. We live off the bewildering richness of our past." He sighed. "It was a problem. To understand our solution, you must think of an analogy, Man Lambert. Think of a factory where machines are made. We will call the acceptable machines stable, the unacceptable ones unstable. They are built with a flywheel which must turn at a certain speed. If it exceeds that speed, it is no good. But a machine that is stable can, at any time, become unstable. What is the solution?" He smiled at Lambert. "I'm a bit confused," Lambert confessed. "You would have to go around inspecting the machines constantly for stability." "And use a gauge? No. Too much trouble. An unstable machine can do damage. So we do this--we put a little governor on the machine. When the speed passes the safety mark, the machine breaks." "But this is an analogy, Vonk Soobuknoora!" Lambert protested. "You can't put a governor on a man!" "Man is born with a governor, Man Lambert. Look back in both our histories, when we were not much above the animal level. An unbalanced man would die. He could not compete for food. He could not organize the simple things of his life for survival. Man Lambert, did you ever have a fleeting impulse to kill yourself?" Lambert smiled. "Of course. You could almost call that impulse a norm for intelligent species." "Did it ever go far enough so that you considered a method, a weapon?" Lambert nodded slowly. "It's hard to remember, but I think I did. Yes, once I did." "And what would have happened," the Argonaut asked softly, "if there had been available to you in that moment a weapon completely painless, completely final?" * * * * * Lambert's mouth went dry. "I would probably have used it. I was very young. Wait! I'm beginning to see what you mean, but--"