"You see, gentlemen, your planet is not the only one that might have the legend of the Hydra! You cut off the head of any plant and another grows in its place. Sometimes two heads grow and by the process of division--analogous with cell division--a new plant individual is formed. The botanical life of Dead Man's planet carries regeneration forward to such a degree that even the loss of a leaf, or of a thorn is replaced in a few minutes, often in a few seconds. The plant life is so hardy that when my father, whose name I never knew, attempted to clear this space with fire, he found he had twice the growth of plants after the fire." "It's clear now," Alf said. "How did he do it?" "By transplanting and controlled regeneration," Ghor said, smiling. "He carried his experiments far. Most of the trees here were developed by him. He found that certain injections transformed cell structures so that he could cause the regenerated parts to assume almost any shape he desired. My father's trees are nothing but Ngye stalks--mere weeds--so transformed that they resemble the oaks, the elms, and the chestnuts of the earth." "And the corn, I suppose is merely a synthetic product?" Mick asked. "It is a triumph of my own. The product is quite edible and tastes, I assume, much like terrestrial maize, which I have never eaten. The cells possess the same number of genes and chromosomes as Indian maize and it is, therefore, biologically related, although the two types have never been in contact." "But there must be some difference. Maize doesn't throw radioactive particles at cornhuskers!" "That," smiled Ghor, "is probably an environmental factor. And it is possible some of the genes are not exactly like maize genes." * * * * * Ghor and the two earthmen talked for hours. He showed off his little establishment, buried to conserve heat, under the sand of the asteroid. It was equipped with air purifying apparatus, electrical devices and heaters, all supplied with plant generated power. Ghor cooked a meal, entirely vegetarian, that tasted little different from its terrestrial counterpart. The bread was indistinguishable from that made from wheat flour, the potatoes had exactly the same taste as terrestrial tubers--in fact every item had its counterpart on earth, yet it was supplied from carefully developed plants of the asteroid. Ghor told other facts about his home. Dead Man's planet turned on its axis once every nine and one-half hours. Its average temperature was about forty degrees below zero and this temperature remained fairly constant because of the small diameter and surface of the asteroid.