Gor was quiet while he peered into the eyepiece of an instrument; then he replied, "We will soon know. Tower Three has made contact, giving us the exact location, and the inquisitors have now gone to work on him." For a while, the two Plutonians busied themselves with their various machines, then Gor spoke again. "You are radiating sorrow, Bakar. What troubles you?" Bakar sighed. "I was thinking of the ancient pictures of Ahndee in the days when its orbit was much nearer the sun, and we, the inhabitants of Ahndee, were happy in our beautiful cities. "Now, the two remaining great nations hide, one from the other, beneath the mountains, and neither can break the defenses of the other, but still we try. What is the use of it?" "Careful, Bakar," Gor looked sternly at the other. "The Four may have you in the thought beam. You know that The Four lead us along this path because it is the only choice, the path shown in the future machine. "In the time you speak of," Gor went on, "the people were no better off than we of today. Because they did not have the future machine, they had failures. They wandered from the way and their failures turned them back to the course provided by the natural law. Now we know for what we are bound and, if we work toward that end, can know no failures." A strange light came into Bakar's eyes, but he said nothing. Shortly thereafter, a voice drifted into the room. It was a mild voice, but it was also old and wise. The voice said, "This is Nel, one of The Four. The being on the plain has been probed and analyzed and has been found to be a creature of the carbon class from the inner worlds. He has sought to deceive us in the manner in which he has deceived his own, but we have seen all. "The being is of a race called man and is named Mah Shuss Kem Bil. He is clothed in a type of space armour which embodies an air purifier, good for a period of time long enough to transport him to the fourth planet at half the speed of light, and is protected against cold by electric and tonic stimulants which do not produce heat, but only suspend the sensation of cold. Therefore we may come in contact with him without fear of burns. "Since the future machine indicates that he must be sent back into space, and since there is no place for him in our world, he will be disposed of at once. Tower Two will dispatch two ships. The man will be instructed in the operation of one of the ships and sent on his way. The pilots will return in the other ship. That is all." For a long moment, quiet filled the room. Gor was uneasy as he said, "Well, Bakar, have you not heard? It is your duty to dispatch the ships. Why do you hesitate?"