Wan Nes Stan wondered whether the governor's henchmen might not lead him astray in his experience-gaining program so that he would get a false start, or even useless and detrimental data. His super-intelligence told him that this was not the case. Like all the rest of the Galactics, the governor was willing that a better man be found, and insisted that when, as, and if a better man is discovered, that he be placed properly, even though it meant stepping aside. It was a philosophy that Wan Nes Stan never entertained. It was completely altruistic. It offered with no consideration of self, the most good for the greatest number. It was a fool's philosophy--but then, all the Galactics were fools. The governor said: "You have shown a most magnificent level of intellectual aptitude. I congratulate you." "You have no resentment?" "Can a man resent that which he knows to be right and honest--unless he himself is unright and dishonest?" "I suppose not," said Wan Nes Stan. He was safe. Continued use of his mind machine would keep him far and above all comers. "But the usual question comes: What are you going to do?" "When that time arrives, I will become your aide--unless one better fitted for the position arrives first." "Mind if I ask how I--" "Replace me? I don't mind, at all. You replace me whenever you gain sufficient experience to balance your superior intelligence." "How do I get experience?" "By being governor," laughed the governor. "Look," snorted Wan Nes Stan, "prerequisite for the position is experience in the position itself? That's a fool's statement." "It is the rule of the Galactic Council." "It remains a fool's rule." "Is it not sensible," asked Len Dor Vale, "to demand experience before one is given the chance to rule a galaxy-wide civilization such as this?" Wan Nes Stan could see no real objection to that and said so. "Then is it a fool's rule?" Wan Nes Stan thought. It was no fool's rule, really. But instead of making him operate as substitute during the governor's infrequent absences; handling the minor matters of state; and covering the lesser functions and passing rulings on the items of secondary importance, he should be placed in the governor's chair and advised intelligently. This advice should come from experienced men, and as the years rolled on, the advice should become less and less necessary until Wan Nes Stan was handling the entire proposition himself. They were doddling old fools, the entire cosmos of them.