Carroad's hand shook; one eye began to twitch. But he bent again to the adjustment of the dials. He directed the exceedingly narrow beam along the area from which the semantic waves originated. Only a high-pitched gabble emerged from the speaker, for Carroad had increased the speed. It was as if he were afraid to hear the normal rate of speech. Jane's eyes began to widen. A thought was dawning palely, but horribly, on the horizon of her mind. If, by some intuition, she was just beginning to see the truth.... But no, that could not be. * * * * * But, as Carroad worked, as the beam moved, as the power was raised or lowered, so did the voice, though always the same in tone and speed, change in phrase. Carroad had slowed the speed of detection, and individual words could be heard. And it was obvious that the age level of the speaker was fluctuating. Yet, throughout the swiftly leaping sentences, there was a sameness, an identity of personality. Sometimes, it was a baby just learning the language. At other times, it was an adolescent or young boy. "Well, man, what is it?" bellowed the Secretary. The mysterious voice had struck sparks off even his iron nerves. Jane answered for her husband. "I'll tell you what it is. It's the voice of my unborn son." "Jane, you're insane!" said Carroad. "No, I'm not, though I wish I were." "_God, he's at the window!_" boomed the voice. "_And he has a knife! What can I do? What can I do?_" "Turn that off until I get through talking," said Jane. "Then, you can listen again and see if what I'm saying isn't true." Carroad stood like a statue, his hand extended towards the toggle switch but not reaching it. Cramer reached past him and flicked the switch. "James," she said, speaking slowly and with difficulty. "You want to make robots out of everyone. Except, of course, yourself and the State's leaders. But what if I told you that you don't have to do that? That Nature or God or whatever you care to call the Creator, has anticipated you? And done so by several billion years? "No, don't look at me that way. You'll see what I mean. Now, look. The only one whose thoughts you could possible have tapped is our son. Yet, it's impossible for an unborn baby to have a knowledge of speech. Nevertheless, you heard thoughts, originated by a boy, seeming to run from the first years of speech up to those of an adolescent. You have to admit that, even if you don't know what it means. "Well, I do."