Dr. Lane Saunders and Dr. Kathryn Cook--the latter a willowy brown-eyed blonde--conferred briefly. Then Saunders spoke, running both hands through his unruly shock of fiery red hair. "So far, the best we can do is a more-or-less educated guess. They're atomic-powered, total-conversion androids. Their pseudo-flesh is composed mainly of silicon and fluorine. We don't know the formula yet, but it is as much more stable than our teflon as teflon is than corn-meal mush. As to the brains, no data. Bones are super-stainless steel. Teeth, harder than diamond, but won't break. Food, uranexite or its concentrated derivative, interchangeably. Storage reserve, indefinite. Laro and Sora won't _have_ to eat again for at least twenty-five years...." The group gasped as one, but Saunders went on: "They can eat and drink and breathe and so on, but only because the original Masters wanted them to. Non-functional. Skins and subcutaneous layers are soft, for the same reason. That's about it, up to now." "Thanks, Lane. Hark, is it reasonable to believe that any culture whatever could run for a quarter of a million years without changing one word of its language or one iota of its behavior?" "Reasonable or not, it seems to have happened." "Now for Psychology. Alex?" "It seems starkly incredible, but it seems to be true. If it is, their minds were subjected to a conditioning no Terran has ever imagined--an unyielding fixation." "They can't be swayed, then, by reason or logic?" Hilton paused invitingly. "Or anything else," Kincaid said, flatly. "If we're right they can't be swayed, period." "I was afraid of that. Well, that's all the questions I know how to ask. Any contributions to this symposium?" * * * * * After a short silence de Vaux said, "I suppose you realize that the first half of the problem you posed us has now solved itself?" "Why, no. No, you're 'way ahead of me." "There is a basic problem and it can now be clearly stated," Rebecca said. "Problem: To determine a method of securing full cooperation from the Omans. The first step in the solution of this problem is to find the most appropriate operator. Teddy?" "I have an operator--of sorts," Theodora said. "I've been hoping one of us could find a better." "What is it?" Hilton demanded. "The word 'until'." "Teddy, you're a _sweetheart_!" Hilton exclaimed. "How can 'until' be a mathematical operator?" Sandra asked. "Easily." Hilton was already deep in thought. "This hard conditioning was to last only _until_ the Masters returned. Then they'd break it. So all we have to do is figure out how a Master would do it." "That's _all_," Kincaid said, meaningly. Hilton pondered. Then, "Listen, all of you. I may have to try a colossal job of bluffing...." "Just what would you call 'colossal' after what you did to the Navy?" Karns asked.