Two weeks after the X-69 landed at Grand Base, Roysland still was stewing around, trying to make sense out of all the data he had. Report from Bilford Vell, Chief Psychometrist: "The patients seem to be responding fairly well under the microwave treatment. It seems to act very similarly to the electro-shock treatments reputedly used centuries ago for certain types of insanity, although without the deleterious effects. The feedback loop in the prefrontal lobes is partially canceled out when the frequencies of the cerebral activities are the same as, and ninety degrees out of phase with, the microwaves beamed at the head. "Naturally, this means that a series of treatments is necessary, since the cerebral frequencies are unpredictable and variable, and since the currents in the feedback loop are composed of a number of different frequencies." _Fine_, thought Roysland. _There's some hope, at least. We know what can cure it, but what can cause it?_ Report from Allerdyce Blyt, CinC, Galactic Fleet: "I don't know what you can make out of this, but maybe you can get together with Bilford and figure out what it means. If you ask me, I think the Enlissa have gone nuts. Is it possible there's a backwash from their mindjammer? "Anyway, here's what's happened. "During a minor skirmish near the Alavard Cluster, two Enlissa ships came in on attack geodesics toward the GSS _Viwil_. The _Viwil_ is not equipped with _aJ_ projectors, so they had to rely on conventional torpedoes. Since the odds were two to one, they had little hope of surviving, but they had hopes of inflicting some damage on the enemy. So they waited until the Enlissa ships were well within range, and fired. "The Enlissa ships took no evasive action, and the torpedoes destroyed both ships. There was no need for the _Viwil_ to use evasive action, since the enemy ships _did not fire a single torpedo_! "There have been other instances of similar action. "In other small skirmishes, the _aJ_ guns have proven their effectiveness; they've shot up Enlissa ships before they were in torpedo range. Oddly enough, no human ship equipped with _aJ's_ has ever been hit by a torpedo." Roysland went back and reread one of the sentences. "Is it possible there's a backwash from their mindjammer?" _It's possible, sure. Until we know what the mindjammer_ is, _we'll have to admit that anything's possible_. Report from Kiffer Samm: "I've done the checking you suggested. There is a definite effect on the brain, but it isn't permanent, nor noticeable. The backwash of the _aJ_ guns causes a slight retardation of nerve impulses. But it isn't enough to cause any reaction--either mental or physiological. It doesn't last enough, in the first place; and it isn't powerful enough, in the second. I don't know what would happen if a person were subjected to such a field over a long period of time, but the situation corrects itself so rapidly that there is no danger of cumulative effects.