"One of you gentlemen please place another pillow behind her," said a Councilman. "Now, Mrs. Wilson, we are going to place this matter in the hands of our scientists. We want you to remain here." "But I have to go back. I'm needed in the factory." "They'll make out, Mrs. Wilson." "But I know those machines, just as our men know their ships. I can make them produce. I'm valuable in the factory." "You are indeed, but we have another task for you." "But Alfred? He'll--" "Your husband is waiting for you in a ship which is almost ready to go out." "Out? But Alfred? He mustn't ever fight again. You can't make him do that. Send me instead. I promised him, but--send me in his place." "We are sending you both, Mrs. Wilson. And I think it is proper to assure you that the tide has turned." "Oh!" "Just a little more time. Just a little more work." "Oh!" "For nearly two years the balance of strength has been swinging in our favor. We have purposely let ships through in the later years, but those that got inside the orbit of Uranus never got out again. The attrition has at last given us overwhelming strength, for we have produced." The man paused. Sue sat numb. Another spoke: "We have been building up a Fifth Sector, part of it on Earth and part near Polaris. It has been the best kept secret of the age. But the Earthside part of it has been in action. It can no longer remain a secret. We are going to strike. We are going to lure the enemy in close and then envelope him. It will be much like the big strike which occurred nearly two years ago. But this time we will crush him. We have finally produced the new weapons." "Oh!" "And now, if you are ready, the men will take you to the ship." * * * * * Sue moved in a daze. Somewhere up the shaft toward the surface they changed to a car that ran horizontally on a rail. They came out, miles away, in a huge dome in the center of which was a converted warship. In the ship she found Albert. He had his new arm and held her close for a long moment. "I know the machines in the factories," she said. "I've lived with them most of my life, but I won't know how to operate the weapons. You'll have to show me." "Huh?" "You'll have to show me how to fight, Al. I've thought about it, but I just can't understand it." "Fight? Sue, the fighting is almost over. I couldn't tell you. It's been a secret. The last battle is in the making now. You can't even dream of the forces we've assembled. They can jolt planets out of their orbits, burst suns. This is the beginning of the future I've wanted to tell you about." "I'll do my best, Al. I'll try--" "Sue, look at me. You're not going to fight. Neither am I. This ship is going into an orbit about the planet." "The lower ring, the last one before the ground defenses?" "No, Sue. Open your mind just a moment and let me see inside you." "Hold me."