They had been gathering since his ship was first seen, and now there were hundreds of them clustered upon the hill. Others were arriving even as the skiff landed; they glided in over the rocky hills with fantastic ease and power, so that Steffens felt a momentary anxiety. Most of the robots were standing with the silent immobility of metal. Others threaded their way to the fore and came near the skiff, but none touched it, and a circle was cleared for Steffens when he came out. One of the near robots came forward alone, moving, as Steffens now saw, on a number of short, incredibly strong and agile legs. The black thing paused before him, extended a hand as it had done in the picture. Steffens took it, he hoped, warmly; felt the power of the metal through the glove of his suit. "Welcome," the robot said, speaking again to his mind, and now Steffens detected a peculiar alteration in the robot's tone. It was less friendly now, less--Steffens could not understand--somehow less _interested_, as if the robot had been--expecting someone else. "Thank you," Steffens said. "We are deeply grateful for your permission to land." "Our desire," the robot repeated mechanically, "is only to serve." Suddenly, Steffens began to feel alone, surrounded by machines. He tried to push the thought out of his mind, because he knew that they _should_ seem inhuman. But.... "Will the others come down?" asked the robot, still mechanically. Steffens felt his embarrassment. The ship lay high in the mist above, jets throbbing gently. "They must remain with the ship," Steffens said aloud, trusting to the robot's formality not to ask him why. Although, if they could read his mind, there was no need to ask. For a long while, neither spoke, long enough for Steffens to grow tense and uncomfortable. He could not think of a thing to say, the robot was obviously waiting, and so, in desperation, he signaled the Aliencon men to come on out of the skiff. They came, wonderingly, and the ring of robots widened. Steffens heard the one robot speak again. The voice was now much more friendly. "We hope you will forgive us for intruding upon your thought. It is our--custom--not to communicate unless we are called upon. But when we observed that you were in ignorance of our real--nature--and were about to leave our planet, we decided to put aside our custom, so that you might base your decision upon sufficient data." Steffens replied haltingly that he appreciated their action. "We perceive," the robot went on, "that you are unaware of our complete access to your mind, and would perhaps be--dismayed--to learn that we have been gathering information from you. We must--apologize. Our only purpose was so that we could communicate with you. Only that information was taken which is necessary for communication and--understanding. We will enter your minds henceforth only at your request."