There was a moment of crackling silence. Then Leopold said, "I'll have to ask you not to meddle with that robot, Colonel Mattern. I apologize for having neglected to tell you of it--I didn't think you were quite so interested in our work--but now I must insist you and your men keep away from it." "Oh?" Mattern said crisply. "Why?" "Because it's an archaeological treasure-trove, Colonel. I can't begin to stress its value to us. Your men might perform some casual experiment with it and short circuit its memory channels, or something like that. And so I'll have to invoke the rights of the archaeological group of this expedition. I'll have to declare Ozymandias part of our preserve, and off bounds for you." Mattern's voice suddenly hardened. "Sorry, Dr. Leopold. You can't invoke that now." "Why not?" "Because Ozymandias is part of _our_ preserve. And off bounds for you, Doctor." I thought Leopold would have an apoplectic fit right there in the mess-hall. He stiffened and went white and strode awkwardly across the room toward Mattern. He choked out a question, inaudible to me. Mattern replied, "Security, Doctor. Ozymandias is of military use. Accordingly we've brought him to the ship and placed him in sealed quarters, under top-level wraps. With the power entrusted to me for such emergencies, I'm declaring this expedition ended. We return to Earth at once with Ozymandias." Leopold's eyes bugged. He looked at us for support, but we said nothing. Finally, incredulously, he said, "He's--of military use?" "Of course. He's a storehouse of data on the ancient Thaiquen weapons. We've already learned things from him that are unbelievable in their scope. Why do you think this planet is bare of life, Dr. Leopold? Not even a blade of grass? A million years won't do that. But a superweapon _will_. The Thaiquens developed that weapon. And others, too. Weapons that can make your hair curl. And Ozymandias knows every detail of them. Do you think we can waste time letting you people fool with that robot, when he's loaded with military information that can make America totally impregnable? Sorry, Doctor. Ozymandias is your find, but he belongs to us. And we're taking him back to Earth." Again the room was silent. Leopold looked at me, at Webster, at Marshall, at Gerhardt. There was nothing that could be said. This was basically a militaristic mission. Sure, a few anthropologists had been tacked onto the crew, but fundamentally it was Mattern's men and not Leopold's who were important. We weren't out here so much to increase the fund of general knowledge as to find new weapons and new sources of strategic materials for possible use against the Other Hemisphere. And new weapons had been found. New, undreamed-of weapons, product of a science that had endured for three hundred thousand years. All locked up in Ozymandias' imperishable skull. In a harsh voice Leopold said, "Very well, Colonel. I can't stop you, I suppose."