V'Naric turned serious black eyes upon him. "_Lahk-tzor_," he said, obviously seeking the right term, "is our word for what you Earthmen might call the Greatest One, or the Ultimate--or more laterally, perhaps, the Brain." "The Brain, eh?" Ketrik spoke up scornfully. "Well, if this Brain of yours has half the sense it was born with, it'll think twice before--" V'Naric turned on him with suddenly angry eyes, and Janus intervened quickly: "Just what is this Brain, or _Lahk-tzor_? And if he's in authority here, why don't you take us to him?" "That is not necessary. He is interested in you, but very impersonally." V'Naric's voice was cold. "I have been instructed to allow you to choose among yourselves who will be the One." "The One?" Blake whispered to Devries. "What does he mean, the One?" "For the Ritual," V'Naric said, as though they should have known. "And suppose," Janus said, "none of us chooses to be the One?" V'Naric shrugged in a purely Earthian manner and raised the flame-pistol a bit higher. "Then it will be a pleasure for me to choose for you." "No, thanks." Janus glanced at the others questioningly, hesitated, then took a notebook from his pocket and tore a page into four strips of varying length. Devries was watching his friends' faces. Either they didn't know what was going to happen or were pretending not to. Devries said: "You know what he means by the Ritual! It's just his polite word for the torture I was telling you about!" None of them answered, and he knew that they knew. V'Naric's emotionless black eyes watched them. They drew, recklessly, and Blake held the shortest slip. His face went suddenly pale but he did not say a word. V'Naric was disappointed. He stared past Blake at Ketrik. He said, "I wish it were you," as his eyes tinged with the angry orange again. He glanced around at them, then he went on musingly: "The _Lahk-tzor_ need not know, and it can make no difference. Yes, it will be you!" He gestured with the flame-pistol. "That's all right with me," said Ketrik contemptuously. Blake started to protest but Ketrik brushed him aside. "It's all right, I know what I'm doing. I defy these devils to do their worst." But he flashed them a look that said, "be ready!" But V'Naric watched too closely. As they moved to the doorway he kept the pistol trained. He produced the key that shut off the electrical barrier. They passed outside, and it leaped up again. The three men inside could dimly see through it. And they saw V'Naric's eyes turn away for a half-second.