The director smiled finally. "Give me credit for at least one redeeming bit of foresight. I _did_ conceive of the possibility that something like this might happen. So when I conditioned you and Harlston, I arranged it that the conditioning would break down in another three weeks. Harlston will then report everything. And the Bureau will guess why they haven't heard from us." * * * * * To Minnie's utter confusion, the great pink sphere had risen yet there had been no subsequent Pilgrimage to Totem. She spent an eternity, it seemed, pondering that enigma but getting nowhere. Eventually Screw Worm erupted from the ground--oh, so slowly, so sluggishly--and rolled toward her with his load of mineral specimens. When he tried to force the substance into her intake slot, however, she only turned away dispiritedly, still mourning the loss of communication with all the others. Screw dropped his specimens and squirmed around, tilting feebly into the attitude for boring down again. His jets came on weakly, managing to rotate him only three or four times before giving out completely. Then he fell into a strange motionlessness. Minnie prodded him with her chuck. He toppled over, but did not stir. Disturbed, she sent a "report-your-location" command. But there was no response. Like Bigboss, he was totally inoperative. Like Peter the Meter and Maggie and Grazer and Breather and all the others, he, too, was now a victim of the stubborn stillness. Confused, Minnie stumbled forward, realizing that her motor circuits were not responding as lively as they always had. Too, she was having some difficulty evaluating and rationalizing. Then an odd thought occurred to her: She had devoted most of her time since becoming Supreme Being to considering how she should act. Her motor activity had been at a minimum. The other members of the clan, on the other hand, had continued their physical tasks. And now they were all motionless. Only she had any power left. Could the formula be: Motion minus the presence of Bigboss equals eventual immobility? If that were the case, then how hollow, indeed, was the distinction of being the successor to the Omnipotent One! If she was going to act like a Supreme Being, she decided suddenly, she would have to do so in a hurry. But do--_what_? Then she finally hit upon the answer: She must be about Bigboss' work of destroying non-Totemic pretenders. And she knew just where to find _five_ of the despicable things! VII Exhaustion blunting the bite of sharp rocks into his back, sleep finally overtook Stewart. Despite his plight, he had not resisted. For weeks had passed since his slumber had not ended in terror brought on by some form of the horrible nightmare. But it would be different now. The Hyadean ship had torn aside the curtain behind which the suppressed knowledge had lurked. And his subconscious was rid of its awful burden.