"You may speak, Shura," the chairman said. The figure bowed again. "As captain of the exploratory force of Nahrla, it is my duty to point out the nature of the problem we face on this new battleground. This is no ordinary world we have chosen. Its inhabitants are strange and unpredictable. They are alternately peace-loving and warlike, wise and stupid, courageous and cowardly, noble and selfish. There is little consistency in their actions or emotions. But there is one aspect of their nature which is common to all." "And what is that?" "Suspicion. A lack of trust in each other's motives. And that is why our problem has been so difficult, sir. We would have sent our agent among them many orbits ago, if we could have decided upon what form the agent should adopt." Shura slithered across the polished floor of the council room and stopped before the Reading Screen at the right of the chairman's pillow. He flipped the switch that started the screen glowing. "Here is what the Earth-race calls a Man." A gasp of revulsion swept the room at the image that appeared on the screen. "In addition to his unattractiveness," Shura said, "the Man is a relatively ineffective creature. As an individual, he is usually inclined to be emotionally unstable, petty, given to a sense of self-importance, greedy, acquisitive, slothful, and often cruel. At times, he is capable of unselfish and even noble actions, but even these are questioned by his fellow-creatures as having hidden, base motivations. If our agent were to take the form of this Man, his ability to uncover the type of information we seek would be hampered by the same distrust that affects all men of the planet Earth. Therefore, we cannot recommend, in all honesty, that we despatch an agent bearing this shape to scout this battlefield." * * * * * The chairman grunted. "Then what shape do you recommend, Shura?" The figure shrugged. "We have considered several others. There are many types of organic creatures on this world, some of them more trusted by Man than Man himself. This shape, for example." He flicked the switch. A four-legged creature, blanketed with shaggy fur, with a long nose and pointed ears, appeared on the Reading Screen. "This is what they call Dog. Dog is considered by the Earth-race as Man's Best Friend. He accompanies Man everywhere, and told many confidences, even though he has no ability to speak or comprehend. He is well cared-for, often pampered. And most important, he is usually trusted implicitly." "And this is the shape you recommend?" Shura sighed. "No. Unfortunately, Dog's actions are limited by the master's. They are allowed little freedom of action. If Dog becomes independent of Man, they declare it Wild, and treat it as a beast of the field." The chairman slapped at his pillow with his seven-fingered hand. "Get to the point, Shura! I do not wish to hear what shapes you do _not_ recommend. I wish a positive answer to our problem!"