"All right, folks. Turn in your tickets. This is the place we started for." * * * * * "So," said Flick Muldoon, "we're here. Actually here on Magog! We've been working and plotting and contriving it seems like forever. And all of a sudden when it seems like we're licked--bingo!--here we are!" Flick's face had a curiously woebegone expression. "I'm confused. No kidding, I'm up a tree. All this time, even though I knew where we were heading, I kept thinking subconsciously that we'd never make it. And now we're here, and I'm puzzled even worse. What are we going to do here?" Dr. Bryant said, "Well, I should say the _first_ thing we must do is test the gravity and atmosphere of Magog to make sure it's safe for us to venture outside." "We won't have to worry about that," said Warren. "I told you the _Liberty_ had all the latest gadgets. The testing apparatus went into action automatically upon our landing. We'll have a complete report in a few minutes." "Then," said O'Day, "the first thing we must do is find a good hiding place for the _Liberty_. Or if there isn't one, camouflage the ship immediately. It's night now, but with morning I've got an idea the Magogean fleet will be circling this planet looking for us. Borisu and his buddies aren't dummies. They'll know we used the quad drive to scoot, and they'll leave no stone unturned--" Dr. Kang interrupted quietly, "I think that is _another_ point on which you need have no apprehension. By the time morning comes we shall have either accomplished or failed in our mission." "What?" Gary Lane whistled. "Aren't you a little optimistic, Doctor? We're going to work as swiftly as possible, yes. But getting our job done in a couple of hours is a bit too much to expect." Kang's ivory features framed a wisp of a smile. "Have you forgotten Borisu's remarks concerning the time differential between our planets?" Gary said testily, "Not by a long sight. And it's been worrying me plenty. Borisu said Magog had been playing the cosmic ray cannon on our universe for only twenty years. Yet it is a scientifically recognized fact that the planet which existed between Mars and Jupiter in our system was destroyed no less than 40,000 Earth years ago. Isn't that so, Dr. Bryant?" "Quite true, Gary," agreed the older scientist worriedly. "Therefore," pointed out Lane, "every Magogean year is the equivalent of two thousand Earth years; every day on this planet the equivalent of three Earth years. And--" His breath caught in his throat--"since our calculations prove that the critical dwindling point of Sol can be at most no more than two months away, we must fulfill our task here in a matter of Magogean _hours_--or our universe will die!" * * * * * At his words the younger men in the turret sprang to their feet as one. Flick spoke for all when he cried, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going! My God, we've got to move and move fast--"