"No, we haff had to wait and build and hope and plan for just such a day as this. "But now--" And his eyes lighted raptly--"Now at last you haff come! Working together, we shall overthrow the Magogeans, stay the disaster you haff told me threatens our ancient universe, and again be free to look upon the sun." * * * * * Captain Hugh Warren spread his hands in a gesture of despair. "You know you have our friendship. We would do anything within our power to help you, but--what can we do? If you, with a great army, have never been able to breach the Magogean defenses, what can our pitiful group do--?" "You," said Tsalnor promptly, "can do what no Gogean can do ... effect entry to Magog's capital, and there work from within to destroy the barrier wall which protects it. When that wall falls our warriors will flood into the city of Khundru in hordes--" "We? But why _we_--?" Tsalnor smiled mirthlessly. "It is a matter uff hue." Warren jumped. "Who, me?" "No," said Dr. Bryant. "Not you, Hugh--hue! I see what he means. It is a matter of fleshly color. The Magogeans are our color, or nearly so. Dr. 'Boris Anjers' was of a complexion sufficiently similar to that of an Earthman to pass himself off for many years as a Eurasian. Similarly _we_ might, I suppose, masquerade as Magogeans--" He turned a questioning gaze to Tsalnor. The Gogean nodded. "Exactly. Let one uff our blue-fleshed brethren but present an appearance before any Magogean and he would be rayed down mercilessly without ever being granted an opportunity to speak. "You alone haff the coloration which would permit entry into the city uff Khundru--" "Where _is_ this city?" "A very short distance from here. Scarce more than a hundred _talus_, on the edge of the Twilight Zone." "And you say it's the Magogean _capital_? Isn't that location a rather dangerous one for their most important city?" "On the contrary, Khundru is located at an axis uff vital strategic importance. It spans the estuary uff the river Driya where it meets the Pinoor Sea, and is protected from assault from either side by lofty mountain ranges. Its rear is protected by Darkside." "But you spoke of a barrier shield." "Yes. It is that which prevents our armed forces from storming Khundru. About and around their capital the Magogeans have forged some sort uff an invisible barrier impenetrable by any material substance. What this is, we do not know. Unable to study it at first hand, our scientists haff never been able to study its secret." "Invisible barrier! A force-shield!" Gary Lane spun swiftly to their Martian comrade. "Dr. Kang, it must be something like the force-shield you installed on the _Liberty_!" Kang nodded slowly. "Very likely. I know now why Borisu never questioned _me_ so eagerly about the activation of _my_ device as he did the Jovian engineers about their quad warp. It was because he already understood it."