The men made no sound as Phyfe read on, "I shall live again. The Great One shall return, and you who are my Unknown Friends shall assist me to return to life. Then and only then shall you know the great secrets of the world of Sirenia which are a thousand times greater than your own. Only then shall you become mighty, with the secrets of Sirenia locked in my brain. By the powers I shall reveal, you shall become mighty until there are none greater in all the Universe." * * * * * Phyfe turned the page. Abruptly he stopped. He turned to Underwood. "The rest of it is yours," he said. "What--?" Underwood glanced at the page of inscription. With difficulty he took up the reading silently. The substance of the writings had changed and here was a sudden wilderness of an alien science. Slowly he plodded through the first concepts, then skimmed as it became evident that here was material for days of study. But out of his hasty scanning there came a vision of a great dream, a dream of conquest of the eons, the preservation of life while worlds waned and died and flared anew. It told of an unknown radiation turned upon living cells, reducing them to primeval protoplasm, arresting all but the _symbol_ of metabolism. And it spoke of other radiation and complex chemical treatment, a fantastic process that could restore again the life that had been only _symbolized_ by the dormant protoplasm. Underwood looked up. His eyes went from the featureless cube to the faces of his companions. "It's alive!" he breathed. "Five hundred million years--and it's alive! These are instructions by which it may be restored!" None of the others spoke, but Underwood's eyes were as if a sudden, great commission had been placed upon him. Out of the turmoil of his thoughts a single purpose emerged, clear and irrevocable. Within that cube lay dormant matter that could be formed into a brain--an alien but mighty brain. Suddenly, Underwood felt an irrational kinship with the ancient creature who had so conquered time, and in his own mind he silently vowed that if it lay within his power, that creature would live again, and speak its ancient secrets. _CHAPTER FOUR_ "Del!" The shock of surprise and the flush of pleasure heightened the beauty of Illia's delicate features. She stood in the doorway, the aureole of her pale golden hair backlighted by the illumination from within the room. "Surprised?" said Underwood. He always found it difficult to speak for a moment after the first sight of Illia. No one would guess a beauty like her to be the top surgeon of Medical Center. "Why didn't you let me know you were coming? It's not fair--" "--not to give you time to build up your defenses?" She nodded silently as he took her into his arms. But quickly she broke away and led him to the seat by the broad windows overlooking the night lights of the city below. "Have you come back?" she said.