Dowland nodded. He had recognized one of the gentlemen immediately--Howard Camhorn, the Coordinator of Research. Reputedly one of the sharpest minds in the Overgovernment's top echelons. The other one was unfamiliar. He was a few years younger than Camhorn, around six inches shorter, chunky, with black hair, brown eyes, an expression of owlish reflectiveness. Probably, Dowland thought, wearing contact lenses. "Yes, sir," he said to the chief, and looked back at the visitors. "We've seen your report on your recent visit to Terra, Lieutenant Dowland," Camhorn began pleasantly. "An excellent report, incidentally--factual, detailed. What we should like to hear now are the things that you, quite properly, omitted from it. That is, your personal impressions and conclusions." "For example," the other man took up, as Dowland hesitated, "Miss Trelawney has informed us her uncles were attempting to employ the Ym-400 they had acquired to carry out a time-shift to an earlier Earth period--to the period known as the Pleistocene, to be somewhat more exact. From what you saw, would you say they had succeeded in doing it?" "I don't know, sir," Dowland said. "I've been shown pictures representing that period during the past few days. The scene I described in the report probably might have existed at that time." He smiled briefly. "However, I have the impression that the very large flying creature I reported encountering that night is regarded as being ... well, er ... ah...." "A product of excited nerves?" the short man said, nodding. "Under such extraordinary circumstances, that would be quite possible, you know." "Yes, sir, I know." The short man smiled. "But you don't think it was that?" "No, sir," Dowland said. "I think that I have described exactly what I did hear and see." "And you feel the Trelawneys established contact with some previous Earth period--not necessarily the Pleistocene?" "Yes, I do." "And you report having seen a spaceship in that prehistorical period...." Dowland shook his head. "No, sir. At the moment I was observing it, I thought it was that. What I reported was having seen something that looked like a spaceship." "What do you think it was?" "A timeship--if there is such a word." "There is such a word," Camhorn interrupted lazily. "I'm curious to hear, lieutenant, what brought you to that conclusion." "It's a guess, sir. But the thing has to fit together somehow. A timeship would make it fit." "In what way?" "I've been informed," Dowland said, "that the Overgovernment's scientists have been unable to make a practical use of YM because something has invariably gone wrong when they did try to use it. I also heard that there was no way of knowing in advance what would happen to make an experiment fail. But something always would happen, and frequently a number of people would get killed." Camhorn nodded. "That is quite true."