"Ulkay," he said, going toward the machine, "does this work both ways?" Ulkay nodded and pointed to the nozzle on the front. "This," said his voice from the nozzle, "picks up as well as recepts." "_Receives_," said Craig automatically. "--as receives," said the nozzle automatically. "There will exist some few ungrammatics but it will mostly make sensible." "Man, this simplifies everything!" Lloyd exclaimed. "Ulkay, do you mind if we ask you some questions?" Ulkay, via the nozzle, replied with dignity, "You and your Craig have questioned with relentless of us. Can we be allowed the similar luck?" "I beg your pardon," Lloyd said sincerely. "Go ahead and ask." "These transparents you wear upon your faces, why?" asked the nozzle, in a mechanical monotone. "The air." Lloyd gestured with a sweep of his arm. "It is too thin to support our kind of life without these masks." "Strange," said the nozzle. "And where are your women?" "We did not bring them with us," said Lloyd. "We made this trip strictly to find you." Ulkay stared at Lloyd a long moment. Then the nozzle asked, "What trip?" "To your city," said Lloyd. "To your planet." * * * * * Ulkay frowned, then fiddled a moment with a dial on the side of the machine. The nozzle spoke slowly this time. "Repeat your response. It was not a sensible." "We came here. To Mars. To find you." Lloyd said it carefully and distinctly, feeling very uneasy. "But this is Earth," said the nozzle loudly. "To _you_ it is Earth," said Lloyd, with a tolerant smile. "I think we're having a semantic problem, Ulkay. Each planet's self-name would translate as 'Earth.' This machine cannot make the proper distinction." "No, no, no!" came the nozzle's voice. "You say your planet is called 'Earth'. Why do you now call it 'Mars'?" "We don't," said Lloyd, bewildered. "We call _this_ planet Mars. _Our_ planet is called Earth--" "Sir!" Kroner grasped his arm tightly. "Wait a minute! I think I get it!... Ulkay! Is this _your_ planet?" "No," said the nozzle. "Is it not _yours_?" "Numbers!" said Craig. "Ask him by the _number_ of the planet from the sun." "We are from Earth, the third planet from the sun," said Lloyd, holding up three fingers for emphasis. "Where are you from?" "We are from Earth," said the nozzle, "the second planet from the sun." Ulkay held up two digits. "Venusians?" Tandy squawked, while Harrison doubled up in a fit of laughter as the idea sank in. In another moment, both groups--Ulkay's and Lloyd's--had joined him in a tension-breaking paroxysm of mirth. "Where are _you_ parked?" asked Kroner, the first to recover some semblance of control. Ulkay, still chuckling, pointed in the opposite direction to that in which the _Sherlock II_ was standing. "Outside the west gate of the city," said the nozzle. "Where are you?" "Outside the east gate. We thought you were Martians--people of this, the fourth planet."