He said after a moment, "This place has been buried for a long time. And--no one has spoken the tongue of Klanvahr for many centuries. If that was your Sanfel's language--" But he could not go on with that thought. If Sanfel had spoken Klanvahr then he must have died long ago. And the speaker beyond the screen--she who had known Sanfel, yet spoke in a young, sweet, light voice that Dantan was beginning to think sounded familiar.... He wondered if he could be mad too. There was silence from the screen. After many seconds the voice spoke again, sadly and with an undernote of terror. "I had not realized," it said, "that even time might be so different between Sanfel's world and mine. The space-time continua--yes, a day in my world might well be an age in yours. Time is elastic. In Zha I had thought a few dozen--" she used a term Dantan did not understand, "--had passed. But on Mars--centuries?" "Tens of centuries," agreed Dantan, staring hard at the screen. "If Sanfel lived in old Klanvahr his people are scarcely a memory now. And Mars is dying. You--you're speaking from another world?" "From another universe, yes. A very different universe from yours. It was only through Sanfel that I had made contact, until now--What is your name?" "Dantan. Samuel Dantan." "Not a Martian name. You are from--Earth, you say? What is that?" "Another planet. Nearer the sun than Mars." "We have no planets and no suns in Zha. This is a different universe indeed. So different I find it hard to imagine what your world must be like." The voice died. * * * * * And it was a voice he knew. Dantan was nearly sure of that now, and the certainty frightened him. When a man in the Martian desert begins to see or hear impossibilities, he has reason to be frightened. As the silence prolonged itself he began almost to hope that the voice--the implausibly familiar voice--had been only imagination. Hesitantly he said, "Are you still there?" and was a little relieved, after all, to hear her say, "Yes, I am here. I was thinking.... I need help. I need it desperately. I wonder--has Sanfel's laboratory changed? Does the machine still stand? But it must, or I could not speak to you now. If the other things work, there may be chance.... Listen." Her voice grew urgent. "I may have a use for you. Do you see a lever, scarlet, marked with the Klanvahr symbol for 'sight'?" "I see it," Dantan said. "Push it forward. There is no harm in that, if you are careful. We can see each other--that is all. But do not touch the lever with the 'door' symbol on it. Be certain of that.... Wait!" Sudden urgency was in the voice. "Yes?" Dantan had not moved.