"Like a new-born baby," Lola suggested. "Life again," James said. "I can't see it--too many bones in it. Pure luck, even at those odds, makes a lot more sense." "And to make matters worse," Garlock went on as though neither of them had spoken. "Just suppose that a man had four minds instead of one and they weren't working together. Then where would he go?" This time, James simply whistled; the girls stared, speechless. "I think we've proved that my school of mathematics was right--the thing was built to operate purely at random. Fotheringham was wrong. However, I missed the point that if control is possible, the controller must be a mind. Such a possibility never occurred to me or anyone working with me. Or to Fotheringham or to anybody else." "I can't say I'm sold, but it's easy to test and the results can't be any worse. Let's go." "How would you test it?" "Same way you would. Only way. First, each one of us alone. Then pairs and threes. Then all four together. Fifteen tests in all. No. Three destinations for each set-up; near, medium, and far. Except Tellus, of course; we'd better save that shot until we learn all we can find out. Everybody not in the set should screen up as solidly as they can set their blocks--eyes shut, even, and concentrating on something else. Check?" James did not express the thought that Tellus must by now be so far away that no possible effort could reach it; but he could not repress the implication. "Check. I'll concentrate on a series of transfinite numbers. Belle, you work on the possible number of shades of the color green. Lola, on how many different perfumes you can identify by smell. Jim, hit the button." CHAPTER 6 Since the tests took much time, and were strictly routine in nature, there is no need to go into them in detail. At their conclusion, Garlock said: "First: either Jim alone, or Lola alone, or Jim and Lola together, can hit any destination within any galaxy, but can't go from one galaxy to another. "Second: either Belle or I, or any combination containing either of us without the other, has no control at all. "Third: Belle and I together, or any combination containing both of us, can go intergalactic under control. "In spite of confession being supposed to be good for the soul, I don't like to admit that we've put gravel in the gear-box--do you, Belle?" Garlock's smile was both rueful and forced. "You can play _that_ in spades." Belle licked her lips; for the first time since boarding the starship she was acutely embarrassed. "We'll have to, of course. It was all my fault--it makes me look like a damned stupid juvenile delinquent." "Not by nineteen thousand kilocycles, since neither of us had any idea. I'll be glad to settle for half the blame." * * * "Will you please stop talking Sanskrit?" James asked. "Or lep it, so we two innocent bystanders can understand it?"