"And therein lie my feelings," he said harshly. "This is more than honor, more than life itself. I'd have little compunction against killing you if it meant that the truth were to be known." Rhinegallis shrugged. Her life was forfeit anyway after the run-in with her brother. "But you said something about wanting more information?" He nodded. "I'm no doctor," he said. "And my knowledge of the finer points of biochemistry is sadly lacking." "You--" "I intend to find some way of telling you aliens from humans," he said quickly. "There must be some way." She smiled tolerantly though there was a question in her eyes. "I intend to see that you have a most thorough medical examination," he told her. "There must be visible differences which can be told once they are known. Differences which"--and he nodded at her very human figure with its soft curves--"cannot be simulated by artificial means." She chuckled. "Even though many of the means of wearing a desirable figure have been invented and used by human beings for many years? Don't blame me for that, Carroll. My figure is mine own." "Then," he said in a hard tone, "let me see!" "Call me what you will but I have a normal modesty." He frowned scornfully. "Have you forgotten that we are of entirely different evolutions?" Rhinegallis smiled coyly. "You forget," she said, "that to all intents and purposes I am a human being. You nor anyone else will ever get me to say or prove that I am not. That includes acting like one too." "Let it pass," he said. "My judgment might be faulty. There are excellent doctors, however. If you claim that you intend to act as human as you can you'll have no objection to visiting a doctor." "Not when necessary," she replied calmly. "But remember, I told you that I would give you no information that would tend to harm." "And I've told you that when I have evidence that tends to show my correctness I shall not ask for help--I shall take it!" CHAPTER VIII _Matter Transmission_ Using his knowledge of the alien tongue and coupling it to many of the so-called "harmless" records he had been permitted to toy with, Carroll found his work much simpler. There was that business of the circlet of wire mounted on the cylindrical podium in which vibrated a crystal. He had a whole measure of that science, most of which, he admitted, was ridiculous, and meaningless to any Terran physicist unless he had the key to the art. A complete volume on electronic techniques would be meaningless to any man who knew nothing of electricity. Most texts are written with considerable elision--electronics texts, for instance, show many circuits but seldom are they entirely complete. They omit the driving force--the source of energizing electricity, the filament supply, and other items which are unnecessary to the trained man.