So he sat on the edge of the hard bunk, his mind searching for some clue as to what had happened to him. He was still sitting like that when the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States walked into the cell some hours later. He had thought about all the data he had on every subject from anthropology to zoology. It had something to do with neurology and radiation physics, he was sure, but what? And then, quite suddenly, the pieces clicked together. When the Chief Executive walked into his cell, Phil beamed happily. "I'm pleased to meet you, Mr. President." The President frowned. "I must admit, Mr. Merriwether, that it is a pleasure to meet you, too. I admire such abilities as yours, although I also wish you had never been born. It seems you know more about our national defense than I do." "It's amazing," said the Secretary. "According to the FBI, this fiendishly clever man has been masquerading as an ordinary blockhead for more than thirty years. No one suspected his true genius. The only thing we can't figure out is _why_ he shot off his mouth over television." Phil said: "Mr. Secretary, I didn't think about it. I didn't realize it was so secret. I'm sorry. But I think I can show you how I got all this information." The President looked blank. "Show us? You mean you're willing to betray your espionage system?" "I don't have any spy system," Phil said. "Will you give me a pencil and a piece of paper?" The Secretary handed him a notebook and a ball-point pen, and Phil began to write. "According to File X-99761, in the War Department's Ultra Top Secret Section, a Dr. Heinrich Wolstadt is working on a secret communication device. I'm putting some formulas on this paper. Ask Dr. Wolstadt what effect this particular wave form would have on the human brain." The Secretary of Defense and the President looked at each other. "I guess we might as well," the President said. * * * * * It was several hours later that Dr. Wolstadt was rushed into Phil's cell. He was so excited that his German accent became much heavier than usual. "Is this the chentleman? _Ach!_ It's amazing! How did it happen? You were standing right in the path of the ray, _nein_?" "I think so, Dr. Wolstadt. Didn't you suspect what effect the beam might have had?" "Never!" said the physicist. "Not until I saw your mathematics. It's unbelievable to think this could happen!" "For Heaven's sake!" said the President. "What happened?" Wolstadt turned around to face the Chief Executive. "It's very simple. The derivation of the Q-beam that I have been working on got out of control for a second. It went through all my files, and all the files in the Pentagon, and Heaven only knows what else. It picked up all that information and put it in Mr. Merriwether's mind!" "Amazing!" said the President. "Fantastic!" said the Secretary of Defense. "Will it work with anybody?" the President asked.