"Take them away!" the Moderator said imperiously. The wraiths had grown solid. They began to close in. Saxon's spine stiffened. He said, "Wait a moment!" in a breathless voice. "Have you overlooked the five sets of plans for Villainowski's stellar drive? The ones that were stolen from Government's Research Building?" The Moderator's face went gray. For the second time Saxon intercepted a thought flowing between the seven old men. A fear thought! Pure funk! Saxon's heart leaped like an arrow as the realization burst on him that the seven old men were terrified of the humanoids. They were so badly frightened that for a moment their guard had relaxed and the fear thought had escaped past their mental barriers. If only there was a way to exploit their fear. He felt hope surging back through his veins. "Already," he shouted, "General Atomic must be manufacturing the ships. And you can't stop it. The secret of stellar travel is loose among the humanoids!" "We know of the loss of the plans. General Atomic _is_ laying the keels of thousands of the new-type ships. But that doesn't affect your fate in the least." "Doesn't it?" said Saxon harshly. "I'm the only Varkan who can compete with the humanoids. I'm the only one who's been conditioned to the speed of their reflexes." "You're a dangerous anti-social!" the Moderator snapped. "Your auto-reactions approach the humanoid level because you're still a child with a child's adaptiveness. When you mature you'll appreciate the difference. We wouldn't dare use you even if you could do anything. If worst comes to worst we can destroy our experiment!" Saxon laughed at him. "And how many generations of humanoids would have passed away before you could wipe out a culture that's spread to all the planets of its solar system? Why, they'll be swarming over Vark from pole to pole before you can prepare to repel them." The Moderator winced, tried to interrupt, but Saxon was inexorable. "You might have been able to destroy them while you had them isolated in their own Solar System. But they're free now. Free to expand through the Galaxy!" Saxon paused. The idea sprouting some time ago had begun to bear fruit. He pushed it resolutely out of his mind lest they intercept it. The Moderator asked with narrowed eyes, "You have an idea, haven't you?" Saxon could feel the Aliens probing at his thoughts like a scalpel laying bare his skull. "_Two times two is four. Three times two is six_," he thought hastily and realized the seven old men were on the verge of apoplexy. There was a tense moment of silence as their wills clashed. Then the Moderator asked, "What's your price?" "Freedom for myself and the crew. Hands-off policy for the humanoids." The silence deepened. Again Saxon became aware of those flickering baffling thoughts as the seven old men conferred behind their mental shields. At last, grudgingly, the Moderator spoke, "That depends on your success."