“Well, I thought that it had to be some sort of radiation that would open it. There were no obvious signs of physical fasteners like screws. So I figured it had to be magnetism, or light, or maybe heat. I thought body heat would be the easiest to try, so I laid my hand on it, concentrated, and made it warm, and it opened!” “Good work, Mark, but let’s not waste time! We’re in a hurry now,” urged Zip. “What do you see in there Joe?” By now George and several of his men had come over and were watching over the shoulders of the Starmen. “Yeah, really simple circuit. I can disconnect it in a minute even without tools and we can be out the door.” Joe reached in. “Wait!” Zip grabbed Joe’s wrist. “Is there any evidence that the circuit is tied into a larger system, like a master computer, that would tip anyone off that the door has been opened?” Joe peered into the aperture and carefully traced the wiring. “Sorry, Zip. Sorry, everybody,” he said, chagrined. “You’re right. There is. But I can fix that too.” He reached in and twisted two wires together. “Okay, that should bypass the door circuit and tell the master computer that the door is still closed. I can open the door now. Are you ready?” Zip stood up. “There are fourteen of us. We don’t know where to go once we’re free, so I’d like George to lead us. He’s been through the asteroid. Take us somewhere, George, where we won’t be found easily.” George shook his head in a big arc. “Now Zip, I haven’t been on this chunk for over fifteen years. I’m not real sure where to go!” “George, no one else has been on the asteroid at all. There’s no one but you.” The asteroid miner looked down, dejected. “I don’t like any of this. But you’re right. Okay. We’ll go out the door and back to the elevators. We’ll take the one on the left. I’ll take us to a floor one level down, then through a huge storeroom. On the other side are other corridors. I’ve been through there, and there are places to hide and more elevators to get us other places on the asteroid. After that I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll remember when we get there.” “Everyone got that?” said Zip. “Stay together and move quickly.” No one had anything else to say. Zip turned to Joe. “Let’s go,” decreed Zip. Joe removed one end of a black wire and touched it to another terminal. The door slid open. Outside was a scene that none of the Starmen had expected. Two pirates, dressed in their gray and black uniforms, were seated opposite one another at a small table on the far side of the corridor. The one on the right was a well-muscled, large man with dark hair, weighing well over 200 pounds; the other was blond, of medium build. He was leaning on his elbow, pondering his next move in a board game. When the door slid open, they both looked up, utter surprise written over their faces.