"You might have something there," said Justin. "But you mention your strain being strong in some of us. Just how does that fit in with what you've told me of your mission?" Ortine actually appeared embarrassed. He said, his eyes not meeting Justin's, "Of course, you must by this time have surmised that I am polymorphous...." "Who's she?" Deborah asked. It stopped both men. Ortine looked puzzled--Justin was unable to suppress a chuckle. Seeing hurt overlaying the worry in her eyes, he said, "It merely means he is a lot of people at once, honey. I didn't mean to laugh." "Oh," she said, a trifle vaguely. Ortine said, "I don't suppose it could happen on another planet in your entire galaxy--it's rather embarrassing. Having quickly surveyed the entire course of your history until now I decided to go all the way back to the beginning." "You must have found yourself dealing with some rather rough customers," Justin suggested. "To a visitor like myself there is little choice between you and the Neanderthal," replied Ortine. "I'm not sure the analogy is a happy one," said Justin. "Perhaps not--but it should give you some idea, Justin." Ortine did not appear to relish criticism any more than a human. "As a matter of fact I didn't go back quite that far. The Sumerians were quite early enough for my purposes. "In various parts of the world I became a creature analogous to the woman your Judeo-Christian legend calls Lilith. Since only females actually spawn in your world it appeared logical to me that they were the more important. But something was missing. Merely playing goddess to these alien creatures told me little about them. So, in a dozen carefully screened and selected human settlements around your world, I stepped down from my pedestal and became--Eve." "Good Lord!" said Justin. "You mean that you, an alien...." "Yes." Ortine's expression was sour. "In at least a half-dozen bodies I conceived! Furthermore, once it had happened, there was no escaping or altering those particular bodies until the child was born." "I don't quite see how it could happen," said Justin. "Neither did I at first," said Ortine unhappily. "Mind you, I am in my own universe what could be very roughly compared to a roving social analyst in yours. And here I was, alone, in this situation. "It took me some time to find the answer. Ultimately, of course, I discovered the reason for my disaster. Despite the vast distortion differences that must occur in any creature or thing that makes a voyage from sub-space to your space, I discovered that I was--in polymorphic form, of course--a highly developed member of a highly developed species corresponding in my universe to yours.