"Patience, O Spawn of unfortunate begetting!" Mark taunted his friend with one of the latter's favorite insults. "Everything in good time." As their Spacer came into view in the distance, Mark increased his speed unconsciously as he thought of Lucero. VIII His eyes were expressionless, his ego inert, but with the incredible dexterity of genius and long practice, Doctor Verdugo transferred the brains of drugged scientists to the waiting rows of perfected robots. The bolt of living energy that had dropped the infamous Terran surgeon in the recesses of an Europan cavern, had neutralized his will, and his egocentric and sadistic personality no longer dominated his brain. Now his flying fingers manipulated atomic scalpels without hesitation, and one by one scientific brains were short of certain areas, without impairing them. Silently he coupled the organic demi-brains with the mechanical motor organs of the robots, by means of nerve tendrils that led out of the brains themselves, and were curled into coils about which he placed helixes of sensitized silver wire, that made them virtually transformers--nervous impulses into electrical and vice versa. The miracle that was Alcoran, the super-robot, was being multiplied five-hundred fold, as each scientific hostage provided a brain to activate the new super-robots of the Panadurs. Alcoran itself had been operated upon to remove certain allegiances and memories and now, under the direct control of the Panadur leader, assisted the doctor in the operations. The Panadur leader watched expressionless as the work went on ceaselessly, inexorably until every scientific brain was housed in a metal man. Finally, at a telepathic command from their leader, the Panadurs began to carry the cadavers of the scientists away--their energy potential must not be wasted--the need for energy would be great. And then, an uncanny, a hair-raising scene took place. As if felled by a blow, Doctor Verdugo collapsed prone upon the now empty operation table, and Alcoran detaching himself from among the newly activated robots, grasped instruments and began to operate. Stranger still, a Panadur silently lay down by the side of the scientist and relaxed as if in death.