"They're not monsters, if that's what you're thinking of," Paula said. "They're bipeds--lizardoid rather than humanoid--and are a fairly intelligent and law-abiding lot." "If they're all that, and higher in development than the humans, why shouldn't they rule their own world?" demanded Kieran. Webber uttered a sardonic laugh. Without turning he asked, "Shall I change course and go to Altair?" "No!" she said. Her eyes flashed at Kieran and she spoke almost breathlessly. "You're very sure about things you just heard about, aren't you? You know what's right and you know what's wrong, even though you've only been in this time, this universe, for a few hours!" Kieran looked at her closely. He thought he was beginning to get a glimmer of the shape of things now. "You--all you who woke me up illegally--you belong to this Humanity Party, don't you? You did it for some reason connected with that?" "Yes," she answered defiantly. "We need a symbol in this political struggle. We thought that one of the oldtime space pioneers, one of the humans who began the conquest of the stars, would be it. We--" Kieran interrupted. "I think I get it. It was really considerate of you. You drag a man back from what amounts to death, for a party rally. 'Oldtime space hero condemns non-humans'--it would go something like that, wouldn't it?" "Listen--," she began. "Listen, hell," he said. He was hot with rage, shaking with it. "I am glad to say that you could not possibly have picked a worse symbol than me. I have no more use for the idea of the innate sacred superiority of one species over another than I had for that of one kind of man over another." Her face changed. From an angry woman, she suddenly became a professional psychologist, coolly observing reactions. "It's not the political question you really resent," she said. "You've wakened to a strange world and you're afraid of it, in spite of all the pre-awakening preparation we gave your subconscious. You're afraid, and so you're angry." Kieran got a grip on himself. He shrugged. "What you say may be true. But it doesn't change the way I feel. I will not help you one damned bit." Webber got up from his seat and came back toward them, his tall form stooping. He looked at Kieran and then at the woman. "We have to settle this right now," he said. "We're getting near enough to Sako to go out of drive. Are we going to land or aren't we?" "Yes," said Paula steadily. "We're landing." Webber glanced again at Kieran's face. "But if that's the way he feels--" "Go ahead and land," she said. 5.