Captain Hawes was aware of a number of small greenish clouds sweeping down on all sides. Then, for the first time he saw that the stratosphere was far different than any human description had made it. * * * * * Around him arose a weird city. There were broad streets and buildings, vaporous, tenuous structures, but real as a single sense perceived it. The thought occurred to Hawes that this is what an American city would look like if it were stripped of noise, all tangible objects, all smells and things that could be perceived by the five senses. He knew that there was much more to a city than is ever seen by any man. The cloud that bore the two human beings was floating through the streets toward a massive, rainbow building that rose like a palace in the center of the metropolis. A wail, like an ambulance siren, rose from the cloud. It was purely a mental wail, but the other clouds scurried out of the way to let the vapor bearing the men pass. The building into which the men were taken rose like an eerie dream on the nothingness of its foundations. "Great Scott!" whispered Duerkes. "What sort of a nightmare is this!" "It's an unclassified part of your orderly universe," replied Captain Hawes. He suddenly discovered that he was not really speaking, nor was Duerkes talking through his mouth. The two men were communicating ideas by a sort of telepathy that went beyond their understanding. A low murmur of excited ideas swept into the captain's perception as they entered the chamber. More poignant than all, a single, commanding thought arose from a pretty little turquoise cloud in the center of the room. The thought swept all others into silence and beat its way into the consciousness of the two human beings. "You are welcome here, beings of the lower regions!" "Thanks!" said Captain Hawes. Dr. Duerkes was too busy thinking to reply. The doctor apparently had forgotten that his thoughts no longer were secret and that what he was thinking was perceptible to every person present. "Am I alive? I do not breathe, yet I feel that I am absorbing ozone through my skin. I cannot be dead, for I possess consciousness. If I am neither, what am I doing here?" "Your friend is disturbed, Captain Hawes," said the turquoise cloud. "He has never been formally introduced to a green cloud before," the captain apologized. "Come to life, Doc! Meet the headman here!" Mental laughter swept the room. Even the turquoise cloud joined. Dr. Duerkes started. "Oh! Excuse me! I am happy to meet you, sir!" "I must apologize for our appearance," said the turquoise cloud. "We appear as clouds, because we are a race of philosophers and we have too much work to do to waste our energies on the creation of beautiful figures. We might appear in any form we choose, but cloud-like forms are simple and easy to manage in the stratosphere. I must correct your impression, Mr. Hawes and Mr. Duerkes, that I am a man. I am not...."