"We will be able to control the gnomes locally," MacFarland said, seeming almost to guess his thoughts. "As we expand, they will have to give." "Maybe," Gallifa said. "But just because they are rodents. Don't underestimate their possibilities. "The creatures of this planet have never been pressed. Nothing has been able to push them up the evolutionary ladder. We'll be the toughest environment they've ever faced, for we know the power of their defensive mechanism. How well will we be able to compete if they learn to use it as an offensive weapon?" "We can't," MacFarland said. "We know it's selective," Gallifa corrected. "They didn't bother either Samuels or myself when we first contacted them. We also know all of the stricken men weren't actively molesting gnomes. Therefore, some were hit due to the actions of others. The only question is--how selective is their power?" "Then how _can_ we handle them?" MacFarland questioned soberly. Gallifa shrugged. "I don't know," he said simply. "We're committed here, and we'll stay. This isn't the first time the human race has been challenged--it won't be the last." Gallifa turned and walked toward the Administration Building. Humans had solved a hundred problems on a hundred planets. Problems existed to be solved. This one, too, would be solved. But no matter how hard or how easy, it would be an experiment. As all humanity was an experiment. [Footnote: _Melvin Sturgis is a mechanical engineer employed by_ ROCKETDYNE, _Propulsion field laboratory--a division of North American Aviation, Inc. Like many another brilliant young technician with an extra-curricular, electronic string to his bow he has also been a free-lance magazine writer for the past five years. We think you'll agree he has scored heavily here, on the planet of a far-off star!_] End of Project Gutenberg's The Unprotected Species, by Melvin Sturgis