"Max," she asked when I had finished. "Are you _sure_ you haven't been eating benzedrine tablets?" "No! And I'm not drunk!" "Where are you now?" "Some joint in Harlem." "How long have you been in there?" She sounded suspicious. "Alice!" I groaned. "If you could only see me! My suit's ripped in a dozen places. I'm all greasy where I slid down the cable and my hands are burned raw. I hurt." "Poor boy," she soothed. She was silent for a moment, then became her briskest self. "Listen, Max. We have to consider every possibility. This might be a self-hypnotic illusion brought on by overwork. Remember, you've seen these things on many covers and interiors, too. You've lived fictionally with the Kiriki for a year. Consider that--" "Nuts!" I yelled. "I'm going to the police!" "And spend the night in the drunk tank?" Alice queried severely. "Just who do you think will believe your story?" "I can take them to this loft." "Think, Max! What will they find? Nothing! Even if it is true, do you imagine this--this Kiriki is going to be caught like a fish in a barrel? He has been spotted. Obviously, he will leave the loft at once." She was so right, and I knew it. I groaned. "Who or what is this Thing?" Alice asked, but it was plain she only half-believed my story. "That's easy," I said bitterly. "I should have caught on months ago. It's Wallace Starr. Starr is a Kiriki." * * * * * Having better sense than to go home, I rented a cheap room on 125th Street. I didn't sleep much. I paced and ate cigarettes. Very early next morning I woke up a cleaner on Third Avenue and bought a cheap uncalled-for suit out of his window. It was the most uncalled-for suit I ever did see, but it fit pretty well and made me decent. A quick coffee and I went up to the office. I had given Alice strict orders not to come to work until I phoned her. I didn't want her mixed up in this. Starr hadn't liked her from the first. Maybe he figured she might catch on to him better than me. I picked up a manuscript from the slush pile, called _Challenge of the Slime People_. The phone made me jump. "Morning, Maxie. This is Ric Planter." "Ric," I found myself blurting. "The most terrifying thing has happened!" "Invasion of Kiriki, no doubt." Planter had that way. You wanted to wring his neck. Somehow, the way he said it, made me backtrack. I didn't want to get the horse laugh from him and all fandom. For the first time I asked myself, _could Alice be right?_ Could it have been an illusion? "Listen, Ric, how does this sound for a plot? Suppose an alien, but alien, culture from the stars decides it wants to take over our system. They don't want to just drop in on us. They dislike physical warfare because it isn't orderly. Also they don't want to kill any of their numbers, or their potential slaves. Also a sudden alien invasion might drive humans completely off their rocker.