"Well, it's like this," Ren explained. "If you're looking for page twenty-six it won't be one of the first two pages you look at, regardless of where you open the book. But after you've looked at three of them you've passed the page you want unless you're not looking for it. If you're not looking for it you REACH the right page." "But why page twenty-nine to find twenty-six?" Martha persisted. "It has to do with the new arithmetic," Ren said. "Oh," Martha said dully. "So that's the whole trouble with everything." "No, that's only part of it," Ren said. "But here's a good place to eat." He guided her through the door. An hour later Ren lit a cigarette and took a long drag on it, his eyes looking longingly into Martha's. He exhaled the smoke in a long white plume. Then he began talking. "I don't know whether you read it on the report sheet or not, but the trip of the _Endore_ began from this same spaceport two years ago. The observatory on Pluto had reported a free planet passing within two hundred quadrillion miles of the solar system. The _Endore_ was assigned the task of landing on it, if feasible. "I had been a member of the crew for only four months when the _Endore_ turned outward from its position just the other side of Mars' orbit." Ren smiled apologetically. "I hadn't exactly planned on being a spaceman, second class. I don't know whether you know the system, but whether you do or not, it should suffice to say that I had studied for five years to become a research scientist, and failed. I decided to take out my disappointment by joining up for two years. I planned on making another try at research when I got out. "Everything went along fine on the trip out. We were a very congenial crew with a fine, human commander. He made it a point to get personally acquainted with every member of the crew eventually. He seemed to take a particular liking to me for some reason. By the time we were half-way out to Metapor, as we found out it was called later, I was an unofficial first mate or something with free run of the pilot room and the instruments. "I had guessed by now that when I enlisted they looked up my record and passed the word along to Commander Dunnam to sell me on the idea of a career as a spaceman. "At any rate, I was in an ideal position to see all that went on first hand. We were within three hundred thousand miles of Metapor when we got the first indication of the change in metaphysics. I discovered it myself. I was helping the astrogator get the constants for the planet ..." * * * * * "Take a look at the gravy board, Ren," Ford Gratrick, the astrogator said. "What's she say?" Ren looked at the fine black pointer on the gravity potentiometer. It pointed to a spot just two marks above the number ten on the dial. "Ten and two tenths," Ren read. "That can't be right," Ford frowned. "At this distance that would make this baby a super."