"You Earthlings, in defiance of all expectation and all reason, have exploded into space. You have developed in an incredibly short space of time. But even that isn't the most disconcerting item of your development. As an Earthling, you have heard of the details of the first expedition of your people into space, of course?" [Illustration] "_Heard_ about it?" exclaimed Crownwall. "I was _on_ it." He settled down comfortably on a couch, without requesting permission, and thought back to that first tremendous adventure; an adventure that had taken place little more than ten years before. The _Star Seeker_ had been built in space, about forty thousand kilometers above the Earth. It had been manned by a dozen adventurous people, captained by Crownwall, and had headed out on its ion drive until it was safely clear of the warping influence of planetary masses. Then, after several impatient days of careful study and calculation, the distorter drive had been activated, for the first time in Earth's history, and, for the twelve, the stars had winked out. The men of Earth had decided that it should work in theory. They had built the drive--a small machine, as drives go--but they had never dared to try it, close to a planet. To do so, said their theory, would usually--seven point three four times out of 10--destroy the ship, and everything in space for thousands of miles around, in a ravening burst of raw energy. So the drive had been used for the first time without ever having been tested. And it had worked. In less than a week's time, if time has any meaning under such circumstances, they had flickered back into normal space, in the vicinity of Alpha Centauri. They had quickly located a dozen planets, and one that looked enough like Earth to be its twin sister. They had headed for that planet confidently and unsuspectingly, using the ion drive. Two weeks later, while they were still several planetary diameters from their destination, they had been shocked to find more than two score alien ships of space closing in on them--ships that were swifter and more maneuverable than their own. These ships had rapidly and competently englobed the _Star Seeker_, and had then tried to herd it away from the planet it had been heading toward. * * * * * Although caught by surprise, the Earthmen had acted swiftly. Crownwall recalled the discussion--the council of war, they had called it--and their unanimous decision. Although far within the dangerous influence of a planetary mass, they had again activated the distorter drive, and they had beaten the odds. On the distorter drive, they had returned to Earth as swiftly as they had departed. Earth had immediately prepared for war against her unknown enemy. "Your reaction was savage," said Ggaran, his tentacles stiffening with shock at the memory. "You bloody-minded Earthlings must have been aware of the terrible danger."