The mayor was still laughing. He walked to the door and opened it. "All right, boys, have your little joke. You've earned the right to it. I'll make arrangements for you to leave for Dome City in the morning." He shook his head and chuckled again. "Earthmen. Tch-tch." And then he was gone. They sat alone in the hotel room. It looked like any Earth hotel they'd ever been in. A big soft bed. A wall telephone. Two dressers. Two armchairs. A big mirror over one of the dressers. A television set on the other dresser. "This is screwy," Dave said. "Is it possible we're back on Earth? Is it possible the joke is on us? Maybe everyone is just ribbing us. Maybe we've been going around in circles for four years. Maybe...." "No," Cal said. "We're on Mars all right. I don't know exactly how to explain it, but I've got an idea." "What's that?" Dave asked. Cal shrugged. "Probably all wrong, of course. But it has something to do with comparable development of cultures on different planets." "You mean Mars is in exactly the same state of development as Earth?" "Something like that. You know the theory. Give two different places the same materials to start with, and their cultures will run parallel to each other for the rest of their existence." "Sure," Dave said. "But these guys Galus and Dale. How the hell could we possibly be mistaken for them?" "I don't know." Cal leaned back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Maybe we'll find out in Dome City." "Maybe," Dave repeated hollowly. * * * * * The president of the planet greeted their ship in Dome City. There were more parades, banners, bands, banquets, reporters, cameras, confetti, women, speeches, presentations. And at last, they stood before the President's desk, two bodyguards standing on either side of him. He was a thin man, slightly balding, with rimless glasses. "Gentlemen," he said, "I don't have to tell you how pleased I am." Cal took a deep breath. "We've been trying to tell Mayor Panley," he said, "that we are not Galus and Dale." The President smiled. "I know. He told me of your little joke." "It's not a joke." The President cocked an eyebrow. "No?" He looked at his bodyguards. "Has space affec ... did you feel any ill effects in space?" he asked. Cal grimaced. "Oh great! Now he thinks we're psycho. Look, can't you get this through your heads? _We are from Earth._ We never heard of Galus and Dale. My name is Calvin Manners, and this is David Langley." "Very interesting," the President said. He tapped his finger on the back of his other hand and stared at the two Earthmen. He reached over toward the intercom on his desk then and pressed a button. "Yes?" a woman's voice asked. "Miss Daniels, will you bring in the photos of Capt. Galus and Lt. Dale, please?" "Yes, sir." The President turned to the two men again. "Those are your ranks, are they not?" "Yes, but we're in the United States Army." "The _what_?"