"They were real," Taggert said. "Here's what happened as closely as we can tell: "Dr. Ch'ien was kidnaped on July 10th, the second day of the conference in Peiping, at some time between two and three in the morning. He was replaced by a double, whose name we don't know. It's unimportant, anyway. The double was as perfect as the Chinese surgeons could make him. He was probably not aware that he was slated to die; it is more likely that he was hypnotized and misled. At any rate, he took Ch'ien's place on the rostrum to speak that afternoon. "The man who shot him, and the man who threw the flame bomb, were probably as equally deluded as to what they were doing as the double was. They did a perfect job, though. The impersonator was dead, and his skin was charred and blistered clear up to the chest--no fingerprints. "The men were tried, convicted, and executed. The Chinese government sent us abject apologies. The double's body was shipped back to the United States with full honors, but by the time it reached here, the eye-cone patterns had deteriorated to the point where they couldn't be identified any more than the fingerprints could. And there were half a hundred reputable scientists of a dozen friendly nations who were eye-witnesses to the killing and who are all absolutely certain that it was James Ch'ien who died." Candron nodded. "So, while the whole world was mourning the fact that one of Earth's greatest physicists has died, he was being held captive in the most secret and secure prison that the Red Chinese government could put him in." Taggert nodded. "And your job will be to get him out," he said softly. Candron said nothing for a moment, as he thought the problem out. Taggert said nothing to interrupt him. Neither of them worried about being overheard or spied upon. Besides being equipped with hush devices and blanketing equipment, the building was guarded by Reeves and Donahue, whose combined senses of perception could pick up any activity for miles around which might be inimical to the Society. "How much backing do we get from the Federal Government?" Candron asked at last. "We can swing the cover-up afterwards all the way," Taggert told him firmly. "We can arrange transportation back. That is, the Federal Government can. But getting over there and getting Ch'ien out of durance vile is strictly up to the Society. Senator Kerotski and Secretary Gonzales are giving us every opportunity they can, but there's no use approaching the President until after we've proven our case." Candron gestured his understanding. The President of the United States was a shrewd, able, just, and ethical human being--but he was not yet a member of the Society, and perhaps would never be. As a consequence it was still impossible to convince him that the S.M.M.R. knew what it was talking about--and that applied to nearly ninety per cent of the Federal and State officials of the nation.