. And the trees
greening out in Spring. Maybe he'd be seeing Betty Moore in Hurley,
soon.... Ned relaxed, as a tiny hypo-needle bit into his arm....

As soon as Ned Vince passed into unconsciousness, Loy Chuk went to work
once more, using that pair of brain-helmets again, exploring carefully
the man's mind. After hours of research, he proceeded to prepare his
plans. The government of Kar-Rah was a scientific oligarchy, of which
Loy was a prime member. It would be easy to get the help he needed.

A horde of small, grey-furred beings and their machines, toiled for many
days.

* * * * *

Ned Vince's mind swam gradually out of the blur that had enveloped it.
He was wandering aimlessly about in a familiar room. The girders of the
roof above were of red-painted steel. His tool-benches were there,
greasy and littered with metal filings, just as they had always been. He
had a tractor to repair, and a seed-drill. Outside of the machine-shop,
the old, familiar yellow sun was shining. Across the street was the
small brown house, where he lived.

With a sudden startlement, he saw Betty Moore in the doorway. She wore a
blue dress, and a mischievous smile curved her lips. As though she had
succeeded in creeping up on him, for a surprise.

"Why, Ned," she chuckled. "You look as though you've been dreaming, and
just woke up!"

He grimaced ruefully as she approached. With a kind of fierce gratitude,
he took her in his arms. Yes, she was just like always.

"I guess I _was_ dreaming, Betty," he whispered, feeling that mighty
sense of relief. "I must have fallen asleep at the bench, here, and had
a nightmare. I thought I had an accident at Pit Bend--and that a lot of
worse things happened.... But it wasn't true ..."

Ned Vince's mind, over which there was still an elusive fog that he did
not try to shake off, accepted apparent facts simply.

He did not know anything about the invisible radiations beating down
upon him, soothing and dimming his brain, so that it would never
question or doubt, or observe too closely the incongruous circumstances
that must often appear. The lack of traffic in the street without, for
instance--and the lack of people besides himself and Betty.

He didn't know that this machine-shop was built from his own memories of
the original. He didn't know that this Betty was of the same origin--a
miraculous fabrication of metal and energy-units and soft plastic. The
trees outsid