nd hysteria. There were times when one
or two of us would withdraw almost to the point of death. Then Captain
McClelland would knock us out with the shock gun.

"Slowly, over the years, our minds gradually merged into one mind. We
thought and created and lived as if we were one person. There grew to
be complete and perfect cooperation. And from this cooperation came
some great works. Each one of us will tell you. I'll speak first."

She paused. "Psychology has always been my prime interest. My rating
at school was genius. My aptitudes were precisely in line with the
field of work I chose. Through the years, I've developed a theory,
discovered a way to bring about cooperation between all men. This is
possible in spite of your wars and hatreds and destruction." Frown
creases wrinkled her parchment forehead. "I'd like to know if it would
work."

Daniel Carlyle's voice was slightly above a whisper. "All my life, I'd
wanted to write poetry. The meteor struck. I realized I wouldn't be
allowed to die quickly. I began to do what I'd always wanted to do.
The words poured into the thought recorder. Everything I felt and
thought is there and all I've been able to know and be from this one
mind of ours that's in us all. And it's some of the finest poetry
that's ever been written." He closed his eyes and sighed heavily.
"It'd be good to know if anyone found them inspiring."

"I've always lived for adventure," said Crowley, the rocketman, his
old voice steady and quiet. "I've been the one to quiet down last into
the life it was necessary for us to live out there. But my thoughts
ran on into distant universes and across endless stretches of space.
And so at last, to keep my sanity, I wrote stories of all the
adventures I should have had, and more. And in them is all the native
power of me, of all adventurers, and the eternal sweep of the Universe
where Man will always thrust out to new places." There was a faint
trembling in his body and a pained light in his eyes. "Seems I ought
to know if they'll ever be read."

* * * * *

In spite of Brady's frailness, the lieutenant was like a grizzled old
animal growling with his last breath. "I was the most capable pilot
that ever blasted off from Earth. But I was also an inventor and
designer. A lot of the ships Earth pilots are flying today are
basically my ideas. After the accident, I wanted to get drunk and make
love and then let myself out into space, w