s problem,"
McGinnis said, and turned his back as if that settled the matter.

Hayes cleared his throat nervously.

"I'm sorry," he said. "If it were up to me ... Well, the argument before
the court ran this way: That where there is no restriction upon the E in
arriving at a solution, there is also no compulsion upon civil
authority to adopt that solution. They cited instances ... Well, any
number of instances. It seems ..."

Cal heard no more. He had been pacing the room, and now, while Hayes's
perspiring attention was focused imploringly on Wong and McGinnis, he
slipped out the door.

The orderly at that door raised a finger in salute, and at Cal's request
quickly wheeled a hall-car from a storage closet.

"Take me out to the Eden ship," Cal said quietly. "You know where it
is?"

"Yes," the orderly answered. He took his place at the controls and Cal
slipped into the seat beside him.

They sped through the halls at maximum speed, out the rear exit of the E
building, down the maze of ramps and out across the landing field to the
entrance of the ship.

Cal expected to see guards posted there to enforce the injunction, but
none were in evidence. As they drew up to the open door, he saw Lynwood
and Norton, pilot and engineer, standing just inside waiting for him.
There was no strain in their faces to show they had received orders not
to take off with him.

He climbed out of the car, and with another nod the orderly drove it
back to the E building. Henceforward the ship's crew would be the E's
orderlies.

Cal climbed the short ramp and entered the ship.

"You have clearance to take off at once?" he asked Lynwood.

Lynwood nodded. "Since early morning," he answered.

"Fine. Let's get going," Cal said. "I'm in a hurry, of course," he added
with a grin.

"Of course," the two men answered, then seeing his grin, relaxed and
returned it. Apparently this E was human.

It took only a minute for them to reach the control room, where Louie
sat in his navigator's cubby; and only ten more seconds for the ship to
lift clear. And still no command came over the radio to halt them.

Someone in civil authority had slipped. Had Gunderson really felt that a
simple injunction would stop everything, that the E's would not
challenge this encroachment? Was he playing some deeper game, allowing
the Junior to slip through his fingers in the hope he would louse up the
Eden rescue, add strength to the campaign to bring the E's ba