Just before the Council stopped it."

"Uh huh. Did you have a reaction?"

Tensor considered. He recalled every detail of the fleeting impressions
that had been his during the few brief moments of his presence near the
peculiar organisms. The impressions were confused and mingled with
sensations of teleport fatigue, but there was a definite and strange
sentiment involved somewhere.

"Yer, sir," he said woodenly. "There seems to have been a reaction."

"Ha!" The physician glanced significantly at Ruut. "What kind of a
reaction, Tensor? And how strong was it?"

"I do not recognize it, sir. But it was stronger than the ordinary
ones."

Curl floated over close to him, peering intently up into the unconscious
man's eyes. "Tell me the characteristics."

Tensor thought a moment and replied, "Chaotic in one sense. Specific in
another."

"Speculative?" Curl's eyes were eager with interest.

"Yes sir. I believe that would define it best. It was a sort of wild and
ungovernable desire to speculate on the origin of the aliens. A very
singular experience," he added.

"I knew it!" Curl almost shouted. Then he quickly glanced about and
composed himself stiffly. That was an embarrassing thing to do. In front
of an administrator, too.

"Very well," he said. "That confirms my diagnosis. I shall report it to
the Council and let them decide what to do."

"What is it?" Ruut asked.

"A very strange disease. Rare, too. I haven't had a case of it for
centuries." He paused and shook his head. "Too bad. I don't recall a
single recovery from it once it got a good start."

"It is--contagious?" Ruut asked timidly.

"Oh, not for you," Curl smiled. "It's called intellectual curiosity, and
it requires somewhat more brain power than you have."

"Thank Oxy for that," Ruut breathed fervently. His eyes went back to the
recumbent form of the diseased citizen.

"Yes. The Council will dearly love this." Curl said with satisfaction.
"Most unusual. He'll have to be destroyed, of course."

"But can't you do anything for it?"

"Not likely. You see, it's the only appetite of which we are capable
that can't be controlled by shifting endocrine balance. Ordinarily, our
civilized manner of living prevents it from being aroused--that's the
advantage of being civilized. Because, once the appetite shows up, it
simply must be satisfied, or it's apt to do all sorts of poisonous
things to you, as you can see. The trouble is, satisfying curiosity
gene