"Some of those
yarns of yours seem almost real."

Elwar Forell nodded. They should, he thought. Factual material, however
disguised, often shines through its fictional background. And he had an
inexhaustible source of material, drawn from many sources. He twisted
his face into a gratified smile.

"That's my objective," he said aloud. "I do all in my power to place the
reader inside the story."

Charo Andorra nodded. "It's the secret of good fiction, I know," he
admitted, "and every storyteller tries to do it. But I seem to see more
than that in your stuff. There's an almost believable pattern." He
hesitated. "You know, while I'm reading it, I can almost see beings of
superior powers walking the earth. And sometimes, I visualize us working
with them." He laughed shortly.

"Of course, I may be more credulous and imaginative than most. Probably
why I'm a critic. And I really should know better." He looked down at
the book in his hands.

"But that stuff of yours can be mighty convincing." He tilted his head.
"Somehow, I can't help but look at some of the old legends--and some of
the things that have happened in more recent years, too. Can't help but
wonder if we actually are babes of the cosmos, and if we haven't been
visited and watched by some form of extra-planetary life at one time or
another."

Forell looked closely at his friend. Andorra, he knew, was a clear
thinker in his own right. And he just might start a serious
analysis--and publish it. He grimaced. It wasn't time for that, he knew.
Many years must pass before it would be time.

He placed a hand on the back of Andorra's chair, remembering the words
of one of the teachers.

_"Remember, Elwar," he had been told, "your objective is clear, but your
methods must be most indirect--even unclear. Some things you must
obscure in a mass of obviously imaginative detail, while you bring
others to the fore. You must hint. You must suggest. You should never
fully explain or deny. And you must never be guilty of definite, direct
falsehood._

_"There may come a time when you will be directly questioned--when
discovery of your real background and purpose seems imminent, and you
will have to take positive action. For such an eventuality, I cannot
outline any steps, or even any definite plan of action, since I neither
fully understand many of the factors involved, nor have any way of
knowing the circumstances which may arise. You'll have to prepare
yourself for almos