hen, George," Stanton said. He didn't feel in the mood for
light humor, and the appearance of Dr. Yoritomo did nothing to improve his
humor.

George Yoritomo beamed, crinkling up his heavy-lidded eyes. "Ah! A talking
clam! Excellent! How much longer does he have to cook?"

"Twenty-three minutes, why?"

"Would you be so good as to return at the end of that time?"

The therapist opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and said:
"Sure, Doc. I can get some other stuff done. I'll see you then. I'll be
back, Bart." He went out through the far door.

* * * * *

After the door closed, Dr. Yoritomo pulled up a chair and sat down. "New
developments," he said, "as you may have surmised."

"I guessed," Stanton said. "What is it?" He flexed his muscles under the
caress of the hot, moist currents in the box.

He wondered why it was so important that the psychologist interrupt him
while he was relaxing after strenuous exercise. Yoritomo looked excited,
in spite of his calm. And yet Stanton knew that there couldn't be anything
urgent or Yoritomo would have acted differently.

It was relatively unimportant now, anyway, Stanton thought. Having made
his decision to act on his own had changed his reaction to the decisions
of others.

Yoritomo leaned forward in his chair, his thin lips in an excited smile,
his black-irised eyes sparkling. "I had to come tell you. The sheer, utter
beauty of it is too much to contain. Three times in a row was almost
absolute, Bart; the probability that our hypothesis is correct was
computed as straight nines to seven decimals. But now! The fourth time!
Straight nines to _twelve_ decimals!"

Scanton lifted an eyebrow. "Your Oriental calm is deserting you, George.
I'm not reading you."

Yoritomo's smile became broader. "Ah! Sorry. I refer to the theory we have
been discussing--about the memory of the Nipe. You know?"

Stanton knew. Dr. Yoritomo was, in effect, one of his training
instructors. _Advanced Alien Psychology,_ Stanton thought; _Seminar
Course. The Mental Whys & Wherefores of the Nipe, or How to Outthink the
Enemy in Twelve Easy Lessons. Instructor: Dr. George Yoritomo._

After six years of watching the recorded actions of the Nipe, Yoritomo had
evolved a theory about the kind of mentality that lay behind the four
baleful violet eyes in that alien head. Now he evidently had proof of that
theory. He was smiling and rubbing his long, bony hands togeth