r hypnotized.

_And it's very likely they subjected me to both at one time or another,_
he told himself.

But now his brain was beginning to function again, and the need to know
was strong in his mind.

* * * * *

Dr. Yoritomo was sitting in one of the big, soft chairs, puffing at his
pipe, but he leaped to his feet when Stanton came in.

"Ah! About the ritual-taboo culture of the Nipe! Yes. Sit down. Yes. So.
Do you find it impossible that a high technology could be present in such
a system?"

"No. I've been thinking about it."

"Ah, so." He sat down again. "Then _you_ will please tell _me_."

"Well, let's see. In the first place, let's take religion. In tribal
cultures, religion is--uh--animistic, I think the word is."

Yoritomo nodded silently.

"There are spirits everywhere," Scanton went on. "That sort of belief, it
seems to me, would grow up in any race that had imagination, and the Nipes
must have plenty of that, or they wouldn't have the technology they do
have."

"Very good. _Very_ good. But what evidence have you that this technology
was not given them by some other race?"

"I hadn't thought of that." Stanton stared into space for a moment, then
nodded his head. "Of course. It would take too long for another race to
teach it to them; it wouldn't be worth the trouble unless this
hypothetical other race killed off all the adult Nipes and started the
little ones off fresh. And if that had happened, their ritual-taboo system
would have disappeared, too."

"That argument is imperfect," Yoritomo said, "but it will do for the
moment. Go on with the religion."

"O.K.; religious beliefs are not subject to pragmatic tests. That is, the
spiritual beliefs aren't. Any belief that _could_ be disproven would
eventually die out. But beliefs in ghosts or demons or angels or life
after death aren't disprovable. So, as a race increases its knowledge of
the physical world, its religion tends to become more and more spiritual."

"Agreed. Yes. But how do you link this with ritual-taboo?"

"Well, once a belief gains a foothold, it's hard to wipe it out, even
among humans. Among Nipes, it would be well-nigh impossible. Once a code
of ritual and social behavior was set up, it became permanent."

"For example?" Yoritomo urged.

"Well, shaking hands, for example. We still do that, even if we don't have
it fixed solidly in our heads that we _must_ do it. I suppose it would
never occur