s anybody he'd ever known, but
perhaps that was the naturalness of the supernatural or the logic of
insanity.

Clocker shivered, aware that he had to wait for the answer. The one
thing he did know, as an authority on cons, was that this had the smell
of one, supernatural or otherwise. He watched and listened like a
detective shadowing an escape artist.

"This may be something of a shock," Dr. Harding continued with a
humorous, sympathetic smile. "I hope it will not be for long. Let me
state it in its simplest terms. You know that there are billions of
stars in the Universe, and that stars have planets as naturally as cats
have kittens. A good many of these planets are inhabited. Some
life-forms are intelligent, very much so, while others are not. In
almost all instances, the dominant form of life is quite different
from--yours."

Unable to see the direction of the con, Clocker felt irritated.

"Why do I say _yours_, not _ours_?" asked Dr. Harding. "Because, dear
friends, Mr. Calhoun and I are not of your planet or solar system. No
commotion, please!" he urged, raising his hands as the crowd stirred
bewilderedly. "Our names are not Calhoun and Harding; we adopted those
because our own are so alien that you would be unable to pronounce them.
We are not formed as you see us, but this is how we _might_ look if we
were human beings, which, of course, we are not. Our true appearance
seems to be--ah--rather confusing to human eyes."

* * * * *

Nuts, Clocker thought irreverently. Get to the point.

"I don't think this is the time for detailed explanations," Dr. Harding
hurried on before there were any questions. "We are friendly, even
altruistic inhabitants of a planet 10,000 light-years from Earth. Quite
a distance, you are thinking; how did we get here? The truth is that we
are not 'here' and neither are you. 'Here' is a projection of thought, a
hypothetical point in space, a place that exists only by mental force.
Our physical appearances and yours are telepathic representations.
Actually, our bodies are on our own respective planets."

"Very confusing," complained a man who looked like a banker. "Do you
have any idea of what he's trying to tell us?"

"Not yet," Clocker replied with patient cynicism. "He'll give us the
convincer after the buildup."

The man who looked like a banker stared sharply at Clocker and moved
away. Clocker shrugged. He was more concerned with why he didn't