xcept North
America and a strip of Western Europe, and all of the sea it wanted. It
was particularly concentrated over what had been the jungle areas of
South America, Africa, and Asia. You must realize that in the days
before the Tide, those areas were almost completely uninhabitable. You
have no idea what the term Jungle really implied. When the Tide died, it
disintegrated into its component molecules; and the result was that all
those vast fertile Jungle lands were now beautifully levelled and
completely cleared areas covered with up to twenty feet of the richest
topsoil imaginable. That was what made it possible for old Terra to
become what she is today; the Federation's truck farm, and the sole
source of those genuine original Terran foods that all the rest of the
worlds pay such fabulous prices for.

"Strange how quickly we forget. Few people today remember how we loathed
and feared the Tide when we were fighting it. Now it's dismissed as a
blessing in disguise."

The Admiral paused. "Well," he said, "I think that answers the questions
and gives you a bit of homespun philosophy to go with it."

* * * * *

"Admiral," said the reporter, "you've given the public some facts it's
waited a long time to hear. Coming from you, sir, this is the greatest
story that could have come out of this Reunion Day celebration. But
there is one question more, if I may ask it. Can you tell me, Admiral,
just how it was that you rejected what seemed to be prima facie proof of
the story the Mancji told; that they were the lords of creation out
there, and that humanity was nothing but a tame food animal to them?"

The Admiral sighed. "I guess it's a good question," he said. "But there
was nothing supernatural about my figuring that one. I didn't suspect
the full truth, of course. It never occurred to me that we were the
victims of the now well-known but still inexplicable sense of humor of
the Mancji, or that they were nothing but scavengers around the edges of
the Federation. The original Omega ship had met them and seen right
through them.

* * * * *

"Well, when this hive spotted us coming in, they knew enough about New
Terra to realize at once that we were strangers, coming from outside the
area. It appealed to their sense of humor to have the gall to strut
right out in front of us and try to put over a swindle. What a laugh for
the oyster kingdom if they could sell