n't want a bomb to
explode, but the only way to destroy that bomb is by blowing it up with
another bomb of equal power, where is the gain?

And if the total mental power required to move a planet is greater than
any single human mind can endure--or even greater than the total mental
endurance of a thousand planetsfull of minds, is there any gain?

There is not, and can never be, a system without limits, and the human
mind is a system which obeys that law.

None the less, Spencer Candron kept his mind on flight, on repulsion, on
movement, as long as he could. He was perfectly willing to destroy his
own mind for a purpose, but he had no intention of destroying it
uselessly. He didn't know how long he kept moving eastward; he had no
way of knowing how much distance he had covered nor how long it had
taken him. But, somewhere out over the smoothly undulating surface of
the Pacific, he realized that he was approaching his limit. And, a few
seconds later, he detected the presence of men beneath the sea.

He knew they were due to rise an hour before dawn, but he had no idea
how long that would be. He had lost all track of time. He had been
keeping his mind on controlling his altitude and motion, and, at the
same time, been careful to see whether Dr. Ch'ien came out of his
unconscious state. Twice more he had had to strike the physicist to keep
him out cold, and he didn't want to do it again.

So, when he sensed the presence of the American submarine beneath the
waves, he sank gratefully into the water, changing the erosive power of
the emotion that had carried him so far, and relaxing into the simple
physical routine of keeping both himself and Ch'ien afloat.

By the time the submarine surfaced a dozen yards away, Spencer Candron
was both physically and mentally exhausted. He yelled at the top of his
lungs, and then held on to consciousness just long enough to be rescued.

* * * * *

"The official story," said Senator Kerotski, "is that an impostor had
taken Dr. Ch'ien's place before he ever left the United States--" He
grinned. "At least, the substitution took place before the delegates
reached China. So the 'assassination' was really no assassination at
all. Ch'ien was kidnaped here, and a double put in his place in Peiping.
That absolves both us and the Chinese Government of any complicity. We
save face for them, and they save face for us. Since he turned up here,
in the States, it's o