ry work into judgment, with every secret thing;
whether it be good or whether it be evil.' The Scriptures command it
in the name of Man, the True God."

_Twisted, pious, hypocrite_! thought Merrick.

"I am sure, sir," Graves was saying placatingly, "that when we have
shown you the Creche you will see that there is no menace."

Erikson scowled at Graves deliberately. "There is menace enough in the
blasphemy of android life, my son. Everywhere there are signs of
unrest among the things you have built here. On Mars, human beings
have died at their hands!"

Merrick's face showed his disgust. "Frankly, I don't believe that.
Androids don't kill."

"We shall see, my son," Erikson said settling the belt of his energy
screen more comfortably about his hips. "We shall see."

Merrick studied Erikson's face. There was a tiny scar under his chin.
That would be where the transmitter was planted. He had no doubt that
every word of this conversation was being monitored by the Fanatics
outside the Creche. The turning point was coming inexorably nearer. He
only hoped that he had the physical and moral courage to face it when
it arrived.

"Very well, Sweyn Erikson," he said finally. "Please come with me."

* * * * *

Four hours later they were in Merrick's office. The preliminary stage
of his plan had failed, just as he had known it would. He was almost
glad. It had been a vacillating expediency, an attempt to hide the
facts and avoid the necessity of facing the challenge squarely. Stage
two was about to begin, and this time there would be no temporizing.

The Prophet glared angrily across the desk-top. "Do you take me for a
child? You have shown me nothing. Where are the protoplasm vats? The
brain machines? Where are the bodies assembled? I warned you against
trickery, Han Merrick!"

Merrick glanced across the room at his wife. She sat rigid in her
chair, her face a pale mask. He would get no help from her.

"You must realize, Erikson," he said, "That you are forcing me to
jeopardize five centuries of work for the chimera of Human Supremacy.
Let me warn you now that your life is of no importance to me when
balanced against that. When the Board of Psychotechnicians appointed
my family custodians of the Creche centuries ago, they did so because
they knew we would keep faith--"

"The last member of the founding Board died more than two hundred
years ago," snapped the Prophet.

"But the Creche