as gods. I would hesitate to drag in any metaphysical
confusion to add to the uncertainties you are already engendering. My
advice would be to wipe his mind of all memory of us. Let him explain
his new found invincibility to himself in his own way."

Macker had no criticism to offer to this suggestion. "Does he retain any
of his immunity to this world's malignant germs?" he asked.

"They are too impotent to represent any hazard to his present body
mechanism," Toolls replied. "If and when he dies, it will not be from
disease."

"He will be subject to the deterioration of old age, the same as we are,
won't he?" Macker asked.

"Of course," Toolls said, "but that's the only thing that will be able
to bring him down. He cannot be harmed by any force this 'light' world
can produce; he is impervious to sickness; and he will live
indefinitely."

"Indefinitely?"

"As his world reckons time. Their normal life span is less than a
hundred years. Ours is over five thousand. He will probably live
approximately twice that long, because he will be subjected to less
stress and strain, living as he does on a world of lighter elements."

"Then we have truly made a superman," Macker's tones inflected
satisfaction. "I wish we were returning this way in a thousand years or
so. I'd like to see the monumental changes he will effect."

"We may at that," Remm said, "or others of our people will. He will
probably be a living legend by then. I'd like to hear what his race has
to say about him. Do they have names with which to differentiate
individuals?"

"Yes," Toolls said. "This one has a family designation of Pollnow, and
a member designation of Orville."

"It will be necessary for us to leave in exactly ten minutes," Remm
reminded them. "Our next stopping place--the red star--will reach its
nearest conjunction with this planet by the time we meet it out in
space."

"Then we will have time to do nothing more for him before we go," Macker
said. "But as far as I can see we've forgotten nothing, have we,
Toolls?"

"Nothing," Toolls answered. "No--we forgot nothing."

* * * * *

But Toolls was wrong. They had forgotten one thing. A minor detail,
relatively....

On Toolls' world his race, in the course of its evolution, had adjusted
itself to its own particular environment. Logically, the final result
was that they evolved into beings best able to survive in that
environment. As such their food--a "