ind? He didn't see how it was
possible. There _had_ to be something alien about the dead man
before him. The future of a world rested on this flimsy hope. If
Telt's lead to the bombs proved to be false, there would be no hope
left at all.

Lea was still unconscious when he looked at her again. There was no
way of telling how long the coma would last. He would probably have
to waken her out of it, but he didn't want to do it too early. It
took an effort to control his impatience, even though he knew the
drug needed time in which to work. He finally decided on at least a
minimum of an hour before he should try to disturb her. That would
be noon--twelve hours before destruction.

One thing he should do was to get in touch with Professor-Commander
Krafft. Maybe it was being defeatist, but he had to make sure that
they had a way off this planet if the mission failed. Krafft had
installed a relay radio that would forward calls from his personal
set. If this relay had been in the Foundation building, contact was
broken. This had to be found out before it was too late. Brion
thumbed on his radio and sent the call. The reply came back
instantly.

"This is fleet communications. Will you please keep this circuit
open? Commander Krafft is waiting for this call and it is being put
directly through to him now." Krafft's voice broke in while the
operator was still talking.

"Who is making this call--is it anyone from the Foundation?"
The old man's voice was shaky with emotion.

"Brandd here. I have Lea Morees with me...."

"No more? Are there no other survivors from the disaster that
destroyed your building?"

"That's it, other than us it's a ... complete loss. With the
building and all the instruments gone, I have no way to contact our
ship in orbit. Can you arrange to get us out of here if necessary?"

"Give me your location. A ship is coming now--"

"I don't need a ship now," Brion interrupted. "Don't send it until
I call. If there is a way to stop your destruction I'll find it.
So I'm staying--to the last minute if necessary."

Krafft was silent. There was only the crackle of an open mike and
the sound of breathing. "That is your decision," he said finally.
"I'll have a ship standing by. But won't you let us take Miss Morees
out now?"

"No. I need her here. We are still working, looking for--"

"What answer can you find that could possibly avert destruction
now?" His tone was between hope and despair. Brion couldn