lked down the hall until he came to
an open door. He stopped, looking in. Kramer could see the white
corner of a bed, a wooden post and the edge of a dresser.

He joined Gross.

In the dark room a withered old man lay, propped up on endless
pillows. At first it seemed as if he were asleep; there was no motion
or sign of life. But after a time Kramer saw with a faint shock that
the old man was watching them intently, his eyes fixed on them,
unmoving, unwinking.

"Professor Thomas?" Gross said. "I'm Commander Gross of Security. This
man with me is perhaps known to you--"

The faded eyes fixed on Kramer.

"I know him. Philip Kramer.... You've grown heavier, boy." The voice
was feeble, the rustle of dry ashes. "Is it true you're married now?"

"Yes. I married Dolores French. You remember her." Kramer came toward
the bed. "But we're separated. It didn't work out very well. Our
careers--"

"What we came here about, Professor," Gross began, but Kramer cut him
off with an impatient wave.

"Let me talk. Can't you and your men get out of here long enough to
let me talk to him?"

Gross swallowed. "All right, Kramer." He nodded to the two men. The
three of them left the room, going out into the hall and closing the
door after them.

The old man in the bed watched Kramer silently. "I don't think much of
him," he said at last. "I've seen his type before. What's he want?"

"Nothing. He just came along. Can I sit down?" Kramer found a stiff
upright chair beside the bed. "If I'm bothering you--"

"No. I'm glad to see you again, Philip. After so long. I'm sorry your
marriage didn't work out."

"How have you been?"

"I've been very ill. I'm afraid that my moment on the world's stage
has almost ended." The ancient eyes studied the younger man
reflectively. "You look as if you have been doing well. Like everyone
else I thought highly of. You've gone to the top in this society."

Kramer smiled. Then he became serious. "Professor, there's a project
we're working on that I want to talk to you about. It's the first ray
of hope we've had in this whole war. If it works, we may be able to
crack the yuk defenses, get some ships into their system. If we can do
that the war might be brought to an end."

"Go on. Tell me about it, if you wish."

"It's a long shot, this project. It may not work at all, but we have
to give it a try."

"It's obvious that you came here because of it," Professor Thomas
murmured. "I'm becoming curiou