assador was sitting.

"That was to distract him," Malley explained. The Ambassador vanished
before the electricity struck him, and then appeared again, curled up
in his armchair.

"That's enough," Malley whispered, and shut the valve. They watched.
After a while, the Ambassador put down his book and stared into the
distance.

"How strange," he said. "Alfern dead. Good friend ... just a freak
accident. He ran into it, out there. Didn't have a chance. But it
doesn't happen often."

"He's thinking out loud," Malley whispered, although there was no
possibility of the Ambassador's hearing them. "Vocalizing his
thoughts. His friend must have been on his mind for some time."

"Of course," the Ambassador went on, "Alfern had to die sometime. No
immortality--yet. But that way--no defense. Out there in space they
just pop up. Always there, underneath, just waiting for a chance to
boil out."

"His body isn't reacting to the hypnotic as a menace yet," Cercy
whispered.

"Well," the Ambassador told himself, "the regularizing principle has
been doing pretty well, keeping it all down, smoothing out the
inconsistencies--"

Suddenly he leaped to his feet, his face pale for a moment, as he
obviously tried to remember what he had said. Then he laughed.

"Clever. That's the first time that particular trick has been played
on me, and the last time. But, gentlemen, it didn't do you any good. I
don't know, myself, how to go about killing me." He laughed at the
blank walls.

"Besides," he continued, "the colonizing team must have the direction
now. They'll find you with or without me."

He sat down again, smiling.

* * * * *

"That does it!" Darrig cried. "He's not invulnerable. Something killed
his friend Alfern."

"Something out in space," Cercy reminded him. "I wonder what it was."

"Let me see," Darrig reflected aloud. "The regularizing principle.
That must be a natural law we knew nothing about. And underneath--what
would be underneath?"

"He said the colonization team would find us anyhow," Malley reminded
them.

"First things first," Cercy said. "He might have been bluffing us ...
no, I don't suppose so. We still have to get the Ambassador out of the
way."

"I think I know what is underneath!" Darrig exclaimed. "This is
wonderful. A new cosmology, perhaps."

"What is it?" Cercy asked. "Anything we can use?"

"I think so. But let me work it out. I think I'll go back to my hotel.