does the same thing when he's wearing a nullotherm
suit is an unknown quantity. There is no way of knowing, from that
action alone, whether he has courage or not."

Stanton thought he saw what the scientist was driving at. "But you're
not talking about technological equipment now," he said.

"Not at all. I'm talking about personal equipment." He turned his head
slightly to look at the colonel. "Colonel Mannheim, do you think it
would require any personal courage on Mr. Stanton's part to stand up
against you in a face-to-face gunfight?"

The colonel grinned tightly. "I see what you mean."

Stanton grinned back rather wryly. "So do I. No, it wouldn't."

"On the other hand," Yoritomo continued, "if you were to challenge Mr.
Stanton, would that show courage on your part, Colonel?"

"Not really. Foolhardiness, stupidity or insanity--but not courage."

"Ah, then," said Yoritomo with a beaming smile, "neither of you can
prove you have guts enough to fight the other. Can you?"

Mannheim smiled grimly and said nothing. But Stanton was thinking the
whole thing out very carefully. "Just a second," he said. "That depends
on the circumstances. If Colonel Mannheim, say, knew that forcing me to
shoot him would save the life of someone more important than
himself--or, perhaps, the lives of a great many people--what then?"

Yoritomo bowed his head in a quick nod. "Exactly. That is what I meant
by viewpoint. Whether the Nipe has courage or patience or any other
human feeling depends on two things: his own abilities and exactly how
much information he has. A man can perform any action without fear if he
knows that it will not hurt him--or if he does _not_ know that it
_will_."

Stanton thought that over in silence.

The image of the Nipe was no longer moving. He had settled down into his
"sleeping position"--unmoving, although the baleful violet eyes were
still open. "Cut that off," Colonel Mannheim said to the operator.
"There's not much to learn from the rest of that tape."

As the image blanked out, Stanton said, "Have you actually managed to
build any of the devices he's constructed, Colonel?"

"Some," said Colonel Mannheim. "We have specialists all over the world
studying those tapes. We have the advantage of being able to watch every
step the Nipe makes, and we know the materials he's been using to work
with. But, even so, the scientists are baffled by many of them. Can you
imagine the time James Clerk Maxwell would h