labs again! At any time. Under any pretext. Is that
understood?"

"Yes, Professor," Lyad said. "And I'm sorry that I believed it necessary
to--"

Mantelish snorted. "Sorry! Necessary! Just to be certain it doesn't
happen again, I shall make up a batch of antihypno pills. If I can
remember the prescription."

"I happen," the Ermetyne ventured, "to know a very good prescription for
the purpose, Professor. If you will permit me!"

Mantelish stood up. "I'll accept no prescriptions from you!" he said
icily. He looked at Trigger as he turned to walk out of the cabin. "Or
drinks from you either, Trigger Argee!" he growled. "Who in the great
spiraling galaxy is there left to trust!"

"Sorry, Professor," Trigger said meekly.

In half an hour or so, he calmed down enough to join the others in the
lounge, to get the final story on Gess Fayle and the missing king
plasmoid from the Ermetyne.

Doctor Gess Fayle, Lyad reported, had died very shortly after leaving
the Manon System. And with him had died every man on board the
U-League's transport ship. It might be simplest, she went on, to relate
the first series of events from the plasmoid's point of view.

"Point of view?" Professor Mantelish interrupted. "The plasmoid has
awareness then?"

"Oh, yes. That one does."

"Self-awareness?"

"Definitely."

"Oho! But then--"

"Professor," Trigger interrupted politely in turn, "may I get you a
drink?"

He glared at her, growled, then grinned. "I'll shut up," he said. Lyad
went on.

Doctor Fayle had resumed experimentation with the 112-113 unit almost as
soon as he was alone with it; and one of the first things he did was to
detach the small 113 section from the main one. The point Doctor Fayle
hadn't adequately considered when he took this step was that 113's
function appeared to be that of a restraining, limiting or counteracting
device on its vastly larger partner. The Old Galactics obviously had
been aware of dangerous potentialities in their more advanced creations,
and had used this means of regulating them. That the method was reliable
was indicated by the fact that, in the thirty thousand years since the
Old Galactics had vanished, plasmoid 112 had remained restricted to the
operations required for the maintenance of Harvest Moon.

But it hadn't liked being restricted.

And it had been very much aware of the possibilities offered by the new
life-forms which lately had intruded on Harvest Moon.

The instant it