hout a moment's delay, didn't you? You hated Earth so much you _had_
to leave."

"Why are you telling all this to me?"

"Because if you'd stayed long enough, you'd have used some of your
pension money to buy yourself a pair of prosthetic legs, and then you
wouldn't need this wheelchair."

Ledman scowled, and then his face went belligerent again. "They told me
I was paralyzed below the waist. That I'd never walk again, even with
prosthetic legs, because I had no muscles to fit them to."

"You left Earth too quickly," Val said.

"It was the only way," he protested. "I had to get off--"

"She's right," I told him. "The atom can take away, but it can give as
well. Soon after you left they developed _atomic-powered_
prosthetics--amazing things, virtually robot legs. All the survivors of
the Sadlerville Blast were given the necessary replacement limbs free of
charge. All except you. You were so sick you had to get away from the
world you despised and come here."

"You're lying," he said. "It's not true!"

"Oh, but it is," Val smiled.

I saw him wilt visibly, and for a moment I almost felt sorry for him, a
pathetic legless figure propped up against the wall of the Dome at
blaster-point. But then I remembered he'd killed twelve Geigs--or
more--and would have added Val to the number had he had the chance.

* * * * *

"You're a very sick man, Ledman," I said. "All this time you could have
been happy, useful on Earth, instead of being holed up here nursing your
hatred. You might have been useful, on Earth. But you decided to channel
everything out as revenge."

"I still don't believe it--those legs. I might have walked again.
No--no, it's all a lie. They told me I'd never walk," he said, weakly
but stubbornly still.

I could see his whole structure of hate starting to topple, and I
decided to give it the final push.

"Haven't you wondered how I managed to break the tangle-cord when I
kicked you over?"

"Yes--human legs aren't strong enough to break tangle-cord that way."

"Of course not," I said. I gave Val the blaster and slipped out of my
oxysuit. "Look," I said. I pointed to my smooth, gleaming metal legs.
The almost soundless purr of their motors was the only noise in the
room. "I was in the Sadlerville Blast, too," I said. "But I didn't go
crazy with hate when I lost _my_ legs."

Ledman was sobbing.

"Okay, Ledman," I said. Val got him into his suit, and brought him the
f