. or perhaps unsanely may be the better word. On the basis of the data he then had it
was logical for him to attack you. Your cease-fire was a new datum, one that he cannot
as yet evaluate. He has deduced the fact that we Jehni caused it, but he does not know
why you stopped. Hence he has restored the status quo ante, pending our explanation.
He wants additional data. If our explanation is satisfactory-data sufficient-he’ll probably
just let the whole matter drop. If not-if it’s data insufficient-I wouldn’t know. He’ll do
whatever he decides is the logical thing to do-which is ‘way beyond my guess-point. He
might even resume the attack exactly where he left off; although I think he’ll be able to
deduce a reason not to.”
Seaton whistled through his teeth. “Holy . . . cat!” he said. “If that’s pure logic I’ll take
vanilla. But how will you make the approach?”
“Very easily. If two of you will permit us to bring you over here we will send four working
projections into the Llanzlan Klazmon’s study, where I’m sure he’s expecting us. You,
Doctor Seaton, and your Dorothy, perhaps?”
“Not I!” Dorothy declared, shaking her head vigorously. “Uh-uh. Into battle, yes; this, no.
If I never see a monster like that it’ll be twenty minutes too soon. You’re it, Martin.”
“One more thing,” Mergon went on, as Seaton and Crane appeared in the flesh beside
him. “Since the Llurdi refuse to learn any language except their own, I must teach you
Llurdan,” and he held out two Jelman thought-caps:
“I prefer my own,” Seaton said, after a very short trial.
“So will you, I think,” and he sent back for four of the Skylark’s latest models.
The two Jelmi put two of them on. “Oh, I do indeed!” Luloy exclaimed, and Mergon
added, “As was to have been expected, we have much to learn from you, friends.”
“But listen,” Seaton said. “You gave the ape all the dope on that fourth-dimensional
thing. Isn’t he apt to toss a superatomic into our Brain with it?”
“There’s no possibility whatever of that, either soon or later. Not soon because, since
they work slowly and thoroughly, it will be months yet before they have a full-scale
machine. Nor later, because the mutual destruction of four hundred eighty-two
populated planets-excuse me, four hundred eighty, now-is not logical in any system of
logic, however cockeyed that system may be.”
It took Seaton a fraction of a second to get it, but when he did, it rocked him. “Oh! I
hadn’t figured on you coming all the way in. But does he know you will?”
“He certainly does know it!” Luloy broke in. “Beyond a doubt; or what you call
peradventure.”
“Oh,” Seaton said again. “And that’s why he isn’t going to resume hostilities with
ordinary weapons, either? Thanks, you two, a million. We appreciate it. Okay; we’re
ready, I guess.”
The four projections appeared in front of the llanzlan’s desk. He was expecting them.
“Well?” he asked.
Mergon began to explain, but Seaton cut him off. Mergon could not possibly feel equal
to Klazmon in a face-to-face; Seaton could and did.
“I can explain us better than you can, friend Mergon,” he said. Then, to the Llurd, “We
came here to visit the human beings whom you call the Jelmi. We did not have, have
not now, and do not expect to have any interest whatever in you Llurdi or in anything
Llurdan. Our purpose is to promote intergalactic commerce and interhuman friendship.
The various human races have different abilities and different artifacts and different
knowledges-many of each of which are of benefit to other human races.
“You made an unprovoked attack on us. Know now, Llanzlan Klazmon, that I do not
permit invasion, either mental or physical, by any entity-man, beast, god, devil or Llurd-
of this or of any other galaxy. Although I can imagine few subjects upon which you and I
could converse profitably, if you wish to talk to me as one intelligent and logical entity
to,another I will so converse. But I repeat-I will not permit invasion.
“If you wish to resume battle on that account that is your right and your privilege. You
will note, however, that our attack was metered precisely to a point just below your
maximum capability of resistance. Know now that if you force us to destroy your city
and perhaps your world it will not have been the first city or the first world we have been
forced to destroy; nor, with a probability of point nine nine nine, will it have been the
last. Do you want peace with us or war?”
“Peace. Data sufficient,” Klazmon said immediately. “I have recorded the fact that there
is at least one Jelmoid race other than the Jelmi themselves of which some
representatives are both able and willing to employ almost Llurdan logic,” and he
switched his attention from the projections to the tape he hod been studying–cutting
communications as effectively as though he had removed himself to another world.
Back in the Mallidaxian, while Luloy stared at Seaton almost in awe, Mergon said, “That
was a beautiful job, Doctor Seaton. Perfect! Much better than I could have done. You
used flawless Llurdan logic.”
“Thanks to the ace in the hole you gave me. with your briefing, I could do it. I’d hate to
have to run a bluff on that ape. What’s next on the agenda, Savant Mergon?”
“Make it `Merg’, please; and I’ll call you `Dick’. Now that this is settled, why don’t you put
your fortress-planetoid on automatic and let us bring you all here, so that our peoples
may become friends in person and may begin work upon tasks of mutual interest?”
“That’s a thought, friend; that really is a thought,” Seaton said, and it was done
forthwith.
Aboard the Mallidaxian, Seaton cut the social amenities as short as he courteously
could; then went with inseparable Mergon and Luloy to Tammon’s laboratory. That
fourth dimensional gizmo was what he was interested in. With his single-mindedness
that was all he was interested in, at the moment, of the entire Jelman culture. All four
donned Skylark thought-helmets and Seaton set out to learn everything there was to be
known about that eight million cubic feet of esoteric apparatus. And Mergon, who didn’t
know much of anything about recent developments, was eager to catch up.
Seaton did not learn all about the fourth-dimensional device in one day, nor in one
week; but when he had it all filed away in the Brain he asked, “Is that all you have of it?”
He did not mean to be insulting; he was only greatly surprised.
The old savant bristled and Seaton apologized hastily. “I didn’t mean to belittle your
achievement in any sense, sir. It’s probably the greatest breakthrough ever made. But it
doesn’t seem to be complete.”
“Of course it isn’t complete!” Tammon snapped. “I’ve been working on it only-”
“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” Seaton broke in. “The concept is incomplete. In several ways.
For instance, if fourth dimensional translation is used as a weapon, you have no
defense against it.”
“Of course there’s no defense against it!” Tammon defended his brain-child like a
tigress defending her young. “By the very nature of things there can’t be any defense
against it!”
At that, politeness went by the board. “You’re wrong,” Seaton said, flatly. “By the very
nature of things there has to be. All nature is built on a system of checks and balances.
Doing a job so terrifically big and so brand new, I doubt if anybody could get the whole
thing at once. Let’s go over the theory again, together, with a microscope, to see if we
can’t add something to it somewhere?”
Tammon agreed, but reluctantly. Deep down in his own mind he did not believe that any
other mind could improve upon any particular of his work. As the review progressed,
however, he became more and more enthusiastic. As well he might; for the
mathematics section of Richard Seaton’s multi-compartmented mind contained,
indexed and cross-index, all the work done by countless grand masters of the subject
during half a million years.
Luloy started to pull her helmet off, but Mergon stopped her with a direct thought. “I’m
lost, too, sweet, but keep on listening. We can get bits here and there-and we’ll
probably never have the chance again to watch two such minds at work.”
“Hold it!’ Seaton snapped, half an hour later. “Back up -there! This integral here. Limits
zero to pi over two. You’re limiting the thing to a large but definitely limited volume of
your generalized N-dimensional space. I think it should be between zero and infinity-
and while we’re at it let’s scrap half of the third determinant in that no-space-no-time
complex. Let’s see what happens if we substitute the gamma function here and the chi
there and the xi there and the omicron down there in the corner.”