Commander Aku! Let me remind you ..."

Aku spun around, eyes flashing. "General Rothwell! Let _me_ remind you
that two weeks ago I didn't even know Earth existed, and since
accidentally happening across your sun system and learning of your
trouble I have had my entire trading fleet of a hundred ships in orbit
about this planet while all your multitudinous political subdivisions
have filled the air with talk and wrangle.

"I am sorry for Earth, but my allegiance is to my fleet and I cannot
remain longer than seven more days and risk being caught up in your
destruction. Now, either you accept my offer to evacuate as many humans
as my ships will carry, or you don't." He paused. "You are the planet's
evacuation coordinator; you will give me an answer."

* * * * *

Rothwell's arms sagged, he sunk back down into his chair, all pretense
gone. Slowly he swung around to face the window and the gray ship,
standing like a Gargantuan sundial counting the last days of Earth. He
almost whispered. "We are choosing the children. They will be ready in
six days."

He heard the door open and close. He was alone.

Five years ago, he thought, we cracked the secret of faster-than-light
travel, and since then we've built about three dozen exploration ships
and sent them out among the stars to see what they could see.

He stared blankly at the palms of his hand. I wonder what it was we
expected to find?

We found that the galaxy was big, that there were a lot of stars, not so
many planets, and practically no other life--at least no intelligence to
compare with ours. Then ... He jabbed a button on his intercom.

"Ed Philips here. What is it Jim?"

"Doc, are you sure your boys have hypo'd, couched, and hypno'd the _Leo_
crew with everything you've got?"

The voice on the intercom sighed. "Jim, those guys haven't got a memory
of their own. We know everything about each one of them, from the hurts
he got falling off tricycles to the feel of the first girl he kissed.
Those men aren't lying, Jim."

"I never thought they were lying, Doc." Rothwell paused for a minute and
studied the long yellow hairs that grew sparsely across the back of his
hand, thickened to a dense grove at his wrist, and vanished under the
sleeve of his uniform. He looked back at the intercom. "Doc, all I know
is that three perfectly normal guys got on board that ship, and when it
came back we found a lot of jammed instruments and thre