de the Smith family car in safety. "Blast off immediately,
Lt. Smith," ordered the captain. The rocket wavered for a minute and
rose. "Wait a minute, Smith. I seen Rocky Morgan do this once in a
comic book. No member of the Space Patrol lets an alien get away
alive. We got to kill 'em all. Head back and we'll get the rest of 'em
with the hydrogen artillery." Accordingly the ship swept low over the
strange planet. "Ah-ah-ah-ah." Twin sheets of imaginary flame burst
from the rocket and the remainder of the faltering spider-monsters
perished horribly.

Shaking her head, Mrs. Mimms spun the Master Selector until the screen
went blank. An avid space traveler herself (she was especially fond of
a nice Lunar trip at vacation time), the negative implications of this
childish violence had a depressing effect on Mrs. Mimms. She noted the
incident down in her notebook and starred it for special attention.

Like any woman in any century, Mrs. Mimms had an infallible remedy for
cheering herself up. She went shopping. By economizing on her expense
account she found it possible to afford a tiny luxury now and then.
Mrs. Mimms bought a badly needed blouse and some facial cream. She
also bought some groceries and a newspaper. After a modest meal, she
found that she had an hour before her babysitting assignment. Opening
the newspaper to the sports page, she indulged in one of the
amusements common among Certified Priority Operators. Glancing down
the list of tomorrow's daily-double she checked the names of horses
to win, place and show. Mrs. Mimms made her selections merely by the
sound of the names. She then turned a knob marked Tomorrow and dialed
about with the Master Selector until the image of a man reading a
newspaper appeared on the screen. She waited until he turned to the
sports page before seeing how she had done. She had done poorly. Only
one winner out of seven races. Of course, using the Destiny apparatus
itself for personal gain was a violation of the Direct Influencing of
Personal Fate Clause and was sufficient reason for losing her CPO
ticket.

When Mrs. Mimms returned from babysitting it was after midnight. A cup
of tea at her elbow, she sat down before the screen. There was a party
just breaking up in the far building. Some people above her were
watching the late show on TV. A couple on her own floor were arguing
about money but the argument seemed to be nearly over and Mrs. Mimms
did not intrude further. Suddenly th