t Walt with his faceted, unblinking eyes, he
thought in his own language, a language earthlings were incapable of
learning: **Lycan, you idiot! You told me the machinery room was clear!
One of my charges has seen one of yours!**

**I have great regret,** Lycan answered. **I, I overlooked her.**

**We cannot risk the compartments discovering each other.** Forential
thought angrily.

"This is not all," Walt said. _There is one on Earth!_

Forential's tentacles stiffened. _What?_ It was almost involuntary:
unbelieving: terrified.

"There _is_ one on Earth. A female."

**I have regretfully disposed of the one he saw,** Lycan telepathed.
**Have you disposed of the one who saw her?**

**_Send out a call for the Council!_** Forential broadcast hysterically.
**One more set of parents than we were aware of was exposed to our
field! _There is an unindoctrinated mutant on Earth!_**

"Are you sure?" Forential demanded of Walt.

"What about the one I saw a minute ago?" Walt persisted.

"... she came on the last ship from Lyria," Forential lied curtly.

"Oh? I would like to talk to her. We all would. Can we, Forential?"

The alien was outwardly impassive. "We'll see. Never mind her right now.
Tell me about this one on Earth."

"I heard her thoughts."

Forential lay his tentacles on his desk. They scrabbled nervously. "How
long have you known?" How did she manage to break through our telepathic
shielding? he wondered. He made an inward snarl of surprise ... powerful
mind!... Then he went weak with temporary relief: Suppose we hadn't
found out about her until the invasion? We had to know now while there's
time! How much does she...?

"Just today, for sure. Once or twice before...."

Walt told Forential all he knew about Julia. He spoke quickly, and with
rising excitement.

* * * * *

By the time he was finished, the council had convened. The circuits were
open. Forential fed them the information Walt had just given him. Their
incomprehensible language crackled beyond Walt's thought range.

**We must destroy her at once.**

**Unconditioned! Unconditioned: no telling how much information she
has.**

A terrified thought: **Danger, danger, danger!**

Forential's eyes did not leave Walt's face. His thoughts were assessing
the situation even under the force of the shock.... The one called Julia
had to be under the influence of the larger transmitter; all the mutants
had been bred for