roy our ship. We would need it to return in.

**We must give him all the help we can,** Forential thought.

**We must.**

**We must.**

**Lycan,** the Elder thought. **Can you cut the power of your charges?**

**An extended period might have a bad psychological effect....**

**They won't realize the implication--that they're not Lyrians, that we
control them--until too late.**

**If we could give Walt twelve hours,** Forential thought. **... we've
got to give him every chance!**

**When do you think he'll be close to her?** the Elder asked.

Forential consulted his maps. He calculated rapidly.

**If he travels fast--if he has luck--by another five hours.**

**Lycan,** the Elder instructed, **continue with training until then.
We'll cut off the greater transmitter five hours from now. Twelve hours
should give Walt more than enough time to kill her. It will be mutant
trying to kill an earth-normal. He can't fail!**

**He can't fail,** they echoed nervously.

**Will twelve hours be enough?**

**If he does, somehow, fail, we can't risk delaying the invasion more
than that.**

**I will see that it doesn't delay the invasion,** Lycan promised.
**I'll train them right through normalcy.**

* * * * *

Walt had arrived in Hollywood. _Wait for me there._ Julia (dressing
carefully) projected to him. _I'll be right over to get you._

She finished combing her hair. She went to her handbag, snapped it
closed decisively, and slipped it over her arm. She was smiling.

On her way out of the room, she picked up the book on brain surgery that
she hadn't yet had the chance to read. She skimmed through it in the
taxi on the way to pick Walt up.

She paused a fraction of a second over one of the illustrations; in that
time, she was able to memorize it. My brain, she thought, is different
right there; but I can't see my own brain well enough to tell much; I
want to look at his for a minute if I can.

Having finished the book, she held it primly in her lap, tapping
impatiently on it with her fingers.

There's a lot of things funny about this boy, she thought. I've got to
get more information about him. I've got a suspicion he's going to be in
for a few surprises.

(It was less than an hour before the aliens would cut off the larger
transmitter.)

When I first located him for sure, she thought, he was traveling _much_
too fast; faster and higher than any experimental rocket I've ever h