ully. "So that's the whole trouble with everything."

"No, that's only part of it," Ren said. "But here's a good place to
eat." He guided her through the door.

An hour later Ren lit a cigarette and took a long drag on it, his eyes
looking longingly into Martha's. He exhaled the smoke in a long white
plume. Then he began talking.

"I don't know whether you read it on the report sheet or not, but the
trip of the _Endore_ began from this same spaceport two years ago. The
observatory on Pluto had reported a free planet passing within two
hundred quadrillion miles of the solar system. The _Endore_ was assigned
the task of landing on it, if feasible.

"I had been a member of the crew for only four months when the _Endore_
turned outward from its position just the other side of Mars' orbit."

Ren smiled apologetically.

"I hadn't exactly planned on being a spaceman, second class. I don't
know whether you know the system, but whether you do or not, it should
suffice to say that I had studied for five years to become a research
scientist, and failed. I decided to take out my disappointment by
joining up for two years. I planned on making another try at research
when I got out.

"Everything went along fine on the trip out. We were a very congenial
crew with a fine, human commander. He made it a point to get personally
acquainted with every member of the crew eventually. He seemed to take
a particular liking to me for some reason. By the time we were half-way
out to Metapor, as we found out it was called later, I was an unofficial
first mate or something with free run of the pilot room and the
instruments.

"I had guessed by now that when I enlisted they looked up my record and
passed the word along to Commander Dunnam to sell me on the idea of a
career as a spaceman.

"At any rate, I was in an ideal position to see all that went on first
hand. We were within three hundred thousand miles of Metapor when we got
the first indication of the change in metaphysics. I discovered it
myself. I was helping the astrogator get the constants for the
planet ..."

* * * * *

"Take a look at the gravy board, Ren," Ford Gratrick, the astrogator
said. "What's she say?"

Ren looked at the fine black pointer on the gravity potentiometer. It
pointed to a spot just two marks above the number ten on the dial.

"Ten and two tenths," Ren read.

"That can't be right," Ford frowned. "At this distance that w