tirred. He also appeared to be struggling. He turned his
eyes on the drink Rhoda was holding. He took it out of her hand and
downed it in a single gulp.

They watched as he went back to work, leafing through the notes, one at
a time. As he came close to the end, he lifted his head and shook it
violently, as though from sudden pain. He scowled at the empty glass
he'd handed back to Rhoda.

"Do you want another?" she inquired.

"Give me another."

She poured a second Scotch and handed it to him. He drank it like so
much water.

The last sheet of notations was covered. Then John Dennis sat motionless
for a minute, his frown and uncertainty returning. "It's hard to project
the details," he said. "All this detail. Difficult."

He dropped the last sheet and got up and poured himself another Scotch.
"They will make an army now," he said. The Scotch went down smoothly. He
went to the window and looked out. "This planet is different. The sun
there is blue and the air is very thin. Their bodies are nothing, but
their heads are very big. Now they will create an army and take this
planet."

Frank Corson was shaking his head slowly like a groggy fighter. Rhoda
sat huddled on the sofa, her mind such a mixture of tumbling emotions
that it seemed to be trying to tear itself out of her head. John Dennis
came back and stood in the middle of the room. He swayed drunkenly. "So
many things I don't understand. I see people I know--or I should know.
I--" He turned his eyes--eyes no longer empty--on Rhoda.

"I want to make love!"

Frank Corson got up from his chair and hurled himself on Dennis.

Rhoda screamed.

* * * * *

Senator Crane sat at his desk. There were a pile of newspapers in front
of him. The first one carried a front page story with the headline:

SENATOR CRANE WARNS OF SPACE INVASION

SHADES OF ORSON WELLS' MARTIAN
SCARE STALKS CAPITOL CORRIDORS.

Crane tossed the paper aside listlessly and picked up the second one:

SENATORS VOICE CONCERN FOR SANITY
OF COLLEAGUE

CRANE IN STUNNING TIRADE
WARNS OF SCIENCE-FICTION
DISASTER.

The third paper featured an internationally syndicated columnist, famous
for his biting wit:

* * * * *

Senator Crane today launched a one-man campaign to make America
space-conscious. If there was any Madison Avenue thinking behind the
launching it was certainly lower Madison Avenue.

In order to mak