trips a year between Venus and the earth. We have
visited this planet often, always landing in some mountain or jungle
fastness as heretofore we did not desire earth-dwellers to know of our
presence."

"Why not?" asked Larner, his mouth agape and his eyes protruding. His
mind was so full of questions that he fairly blurted his first one.

"Because," said Bela, slowly and frankly, "because our race knows no
sickness and we feared contagion, as your race has not yet learned to
control its being."

"Oh," said Lamer thoughtfully. He realized that humans of the earth,
whom he had always regarded as God's most perfect beings, were not so
perfect after all.

"How do you people control your being, as you express it?" he asked.

"It is simple," was the reply. "For ninety centuries we have ceased to
breed imperfection, crime and disease. We deprived no one of the
pleasures of life, but only the most perfect mental and physical
specimens of our people cared to have children. In other words, while we
make no claim to controlling our sex habits, we do control results."

"Oh," said Larner again.

Nern Bela led the way to a door which opened into the side of the
space-flyer near its base. "We have a crew of four men and four women,"
he said. "They handle the entire ship, with my sister and I in command,
making six souls aboard in all."

"Why men and women?" thought Larner.

As if in answer to his thought Bela said:

"On the earth the two sexes have struggled for sex supremacy. This has
thrown your civilization out of balance. On Venus we have struggled for
sex equality and have accomplished it. This is a perfect balance. Man
and women engage in all endeavor and share all favors and rewards
alike."

"In war, too?" asked Larner.

"There has not been war on Venus for 600,000 years," said Bela. "There
is only the one nation, and the people all live in perfect accord. Our
only trouble in centuries is a dire peril which now threatens our
people, and it is of this that I wish to talk to you more at length."

* * * * *

They were standing close to the targo. Larner was struck by the peculiar
material of which it was constructed. There was a question in his eyes,
and Nern Bela answered it:

"The metal is duranium; it is metalized quartz. It is frictionless,
conducts no current or ray except repulsion and attraction ray NTR69X6
by which it is propelled. It is practically transparent, lighter tha