antity of it. We have a wood that is harder
than your steel. We build machinery with it. We cannot use oil to
lubricate these wooden shafts and bearings as it softens the wood, so
all parts exposed to friction are sprayed constantly by a gust of talc
from a blower.

"You use talc mostly for toilet purposes. We use it for various
purposes. There is little left on Venus, and it is more valuable to us
than either gold or diamonds. We draw on your planet now for talc. You
dump immense quantities. We just shipped one hundred 1,000-ton globes of
it from the Cripple Creek district, and the district never missed it. We
drew most of it from your mine dumps."

* * * * *

Nern tried not to look bored as he explained more in detail: "We brought
100 hollow spheres constructed of duranium. We suspended these over the
Cripple Creek district at an altitude of 10,000 feet above the earth's
surface. Because of the crystal glint of duranium they were invisible to
earth dwellers at that height. Then we used a suction draft at night,
drawing the talc from the earth, filling one drum after another. This is
done by tuning in a certain selective attraction that attracts only
talc. It draws it right out of your ground in tiny particles and
assembles it in the transportation drums as pure talc. On the earth, if
noticed at all, it would have been called a dust storm.

"The drums, when loaded with talc, are set to attract the proper
planetary force and they go speeding toward Venus at the rate of 426,000
miles an hour. They are prevented from colliding with meteors by an
automatic magnetic device. This is controlled by magnetic force alone,
and when the targo gets too close to a meteor it changes its course
instantly. The passenger targo we ride in acts similarly. And now may I
return to the subject of the vampires of Venus?"

"Pardon my ignorance," said Larner, and for the first time in his life
he felt very ignorant indeed.

"I know little more than I have told you," said Nern, rather hopelessly.
"Our knowledge of your world, your people and your language comes from
our listening in on you and observing you without being observed or
heard. This might seem like taking an advantage of you, were it not for
the fact that we respect confidences, and subjugate all else to science.
We have helped you at times, by telepathically suggesting ideas to your
thinkers.

"We would have given you all our inventions in this