rsenal of sensory lies,
they still hadn't broken me. They then turned me loose, like a rat in a
maze, to see if I could find the way out. And again they abided by their
rules. They didn't change the maze when at last I attacked it.

"Let me rephrase what I've done; I feel uncomfortable cast as a
superman. We five pedestrians faced some heavy traffic on a surface
road. You four tried nobly to cross--deaf and blindfolded. You were all
casualties. I was not; and it wasn't because I am stronger or wiser than
you, but only because I stayed on the sidewalk and waited for the light
to change....

"So we won. Now ..."

Hoskins paused to wet his lips. He looked at his shipmates, each in
turn, each for a long, reflective moment. Again his gentle face showed
the half-smile, the small shake of the head. He lifted the mike.

"... In my chess game I offered them a minor piece in order to achieve
a victory, and they accepted. My interpretation is that they want _me_
for further tests. This need not concern you on either of the scores
which occur to you as you hear this. First: The choice is my own. It is
not a difficult one to make. As Paresi once pointed out, I have a high
idealistic quotient. Second: I am, after all, a very minor piece and the
game is a great one. I am convinced that there is no test to which they
can now subject me, and break me, that any one of you cannot pass.

"But you must in no case come tearing after me in a wild and thoughtless
rescue attempt. I neither want that nor need it. And do not judge the
natives severely; we are in no position to do so. I am certain now that
whether I come back or not, these people will make a valuable addition
to the galactic community.

"Good luck, in any case. If the tests shouldn't prove too arduous, I'll
see you again. If not, my only regret is that I shall break up what has
turned out to be, after all, a very effective team. If this happens,
tell my wife the usual things and deliver to her a letter you will find
among my papers. She was long ago reconciled to eventualities.

"Johnny ... the natives will fix your lighter....

"Good luck, good-bye."

Hoskins hung up the microphone. He took a stylus and wrote a line:
"_Hear my recording. Pete._"

And then, bareheaded and unarmed, he stepped through the port, out into
the golden sunshine. Outside he stopped, and for a moment touched his
cheek to the flawless surface of the hull.

He walked down into the valley.