elf on combat missions of interplanetary war-- He shook his head.
This was pure stupidity.

He frowned uneasily. It had been a bit unfair, though, of the
Controllers. They had completely excused him from service on the basis
of inaptitude. It had rankled ever since.

Of course he couldn't be expected to dash madly about in some two-man
scout. Even as his brother's assistant, he had been a person of quite
definite standing and responsibility and such antics would have been
beneath his dignity. He had made that quite plain to them.

There had been responsible posts where a man of his quality and standing
could have been of positive value. And, as he had pointed out, they
could have assigned him to one of those.

But no! They had merely excused him. Inapt!

As far as that went, he told himself angrily, he, Kio Barra, could
comport himself with the best if necessity demanded.

Those dashing characters in this projection were, of course, the
figments of some unstable dreamer's imagination. But they showed the
instability of the usual lackland wanderers. And what could such men do
that a solid, responsible man like himself couldn't do better?

He returned to the crystal, then shook his head in disgust. It had
become full--flat--meaningless. Besides, he had matters of real import
to take care.

He directed his attention to the chair, which obediently swung about
until he faced his large view crystal.

"Might as well have a look at the East Shore," he told himself.

* * * * *

As he focused his attention, the crystal expanded, then became a huge
window through which he could see the shores of the inland sea, then the
lands to the east of the large island on which he had caused his
Residence to be built. He looked approvingly at the rolling, tree-clad
hills as the view progressed.

Suddenly, he frowned in annoyance. The great northern null was in
turbulence again, thrusting its shapeless arms down toward the borders
of Kira Barra. He growled softly.

There, he told himself, was the result of the carelessness of those
lackland fools who had been entrusted with the defense of the home
planet. Their loose, poorly planned defenses had allowed the pseudomen
of the Fifth to dash in and drop their destructors in a good many spots
on the surface. And here was one of them.

Here was a huge area which had once been the site of a great city and
which had contained the prosperous and productiv