's desires in this office.

"Now tell me," he continued, "your impression of these people."

"They're an enigma," Matson said flatly. "To tell the truth, I can't
figure them out." He ran his fingers through his hair with a worried
gesture. "I'm supposed to be a pretty fair physicist, and I've had
quite a bit of training in the social sciences, but both the
mechanisms and the psychology of these Aztlans are beyond my
comprehension. All I can say for sure is that they're as far beyond us
as we are beyond the cavemen. In fact, we have so little in common
that I can't think of a single reason why they would want to stay
here, and the fact that they do only adds to my confusion."

"But you must have learned something," the President said.

"Oh we've managed to collect data," Matson replied. "But there's a lot
of difference between data and knowledge."

"I can appreciate that, but I'd still like to know what you think.
Your opinion could have some weight."

Matson doubted it. His opinions were contrary to those of the
majority. Still, the Chief asked for it--and he might possibly have an
open mind. It was a chance worth taking.

"Well, Sir, I suppose you've heard of the so-called "wild talents"
some of our own people occasionally possess?"

The President nodded.

"It is my belief," Matson continued, "that the Aztlans possess these
to a far greater degree than we do, and that their science is based
upon them. They have something which they call psychomathematics,
which by definition is the mathematics of the mind, and this seems to
be the basis of their physical science. I saw their machines, and I
must confess that their purpose baffled me until I realized that they
must be mechanisms for amplifying their own natural equipment. We know
little or nothing about psi phenomena, so it is no wonder I couldn't
figure them out. As a matter of fact we've always treated psi as
something that shouldn't be mentioned in polite scientific
conversation."

The President grinned. "I always thought you boys had your blind
spots."

"We do--but when we're confronted with a fact, we try to find out
something about it--that is if the fact hits us hard enough, often
enough."

"Well, you've been hit hard and often," the President chuckled, "What
did you find out?"

"Facts," Matson said grimly, "just facts. Things that could be
determined by observation and measurement. We know that the aliens are
telepathic. We also know that they