e to his feet, and as he did he
stopped--frozen--staring at Copper as though he had never seen her
before.

"How did you say that Roga was judged responsible for Alexander coming
here?" he demanded.

"He went into Lyssa's tower--where Ulf and Lyssa tried to call
Heaven--and with his foolish meddling set the tower alight with a glow
that all could see. Less than a week later the Man Alexander came."

"Where was this tower?"

"Where Alexandria now stands. Man Alexander destroyed it and built his
house upon its ruins."

"And what was that place of the Pit?"

"The Shrine of Ulf--where the God-Egg struck Flora. It is buried in the
pit, but the Silent Death has protected it from blasphemy--and besides
Man Alexander never learned about it. We feared that he would destroy it
as he did Lyssa's tower."

A wild hope stirred in Kennon. "We're going home," he announced.

"Good."

"And we're going to get a pair of radiation suits--and then we're coming
back. We'll have a good look at that Pit, and if what's in there is what
I think it is"--his face was a mixture of grimness and eagerness--"we'll
blow this whole operation off this planet!"

Copper blanched. "It is death to meddle with the God-Egg," she said.

"Superstition!" Kennon scoffed. "If that Egg is what I think, it was
made by men, and you are their descendant."

"Perhaps you're right, but I can't help thinking you are wrong," she
said soberly. "Look at the trouble that came with Roga's meddling. Be
careful that you do not bring us a worse fate."

"I'll be very careful. We'll take every precaution."

"We?"

"You're coming, of course. I can't imagine you staying away."

Copper nodded.

"You shouldn't worry so much," Kennon teased. "You know we men live
forever."

"That is true."

"And if I'm right you're just as human as I. And you're capable of
living as long as I do."

"Yes, sir," Copper said. Her voice was unconvinced, her expression
noncommittal.

"You females," Kennon said in quick exasperation. "You drive a man
crazy. Get an idea in your head and it takes triatomate to blast it out.
Now let's go."

Two hours brought them back to the volcanic area, and knowing what to
look for, Kennon located the pockmarked mountain valley. From the air it
looked completely ordinary. Kennon was amazed at the perfection of the
natural camouflage. The Pit was merely another crater in the pitted
ground. He dropped to a lower altitude, barely a hundred feet above