that occur here in the advent of blizzards, floods, fires and other
disasters. There is only one reaction we really care about now, though.
That's the one directed towards the city people. Don't you realize
yet--they treat you all as another natural disaster!

"We'll never know exactly how it came about, though there is a clue in
that diary I found, dating from the first days on this planet. It said
that a forest fire seemed to have driven new species towards the
settlers. Those weren't new beasts at all--just old ones with new
attitudes. Can't you just imagine how those protected, over-civilized
settlers acted when faced with a forest fire? They panicked of course.
If the settlers were in the path of the fire, the animals must have
rushed right through their camp. Their reaction would undoubtedly have
been to shoot the fleeing creatures down.

"When they did that they classified themselves as a natural disaster.
Disasters take any form. Bipeds with guns could easily be included in
the category. The Pyrran animals attacked, were shot, and the war began.
The survivors kept attacking and informed all the life forms what the
fight was about. The radioactivity of this planet must cause plenty of
mutations--and the favorable, survival mutation was now one that was
deadly to man. I'll hazard a guess that the psi function even instigates
mutations, some of the deadlier types are just too one-sided to have
come about naturally in a brief three hundred years.

"The settlers, of course, fought back, and kept their status as a
natural disaster intact. Through the centuries they improved their
killing methods, not that it did the slightest good, as you know. You
city people, their descendants, are heirs to this heritage of hatred.
You fight and are slowly being defeated. How can you possibly win
against the biologic reserves of a planet that can recreate itself each
time to meet any new attack?"

* * * * *

Silence followed Jason's words. Kerk and Meta stood white-faced as the
impact of the disclosure sunk in. Brucco mumbled and checked points off
on his fingers, searching for weak spots in the chain of reason. The
fourth city Pyrran, Skop, ignored all these foolish words that he
couldn't understand--or want to understand--and would have killed Jason
in an instant if there had been the slightest chance of success.

It was Rhes who broke the silence. His quick mind had taken in the
factors and s