prolonged discussion of our social structure, and there is no
time for that. Later, perhaps--but now to our history.

"Twenty centuries ago," Tonlos continued, "there were two great rival
nations on this planet. The planet Turo is naturally divided so that
there would be a tendency toward such division. There are two enormous
belts of land around the globe, one running from about 20 degrees north
of the equator to about 80 degrees north. This is my country, Lanor. To
the south there is a similar great belt of land, of almost identical
size, Kaxor. These two nations have existed for many thousands of our
years.

"Two thousand years ago a great crisis arose in the affairs of the
world--a great war was in process of starting--but a Lanorian developed
a weapon that made it impossible for the Kaxorians to win--and war was
averted. The feeling was so strong, however, that laws were passed which
stopped all intercourse between the two nations for these thousands of
years. By devious ways we've learned that Kaxor has concentrated on the
study of physics, perhaps in hopes of finding a weapon with which they
could threaten us once more. Lanor has studied the secrets of the human
mind and body. We have no disease here any longer; we have no insanity.
We are students of chemistry, but physics has been neglected to a great
extent. Recently, however, we have again taken up this science, since it
alone of the main sciences had not received our study. Only twenty-five
years have been spent on these researches, and in that short time we
cannot hope to do what the Kaxorians have done in two thousand.

"The secret of the heat ray, the weapon that prevented the last war, had
been almost forgotten. It required diligent research to bring it to life
again, for it is a very inefficient machine--or was. Of late, however,
we have been able to improve it, and now it is used in commerce to smelt
our ores. It was this alone that allowed this city to put up the slight
resistance that we did. We were surely doomed. This is the capital of
Lanor, Sonor. We--and the nation--would have fallen but for you.

"We have had some warning that this was coming. We have spies in Kaxor
now, for we learned of their intentions when they flew the first of
their giant planes over one of our cities and dropped a bomb! We have
been trying, since we discovered the awful scope of their plans, to send
you a warning if you could not help us. That you should come here at