eld below him. In it lay close
packed a great mass of ships, a concourse of Titans of Space,
dreadnoughts that were soon to set out to win--not a nation, not even a
world, but to conquer a solar system, and to win for their owners a vast
new sun, a sun that would light them and heat them for long ages to
come.

Momentarily Taj Lamor's gaze followed the retreating figure of Tordos
Gar, the Elder; a figure with stooped shoulders and bowed head. His
quiet yet vibrant parting words still resounded in his ears:

"Taj Lamor, remember what I tell you. If you win this awful war--you
lose. As will our race. Only if you lose will you win."

With a frown Taj Lamor stared down at the vast metal hulls glistening
softly in the dull light of far-off stars, the single brightly beaming
star that was their goal, and the dim artificial lighting system. From
the distance came to him the tapping and humming of the working machines
below as they strove to put the finishing touches to the great ships.

He raised his eyes toward the far-off horizon, where a great yellow star
flamed brilliantly against the black velvet of space. He thought of that
planet where the sky had been blue--an atmosphere of such intensity that
it colored the sky!

Thoughtfully he gazed at the flaming yellow point.

He had much to consider now. They had met a new race, barbarians in
some ways, yet they had not forgotten the lessons they had learned; they
were not decadent. Between his eon-old people and their new home stood
these strange beings, a race so young that its age could readily be
counted in millennia, but withal a strong, intelligent form of life. And
to a race that had not known war for so many untold ages, it was an
unthinkable thing that they must kill other living, intelligent beings
in order that they might live.

They had no need of moving, Tordos Gar and many others had argued; they
could stay where they were forever, and never find any need for leaving
their planet. This was the voice of decadence, Taj Lamor told himself;
and he had grown to hate that voice.

There were other men, men who had gone to that other solar system, men
who had seen vast oceans of sparkling water, showering from their
ruffled surfaces the brilliant light of a great, hot sun. They had seen
towering masses of mountains that reached high into the blue sky of a
natural atmosphere, their mighty flanks clothed with green growth;
natural plants in abundance.

And best of