uctures and
incinerated millions of human beings remained of the world's first city.

Phobar was crushed, appalled, then utter loathing for this soulless
thing poured through him. If only--

"It is useless. You can do nothing," answered the ruler as though it had
grasped his thought.

"But why, if you could pick me off the Earth, do you not draw the radium
ores in the same way?" Phobar demanded.

"The orange-ray picks up only loose, portable objects. We can and will
transport the radium ores here by means of the ray after they have been
mined and placed on platforms or disks."

"Why did you select me from all the millions of people on Earth?"

"Solely because you were the first apparent scientist whom our cosmotel
chanced upon. It will be up to you to notify your Earth governments of
our demand."

"But afterwards!" Phobar burst out aloud. "What then?"

"We will depart."

"It will mean death to us! The solar system will be wrecked with Neptune
gone and Saturn following it!"

* * * * *

Garboreggg made no answer. To that impassive, cold, inhuman thing, it
did not matter if a nation or a whole world perished. Phobar had already
seen with what deliberate calm it destroyed a city, merely to show him
what power the lords of Xlarbti controlled. Besides, what guarantee was
there that the invaders would not loot the Earth of everything they
wanted and then annihilate all life upon it before they departed? Yet
Phobar knew he was helpless, knew that the men of Earth would be forced
to do whatever was asked of them, and trust that the raiders would
fulfill their promise.

"Two hours remain for your stay here," came the ruler's dictum to
interrupt his line of thought. "For the first half of that period you
will tell me of your world and answer whatever questions I may ask.
During the rest of the interval, I will explain some of the things you
wish to learn about us."

Again Phobar felt Garboreggg's disdain, knew that the metal giant
regarded him as a kind of childish plaything for an hour or two's
amusement. But he had no choice, and so he told Garboreggg of the life
on Earth, how it arose and along what lines it had developed; he
narrated in brief the extent of man's knowledge, his scientific
achievements, his mastery of weapons and forces and machines, his social
organization.

When he had finished, he felt as a Stone Age man might feel in the
presence of a brilliant scientist of t