of barbarians
conquered our planets. We surrendered naturally and soon were serving
our new masters. Five hundred years passed and they destroyed
themselves. This has been the pattern of our existence from that day to
this."

"You mean you've been slaves for five million years?" Griffin was
incredulous.

"Servitude has ever been a refuge for the scholar and the philosopher."

"But what point is there in such a life? Why do you continue living
this way?"

"What is the point in any way of life? Continued existence. Personal
immortality is neither desirable nor possible. We settled for
perpetuation of the race."

"But what about self-determination? You know enough astronomy to
understand novae. Surely you realize it could happen again. What would
you do without a technology to build spaceships?"

"Many stars have gone nova during our history. Usually the barbarians
came in time. When they didn't--"

"You mean you don't really care?"

"All barbarians ask that sooner or later," Joe smiled. "Sometimes
toward the end they even accuse us of destroying them. We don't. Every
technology bears the seeds of its own destruction. The stars are older
than the machinery that explores them."

"You used technology to get from one system to another."

"We used it, but we were never part of it. When machines fail, their
people die. We have no machines."

"What would you do if this sun were to nova?"

"We can serve you. We are not unintelligent."

"Willing to work your way around the galaxy, eh? But what if we refused
to take you?"

"The race would go on. Kung Su tells me there is no life on planets of
this system, but there are other systems."

"You're whistling in the dark," Griffin scoffed. "How do you know if
any of the Rational People survive?"

"How far back does your history go?" Joe inquired.

"It's hard to say exactly," Griffin replied. "Our earliest written
records date back some seven thousand years."

"You are all of one race?"

"No, you may have noticed Kung Su is slightly different from the rest
of us."

"Yes, Griffin, I have noticed. When you return ask Kung Su for the
legend of creation. More hot water?" Joe stirred and Griffin guessed
the interview was over. He drank another ritual cup, made his farewells
and walked thoughtfully back to camp.

* * * * *

"Kung," Griffin asked over coffee next afternoon, "how well up are you
on Chinese mythology?"

"Oh