on. Below, Cephalon spread like a visionary's dream of
a far-away future blended with a far-away past. Along wide, palm shaded
avenues the flat-roofed terraced houses fanned out into the desert.
Style elements of ancient Peru and Mexico were blended together with the
latest advances of technology, such as the rectangular sheets of water
which covered and cooled the roofs. The business center, dotted with
helicopter landing fields on top of the pyramidal buildings, was
reminiscent of the classic Babylon and Nineveh. At the center of the
man-made oasis a huge fortress-like structure sprawled and towered like
a seven-pointed star. Even so, for all its impressiveness of masonry,
the lush green of its parks, the bursts of color from its hanging
gardens, made Cephalon resemble one enormous flower bed.

Overawed and mystified the lone passenger from Down-Under took in the
scene while the big plane circled with diminished speed. "It's
beautiful," he murmered. "It's a dream." And louder then: "Pardon me if
I find it hard to trust my senses. I've been away from home for more
than ten years, to be sure. But then, even in the Australian bush I've
received some periodicals and scientific journals from the U.S.A. Surely
if a city like this has been built during my absence there should have
been mention of the fact. And surely a city like this must show on some
map. I don't understand. The longer I look the less I understand...."

The flight engineer shrugged. "It's a new city, maybe that's why it
doesn't show."

Lee nodded. "In that case you must know the meaning of all this. Why did
they build this city in the middle of the desert? What purpose does it
serve? Why am I here? Why are we circling for so long? There don't seem
to be any other planes up in the air."

"We cannot come in until our cargo has been examined and okayed," the
engineer said.

Lee raised a pair of heavy and untidy brows: "Cargo examination? In
mid-air and with nobody from the ground examining it?"

"That's it. It's being done by Radar, one of the new fangled kinds, you
know." He grinned: "I hope, doctor, that your termite species is neither
explosive nor fissionable in any way. Because in that case we could
never make a landing in Cephalon."

"How utterly absurd," Lee said disgustedly. "Even a child would know
better. There is no war going on--or is there? What makes them take such
absurd precautions?"

The engineer narrowed his eyes. "You're an American