ted. "A blue tie, huh?"

"And blue suede chukkas, to match," Colonel Sagen's hoarse voice broke
in. "Most unmilitary-looking uniform I ever saw on a space officer."

Colonel Nordsen, the psychiatrist, set his pipe aside. "Gradually, we
began building up a file of such weird discrepancies. Another pilot
landed wearing a handle-bar mustache. He couldn't possibly have grown so
much lip-hair in a month. Yet, the man claimed he'd sported the mustache
for years; and that every officer in his squadron was decked out with
one, too."

* * * * *

"Tell me just one thing," Lance pleaded. His nerves were gradually
getting more on edge. "What has all this got to do with Carolyn Sagen?
Why is she being kept from me?"

Nordsen's eyebrows met, evincing a little displeasure. "Don't you get
the drift, major? I've been trying to accomplish two things at the same
time. Cushion a shock for you--and explain why what has happened has
happened. There is no Carolyn Sagen. The colonel and his wife have
always been childless."

Lance got belligerent. "Say that again!"

"There is no Carolyn Sagen here."

"What d'you mean, when you say 'here'?"

Nordsen took off his shell-rimmed glasses, wiped them, restored them to
his boyish face. "I would advise you to brace yourself. By 'here,' I
mean on this particular time-track."

Lance stared at him.

"Doesn't the word have any significance for you?" Nordsen asked.

"Time-track? Sure, I've heard of the concept before. It's a theory that
parallel worlds branch off when ... hey!" Lance's tone rose to a shout.
"You're not trying to imply that ... that I'm on a diff--?"

"That's right. We're trying to tell you that you have obviously landed
in another time-track. One that is parallel to--but just a slight bit
different from the one you formerly knew. To you, we seem to be the
same officers as in that world; but of course, we're not. It isn't the
same universe. Hyperspace is tricky stuff, as our men are finding out.
You've just got bounced around by one of the trickiest things connected
with it."

Lance groaned. "Now, I'm told!"

"I'm sorry. It's nothing new, only the information is classified
top-secret in our world; and evidently in yours, too. It has to be
withheld from hype-trainees, otherwise they might deliberately flunk
their course. We're running pilot classes here on our track, too. We
have to keep them filled."

Lance was stunned. He hardly knew what