amiliar sense organs. Sounds of the
faraway city, small sounds from the many living creatures in the
darkness. Smells and sights and pressures from all about him presented
themselves--were evaluated and recorded in the atomic structure of the
Triomed.

He was now equipped, he reflected with satisfaction, to carry out
further exploration. In the guise of the indigenous biped he could roam
among the natives at will. He remained in a sitting position, however,
while he familiarized himself with his host.

He had two articulated appendages fixed to the trunk at a point near and
below the skull-case. These ended in complex extremities consisting of
five jointed fingers. The same pattern was repeated at the lower end of
the trunk, but the extremities were suited there for the carrying of the
creature's considerable weight. Within the trunk were the customary
viscera generally associated with warm-blooded beings: lungs,
intestines, stomach, liver, bladder, reproductive organs and assorted
ducted and ductless glands. It was apparent to the Triomed that his
present body was in excellent health. He was greatly pleased.

After some careful experiments, the Triomed rose. If there was a proper
method of egress from the cubicle in which he found himself, it was not
imprinted on the biped's brain. For a moment this gave the alien pause.
He could, of course, determine the proper method by a tedious process of
trial and error, but that would take time and he had no desire to waste
the hours of darkness. One wall, he noted, consisted of vertical risers
fixed in the substance of the floor and ceiling. Beyond, he could see
the darkling woods and the sky-glow of the city. The answer, then, was
simple force. He did not doubt there was strength enough in the host's
musculature to distort the risers.

His assumption was quite correct.

* * * * *

Stepping through the bent risers, he picked his way along a narrow
walkway lined with cubicles similar to the one he had left. Within them,
dark shapes moved or lay sleeping. Some were alert, others were not. But
none gave an alarm. The Triomed reached the end of the walk, scaled a
fence easily and stood on a surface of wet grass that sloped away from
the low dark building toward the woods.

Behind him he heard a shout. A narrow beam of light pierced the night,
swinging to and fro with a searching motion. He had a fleeting glimpse
of a small biped running down th