fission and fusion bombs. They send missiles,
without warning, against visitors. Thus, the last starship to visit us
here disregarded my warning and sent down a sensing device as
usual--Engineers do not land on non-telepathic worlds, you know--and it
was destroyed."

"You're a Guardian of Humanity," Garlock said. "Can't you straighten
people out?"

"Of course not!" The Arpalone was outraged. "We guard humanity against
incompatibles and non-humans; but it is not our business to interfere
with humanity if it wishes to destroy itself. That is its privilege and
its own business!"

Garlock probed down. "No telepathy, even--not even a Seven. This planet
_is_ backward--back to Year One. And nothing but firecrackers--we're
going down, aren't we?"

"I'll say we are!" Belle said. "This will break the monotony, at least,"
and the others agreed.

"You won't object, I take it," Garlock said to the Inspector, "if we try
to straighten them out. We can postpone the blow-up a few years, at
least."

"No objections, of course. In fact, I can say that we Guardians of
Humanity would approve such action."

Down the _Pleiades_ went, into the air of the nation known as the
"Allied Republican Democracies of the World," and an atomic-warheaded
rocket came flaming up.

"Hm ... m ... m. Ingenious little gadget, at that," James reported,
after studying it thoroughly. "Filthy thing for fall-out, though, if it
goes off. Where'll I flip it, Clee? One of their moons?"

"Check. Third one out--no chance of any contamination from there."

The missile vanished; and had any astronomer been looking at that
world's third and outermost moon at the moment, he might have seen a
tremendous flash of light, a cloud of dust, and the formation of a new
and different crater among the hundreds already there.

"No use waiting for 'em, Jim. All three of you toss everything they've
got out onto that same moon, being sure not to hurt anybody--yet. I'll
start asking questions."

The captain who had fired the first missile appeared in the Main. He
reached for his pistol, to find that he did not have one. He tensed his
muscles to leap at Garlock, to find that he could not move.

Garlock drove his probe. "Who is your superior officer?" and before the
man could formulate a denial, that superior stood helpless beside him.

* * *

Then three--and four. At the fifth:

"Oh, you are the man I want. Prime Minister--euphemism for
Dict