ord's thought was
incoherent.

"If you want me to work with you you had better start believing right
now that there are a lot of things you don't know," Belle went on
relentlessly. "Stop believing that just because a thing has not already
happened on this primitive, backward, mudball planet of yours, it can't
happen anywhere or anywhen. You do believe, however, whether you want to
or not, things you see with your own eyes?"

"Yes. I can _not_ be hypnotized."

"I'm very glad you believe that much." Avengord did not notice that she
neither confirmed nor denied the truth of his statement. "To that end
you will go now into the hospital room and see the bandaging going on.
You will see and hear the news broadcast going out as I prepared it."

He went, and came back a badly shaken man.

"But they're sending it out exactly as it happened!" he protested.
"They'll all scatter out so fast and so far we'll _never_ catch them!"

"By no means. You see, the amputees didn't believe that they would lose
their hands. Their superiors didn't believe it, either; they assured
each other and their underlings that it was just capitalistic bluff and
nonsense. And since they are all even more materialistic and hidebound
and unbelieving than you are, they all are now highly confused--at a
complete loss."

"You can say _that_ again. If I, working with you and having you
pounding it into my head, couldn't more than half believe it...."

"So they are now very frightened, as well as confused, and the director
of their whole spy system is now violating rule and precedent by sending
out messengers to summon certain high agents to confer with him in his
secret place."

"If you'll tell me where, I'll get over to my office...."

"No. We'll both be in your office in plenty of time. We'll watch Lola
get started. It will be highly instructive for you to watch a really
capable Operator at work."

* * *

President Benton had been introduced; had in turn finished introducing
Lola. The crowd, many thousands strong, was cheering. Lola was stepping
into the carefully marked speaker's place.

"You may disconnect these," she waved a hand at the battery of
microphones, "since I do not use speech. Not only do I not know any of
your various languages, but no one language would suffice. My thought
will go to every person on this, your world."

"World?" the President asked in surprise. "Surely not behind the
Curtains? They w