a profound sigh of
relief. He wouldn't have half the trouble he had expected--it was not
going to be a riot. And when he called the meeting to order he was
pleasanter and friendlier than Belle had ever before seen him.

"While I am calling this meeting to order, it is only in the widest
possible sense that I am its presiding officer, for we have as yet no
organization by the delegated authority of which any man or any woman
has any right to preside. Yesterday I ruled by force; simply because I
am stronger than any one of you or any pair of you. Today, in the light
of the developments of the last hour, that rule is done; except,
perhaps, for one or two isolated and non-representative cases which may
develop today. By this time tomorrow, I hope that we will be forever
done with the law of claw and fang. For, as a much abler man has
said--'To the really mature mind, the concept of status is completely
invalid.'"

"_He's putting that as a direct quote, Alsyne, and it isn't._" Belle
lanced the thought.

"_He thinks it is_," Alsyne flashed back. "_That is the way his
mathematician's mind recorded it._"

"This meeting is informal, preliminary and exploratory. A meeting of
minds from which, we hope, a useful and workable organization can be
developed. Since you all know what we think it basically should be,
there is no need to repeat it.

"I must now say something that a few of you will construe as a threat.
You are all Prime Operators. Each pair of you is the highest development
of a planet, perhaps of a solar system. You can learn if you will. You
can cooperate if you will. Any couple here who refuses to learn, and
hence to cooperate, will be returned to its native planet and will have
no further contact with this group.

"I now turn this meeting over to our first moderators, Alsyne and Therea
of Thaker; the oldest and ablest Prime Operators of us all."

"Thank you, Garlock of Tellus. One correction, however, if you please. I
who speak am neither this man nor this woman standing here, but both. I
am the Prime Unit of Thaker. For brevity, and for the purposes of this
meeting only, I could be called simply 'Thaker.' Before calling for
general discussion I wish to call particular attention to two points,
neither of which has been sufficiently emphasized.

"First, the purpose of a Prime Operator is to serve, not to rule. Thus,
no Prime should be or will be 'boss' of anything, except possibly of his
own starship.

"Se