r them as any human who was
not a technical specialist might do. And--"

He interrupted himself, stood rubbing his chin for a moment.

"Well, actually," he said, "that should be enough to prepare you for a
look inside the Hlat's cubicle."

Quillan gave him a somewhat surprised glance. "I've been told it's
ugly as sin," he remarked. "But I've seen some fairly revolting
looking monsters before this."

Klayung coughed. "That's not exactly what I meant," he said. "I ...
well, let's just open the thing up. Would you mind, major?"

"Not at all." Quillan stepped over to the side of the cubicle,
unlocked the door switch and pulled it over. They both moved back a
few feet before the front of the cubicle. A soft humming came for some
seconds from the door's mechanisms; then it suddenly swung open.
Quillan stooped to glance inside, straightened instantly again, hair
bristling.

"_Where is it?_" he demanded, the Miam Devil out in his hand.

Klayung looked at him thoughtfully. "Not very far away, I believe. But
I can assure you, major, that it hasn't the slightest intention of
attacking us--or anybody else--at present."

Quillan grunted, looked back into the cubicle. At the far end, the
Kinmartens lay side by side, their faces composed. They appeared to be
breathing regularly.

"Yes," Klayung said, "they're alive and unharmed." He rubbed his chin
again. "And I think it would be best if we simply closed the cubicle
now. Later we can call a doctor over from the hospital to put them
under sedation before they're taken out. They've both had thoroughly
unnerving experiences, and it would be advisable to awaken them
gradually to avoid emotional shock."

He moved over to the side of the cubicle, turned the door switch back
again. "And now for the rest of it," he said. "We may as well sit down
again, major. This may take a little time."

* * * * *

"Let's look at the thing for a moment from the viewpoint of the Hlat,"
he resumed when he was once more comfortably seated. "Eltak's death
took it by surprise. It hadn't at that point grasped what the
situation in the Executive Block was like. It took itself out of sight
for the moment, killing one of the gang leaders in the process, then
began prowling about the various levels of the building, picking up
information from the minds and conversation of the men it encountered.
In a fairly short time, it learned enough to understand what was
planned by