* *

Richard Everset and C. R. Jones had gone on the first interstellar
flight. They had found an inhabited planet in the region of Vega. The
rest was standard procedure.

A flip of the coin had decided it. Everset went down in the scouter,
maintaining radio contact with Jones, in the ship.

The recording of that contact was preserved for all Earth to hear.

"Just met the natives," Everset said. "Funny-looking bunch. Give you the
physical description later."

"Are they trying to talk to you?" Jones asked, guiding the ship in a
slow spiral over the planet.

"No. Hold it. Well I'm damned! They're telepathic! How do you like
that?"

"Great," Jones said. "Go on."

"Hold it. Say, Jonesy, I don't know as I like these boys. They haven't
got nice minds. Brother!"

"What is it?" Jones asked, lifting the ship a little higher.

"Minds! These bastards are power-crazy. Seems they've hit all the
systems around here, looking for someone to--"

"Yeh?"

"I've got that a bit wrong," Everset said pleasantly. "They are not so
bad."

Jones had a quick mind, a suspicious nature and good reflexes. He set
the accelerator for all the G's he could take, lay down on the floor and
said, "Tell me more."

"Come on down," Everset said, in violation of every law of spaceflight.
"These guys are all right. As a matter of fact, they're the most
marvelous--"

That was where the recording ended, because Jones was pinned to the
floor by twenty G's acceleration as he boosted the ship to the level
needed for the C-jump.

He broke three ribs getting home, but he got there.

A telepathic species was on the march. What was Earth going to do about
it?

A lot of speculation necessarily clothed the bare bones of Jones'
information. Evidently the species could take over a mind with ease.
With Everset, it seemed that they had insinuated their thoughts into
his, delicately altering his previous convictions. They had possessed
him with remarkable ease.

How about Jones? Why hadn't they taken him? Was distance a factor? Or
hadn't they been prepared for the suddenness of his departure?

One thing was certain. Everything Everset knew, the enemy knew. That
meant they knew where Earth was, and how defenseless the planet was to
their form of attack.

It could be expected that they were on their way.

Something was needed to nullify their tremendous advantage. But what
sort of something? What armor is there against thought? How do you dod