ch you possess, I
shall presently go away. On Orado, a few hours later, Tranest's
ambassador will have a quiet talk with some members of the Federation
Council. And that will be all, really." She smiled. "No dramatic
pursuit! No hue and cry! A few treaties will be considerably revised.
And the whole hubbub about the plasmoids will be over." She nodded.
"Because they can be made to work, you know. And very well!"

Doctor Veetonia hadn't looked away from Trigger while Lyad was speaking.
He said now, "My congratulations, First Lady! But the girl has not been
convinced in the least that she should cooperate. She may hope to be
rescued before the information you want can be forced from her."

The Ermetyne sighed. "Oh, really now, Trigger!" she very nearly pouted.
"Well, if I must explain about that to you, too, I shall."

She considered a moment.

"Did you see your facsimile?"

Trigger nodded. "Very briefly."

Lyad smiled. "How she and my other people passed in and out of that
dome, and how it happened that your room guards were found unconscious
and were very hurriedly taken to the medical department's contagious
ward, makes an amusing little story. But it would be too long in the
telling just now. Your facsimile is one of Tranest's finest actresses.
She's been studying and practicing being you for months. She knows where
to go and what to do in that dome to avoid contact with people who know
you too intimately. If it seems that discovery is imminent, she needs
only a minute by herself to turn into an entirely different personality.
So hours might pass without anyone even suspecting you were gone.

"But on the other hand," Lyad admitted fairly, "your double might be
caught immediately or within minutes. She would not be conscious then,
and I doubt your fierce little Commissioner would go to the unethical
limits of dead-braining a live woman. If he did, of course, he would
learn nothing from her.

"Let's assume, nevertheless, that for one reason and another your
friends suspect me immediately, and only me. At the time you were being
taken from the dome, I was observed leaving the Grand Commerce Center.
I'd shopped rather freely; a number of fairly large crates and so forth
were loaded into my speedboat. And we were observed returning to the
Aurora."

"Not bad," Trigger admitted. "Another facsimile, I suppose?"

"Of course." The Ermetyne glanced at a small jeweled wrist watch. "Now
the Aurora, if my orders were be