oning by the roundabout "Hanlon to Geck to the Guddus back to Geck
back to Hanlon" method, he still couldn't get that specific information.

"If it isn't tiring you too much, Geck, please ask them if there is any
building going on besides the smelters at the iron mines?" Hanlon
requested.

Soon other minds about the planet were coming in, and the story began to
unfold--there were several factories making many machines. But none of
the natives had the least idea what kind, or for what purpose they were
being made.

"Think they are going to be put in great metal huts humans are making,"
one thought ran, and Hanlon quickly grabbed onto that.

"What sort of metal huts?"

"Things that look like huge eggs."

"Space ships, you mean?"

Another thought broke in. "Yes, they like ships human come in, but much
greater."

Hanlon fumed. Oh, if only he could see ... but wait, maybe he could get
the information he needed. "Ask if anyone is looking at one of those
'eggs' right now," he commanded Geck through the transformer.

"Yes, An-yon, many Guddu right at edge of great place of making. Brother
of me, Nock, him there."

"Ask him, please, to describe what he sees. Maybe that will give me a
good picture of what it is."

"Will be glad to try, but not knowing your language and having no
compare your measurement to ours, am not sure can do what you wish," he
felt Nock say.

This, too, surprised Hanlon. That native certainly had a real mind, to
grasp that difficulty so well, and to realize the limitations of
telepathic communications with one alien to his race.

"Please picture it in your mind as you see it, and use some common
objects of the planet for comparison of their sizes," Hanlon urged
through Geck's mind. "That way I think we can get along."

Almost instantly a picture of a gigantic egg formed in his mind, but
with enough variations from an actual egg so that Hanlon realized it
was, indeed, a space ship the native was viewing. Soon Hanlon saw a
great tree pictured beside the ship, and at the base of the tree a
native was standing.

Quickly Hanlon estimated. The adult natives he had seen were almost all
about six feet tall. As nearly as he could judge that tree was a good
fifteen times the height of the Guddu, and the ship was the same height
as the tree, and nearly three times as long.

Wow! What a ship! But it must be wrong. Even the largest Corps' warships
were nowhere near that huge. Nor were even any of th