“It is forbidden to tell.”

“Can’t you at least hint?” I suggested.

He thought about that for a moment, then smiled. I did not like the look of that smile. “The solution should be obvious to one of your intelligence, diGriz. It’s all in the mind.”

He hopped into the air, clicked his heels together—and disappeared.

“What did he mean by that?” Inskipp said, scowling with concentration.

What did he mean? It was a clue directed at me so I should be able to solve the riddle. The first part was there to misdirect me I was sure, the bit about my intelligence. It’s all in the mind. My mind? Whose mind? Was it an idea we had not thought of before? Or was he really talking about minds? I had no idea.

Incuba was looking dreamily into space, thinking deep moral thoughts no doubt. I was beginning to think she was pretty dumb. But not Angelina. That lovely brow was furrowed with thought, for her mind was as highpowered as her body. She narrowed her eyes, concentrating—then suddenly widened them. Then smiled. When she caught me looking at her the smile broadened, and she winked. I raised my eyebrows, in an unspoken question and she nodded back, ever so slightly.

If I were reading the signs correctly all of this nonverbal communication indicated that she had solved the riddle. Having seen recently what real male chauvinist swine were, I was beginning to abandon my claim to that role. If Angelina had the answer I would humbly and with gratitude accept it from her. I leaned closer.

“If you know—tell us,” I said. “Credit where credit is due.”

“You are maturing as the years pass, aren’t you, darling!” She blew me a quick kiss, then raised her voice. “Gentlemen. The answer is obvious.”

“Well, not to me,” Inskipp said.

“It’s all in the mind, that’s what he said. Which can mean mind control…”

“The gray men!” I shouted. “The Kekkonshiki brain kinkers!”

“I still don’t see…”

“Because you see only a physical battle, Inskipp old warrior,” I said. “What that time traveling twit was hinting at was an end to the war completely.”

“How?”

“By getting the aliens to change their minds. By having them learn to love human beings so they can turn their industrial might to war reparations and make this universe a model for all the others. And who are the master mind changers? None but the Kekkonshiki. They told me that their psychcontrol techniques work on all races. Let’s put them to the test.”

“And how do you think they will do that?” an admiral asked.

“The details will be worked out later,” I said, meaning I hadn’t the slightest idea at this time. “Order up a battle cruiser and see that there are plenty of space marines aboard. I am off at once to arrange the salvation of the galaxy.”

“I am not sure about that,” Incuba said. “There is a question of morality in mind manipulation…” Her words died away and she slumped to the floor.

“Poor thing, she’s fainted,” Angelina said. “All the stress, you know. I’ll take her to her quarters.”

Fainted indeed! I had seen my wife in action before. As she spirited the unconscious girl from the room I moved fast, taking advantage of the time she had bought me.

“The battle cruiser! Order it to the spacelook now for I am going to board her.”

“Correct,” Inskipp said. “It’s on its way.” He was aware of the byplay too and just as eager as I was to get the project launched while the Morality Corps observer was accidentally indisposed.

We made a fast and silent trip. For security measures I imposed a radio blackout from repeater stations and told the psiman to accept no messages directed at us. So when the frigid world of Kekkonshiki appeared on the screens ahead I still had not been ordered back. And, after giving the subject a good deal of concentration, I knew what had to be done.

“Break radio blackout and contact the landing party,” I ordered.

“They’re on now,” the operator said. “But they haven’t landed. Their ship is still in orbit.”

“What’s happened?”

“Here’s the commander, sir.”

An officer with a bandaged head appeared on the screen. He saluted when he saw all the gold braid I was wearing.

“They insist on fighting,” he said. “My orders were to pacify the planet, not blow it up. So when all attempts at communication failed I withdrew. After neutralizing their spacers.”

“They know they can’t win.”

“You know that and I know that. Now try telling it to those madmen.”

It should have been expected. The fatalistic Kekkonshiki would much prefer to die than surrender. In fact surrender was probably a word that they did not know, a concept alien to their Moral Philosophy of survival. Yet we needed their help. There was only one person on the planet—hopefully still alive—who could possibly arrange that.

“Stay in orbit, Commander, and await instructions. This ship will join you after I have made contact on the planet. You’ll hear from me when it is time to land.”

Within an hour I had issued all the orders, gathered what equipment I would need, and was floating down in a spacesuit towards the white planet below. The gravchute slowed my drop and the infrared scope let me see clearly through the driving snow. I steered for a familiar building and dropped, not too lightly, onto a roof where I had been before. It was all very cold and very depressing because I had hoped I had seen the last of this particular world.

I suppose I could have landed on the ground and gone in through the front door, taken a squad of marines too to help me shoot up any opposition. But that was not what I wanted. A quiet contact with Hanasu first, before anyone knew I was back. The fact that it was well after dark had convinced me that retracing my old route might be the best way. I pried open the trapdoor and, after much wriggling and puffing, managed to get myself and the spacesuit through the opening and into the building. First step accomplished. Then I took off the cumbersome garment, unlocked the door for what I hoped was the last time, and walked silently down the corridor.

“You are the enemy, you must be killed,” a small boy said in a toneless voice as he hurled himself at me. I stepped aside so he stumbled and fell, leaving me the perfect target. The needle from my gun easily penetrated the seat of his trousers and he sighed and relaxed. I tucked him under my arm and went on as quietly as I could.

By the time I pushed open Hanasu’s office door I was carrying four of them altogether and beginning to stagger. He looked up from behind the desk and, if he were capable of smiling, this is the time when he would have.

“It all worked as you planned,” he said. “The message was received. You escaped.”

“I did, and now I’m back. With some small friends who were not happy to see me.”

“They listen to the radio broadcasts from Kome and they do not know what to believe. They are disturbed.”

“Well, these ones are quiet enough now. Let me make them comfortable on your floor.”

“I will use the axion feed. They will remember nothing.”

“Not this time. They’ll sleep long enough not to bother us. Now tell me—what has happened since I left.”

“Confusion. It is written nowhere in our Moral Philosophy what to do at this sort of time. Therefore when Kome issued his orders to fight or die he was obeyed. Everyone can understand that. There was no way I could combat him by myself, so I have done nothing. I have waited.”

“Very wise. But now that I am here there is something very important that you can do.”

“What is that?”

“Convince your people here that they must take up alien disguise again and go back and control the aliens.”

“I do not understand. You wish them to encourage the war again?”

“No. Quite the opposite. I want them to stop it.”

“You must explain. This is beyond me.”

“Let me ask you a question first. Could the synaptic generators be used on the aliens? To convince them that human beings are really very nice after all. We do have damp eyeballs and sweat a lot. Fingers aren’t too different from tentacles when you think about it. Could this be done?”