were so deep, and so full. You don’t usually notice them, because they’re set so deeply in the shadows of his face, but his eyes are large.” She stopped, and shook her head in confusion. “I can’t really explain it. When I moved around him to the other side, I could see his eyes following me. He didn’t move, otherwise—it was as though only his eyes were alive. But they frightened me. There was much more in them than just … not seeing, or not caring. His eyes were alive.”

“That’s not much evidence to make you think the Hirlaji are dangerous.”

“Oh, I don’t know if they could be dangerous. But they’re not just … passive. They’re not vegetables. Not with those eyes.”

“All right,” Rynason said. “I’ll give Manning a full report, and we’ll put it in his hands.”

He picked up the telepather pack and slung it over his shoulder. Mara stood up, shaking away the dust which had blown against her feet.

“What will you do,” Malhomme asked, “if Manning decides that’s enough cause to kill the Hirlaji?”

“I’ll stop him,” Rynason said. “He’s not in control here, yet.”

Malhomme flashed his sardonic smile again. “Perhaps not … but if you need help, call to God. The books say nothing about alien races, but surely these must be God’s creatures too. And I’m always ready to break a few heads, if it will help.” He turned and spat into the dust. “Or even just for the hell of it,” he said.

Rynason found Manning that same afternoon, going over reports in his quarters. As soon as he began his description of the orders given to Tebron he found that Malhomme’s warnings had been correct.

“What did this machine say about us?” Manning asked sharply. “Why were the Hirlaji supposed to stay away from us?”

“Because we’re a warlike race. The idea was that if the Hirlaji stayed out of space they’d have about five thousand years before we found them.”

“How long ago was all this? I had your report here….”

“At least eight thousand years,” Rynason said. “They overestimated us.”

Manning stood up, scowling. There were heavy lines around his eyes and he hadn’t trimmed his thin beard. Whatever he was working on, Rynason thought, he was putting a lot of effort into it.

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