What happened next, they never knew exactly. On the dark surface of the planetoid a blazing bubble of white incandescence appeared, expanding within split seconds to all but obscure the whole bulk of the disk. It churned and whirled and flashed, mushrooming out in a hellish coruscation of destruction. The blaze of light outlined the two men and the ship and the planetoids within a fifty mile circle and the expanding shock wave fanned out. It struck the two space armored men to send them spinning wildly. The glowing bulk of the monitor reeled and bucked. Strike felt himself whipping up and down at the end of the cable that bound him to Cob Whitley. He felt himself being buffeted and burned by the dazzling flare of atomic fire. The merciful blackness spread itself like a curtain over his tortured eyes....

Strykalski opened his eyes and stretched his battered body. His head was bandaged, and he could feel the familiar tingle of paratannic salve on his burns. Pain still throbbed in little red needles behind his dazzled eyes. He drew a long rasping breath and looked around him. He was in the Cleopatra's infirmary. A Medic was standing near the bulkhead. Cob lay on a bunk nearby. Ivy and Celia Graham were leaning over him.

"Great Space!" he muttered, "What happened?"

"The shot Cob fired ... it ... it blew up," Celia said.

"That's putting it rather mildly. But why? And how did we get back here?"

"Celia found you on the Radar," said Ivy, "And Bayne took a skeeterboat out and picked you up after we got Lover-Girl back right side up."

"Cob?"

As though in answer to Strykalski's question, a low moan came from the bandaged form of the Executive. "Ohhh.... Ye gods and ... little catfish! I wish I ... had a Martini...."

Strike smiled through cut lips. Cob was all right. He looked up at Ivy again. "But what happened?"

"Listen!" Ivy was saying excitedly, "I've got it! The answer! All the answers, I think! The glowing of the ship ... the lack of mass for everything native to this space ... the solid shot exploding!"

Things were becoming clear to Strykalski now. Of course! He sat up painfully. It was really simple enough when one thought it through. In negative space....

Ivy went on. "Strike, the ship glows because there is matter everywhere ... even in interstellar 

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