THE OTHER LIKENESS _There is a limit to how perfect a counterfeit can be--a limit that cannot be passed without an odd phenomenon setting in.... _ BY JAMES H. SCHMITZ ILLUSTRATED BY SCHELLING When he felt the sudden sharp tingling on his skin which came from thealarm device under his wrist watch, Dr. Halder Leorm turned unhurriedlyfrom the culture tray he was studying, walked past the laboratorytechnician to the radiation room, entered it and closed the door behindhim. He slipped the instrument from his wrist, removed its back plate, and held it up to his eye. He was looking into the living room of his home, fifty miles away inanother section of Orado's great city of Draise. A few steps from theentry, a man lay on his back on the carpeting, eyes shut, face deeplyflushed, apparently unconscious. Halder Leorm's mouth tightened. The manon the carpet was Dr. Atteo, his new assistant, assigned to thelaboratory earlier in the week. Beyond Atteo, the entry from theresidence's delivery area and car port stood open. Fingering the rim of the tiny scanner with practiced quickness, HalderLeorm shifted the view to other sections of the house, finally to thecar port. An empty aircar stood in the port; there was no one in sight. Halder sighed, replaced the instrument on his wrist, and glanced over ata wall mirror. His face was pale but looked sufficiently composed. Leaving the radiation room, he picked up his hat, said to thetechnician, "Forgot to mention it, Reef, but I'll have to head over tocentral laboratories again. " [Illustration] Reef, a large, red-headed young man, glanced around in mild surprise. "They've got a nerve, calling you across town every two days!" heobserved. "Whose problem are you supposed to solve now?" "I wasn't informed. Apparently, something urgent has come up and theywant my opinion on it. " "Yeah, I bet!" Reef scratched his head, glanced along the rows ofculture trays. "Well ... Nothing here at the moment I can't handle, evenif Atteo doesn't show up. Will you be back before evening?" "I wouldn't count on it, " Halder said. "You know how those conferencestend to go. " "Uh-huh. Well, Dr. Leorm, if I don't see you before tomorrow, give mylove to your beautiful wife. " Halder smiled back at him from the door. "Will do, Reef!" He let thedoor slide shut behind him, started towards the exit level of the hugepharmaceutical plant. Reef had acted in a completely normal manner. If, as seemed very probable, "Dr. Atteo" was a Federation agent engaged ininvestigating Dr. Halder Leorm, Halder's co-workers evidently had notbeen apprised of the fact. Still, Halder thought, he must warn Kilbyinstantly. It was quite possible that an attempt to arrest him would bemade before he left the building. He stepped into the first ComWeb booth on his route, and dialed Kilby'sbusiness number. His wife had a desk job in one of the major fashionstores in the residential section of Draise, and--which was fortunatejust now--a private office. Her face appeared almost immediately on thescreen before him, a young face, soft-looking, with large, gray eyes. She smiled in pleased surprise. "'Lo, Halder!" "'Lo, Kilby.... Did you forget?" Kilby's smile became inquiring. "Forget what?" "That we're lunching together at Hasmin's today. " Halder paused, watching the color drain quickly from Kilby's cheeks. "Of course!" she whispered. "I did forget. Got tied up in ... And ... I'll leave right now! All right?" Halder smiled. She was past the first moment of shock and would be ableto handle herself. After all, they had made very precise preparationsagainst the day when they might discover that the Federation'ssuspicions had turned, however tentatively, in their direction. "That'll be fine, " he said. "I'm calling from the lab and will leave atonce"--he paused almost imperceptibly--"if I'm not held up. Meet you atHasmin's, in any case, in around twenty minutes. " Kilby's eyes flickered for an instant. If Halder didn't make it away, she was to carry out her own escape, as planned. That was theunderstanding. She gave him a tremulous smile. "And I'm forgiven?" "Of course. " Halder smiled back. * * * * * The guards at the check-out point were not men he knew, but Halderwalked through the ID-scanning band without incident, apparently withoutarousing interest. Beyond, to the left, was a wide one-way portal to atube station. His aircar was in the executive parking area on thebuilding's roof, but the escape plan called for both of them to abandontheir private cars, which were more than likely to be traps, and use thepublic transportation systems in starting out. Halder entered the tube station, went to a rented locker, opened it andtook out two packages, one containing a complete change of clothing anda mirror, the other half a dozen canned cultures of as many varietiesof microlife--highly specialized strains of life, of which thepharmaceutical concern that employed Dr. Halder Leorm knew no morethan it did of the methods by which they had been developed. Halder carried the packages into a ComWeb booth which he locked andshielded for privacy. Then he opened both packages and quickly removedhis clothing. Opening the first of the cultures, he dipped one of theneedles into it and, watching himself in the mirror, made a carefullymeasured injection in each side of his face. He laid the needle down andopened the next container, aware of the enzyme reaction that had begunto race through him. Three minutes later, the mirror showed him a dark-skinned stranger withhigh cheek bones, heavy jaw, thick nose, slightly slanted eyes, grayinghair. Halder disposed of the mirror, the clothes he had been wearing andthe remaining contents of the second package. Unchecked, the alienorganisms swarming in his blood stream now would have gone on to destroyhim in a variety of unpleasant ways. But with their work of disguisecompleted, they were being checked. He emerged presently from a tube exit in uptown Draise, on the terraceof a hotel forty stories above the street level. He didn't look aboutfor Kilby, or rather the woman Kilby would turn into on her way here. The plan called for him to arrive first, to make sure he hadn't beentraced, and then to see whether she was being followed. She appeared five minutes later, a slightly stocky lady now, perhaps tenyears under Halder's present apparent age, dark-skinned as he was, showing similar racial characteristics. She flashed her teeth at him asshe came up, sloe eyes flirting. "Didn't keep you waiting, did I?" she asked. Halder growled amiably, "What do you think? Let's grab a cab and getgoing. " Nobody had come out of the tube exit behind her. Kilby nodded understandingly; she had remembered not to look back. Shewas talking volubly about some imaginary adventure as they started downthe terrace stairs towards a line of aircabs, playing her part, high-piled golden hairdo bobbing about. A greater contrast to theslender, quiet, gray-eyed girl, brown hair falling softly to hershoulders, with whom Halder had talked not more than twenty minutes agowould have been difficult to devise. The disguises might have been goodenough, he thought, to permit them to remain undetected in Draiseitself. But the plan didn't call for that. There were too many things at stake. Kilby slipped into the cab ahead of him without a break in her chatter. Her voice stopped abruptly as Halder closed the cab door behind him, activating the vehicle's one-way vision shield. Kilby was leaning acrossthe front seat beside the driver, turning off the comm box. Shestraightened, dropped down into the back seat beside Halder, biting herlip. The driver's head sagged sideways as if he had fallen asleep; thenhe slid slowly down on the seat and vanished from Halder's sight. "Got him instantly, eh?" Halder asked, switching on the passengercontrols. "Hm-m-m!" Kilby opened her purse, slipped the little gun which had beenin the palm of her left hand into it, reached out and gripped Halder'shand for an instant. "You drive, Halder, " she said. "I'm so nervous Icould scream! I'm scared cold! What happened?" * * * * * Halder lifted the cab out from the terrace, swung it skywards. "We wereright in wondering about Dr. Atteo, " he said. "Half an hour ago, heattempted to go through our home in our absence. We'll have to assumehe's a Federation agent. The entry trap knocked him out, but the fat'sprobably in the fire now. The Federation may not have been ready to makean arrest yet, but after this there'll be no hesitation. We'll have tomove fast if we intend to keep ahead of Atteo's colleagues. " Kilby drew in an unsteady breath. "You warned Rane and Santin?" Halder nodded. "I sent the alert signal to their apartment ComWeb in thecapital. Under the circumstances, I didn't think a person-to-person callwould be advisable. They'll have time to pack and get out to the ranchbefore we arrive. We'll give them the details then. " "Did you reset the trap switch at the house entry?" Halder slowed the cab, turning it into one of the cross-city trafficlines above Draise. "No, " he said. "Knocking out a few more Federationagents wouldn't give us any advantage. It'll be eight or nine hoursbefore Atteo will be able to talk; and, with any luck at all, we'll beclear of the planet by that time. " The dark woman who was Kilby and a controlled devil's swarm of microlifelooked over at him and asked in Kilby's voice, "Halder, do you think weshould still go on trying to find the others now?" "Of course. Why stop?" Kilby hesitated, said, "It took you three months to find me. Four monthslater, we located Rane Rellis ... And Santin, at almost the same time. Since then we've drawn one blank after another. A year and a half gone, and a year and a half left. " She paused, and Halder said nothing, knowing she was fighting to keepher voice steady. After a few seconds, Kilby went on. "Almost twelvehundred still to find, scattered over a thousand worlds. Most of themprobably in hiding, as we were. And with the Federation on our trail ... Even if we get away this time, what chance is there now of contactingthe whole group before time runs out?" Halder said patiently, "It's not an impossibility. We've been forced tospend most of the past year and a half gathering information, studyingthe intricate functioning of this gigantic civilization--so many thingsthat our mentors on Kalechi either weren't aware of or chose not to tellus. And we haven't done too badly, Kilby. We're prepared now to conductthe search for the group in a methodical manner. Nineteen hours inspace, and we'll be on another world, under cover again, with newidentities. Why shouldn't we continue with the plan until ... " Kilby interrupted without change of expression. "Until we hear some daythat billions of human beings are dying on the Federation's worlds?" Halder kept his eyes fixed on the traffic pattern ahead. "It won't cometo that, " he said. "Won't it? How can you be sure?" Kilby asked tonelessly. "Well, " Halder asked, "what else can we do? You aren't suggesting thatwe give ourselves up--" "I've thought of it. " "And be picked apart mentally and physically in the Federation'slaboratories?" Halder shook his head. "In their eyes we'd be Kalechi'screatures ... Monsters. Even if we turn ourselves in, they'll think it'ssome trick, that we'd realized we'd get caught anyway. We couldn'texpect much mercy. No, if everything fails, we'll see to it that theFederation gets adequate warning. But not, if we can avoid it, at theexpense of our own lives. " He glanced over at her, his eyes troubled. "We've been over this before, Kilby. " "I know. " Kilby bit her lip. "You're right, I suppose. " Halder let the cab glide out of the traffic lane, swung it aroundtowards the top of a tall building three miles to their left. "We'll beat the club in a couple of minutes, " he said. "If you're too disturbed, it would be better if you stayed in the car. I'll pick up ourflighthiking outfits and we can take the cab on to the city limitsbefore we dismiss it. " Kilby shook her head. "We agreed we shouldn't change any details of theescape plan unless it was absolutely necessary. I'll straighten out. I've just let this situation shake me too much. " * * * * * They set the aircab to traffic-safe random cruise control before gettingout of it at their club. It lifted quietly into the air again as soon asthe door had closed, was out of sight beyond the building before theyreached the club entrance. The driver's records had indicated that hisshift would end in three hours. Until that time he would not be missed. More hours would pass after the cab was located before the man returnedto consciousness. What he had to say then would make no difference. In one of the club rooms, rented to a Mr. And Mrs. Anley, they changedto shorts and flighthiking equipment, then took a tube to the outskirtsof Draise where vehicleless flight became possible. Forest parksinterspersed with small residential centers stretched away to the east. They set their flight harnesses to Draise's power broadcast system, moved up fifty feet and floated off into the woods, energizing drive anddirection units with the measured stroking motion which madeflighthiking one of the most relaxing and enjoyable of sports. Andone--so Halder had theorized--which would be considered an improbableoccupation for a couple attempting to escape from the Federation'sman-hunting systems. For an hour and a half, they held a steady course eastwards, followingthe contours of the rolling forested ground, rarely emerging into theopen. Other groups of vehicleless fliers passed occasionally; as membersof a sporting fraternity, they exchanged waves and shouted greetings. Atlast, a long, wild valley opened ahead, showing no trace of humanhabitation; at its far end began open land, dotted with small tobaccofarms where automatic cultivators moved unhurriedly about. Kilby, glancing back over her shoulder at Halder for a moment, swung aroundtowards one of the farms, gliding down close to the ground, Haldertwenty feet behind her. They settled down beside a hedge at the foot ofa slope covered with tobacco plants. A small gate in the hedgeimmediately swung open. "All clear here, folks!" a voice curiously similar to Halder's addressedthem from the gate speaker. Rane Rellis, a lanky, red-headed man with a wide-boned face, wasstriding down the slope towards them as they moved through the gate. "Wegot your alert, " he said, "but as it happens, we'd already realized thatsomething had gone wrong. " [Illustration] Kilby gave him a startled glance. "Somebody has been checking on you, too?" "Not that ... At least as far as we know. Come on up to the shed. Santin's already inside the mountain. " As they started along the narrowpath between the rows of plants, Rellis went on, "The first responsesto our inquiries came in today. One of them looked very promising. Santin flew her car to Draise immediately to inform you about it. Shescanned your home as usual before calling, discovered three strange menwaiting inside. " "When was this?" Halder interrupted. [Illustration] "A few minutes after one o'clock. Santin checked at once at your placeof work and Kilby's, learned you both were absent, deduced you werestill at large and probably on your way here. She called to tell meabout it. Your alert signal sounded almost before she'd finishedtalking. " Halder glanced at Kilby. "We seem to have escaped arrest by somethinglike five minutes, " he remarked dryly. "Were you able to bring therecords with you, Rane?" "Yes, everything. If we get clear of Orado, we can pick up almost wherewe left off. " Rane Rellis swung the door of the cultivator shed open andfollowed them in, closing and locking the door behind him. They crossedquickly through the small building to an open wall portal at the farend. Beyond the portal a large, brightly lit room was visible, comfortably furnished, windowless. Between that room and the shed theportal spanned a distance of seven miles, a vital point in theorganization of their escape route. If they were traced this far, thetrail would end--temporarily, at least--at the ranch. They stepped over into the room, and Rane Rellis pulled down a switch. Behind them the portal entry vanished. Back in the deserted ranchbuilding, its mechanisms were bursting into flames, would burn fiercelyfor a few seconds and fuse to dead slag. * * * * * Rane said tightly, "I feel a little better now ... Just a little! TheFed agents are good, but I haven't yet heard of detection devices thatcould drive through five hundred yards of solid rock to spot us inside amountain. " He paused as a tall girl with black hair, dark-brown eyes, came in from an adjoining room. Santin Rellis was the only one of thefour who was not employing a biological disguise at the moment. In spiteof the differences in their appearance, she might have been taken forKilby's sister. Halder told them what had occurred in Draise, concluded, "I'd believedthat suspicion was more likely to center first on one of you. Particularly, of course, on Santin, working openly in Orado'sIdentification Center. " Santin grinned. "And, less openly, copying out identity-patterns!" sheadded. Her face sobered quickly again. "There's no indication of whatdid attract attention to you?" Halder shook his head. "I can only think it's the microbiological workI've been doing. That, of course, would suggest that they already havean inkling of Kalechi's three-year plan to destroy the Federation. " Rane added, "And that at least one of the group already has beencaptured!" "Probably. " There was silence for a moment. Santin said evenly, "That isn't apleasant thought. Halder, everything we've learned recently at theIdentification Center indicates that Rane's theory is correct ... Everyone of the twelve hundred members of the Kalechi group probably can beanalyzed down to the same three basic identity-patterns, reshuffled inendless variation. The Federation wouldn't have to capture many of usbefore discovering the fact. It will then start doing exactly what we'retrying to do--use it to identify the rest of the group. " Halder nodded. "I've thought of that. " "You still intend to use the Senla Starlight Cruisers to get out intospace?" Rane asked. "Kilby and I will, " Halder said. "But now, of course, you two had betterselect one of the alternate escape routes. " "Why that?" Santin asked sharply. Halder looked at her. "That's obvious, isn't it? There's a good chanceyou're still completely in the clear. " "That's possible. But it isn't a good enough reason for splitting up. We're a working team, and we should stay together, regardless ofcircumstances. What do you say, Rane?" Her husband said, "I agree with you. " He smiled briefly at Halder. "We'll be waiting for you on the north shore of Lake Senla ten minutesbefore the Starlight Cruise lifts. Now, is there anything else todiscuss?" "Not at the moment. " Halder paused, dissatisfied, then went on. "Allright. We still don't know just what the Federation is capable of ... One move might as easily be wrong as the other. We'll pick you up, asarranged. Kilby and I are flighthiking on to Senla, so we might as wellstart immediately. " They went into the second room of the underground hideout. Rane turnedto the exit portal's controls, asked, "Where shall I let you out?" "We'll take the river exit, " Halder said. "Six miles from here, ninefrom the ranch ... That should be far enough. We'll be lost in an armyof vacationers from Draise and the capital thirty seconds after weemerge. " * * * * * It was dusk when Halder and Kilby turned into the crowded shore walk ofthe lake resort of Senla, moving unhurriedly towards a bungalow Halderhad bought under another name some months before. Halder's thoughts wentagain over the details of the final stage of their escape from Orado. Essentially, the plan was simple. An hour from now they would slidetheir small star cruiser out of the bungalow's yacht stall, pick up Raneand Santin on the far shore of the lake, then join the group of thirtyor so private yachts which left the resort area nightly for a two-hourflight to a casino ship stationed off the planet. A group cruise wasunlikely to draw official scrutiny even tonight; and after reaching thecasino, they should be able to slip on unobserved into space. There was, however, no way of knowing with certainty that the plan ... Or any other plan ... Would work. It was only during the past few monthsthat the four of them had begun to understand in detail the extent towhich the vast, apparently loose complex of the Federation's worlds wasactually organized. How long they had been under observation, how muchthe Federation suspected or knew about them--those questions were, atthe moment, unanswerable. So Halder walked on in alert silence, givinghis attention to anything which might be a first indication of danger inthe crowds surging quietly past them along Senla's shore promenade inthe summer evening. It was near the peak of the resort's season; asense of ease and relaxation came from the people he passed, theirvoices seeming to blend into a single, low-pitched, friendly murmur. Well, and in time, Halder told himself, if everything went well, he andKilby might be able to mingle undisguised, unafraid, with just such acrowd. But tonight they were hunted. He laid his hand lightly on Kilby's arm, said, "Let's rest on that benchover there for a moment. " She smiled up at him, said, "All right, " turned and led the way towardsan unoccupied bench set back among the trees above the walk. They satdown, and Halder quickly slipped the watch off his wrist and removed thescanner's cover plate. The bungalow was a few hundred yards away now, ona side path which led down to the lake. It was showing no lights, but asthe scanner reached into it, invisible radiation flooded the dark roomsand hallway, disclosing them to the instrument's inspection. For two orthree minutes, Halder studied the bungalow's interior carefully; then heshifted the view to the grounds outside, finally to the yacht stall andthe little star cruiser. Twice Kilby touched him warningly as somebodyappeared about to approach the bench, and Halder put down his hand. Butthe strangers went by without pausing. At last, he replaced the instrument on his wrist. He had discovered nosigns of intrusion in the bungalow; and, at any rate, it was clear thatno one was waiting there now, either in the little house itself or inthe immediate vicinity. He stood up, and put out his hand to assistKilby to her feet. "We'll go on, " he said. A few minutes later, they came along a narrow garden path to thebungalow's dark side entrance. There was to be no indication tonightthat the bungalow had occupants. Halder unlocked the door quietly, andafter Kilby had slipped inside, he stepped in behind her and secured thedoor. For an instant, as they moved along the short, lightless passage to thefront rooms, a curious sensation touched Halder--a terrifying convictionthat some undefinable thing had just gone wrong. And with that, hiswhole body was suddenly rigid, every muscle locking in mid-motion. Hefelt momentum topple him slowly forwards; then he was no longer fallingbut stopped, tilted off-balance at a grotesque angle, suspended in a webof forces he could not feel. Not the slightest sound had come fromKilby, invisible in the blackness ahead of him. Halder threw all his will and strength into the effort to force motionback into his body. Instead, a wave of cold numbness washed slowly upthrough him. It welled into his brain, and for a time all thought andsensation ended. * * * * * His first new awareness was a feeling of being asleep and not knowinghow to wake up. There was no disturbance associated with it. All aboutwas darkness, complete and quiet. With curious deliberation, Halder's senses now began bringing otherthings to his attention. He was seated, half reclining, in a deep andcomfortable chair, his back against it. He seemed unable to move. Hisarms were secured in some manner to the chair's armrests; but, beyondthat, he also found it impossible to lift his body forwards or, hediscovered next, to turn his head in any direction. He was breathingnormally, and he could open and shut his eyes and glance about inunchanging darkness. But that was all. Still with a dreamlike lack of concern, Halder began to ask himself whathad happened; and in that instant, with a rush of hot terror, his memoryopened out. They had been trapped ... Some undetectable trick ofFederation science had waited for them in the bungalow at Lake Senla. Hehad been taken somewhere else. What had they done with Kilby? Immediately, almost as if in answer to his question, the darkness seemedto lighten. But the process was gradual; seconds passed before Haldergained the impression of a very large room of indefinite proportions. Twenty feet away was the rim of a black, circular depression in theflooring. At first, his chair seemed the only piece of furnishing here;then, as the area continued to brighten, Halder became aware of severalobjects at some distance on his right. For an instant, he strained violently to turn his head towards them. That was still impossible, but the objects were there, near the edge ofhis vision. Again the great room grew lighter, and for seconds Haldercould distinguish three armchairs like his own, spaced perhaps twentyfeet apart along the rim of the central pit. Each chair had an occupant;in the nearest was Kilby, restored to her natural appearance, motionless, pale face turned forwards, eyes open. Suddenly the lightvanished. Halder sat shocked, realizing he had tried to speak to Kilby and that nosound had come from his throat. Neither speech nor motion was allowedthem here. But he didn't doubt that Kilby was awake, or that Santin andRane Rellis were in the farther chairs, though he hadn't seen either ofthem clearly. Their captors had given them a brief glimpse of oneanother, perhaps to let them know all had been caught. Then, as thelight disappeared, Halder's glance had shifted for an instant to hisright hand lying on the armrest--long enough to see that the dark tingewas gone from his skin, as it was from Kilby's, that he, too, had beendeprived of the organisms which disguised him. And that, his studies in Draise had showed clearly, was something theFederation's science would be a century away from knowing how to dounless it learned about Kalechi's deadly skills. Once more, it was almost as if the thought were being given an answer. In the darkness of the room a bright image appeared, three-dimensional, not quite a sphere in form, tiger-striped in orange and black, balancedon a broad, bifurcated swimming tail. Stalked eyes protruded from thetop of the sphere; their slit pupils seemed to be staring directly atHalder. Down both sides ran a row of ropy arms. * * * * * Simultaneously with the appearance of this projection, a man's voicebegan to speak, not loudly but distinctly. Dreamlike again, the voiceseemed to have no specific source, as if it were coming from everydirection at once; and a numbing conviction arose in Halder that theirminds were being destroyed in this room, that a methodical dissectingprocess had begun which would continue move by move and hour by houruntil the Federation's scientists were satisfied that no further scrapsof information could be drained from the prisoners. The investigationmight be completely impersonal; but the fact that they were beingignored here as sentient beings, were not permitted to argue their caseor offer an explanation, seemed more chilling than deliberate brutality. And yet, Halder told himself, he couldn't really blame anyone for thesituation they were in. The Kalechi group represented an urgent andterrible threat. The Federation could not afford to make any mistakes indealing with it. "This image, " the voice was saying, "represents a Great Satog, theoxygen-breathing, water-dwelling native of the world of Kalechi. Thereare numerous type-variations of the species. Shown here is the dominantform. It is highly intelligent; approximately a third of a Satog's bodyspace is occupied by its brain. "Kalechi's civilization is based on an understanding of biologicalprocesses and the means of their manipulation which is well in advanceof our own. This specialized interest appears to have developed from theSatogs' genetic instability, a factor which they have learned to controland to use to their advantage. At present, they have establishedthemselves on at least a dozen other worlds, existing on each in amodified form which is completely adapted to the new environment. "Our occasional contacts with Kalechi and its colonies during the pasttwo centuries have been superficially friendly, but it appears now thatthe Great Satogs have regarded our technological and numericalsuperiority with alarm and have cast about for a method to destroy theFederation without risk to themselves. A weapon was on hand--their greatskill and experience in altering genetic patterns in established lifeforms to produce desired changes. They devised the plan of distributingKalechi agents secretly throughout the Federation. These were to developand store specific strains of primitive organisms which, at an indicatedlater date, would sweep our major worlds simultaneously with anunparalleled storm of plagues. "The most audacious part of the Kalechi scheme follows. Ninety-two yearsago, a Federation survey ship disappeared in that sector of the galaxy. Aboard it was a man named Ohl Cantrall, an outstanding scientist of theperiod. We know now that this ship was captured by the Great Satogs, andthat Cantrall, his staff, and his crew, were subjected to extensiveexperimentation by them, and eventually were killed. "The experimentation had been designed to provide Kalechi'smaster-biologists with models towards which to work. They proposed toutilize the high mutability of their species to develop a Satog typethat would be the exact physical counterpart of a human being and couldlive undetected on our worlds for the several years required to preparefor the attack. They were amazingly successful. Each group of cells inthe long series which began moving towards an approximation of the humanpattern was developed only far enough to initiate the greatest favorableshift possible at that point in its genetic structure. Cell generationsmay have followed each other within hours in this manner, for over sixdecades. "The goal of the experiment, the last generation issued in Kalechi'slaboratories, were Satog copies of embryonic human beings. This stagewas comprised of approximately twelve hundred individuals who were nowpermitted to mature and were schooled individually in complete isolationby Satog teachers. They were indoctrinated with their purpose inlife ... The destruction of our populations ... And trained fully inthe manner of accomplishing it. "Eventually, each was shipped to a Federation world. Cover identities asobscure Federation citizens with backgrounds and records had beenprepared. The final instructions given these agents were simple. Theywere to do nothing to draw attention to themselves, make no attempt tocontact one another. They were to create their stocks of lethalorganisms, provide methods of distribution and, on a selected day, threeFederation years away, release the floods of death. " * * * * * The voice paused briefly, went on. "It is a sobering reflection thatthis plan--an attack by a comparatively minor race with one specializedskill on the greatest human civilization in history--might very wellhave been appallingly successful. But the Great Satogs failed, in partbecause of the very perfection of their work. "From the human beings on board Ohl Cantrall's captured survey ship theSatog scientists selected Cantrall himself and two female technicians onhis staff as the models to be followed in developing Kalechi'spseudohumanity. In the twelve hundred members of the group sent to theFederation ninety years later, these three identity-patterns arerecognizable. They appear in varying degrees of combination, but anoccasional individual will show only one or the other of the threepatterns involved. "Ohl Cantrall was regarded as a great man in his time, and hisidentification pattern is on record. That was the detail which firstrevealed the plot. When three duplicates of that particularpattern--and a considerable number of approximate duplicates--turned upsimultaneously in identification banks at widely separated points in theFederation, it aroused more than scientific curiosity. Our securitysystem has learned to look with suspicion on apparent miracles. Theunsuspecting 'Cantralls' were located and apprehended at once; thethreat to the Federation was disclosed; and an intensive thoughunpublicized search for the scattered group of Kalechi agents beganimmediately.... " The voice paused again. The Satog image above the pit vanished. A clear light sprang up in thebig room. Simultaneously, Halder felt the nightmare immobility drainingfrom him and the sensation of dreamlike unreality fade from his mind. Heturned to the right, found Kilby's eyes already on him, saw the Relliscouple sitting beyond her ... Rane, no longer disguised, looking like amirror image of Halder. They were still fastened to their chairs. Halder's gaze shifted backquickly to the center of the room. Where the pit had been, the flooringwas now level, carrying a massive, polished table. Behind the table sata heavily built, white-haired man with a strong face, harsh mouth, inthe formal black and gold robes of a Councilman of the Federation. "I am Councilman Mavig. " The voice was the one that had spoken in thedark; it came now from the man at the table. "I am in charge of theoperation against the Kalechi agents, and it is my duty to inform them, after their arrest and examination, of the disposition that must be madeof them. " He hesitated, twisting his mouth thoughtfully, almost as if unwilling tocontinue. "You four have been thoroughly examined, " he stated at last. "Most of the work has been done while you were still unconscious. Afinal check of your emotional reactions was being made throughout thestress situation just ended, in which you listened to a replay of areport on the Kalechi matter. That part is now concluded. " Mavig paused, scowled, cleared his throat. "I find, " he went on, "thatsome aspects of this affair still strain my credulity! More than half ofyour group have been captured by now; the remainder are at large butunder observation. The danger is past. The activities of the GreatSatogs of Kalechi will receive our very close scrutiny for generationsto come. They shall be given no opportunity to repeat such a trick;nor--after they have been made aware of the measures we are preparingagainst them--will they feel the slightest inclination to try it. "Now, as to yourselves. After we had tracked down the first dozen or soof you, a startling pattern began to emerge. You were not followingKalechi's careful instructions. In one way and another--in often veryingenious ways--you were attempting primarily to establish contact withone another. When captured and examined while unconscious by thevarious interrogation instruments of our psychologists you told us yourreasons for doing this. " Councilman Mavig shook his head. "The interrogation machines aresupposed to be infallible, " he remarked. "Possibly they are. But I amnot a psychologist, and for a long time I refused to accept the reportsthey returned. But still ... " He sighed. "Well, as to what is to happen with you. You will be sent tojoin the previously arrested members of your group, and will remain withthem until the last of you is in our hands, has been examined, and ... " Mavig paused again. "You see, we can accuse you of no crime!" he said irritably. "Asindividuals and as a group, your intention from the beginning has beento prevent the crime against the Federation from being committed. TheGreat Satogs simply did too good a job. You have been given the mostsearching physical examinations possible. They show uniformly that yourgenetic pattern is stable, and that in no detail can it be distinguishedfrom a wholly human one of high order. "You appreciate, I imagine, where that leaves the Federation! Whenimitation is carried to the point of identity ... " Federation CouncilmanMavig shook his head once more, concluded, "It is utterly absurd, indirect contradiction to everything we have understood to date! You'veregarded yourselves as human beings, and believed that your place wasamong us. And we can only agree. " Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from _Analog Science Fact & Fiction_ July 1962. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U. S. Copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.