"Why didn't you try to sabotage the machine—destroy it?" Rotterjack asked.

"Had we been able to do that, the machine would never have allowed us on board."

"Arrogance," Arthur said, his jaw tightening. "Incredible arrogance."

"You've told us you were asleep, hibernating," Rotterjack said. "How could you study our language and sleep at the same time?"

The Guest stood motionless, not answering. "It is done," it finally replied.

"How many languages do you know?" Harry asked, pencil poised.

"I am speaker of English. Others, still within, speak Russian, Chinese, French."

"These questions don't seem terribly important," Crockerman said quietly. "I feel as if a nightmare has come over us all. Who can I blame for this?" He glanced around the room, his eyes sharp, hawklike. "Nobody. I can't simply announce we have visitors from other worlds, because people will want to see the visitors. After the Australian release, what we have here can only demoralize and confuse."

"I'm not sure how long we can keep this a secret," McClennan said.

"How can we hold this back from our people?" Crockerman seemed not to have heard anybody but the Guest. He stood and approached the glass, grimly concentrating on the Guest. "You've brought us the worst possible news. You say there's nothing we can do. Your . . . civilization . . . must have been more advanced than ours. It died. This is a terrible message to bring. Why did you bother at all?"

"On some worlds, the contest might have been more equal," the Guest said. "I am tired. I do not have much more time."

General Fulton spoke in an undertone with McClennan and Rotterjack. Rotterjack approached the President and put a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. President, we are not the experts here. We can't ask the right questions, and clearly there isn't much time remaining. We should get out of the way and let the scientists do their work."

Crockerman nodded, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he seemed more composed. "Gentlemen, David is correct. Please get on with it. I'd like to speak to all of you before we go out to the site. Just one last question." He turned back to the Guest. "Do you believe in God?"

Without a moment's hesitation, the Guest replied, "We believe in punishment."

Crockerman was visibly shaken. Mouth open slightly, he glanced at Harry and Arthur, then left the room on trembling legs, with McClennan, Rotterjack, and General Fulton following.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked after the door had closed. "Please expand on what you just said."

"Detail is unimportant," the Guest said. "The death of a world is judgment of its inadequacy. Death removes the unnecessary and the false. No more talk now. Rest."

Chapter 11

11

Bad news. Bad news.

Edward awoke from his dreaming doze and blinked at the off-white ceiling. He felt as if somebody very important to him had died. It took him a moment to orient to reality.