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He and Ponda hustled the hapless senator to the table and strapped him upon its top. Evazan pulled the left-hand boom down closer, and fastened its dangling metal helmet over the dome of the captive’s head.

Ponda swiftly took a place on the other table. Evazan repeated the process of buckling restraints and fitting the other Aqualish with the second weird headpiece. Then he stepped away to a bank of controls.

He pulled levers, rotated dials, and watched readout screens indicating the surge of power. The machine sizzled loudly now, alive with enormous energy. The great pile of its parts shuddered visibly, threatening to tumble down.

As the indicators showed he’d reached maximum power, he threw a red double-handled switch. Blue-white sparks like tiny lightning bolts flickered downward along the wires, into the metal helmets on the two heads. The strapped-down bodies both jerked spasmodically.

Evazan watched a pair of dials right beneath the red switch. As the indicator on the left moved one way, its counterpart on the right moved the other. In only seconds the two needles had buried themselves on opposite sides of their dials.

With a cackle of glee the doctor slapped the power levers to Off. The flickering lights quickly faded, and the crackling of energy died away.

“It’s done! It’s worked!” Evazan chortled, running to the table holding the elder Andoan’s body. “Ponda! I’ve done it!” he said, undoing the straps. “How do you feel?”

But the Aqualish who had once been the senator lay quite still, apparently unconscious.

“It’s okay,” Evazan assured, patting the being. “You’ll be fine soon. Just rest there. I’ve got to see to my own new body!”

He left the laboratory, all but running back up to the main hall. His eyes gleamed with a wild look of nearly overwhelming anticipation. He threw open the door to the anteroom and charged in. His splendid specimen still lay motionless.

He knelt beside the man, gloating over his perfect body. “All I’ve wanted,” he said. “Youth, strength … and an unmarked face! I hope he’s unharmed.”

He put out a hand to lay on the man’s heart.

The hand vanished down through the massive chest as if the flesh had opened to swallow it!

He jerked his hand back, staring in astonishment. “A holoshroud!” he gasped.

His hand shot to grip the butt of his blaster. But the other man sat suddenly upright, swiftly striking out. A fist thrust forward to slam into Evazan’s face. The blow knocked him backward, sprawling at full length, stunned.

Before the doctor could recover, the blond man was on his feet. The image of his large form wavered, faded, and vanished completely, revealing the figure of a thin and hawkfaced man of dark complexion with a black mustache. One hand rested on the belt control for the holographic disguise, the other hand held the grenadelike shape of a powerful thermal detonator. Its thumb guard was already pushed back, and the man’s thumb rested on the detonator button.

“Toss the gun away, Evazan,” the man grated out, “or we’ll both go up together.”

Evazan drew out his blaster gingerly and heaved it far away. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“Gurion’s the name. I’ve been trying to get you for a long, long time. Get on your feet.”

“Pretty smart of you to use that disguise,” Evazan told him, climbing up. “You’d never have gotten in here otherwise.”

“That’s just what I figured. Now, get moving, you butchering monster. Take me to the roof. Some friends’ll be picking us up there.” Gurion gestured meaningfully with the bomb. “I said, move!”

Evazan readily complied. They went into the main entry hall and up a broad staircase.

As they turned the corner on the first landing to start up a second flight, Evazan glanced down to see a shimmering first bit of Rover ooze through a doorway into the hall below. He smiled to himself.

“Look here,” he told his captor, intent on keeping the man’s attention on him, “this is crazy. I’m going to be a very rich man. I don’t know how much bounty