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“Planted?” Kai let out a shout. “Planted? Just because the seismic shows old cores here?”

“Wouldn’t be the first time the victims weren’t told.”

“Gaber, we’ve got the third officer’s beloved and only off-spring with us. We’ll be picked up.”

Gaber remained obdurate.

“There’d be no point in planting us. Besides, what about the Ryxi and the Theks.”

Gaber snorted scornfully. “The Theks don’t care how long they stay anywhere. They live practically forever, and the Ryxi were to plant anyhow, weren’t they? And it isn’t just those cores that convince me. I’ve thought so a long time—ever since I knew we had a xenobiologist and heavy-worlders with us.”

“Gaber!” Kai spoke sharply enough to startle the older man, “you will not mention planting to me again, nor to anyone else in this expedition. That is an order!”

“Yes, sir. I’m sure it is, sir.”

“Further, if I find you without your belt one more time . . .”

“Sir, it pokes me in the gut when I’m bending over the board,” Gaber said as he hurriedly began fastening on the force-screen belt.

“Leave the belt slack, then, and turn the buckle to one side, but wear it! Now, bring your recorder and some fresh tapes. I want to recon those lakes Berru charted . . .”

“That was only yesterday, and as I told you I am three days behind . . .”

“All the more reason for us to check those lakes out personally. I’ve got to show some progress in my next report to EV on deposits. And . . .” Kai tapped out a code, waiting impatiently at the terminal for the print-out on the mysterious core sites, “we’ll do a ground check on a couple of these.”

“Well, now, it’ll be good to get away from the board. I haven’t done any field work yet on this expedition,” said Gaber, pressing closed his jumpsuit fastenings. He reached for the recording unit and tape blanks which he distributed in leg pouches.

His tone was so much brighter and less foreboding that Kai wondered if he’d been unfair to keep the man continually in the dome. Could that be why Gaber had come up with the astounding notion that they’d been planted? Too little action narrowed perceptions.

But Gaber, as witness his laxity over the belt, was so narding absent-minded that he was more of a liability than the youngest youngster in the landing party. As Kai recalled, Gaber’s credentials rated him as ship-bred, having made only four expeditions in his six decades. This would likely be the last if Kai made an honest report of his efficiency. Unless, the insidious thought plagued Kai, they had indeed been planted. Better than most leaders, Kai knew how undermining such a rumor could be. Yes, it would be better to keep Gaber so fully occupied that he had no time for reflection.

Kai did, however, have to remind Gaber to strap himself into the sled seat, which the cartographer did with profuse apologies, while Kai checked the sled’s controls and energy levels.

“I do wish I’d been born a Thek,” Gaber said. “To live long enough to watch the evolution of a world. Ah, what an opportunity!”

Kai chuckled. “If they’re not too involved with thinking to look around in time.”

“They never forget a thing they’ve seen or heard.”

“How could one tell? It takes a year to carry on any sort of a dialogue with an Elder.”

“You young people can only think of quick returns. Not end results. It’s the end result that counts. Over the course of my years on ARCT-10, I’ve had many meaningful chats with Theks. The older ones, of course.”

“Chats? How long a lag between sentences?”

“Oh, not long. We’d scheduled replies on a once-a-ship-week basis. I found it extremely stimulating to formulate the most information in the fewest phrases.”

“Oh, I’ll grant the Theks are past masters at the telling phrase.”

“Why, even a single word can have unusual significance when uttered by a Thek,” Gaber went on with unexpected volubility, “When you can appreciate fully that each Thek holds within its brain the total knowledge of its own forebears, and can distill this infinite wisdom in single succinct words or phrases . . .”

“No perspective . . .” Kai was concentrating on lifting the