Robert Silverberg

“ He opened another door, and Carter saw a large room almost completely filled with a complex webwork of machinery. Half a dozen Earthmen were working busily in the far corner, soldering delicate wires together and assembling an array of transistors.
"It's a long, slow, tough job," said Gendron. "The Khethlani's guiding us every step of the way."
"And when it's finished—?"
"Then the twelve Khethlani will be in contact with each other. Then they'll blend their mental powers into one super-being that will control the universe." ”

“ Carter saw Gendron and the other two looking at him. Sweat burst out and ran down his face as he fought off the Khethlani's mental command.
"He resists," Gendron said, surprised. "He resists the Khethlani."
I order you to kneel. Kneel or be destroyed.
Gendron began to draw forth his blaster. Carter grasped the rail more tightly, shuddering.
There was only one thing to do. Keeping his mind shut tight against the creature's command, he knelt slowly and bowed his head.
"You ... are ... my ... master," Carter said, in slow, solemn tones. "I ... will ... obey ... you."
"The Khethlani has won!" ”

“ Carter lied. "Brief me on what's been going on here."
"There are about a dozen Khethlani, on various worlds in this sector. One to a world. They've been that way for millions of years—it's an ancient and very wise race."
"And where do we fit in?"
"We're busy building a thought-generator," explained Gendron. "The Khethlani wants to set up a linkage with its brothers, and it needs our help."
"I get it. It's a sort of thought-amplifier."
"Right. The Khethlani shows us how to build it—but he can't do it himself. We're like his arms and legs. He works through us. It's a tremendous job." ”

“ Carter said. "Drawn in by your decoy SOS signal—only now it's the real thing."
"Will he see us?"
"He'll see the smoke," Carter said. "He'll rescue us."
There'd be some delay now, he realized, before he got to Ophiuchus VII for that vacation.
In fact, he might never get there, he knew now. He had a big job ahead of him—and he was the only man in the universe qualified to do it, him and his tin skull.
He glanced upward. The job was waiting. There were eleven more Khethlani out there to be rooted out and destroyed. ”

“ Gendron said. "That's why we're sending out that wide-beam SOS. We need all the extra hands we can get. You're the third one so far."
"Neat. Only it almost didn't work on me."
"I still don't understand that. You resisted incredibly well. But you couldn't stand up to the Khethlani face-to-face."
"No," Carter said. "Of course not."
"Here we are," said Gendron. "This is what we've done on the thought-generator so far." ”

“ Your whatever-it-is just hasn't taken hold."
"Very strange, Carter. We may have to kill you."
"You know the Khethlani doesn't like to lose men," one of the others reminded Gendron. "We ought to do everything we can to bring him under control."
Gendron nodded. "Untie his legs."
One of the men bent and unwrapped the thongs. Immediately Carter's foot lashed out in a vicious kick that sent the other away yelling.
Gendron slapped Carter twice. Then he said, "That proves it. He's definitely not under control. Let's take him to the Khethlani." ”

“ Ophiuchus VII was a low-grav world set aside as a vacation planet for recuperating invalids.
Carter had been injured in a reactor explosion aboard the Starship Alpha Centauri, where he had been navigator. He came out of that pretty lightly—radiation burns, a fractured skull, and little other damage. Some skin grafts and a complicated titanium-plate rebuild had his body and his skull as good as new within weeks. He was on his way to Ophiuchus to rest up before returning to spaceline duty. ”

“ Gendron had to club him or he would have gotten away."
"We couldn't have that," the first voice said. "We need all the men we can get for The Project."
Project? What project? Carter asked himself. What the blazes is this, anyway?
The voices stopped, leaving Carter alone in the darkness. Conjectures ran through his mind, none of them adding up to anything but the obvious fact that the Survey Squad of the Vanguard was up to something fishy.
His head still throbbed, but not as badly as before. The itchy tickling still continued. ”

“ I'm wasting my precious free time fooling with you people. So I picked up your SOS, and I landed. Then this man hit me. That's all I can tell you."
"I'm completely at a loss to clarify," said the Squadron Leader. "So far as I know, we sent out no SOS. We're in no danger here. ”