by Edward Elmer Smith and Edward Everett Evans

“ But I wasn't thinking of any regular Oman brain...” Hilton's voice petered out.
“I see, sir. Yes, we can, by using your brain as Guide, reproduce it in an Oman body. You would then have the powers and most of the qualities of both ...”
“No, you don't see, because I've got my screen on. Which I will now take off—” he suited action to word—“since the whole planet's screened and I have nothing to hide from you. Teddy Blake and I both thought of that, but we'll consider it only as the ultimately last resort. We don't want to live a million years. And we want our race to keep on developing. ”

“ Now: is it your final thought that these interlopers are in fact the descendants of those despised humans of so long ago?”
“It is.”
“It is also mine. I return, then, to my work upon the Brain. You will take whatever measures are necessary. Use every artifice of intellect and of ingenuity and our every resource. But abate this intolerable nuisance, and soon.”
“It shall be done, First Lord.”
The Second Thinker issued orders. Frenzied, round-the-clock activity ensued. Hundreds of mechs operated upon the brains of hundreds of others, who in turn operated upon the operators. ”

“ This work, while it required much time, was very much simpler than the task which the First Thinker had laid out for himself on the giant computer-plus which the Stretts called “The Great Brain.” In stating his project, First Lord Zoyar had said:
“Assignment: To construct a machine that will have the following abilities: One, to contain and retain all knowledge and information fed into it, however great the amount. Two, to feed itself additional information by peyondiring all planets, wherever situate, bearing intelligent life. ”

“ Anything at all out of the ordinary had to be handled by remote control, by the specialist-mechs at their two-miles-long control board.
This was now to be changed. Programming was to be made so complete that almost any situation could be handled by the warship or the missile itself—instantly.
The Stretts knew that they were the most powerful, the most highly advanced race in the universe. Their science was the highest in the universe. Hence, with every operating unit brought up to the full possibilities of that science, that would be more than enough. ”

“ Our numbers are too few by far. Too many have failed to adapt. Also, as Second Thinker, your death at this time would be slightly detrimental to certain matters now in work. I will myself, however, slay the unfit. ”

“ At that contact, in the matter of which you erred in not following up continuously, they succeeded in concealing their real abilities from you.”
“That could be the truth. Our ancestors erred, then, in recording that all those weak and timid humans had been slain. These offenders are probably their descendants, returning to reclaim their former world.”
“The probability must be evaluated and considered. Was it or was it not through human aid that the Omans destroyed most of our task-force?” ”

“ Enough punch to do the job, but not enough to backfire that way?”
“It is highly improbable that such a team is possible, sir.” If an Oman could be acutely embarrassed, Larry was. “That is, sir ... I should tell you, sir ...” ”