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rules. Surely Spock would have warned him if—
    Kirk’s attention was abruptly seized by the chamber they had entered. It was wide and spacious. A small band of musicians at one end of the room played what he took to be the Nadorian equivalent of chamber music, compositions he found to be unusual, but melodic. As he entered, he had thought the chamber already occupied by several persons, but now, as he neared what he had taken to be the room’s occupants, he found them to be statues, apparently—the fine arts weren’t his strong point—of the same style as those he had seen earlier in Commissioner Roget’s quarters and Regent Lonal’s office.
    â€œExcuse me,” whispered Pataal. “I must help prepare Their Serene Highnesses for their entrance. I hope we shall have a chance to talk later. Your starship must have taken you to many exciting places.”
    â€œI’d like that,” replied Kirk, satisfied that no breaches of interplanetary protocol had been committed—yet. She curtsied and was gone.
    â€œCharming girl,” said McCoy, absently, as he, Spock and Barrows caught up to him.
    â€œDelightful,” said Kirk, evenly. “Spock, these statues—”
    â€œExcellent examples of ancient Nadorian sculpture, Captain,” said Spock. He stood before one now, and Kirk noted that the statue stood simply on the antechamber floor, unprotected and unseparated from the crowd in any way.
    â€œIt is beautiful, but they’re asking for something to happen to it, leaving it out this way,” said McCoy.
    â€œIt is the Nadorian custom to display their statuary in this manner, Doctor,” replied Spock, examining the sculpture closely. “Far more civilized than attempting to view such an objet d’art from afar.”
    â€œI agree, I just hope they don’t have much problem with vandalism.”
    Spock shook his head slightly. “The Nadorians are taught from an early age to value and appreciate art.”
    A liveried servant bearing a tray of drinks approached them. They took slender glasses with hinged lids, inside which was a bubbling liquid that seemed to be on the verge of evaporating before their eyes.
    â€œVapor dew,” said Yeoman Barrows, excitedly. “They’re really treating us like royalty.”
    â€œAnd I’m sure they expect the same,” said McCoy. He thumbed the small handle, lifting the lid of his glass, and inhaled the vapor produced by the volatile liquid. “And I’ll be happy to,” he added, smiling. “This is excellent.”
    â€œSpock, do you know how these statues are sculpted?” Kirk asked, lowering the lid on his own drink.
    â€œThrough the use of psionics, Captain,” replied Spock. “Though the past tense would be more appropriate.”
    â€œHang on a minute, Spock,” McCoy said indignantly. “The medical reports on the Nadorians indicate that their telekinetic potential is little different from that of humans.”
    Spock nodded. “In the present, that is quite correct, Doctor,” said Spock. He continued to stare at the statue, gesturing with an index finger whose motion followed its lines. “But should you examine the history of the Nadorians, you will find that, as recently as ten centuries ago, their ancestors were indeed possessed of formidable telekinetic powers. Many of them turned their hand—”
    â€œOr their minds,” said Kirk with a smile.
    â€œâ€”to the fine arts. Many hundreds of such statues have been unearthed, and experts feel many remain to be yet discovered. Such statues command high prices across the galaxy in those rare instances when they become available.”
    â€œBut I read every one of the Starfleet planetary surveys of Nador, and there wasn’t a word about psionic powers,” said McCoy.
    â€œSuch data is to be found only in the historical reports of the planet, Doctor,” replied Spock,