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political contests were in progress; the Hall-Anderson Vituperation Trials had ended; the final restoration of ancient Athens was accomplished; no one had seen the Loch Ness Monster for several months. The divorce of Barbara Bankwiler from the Grand Duke of Tibet had been predictable; the new air-car models were still several months in the offing. Here and there, of course, was news of a sort: the Blue Man Society had purchased a million acre tract in central Mauretania, centered on the Sebkra de Chinchane, where vacationing members could enjoy the ancient nomadic existence; a hollow pretzel, containing thirteen fluid ounces of beer, had reached the market; the Guadalajara Coyotes, Las Vegas Dodgers, Osaka Earthquakes, Saint Louis Browns, Milan Green Sox, and Bangalore Avatars were allowed about equal chances in the forthcoming World Series. But these were mere stirs in the summer doldrums, and Dame Isabel’s projected tour of remote planets aroused world-wide interest. Experts were solicited for comment; their statements were probed and explored, until eventually a full scale controversy raged across the intellectual community. Spokesmen for one point of view bluntly labeled Dame Isabel a crackpot and the whole project a musical boondoggle; others remarked that the experience must — at the very least — be edifying for all concerned. In a persuasive article for the Cosmologician Bernard Bickel wrote: “It may well be that not every individual of every planet will fully appreciate the whole of the repertory — but there must be an impact of some sort: at worst, simple wonder for the sound and color; at best an enthusiastic, if perhaps intuitive, response (never forget, the basic offering will be classic grand opera, a mannered and sophisticated form of music). We may encounter races with elaborate sound-structures of their own; many exist: I myself have encountered several. Other races are completely deaf, and to these music is unimaginable. Nevertheless, none of these peoples can fail to be impressed by the grandeur of classical grand opera and by the artistic energy of the people which have produced it. We shall achieve at the least good public relations; at the most we shall contribute a meaningful experience to races less fortunate than ourselves.”
    In another article Bernard Bickel cautiously touched on the planet Rlaru: “Unluckily I missed all but a brief moment of the performances of the Ninth Company. I must say that this soupçon gave me food for thought. As to the whereabouts of Rlaru, I cannot say: even the most peripatetic of musicologists can visit but a small fraction of the inhabited worlds. One point I would like to make, which seems not to have been touched on before: the Ninth Company, according to all reports, consisted of individuals both more and less than human, but nonetheless members of the cosmologically numerous anthropoid type. If features, anatomy and configuration can demonstrate parallel evolution, why is not the same possible for musical idiom — especially since harmonics is as objective a science as chemistry?
    “Temporarily let us put the whole question into abeyance. Providence and Adolph Gondar concurring we will visit this wonder planet, and we shall see for ourselves. If matters are as purported — or if they are not — we shall return with specific information. Until then I advise all to withhold judgment.”

     
    Roger had accepted employment with Atlantic Securities, for he knew better than to make difficulties: it was always wise to bend with the blast. Sure enough, events worked out as he had expected. After a week of amiable botchery, he was called before Mr. McNab to be told that certain alarming financial trends had made retrenchment necessary. Mr. Wool, the most recent employee, must be the first to go.
    Roger, putting on a lugubrious air, went out to Ballew to explain the matter to his aunt, only to learn that she had gone to the spaceport in the company of Bernard