All of the characters in this book are fictious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. To David, who took his time coming, but was worth waiting for Prolog A Year Before TBE MAN from Earth came to a decision. It had been slow in coming and developing, but it was here. It had been weeks since he had felt the comforting deck of his ship and the cool, dark blanket of space about it. Originally, he had intended a quick report to the local office of the Interstellar Spatio-analytic Bureau and a quicker retreat to space. Instead, he had been held here. It was almost like a prison. He drained his tea and looked at the man across the table. He said, "I'm not staying any longer." The other man came to a decision. It had been siow in coming and developing, but it was here. He would need time, much more time. The response to the first letters had been nil. They might have fallen into a star for all they had accomplished. That had been no more than he had expected, or, rather, no less. But it was only the first move. It was certain that, while fut~ire moves developed, he could not allow the man from Earth to squirm out of reach. He fingered the smooth black rod in his pocket. He said, "You don't appreciate