The screen clouded. "Where have you put them?" Kirk demanded, glaring at his captor.

The being's back rippled and flowed, but it ignored Kirk. Its eyes had vanished into the folds of flesh, and its hands were moving rapidly over the controls. There was a flash and a flow of light over a hump in the floor. The being scurried away in that direction and stood clicking excitedly. The outline of the two men appeared on the top of the hump, shimmered silver, and slowly solidified. Spock lay quite still, sprawled face down. McCoy sat up slowly. He shook his head groggily and then looked at his surroundings with bewilderment. His eyes then fell on the being, and Kirk saw his face register the same alarm and disgust he had experienced himself at first sight of it. Then McCoy saw the circle of tall crystal bars that formed Kirk's cage. "Jim!"

"I'm all right," said Kirk. "What about Spock?" He tried frantically to free himself from his prison, but the bars moved not one fraction of a centimeter.

The being turned toward him and studied him again. Then it seemed almost to shrug and it scuttled sideways, back to the silver consoles. It did something to the controls and a section of the bars flicked out of existence. Kirk forgot about wanting to throttle the creature and raced to the top of the hump. The being followed, clicking. Kirk dropped to his knees beside McCoy.

"Bones, is he - "

"I think he's all right. There was a thing - "

"I know. I saw what happened."

McCoy adjusted a hypo and pumped a dose into Spock's shoulder. "He should come round in a minute or two. Jim, where are we? And...." He stared at the being. "What ....is...that....thing?"

The creature stood still, clicking slowly.

"I don't know what it is. I can't communicate with it," Kirk said. "I don't think there's any way. We're....more than worlds apart."

Spock groaned, and his eyes opened and focused on McCoy's face. "Dr. McCoy," he said. "My leg. I can't feel it. Did you....?"

"No. The leg's numb, but it's still there," McCoy said.

Spock's eyes bored into his as if for a moment he didn't believe him, and then he nodded slightly, and the lines of his face relaxed. Briefly, his eyes closed. Then he opened them and started trying to get up. For a few moments McCoy tried to discourage him, then let it go and waved Kirk to help Spock sit up.

McCoy checked him with the scanner and grunted with satisfaction. "Consitution of a slime-devil. He'll be all right."

Spock's eyes turned toward him, formal once more. "That is obvious, Doctor."

"Well, you were worried enough about that leg for a while there," McCoy growled, but Spock was no longer listening. His eyes roamed about the laboratory with intense interest. Kirk had the feeling that Spock's hands were itching to explore the possibilities of the silver consoles, if only his legs would carry him there.

Spock's restless eyes settled on the alien being. "Fascinating," he murmured. "Quite fascinating."

The skin on the being's back rippled. Spock drew a sharp breath and put a hand to his head.

"What's wrong, Spock?" said McCoy. "Does it hurt?"

"No. A......mixture of sensations."

The being took three slow steps sideways toward them and its skin rippled again.

"It is inquiring....if we are harmed," Spock said.

"Harmed?" McCoy glared at him, then at the being. "Why, that cold-blooded - "

"Doctor." Kirk silenced him with an upraised hand. "Spock, is it telepathic?"

"A little. Not exactly." Spock's eyes were vacant, his mind concentrated on the foreign sensations. "It did not realize that beings with such a paucity of manipulative limbs could have developed intelligence, until your reactions to the screened image of our actions, Captain, made it realize you were capable of analyzing a set of visual cues and responding compassionately to the peril of others." Spock suddenly gave them a startled look. "It does not distinguish between the concepts of compassion and intelligence," he said. "It communicates chiefly by the radiation and reception of emotions. Fascinating!"

McCoy's face lit up, but Kirk shook his head. "Ask it about Mr. Wardoff's party," Kirk said.

"It regrets....two are dead," Spock said. "The others are well and will be returned."

"Then it means to let us go?"

Spock nodded. He seemed slightly surprised himself. "Indeed. And it assures me that its experiments will cease forthwith. It considers it unethical to interfere with developing intelligences. Such as ours." He looked at Kirk with ironic amusement.

"Well, just tell it to be a little more careful whose intelligence it picks on next time." McCoy said.

"There will be no next time," said Spock. "If it performs any further experiments it will be most careful to check first for potential intelligence."

Kirk was silent for a moment. then he said, "Ask it the way home, Mr. Spock."

"Unnecessary, Captain. Your desire has communicated itself."

The being had already turned to a console and in a few seconds a shimmering silver curtain materialized beside them.

Kirk looked at the Vulcan. "Can you stand?"

"I can try."

Kirk held out his hand, and Spock gripped his forearm. The Vulcan lurched onto his feet, swayed a moment and steadied.

"Bones?"

McCoy signed. "Give me a hand, Jim."

Kirk stretched out his free hand and helped McCoy to his feet.

Spock gazed wistfully at the pink-lit mist.

"One universe at a time, Spock," Kirk said softly. He started forward supporting his two officers

The being watched the three men step through the curtain. Its bright yellow eyes vanished into the flesh of its face. It clicked what could have been farewell, and then it turned to its equipment. Its flesh moved slowly beneath its skin, displaying regret, perhaps, or sorrow, or maybe it was loneliness.....



The water meadow was lightening with the first streaks of a watery dawn. It was the long, cold hour when everything was still and colorless. Even the rain had for a moment stopped falling, and the gray river flowed placidly. The flattened grass was gray, and the hill where the cube stood was silhouetted against a gray sky.

The rest of their landing party was there, and so were Wardoff and the remains of his group, looking bewildered and slightly rediculous in their native headcloths. Wardoff stared at Kirk, and then shook his head, spreading his hands helplessly. "Sir? How did we get here? We were looking for a way into that building, and then -"

"We'll explain it to you later Mr. Wardoff," said Kirk. "Just as soon as we finish figuring it out." He flipped open his communicator. "Enterprise. Kirk here."

"Scott here, sir. Did ye find them, then?"

"No, they were.....returned to us. There are ten to beam up, Mr. Scott. You may take us in any order that's convenient."

"Captain," Scott said, with a note of urgency in his voice, "sensors report somethin' odd down there. On the hill."

All eyes turned toward the gray tor. The square outline of the cube was shimmering, and as they watched, the entire structure faded away. Nothing remained but a patch of dry earth beginning to turn to mud as the rain started again.

"It's all right, Scotty. Just.....an ethical scientist closing up shop and going home." He glanced at Spock and McCoy. "Have a medical team on hand. Prepare to beam us up, Mr. Scott."



Kirk grinned at the Vulcan, settled somewhat unwillingly in a sickbay bed. "You don't have to apologize, Mr. Spock," he said. "Your objections had merit. I don't expect you to agree with me all the time - just most of it."

Spock's eyebrows climbed toward the top of his forehead. "I was not apologizing, Captain. I still consider your sending two landing parties down illogical."

McCoy could not snort with his ribs tightly bound up, but he grinned, and Kirk shook his head ruefully. "Well, it worked," he said mildly.

Scott tactfully changed the subject. "What I canna understand, sir, is how all that laboratory fitted into that wee block, let alone the maze Mr. Spock an' the doctor reported."

"Well, they weren't exactly there....you see," said McCoy.

Scott didn't see. "Then....where were they?"

Kirk shrugged. "Elsewhere on the planet? Another planet? Another dimension?"

"Our phasers had no effect there," Spock pointed out. "Your third suggestion is, in all probability, the most logical."

Kirk winced. "Thank you, Mr. Spock." He flicked on the intercom. "Mr. Sulu, take us out of orbit. Ahead warp factor two."


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