"Might be camouflage," suggested Downing. "Remember if it must be destroyed, it is a sign that those who made it knew that it would be against the wishes of somebody."
"Did either of you think that it might be a good thing?"
"You mean the machine might be benign?"
"Yes," answered Thompson.
"That's why you are going to analyze it before we destroy it," said Lane.
"Yes?"
"If we destroy it and discover it is benign, then we can reproduce it. Follow?"
"Excellent idea," said Thompson. "Kennebec thought of that?"
"Kennebec is a smart man," said Lane. "He wanted the stuff in the Little Man's ship—stuff none of us can understand yet. He agreed to come out here and blast the machine. But he considered it likely that the Little Man was making a cat's-paw out of the human race and he wanted to repair any damage done as soon as we found out we'd made a mistake."
"Did you ever think that the interval between destroying this and getting the reproduction in working order might be just time enough?" demanded Thompson.