"Gentlemen, gentlemen," John roared. "Please!"
There was silence.
"Thank you. Which of you in fact thought of the stellar-reporters for accumulating data on other parts of the Galaxy?"
"I did," said a tall thin man by the door. "Higgins is my name."
Even I had heard of the astrophysicist inventor.
"Had it occurred to you that with these crystals and your stellar-reporters man could expand through the Galaxy?"
"No. But now that you raise the point, of course we could!"
"My friend, Morris here, and I and some colleagues have been doing so privately for some time...."
John waited until the excited murmuring died away.
"We thought David Adam Smith had discovered us. And that is really why we broke into his office ... and found you all there. But I now think he knows nothing about it. Subject to your agreement, I suggest we should keep him in ignorance, lock him in a quartz crystal here and continue the private migration without involving him."