"Mr. Mancziewicz mentioned collapsed crystal metal," Retief said.
"Well, most interesting." Magnan's voice sounded thoughtful.
"Just thought you'd like to know. This should simplify the meeting in the morning.
"Yes," Magnan said. "Yes, indeed. I think this makes everything very simple...."
At 0845 Greenwich, Retief stepped into the outer office of the Consular suite.
"... fantastic configuration," Leatherwell's bass voice rumbled, "covering literally acres. My xenogeologists are somewhat confused by the formations. They had only a few hours to examine the site; but it's clear from the extent of the surface indications that we have a very rich find here. Very rich indeed. Beside it, 95739-A dwindles into insignificance. Very fast thinking on your part, Mr. Consul, to bring the matter to my attention."
"Not at all, Mr. Leatherwell. After all—"
"Our tentative theory is that the basic crystal fragment encountered the core material at some time, and gathered it in. Since we had been working on—that is, had landed to take samples on the other side of the body, this anomalous deposit escaped our attention completely."
Retief stepped into the room.