"And scientific development was pushed to the utmost. We wished to send our colonists off with as much as earth could possibly give them. We eliminated a dozen diseases that have plagued us for centuries; we devised a thousand new tools and techniques."
"In short," said the alien, "because of this stimulus, man has progressed as much in this past few years as he could have expected in the next fifty."
"That is correct," Pierre Duclos said. "It is unfortunate that now we have on our threshold a world really worth living in, that it is fated to be destroyed."
"I see," said the alien, what would have been a smile on a human face flickered on his. "I am glad to report that the danger which confronted the earth has been removed and the need to populate the new planet with colonists in order to preserve your race is now eliminated.
"Gentlemen, the earth is safe. Man may go on with his plans without fear of destruction."
Monsieur Duclos fingered his cane thoughtfully while the other two earthmen jumped to their feet, thumped each other's backs, shouted, and otherwise demonstrated their joy. They finally dashed from the room and from the space craft to give the news to the world.
The alien eyed the little Frenchman. "And why have you remained?"
"I do not believe the world was faced with destruction, monsieur. I have come to the conclusion that you have perpetrated a farce upon mankind."
The alien sat himself down at the desk again. "I see you will need an explanation. But you are wrong, you know. Faced with destruction you were. The destruction, however, was not a matter of collision with some other body, or whatever you might have imagined. The destruction would have come from within. Man was on the verge of destroying himself. One more conflict, or, at most, two, would have done it.
"The Galactic Union has long been aware of man who has developed mechanically in a phenomenal manner but has not been able to develop socially to the point where his science is less than a danger. This ship was sent to you in hopes of accomplishing exactly what has been accomplished. We believed your racial instinct would be strong enough to unite you when the race as a whole thought it was threatened with extinction."