"Electricity," said Rolf. "Just because we couldn't make it work in open circuits doesn't mean we haven't tried. They got enough from our efforts partly to restore themselves—from such efforts and the leakage of our closed circuits. They were always sopping it up.
"But we didn't even know what they looked like, though we had our suspicions. They figured to be survivors of the dominant species on the planet before it dried up—but Revere's test this afternoon gave us our first doubts. We were still up a tree when Lynne got her message through. That did it!
"But it was touch and go. I grabbed a space-ship to get to Lynne, then took a pinnace. If we hadn't managed to get the anion guns ready tonight I think we'd have been licked for all our knowledge. Now we've got them licked. They can still raid our electricity once in awhile, but it's going to cost them."
That was about it. Lynne got up and went outside in the chill Martian night to smoke a skinless cigarette. A little while later Rolf came out and joined her. He slipped an arm around her again, hugged her, said, "Purt, isn't it?"
"I guess so." The constraint she felt in his presence was strong upon her. And she had been through a little too much too quickly. She said, "What about Revere?"
"He'll be back on the job in a little while," he said. "From what he told me before he went under this afternoon he wants to mate up with Lao Mei-O'Connell."
"That'll be fine," said Lynne, feeling suddenly very lonely. "But what happens to me?"
"One zwirchy guess!" he said, bringing his other arm into play.
"But if you drive off the aliens, why are you going to need telepaths?" She felt robbed of a fascinating new career before it was even begun.
"Don't you believe it," he told her. "Telepathy is going to be the keystone of the entire Martian culture. Now that we shan't have to confine people like you and Revere and me to communications we can use them a thousand other ways. Think of what telepathy will mean in education, in therapy, in sheer honesty and understanding!