And so the call went out to Earth. The Uranians had destroyed an Earth Fleet at 0622 Greenwich on April 13, 2072.
Right after the Polaris grounded, its officers were summoned to appear before the World Court. All the officials were there. Every branch of science was well-represented.
Third Officer Webster led off. He minutely described what he had seen. He explained how the Polaris had acted. But it had happened so fast that his description was sketchy. No one was able to figure out how the Uranians had done it. Webster's best guess was:
"It looked like the ships were yanked off their course and just broke up under the strain—like a strong magnetic field suddenly appeared in the middle of them. But that couldn't be."
The others agreed. Scientists long ago had found that things like death rays and peculiar beams could never exist. It was impossible to get enough energy in an extended beam to have any effect on anything.
Several hypotheses were proposed and rapidly shattered. The question of what had done it reached a blank wall.
But even more puzzling was the question of why. The Uranians were utterly incapable of bearing the malice necessary to start a war. They were as detached and unemotional as a rock.
Again the Court got nowhere.
Doctor Trant stood up.
"I don't think we can separate the two questions, how and why. So I recommend that we play back all the tapes we've made since we first contacted Uranus. Most of us know the whole story already, but with all of us listening together we might pick up something we've missed."