In its weakened condition, the powerful overload was more than its unprepared cells could distribute. It shrank back on itself towards the one section of the vault that was uncharged. All movement was agony.

Misjudged, misjudgment! it cried. One by one centers shut down to avoid being burned out forever.

Those which tried to distribute the charge had some success before failing. Those on the organic periphery went first.

Unfortunately, very unfortunately, it did not quite die.

"Full off, back down slowly," Parquit ordered after several minutes had elapsed. The Vain had long since ceased all movement of any kind, but the Commander was not about to be undercautious. Obediently, Pyorn closed down the system. The Engineer examined dials and meters intently.'

"All sections holding, Commander." There was a hint of pride in the voice, which Parquit, under the circumstances, did not reprimand.

"Compliments, he said curtly. To the two scientists, "Follow me, please, sanderings." They descended to the floor of the great control center. Parquit singled out an elderly AAnn seated alone amid thousands of tiny glass cages with captive dials.

"Well, Amostom, is it ruled a final dueling?"

"I cannot say yet, Commander. According to life-support monitor ..." he gestured at the meters and such, " ... the thing still lives.

"Impossible," Arris said quietly.

"Strange words to come from a xenobiologist," replied the Commander.

"Exalted, there isn't a living creature that can take half the voltage that was poured into that vault for more than a few milliseconds. Even then, the aquatic being in question has all its higher neurological functions crisped. The thing must at least be paralyzed beyond possibility of recovery, a point where 'death' becomes an exercise in convenient semantics."

"Well," Parquit said grimly, "you may be right, there. If not, your scheme of tolerance will be forced to revise itself to include a variable." He turned to stare at the monitors which relayed images from the vault.

"If it is still alive, it shows no sign of it. All visible motion has halted."

"I beg to question, Commander, but there is no 'if' involved," interrupted Amostom from his seat. The elderly nye made a sweeping motion with hands and tail. "The readings are plain for those who have the openness to read them. The thing lives. Weakened, granted, but it lives."

"How 'weakened'?" asked Parquit.

Amostom performed the AAnn shrug-equivalent. "By any reasonable standards, I should guess near to death. Indeed, it may, as the good Arris observes, never recover. But then, little of it observes normal or reasonable standards. By its own- who knows?"

The Commander grunted and turned back to the largest tridee monitor. It remained focused on the quiescent black mass.

"Well, we shall have to find out. A good external stimulus ought to be the best way. And we have one that has proven itself effective." He gestured to Carmot and Arris to follow.

"Your pardon, Commander," said the Observer-First, "but where are we going?"

Parquit looked back over a mailed shoulder. "Inside the vault, of course. What kind of stimuli did you think I had in mind?"

Carmot had not moved. "I hardly think that is wise, Commander."

"Perhaps. But useful certainly." Parquit looked the small scientist over carefully. "Is it possible the rye have a coward in their midst?"

Carmot flushed. "A heightened instinct for preservation in the face of death is not cowardice."

"Very facile. I will not force you."

"Then of course I must come," said Carmot.

The clumsy armored suits held their speed to a crawl. Designed for use in the weightless vacuum of space, they were terribly awkward on land. In ordering the use of the bulky suits, Parquit privately doubted that they would afford much in the way of protection should the creature decide to go on another rampage. If it was capable of further rampaging, he reminded himself. Amostom's analysis left an uncomfortably large amount of room for disarming speculation.

Psychologically, however, the armor was valuable for such as the Observer-First. For a race of reptiles equipped with their own body armor by nature, armor of all types exerted an almost religious appeal.

Within the vault, the restored lighting (cut out when the emergency power was cut on) was sharp.

Colors, shadows, even the walls showed grayish in the even lighting. The jagged debris of the creature's interspace ellipsoid lay strewn about the room, twisted and torn like so much parchment.

The enigma to vivo rested in the center of the room. A huge, silent mountain of ebony opalescence and awesome power. It represented a universe of unanswered questions.

Together with a heavily armed escort, which was present primarily for psychological effect, a small group of volunteer scientists accompanied the three.

A single soldier preceded the small party. He walked slowly up to the unmoving hulk. A few nye held their breath. The soldier walked slowly around the base of the creature, tapping it at various points with the stock of his powerifle. After several minutes of this he flicked his tail at the waiting party.

A low sussuration, part relief and part burgeoning curiosity, began to emanate from the group of scientists as they spread through the vault. The atmosphere seemed to grow ten degrees warmer. Two were already deep in a heated discussion by the base of the melted watertight door.

Others were soon plying about the edge of the monster. Still others were pouring over the shredded remnants of the transportation ellipsoid that lay scattered about the vault.

Parquit still found it difficult to think of the mountain quiet mass as alive in any sense of the word. Its one brief display of insensate violence and explosive motion had taken on the aspect of a bad dream, was receding into memory.

He passed one elderly observer calmly dictating notes into his belt recorder. The oldster was examining a fused lump of metal which lay close to the base of the creature. It was easy enough to identify-a partially digested arm and part of a shoulder protruded from the metal. The lump was the remains of one of the little inspection-repair scooters that had carried the nye who were to release the creature from its metal shell-and the remains of the scooter operator.

The Commander spotted Arris studying the point where the black hill touched the floor. He strolled over and the xenobiologist waved in greeting.

"Initial deductions?" Parquit asked smoothly.

"I am still trying to adjust to the fact that this is indeed a living thing and not a mountain of inorganic sludge, Commander." The scientist tapped the black substance with a clawed foot. "I find it difficult to relate to something so enormous on any kind of personal level."

"A feeling we all share. Still, I could do with some first impressions."

"Well, if Amostom's instrumentsare correct, then we can assume the thing capable of unknown actions at any time. Yet I would tend to believe we may have pulled its spines. Its intelligence remains an unknown-the most important one, I should think."

"You believe it is of a high enough order to learn from its experience, then?"

"Its present lack of action might be read as such. But I hesitate to ascribe intelligence to an action which may be dictated solely by bodily demands and be thereby entirely involuntary. I don't think in any case that it will risk another encounter with Pyorn's electric charges. Not when it has been so obviously damaged by the first." The xenobiologist scratched his leathery hide with one claw. "With your permission, Commander, I'd like to be about our schedule of experimentation. Suitable precautions will be observed."

"I should expect so. Yes, certainly. Begin at once." Parquit caught sight of Cannot standing off to one side and walked over. The Observer was careful to avoid contact with the monster.

"You've been very quiet, Observer. What do you observe?"

Cannot turned a drawn face to the Commander. "I observe that an appalling display of force resulting in destruction and fatalities is insufficient to install suspicion in the nye. We all underestimate this unspeakable mass of alien obscenity."

He returned his gaze to the thing in question. "The display of electronic destruction put on by our engineers was quite impressive. It is possible that we may have exhausted the thing's resources, that its moment of terror was a last desperate attempt to avoid imprisonment and perhaps dissection." He looked at Parquit evenly. "But I would not bet asouthing on it."

Carmot's pessimism did not overly bother Parquit. Rather, it was the Observer's unflattering intimations of ignorance on the part of the AAnn. Not fitting for one in the service of the Emperor.

"You would have us attempt to destroy it now, after the nye it has cost?" Parquit said sharply.

"Yes!" the Observer replied, with more violence than the Commander had ever seen him express.

"Now, immediately! Before it regains the strength it showed. And for the very reason you yourself just said!"