'No, I'm not, Tennyson told him. 'The man in charge is His Holiness, on the wall up there. But I think you had best speak to Cardinal Theodosius. You'll get along with him better than you would with His Holiness. When you speak to the cardinal, you address him as Your Eminence. It's not necessary, but he likes it.

He took Decker by the arm and marched him up to Theodosius.

'Your Eminence, he said, 'this is Thomas Decker II. He desires to speak with you.

'Decker II, said the cardinal, 'you drop in on us unceremoniously and with no warning whatsoever, but I'll be glad to listen.

'I speak for an alien being who is a fugitive from his home planet, Your Eminence, said Decker. 'He is that egg-shaped bubble out there and I call him Smoky, although he has a more proper name.

'It seems to me, said Theodosius, 'that I have seen this Smoky, or one of his fellows, a number of years ago. And now, please, eliminate all the palaver and get on with what you want to tell me.

'Smoky throws himself upon your mercy, Eminence, said Decker, 'and begs sanctuary of you. He can't return to Center, for if he did, his life would be forfeit. He is truly a homeless creature and fallen from very high estate. He is quite humble now.

'He sounds in bad shape, said Theodosius.

'He truly is, Your Eminence. He petitions you —

'Enough of that, said Theodosius. 'Now, tell me, is this place he fled from known as Heaven?

'Not to my knowledge. I have never heard it called that.

'Are you aware that one of our Listeners made an attempt to visit your Center — is that what you call it?

'Yes, Your Eminence, that is what we call it, the Center for Galactic Studies. And, yes, we are aware that someone or something that fitted the description given me by Tennyson of your Listeners had tried to infiltrate the Center, but we frightened it away.

Tennyson glanced over his shoulder and saw that the equation people had spread out so that Smoky and Haystack stood relatively alone. Hopping frantically toward them was Plopper, making straight for the Bubbly.

It reached a position in front of Smoky and began hopping up and down in place, going very rapidly.

'Oh, my God, cried Tennyson, 'not again! He lurched around and started running toward the two of them. Behind him he heard the pounding of feet and Decker yelling at him, 'Get out of the way, you damn fool! Get out of here!

Tennyson kept on running. Decker came up beside him and reached out an arm, thrusting at Tennyson, hitting him on the shoulder and sending him sprawling. Tennyson tried to keep his feet beneath him, running hard and sidewise to regain his balance. But it was impossible to stay upright, and be went plunging to the pavement, striking on one shoulder and skidding, finally coming to a stop piled up in a heap.

Decker was yelling at Smoky in the Bubbly language. 'No, Smoky! Don't try it. Haven't you had enough? You're finished, I tell you. You are all washed up; you haven't got a chance.

Haystatck was also bawling at the Bubbly. 'You and your goddamned pet! You'll be the death of us.

Haystack yelled at Decker. 'Get out of the way! The fool is going to do it.

Decker hurled himself to one side, running desperately.

Plopper blazed. He became a circle of brilliant fire, but the fire was cold. Even where he lay, fallen off to one side, Tennyson felt the bite of it.

But even as this happened, an awful silence fell, cutting off the screaming of the crowd — a silence and a darkness. Tennyson, lying on his back and looking toward the basilica, saw the shaft of darkness projected from the vision plate that had been installed for His Holiness. The shaft of blackness extended out over the esplanade, and within it lay the deepest night. The brilliance of Plopper blinked out and the darkness went away. Plopper was no longer exploding. He lay sprawled on the pavement and did not stir. Haystack had been tipped over on his side and Smoky tipped as well, lying on his face. As Tennyson watched, the Bubbly began a slow crawl up the esplanade, painfully hitching his way along. Theodosius and the Old One stood waiting as Smoky crawled toward them. Decker strode across the pavement and picked up Haystack, setting him on his feet. Plopper was stirring feebly and Decker, going over to him, picked him up by one tentacle and walked slowly down the esplanade, dragging Plopper behind him.

Tennyson hauled himself erect. One shoulder, the one he had fallen on, was sore and there was a throbbing pain in it. He hobbled along lopsidedly as he walked over to join Decker and Haystack.

'He just wouldn't give up, said Decker, making a thumb at Smoky. 'He is one of those fanatics who never know when they are licked. Even when he was flat on his butt and knew it, he still had to make another try. You know what his motto is? First the galaxy, then the universe.

'He is mad, said Tennyson.

'Of a certainty, said Decker.

'But you stayed with him.

'As I told you, friend. Survival.

By now Smoky had reached a position in front of Theodosius. He stopped his crawling and remained face down on the pavement.

Decker spoke to him and Smoky answered in a muffled voice.

'I told you, Eminence, said Decker, 'that he was humble when I spoke to you before. I missed a lick, it seems. But he's humble now. He's truly humble now. Take the bastard and lock him up, as tightly as you can. The best way would be to put an end to him.

'We do not put an end to life, said Theodosius. 'With us, all life is sacred. But we have a place for him. How about the hopper?

'Throw it in with him. It's not likely it will live.

'And the other?

'You mean Haystack, Eminence?

'Yes, I suppose I do.

'Haystack's all right. Harmless. Even decent. I'll vouch for him.

'All right, then. We'll take care of the other two. And please accept my gratitude"

'Your gratitude?

'For telling me that one of our Listeners was frightened from your Center.

The crowd was buzzing again, beginning to pick up steam.

A voice boomed above the chatter.

His Holiness was speaking.

'These proceedings, he said, 'are ended. In due time all the facts in this situation will be taken under careful consideration. The results will be announced at a later time.

They had gathered in Tennyson's suite, in front of the blazing fire. Tennyson got up to refill Ecuyer's glass. He said to Theodosius, 'It seems to the, Your Eminence, to be inhospitable to be able to offer you nothing while the rest of us chomp down sandwiches and slosh down the booze.

The cardinal hunched down more solidly on the stool that Jill had brought in from the kitchen. 'It is sufficient, he said, 'to be here, in this circle of friendship before this warming fire. You remember the night I came and you invited me in?

'Yes, I do, said Tennyson, 'and you couldn't because you were bringing a summons from His Holiness.

'That is right, and I have looked forward ever since to an invitation.

'There is no need to await an invitation, said Jill. 'Drop in any time. You'll always find a welcome.

'It seems to have turned out all right, said Ecuyer. 'It looks as if we can pick up where we left off. The Listeners can settle down and start going out.

'His Holiness said an announcement will be made at a later time," said Jill. 'Do you think there is any chance…

'None at all, said Theodosius. 'After listening to what the second Decker had to tell us, especially about the Center having been aware of Mary's visits, I would think there'd be no question. His Holiness, as a matter of fact, would accept lesser proof than what we have. He was more upset than any of us knew by the Heaven business and the proposal to make a Listener a saint. You must remember that he is, basically, a computer, although a most sophisticated one. None of us should have had any doubt where his interest lay.