"But I would not describe it as a waste of time," said Saturn a couple of hours later at a meeting of department heads back at the University. "The ship and its crew demonstrated the ability to locate the home of a wizard on a dead, empty world. If they can do that, there is no doubt that they can discover any civilisation that may exist on any of the other planets and moons circling Tharsol."

     "But Sereena was the best hope, wasn't it?" pointed out Kalda Mot, the head of extraplanar studies. "Further out, the worlds get colder and colder. Far too cold for the kind of life we're looking for, unless you suspect the existence of a subterranean civilisation, such as that of the gl-hugs."

     "Exploring the worlds of our own system is a waste of time," said Fragrant Lotus, however, the only Fu Nangian currently on the University faculty and the head of the school of divination. He nodded his head to Saturn and smiled to take the sting out of his words. "We know the Shipbuilder civilisation lies on the other side of a transdimensional portal. That is what we should be looking for."

     "We don't know that for certain," said Saturn, though. "Not for certain. We must first rule out the worlds of our own system. Then we can look further afield."

     "Has anything more been learned from the captive Felisians?" the Director asked Seskip Tonn.

     "No," replied the Head Proctor. "Once they realised that we could break down their mental barriers they became fully co-operative and have told us much about their world and their people, but they cannot tell us where their world is, or even whether it's in our own universe. They simply do not know themselves. They certainly know nothing about any transdimensional portal. My guess is that they were deliberately kept ignorant in case they were captured by us."

     "I would lay money that the Felisian homeworld and the homeworld of the Shipbuilders lie beyond the same portal," said Kalda Mot. "They may even be the same world. The Felisians may be Shipbuilder spies."

     "The Felisians know nothing of any Shipbuilder civilisation," said Seskip emphatically. "That was the first thing I made sure of. I did discover one interesting thing, however. The Felisians are responsible for the interference affecting long range magic."

     "What!" cried every wizard around the table at once.

     Director had to slam his hand on the table several times to restore order. "Give him a chance to speak!" he warned, eying them sharply. "I'm sure our esteemed Head Proctor is about to elaborate on his extraordinary statement."

     Seskip nodded his gratitude. "As you know, long range magic depends on a coherent beam of magical force being able to pass from one place to another. Like a helioscope that uses flashes of reflected sunlight to send messages from hilltop to hilltop, but if there is a sandstorm blowing in the desert between, the men on one hilltop cannot see the signals being sent from the other. The Felisians cannot use magic themselves, but during their voyages they discovered a substance that is fully opaque to the magic force. They ground it up into powder, and four years ago one of their ships released it into Tharia's upper atmosphere. Ever since then it has been filtering down to the ground and effectively preventing a beam of magic force from travelling more than a hundred miles or so."

     "Then it's a temporary effect," said Lyo Hosh, the hideously scarred and disfigured curator of artifacts and relics. "When every last trace of this substance has reached the ground, long range magic will once again be possible."

     "Unless they repeat the operation," agreed the Head Proctor. "They may have the means to do so as often as they like."

     "We must obtain a sample of this substance," said Lyo Hosh excitedly. "The possibilities are endless! Truly magic proof shielding at last. Perhaps magic mirrors to reflect a spell back at its caster..."

     "This is a topic for another occasion," said the Director, though. "Let's not stray from the point. We were talking about the Felisians." He gestured to Seskip to continue.

     "Our two prisoners are in terrible fear, wondering how we will respond to their acts of aggression..."

     "Good!" said Pondar Walton, who still remembered the destruction of his laboratory and would have liked nothing better than to get his hands on the men responsible.

     Seskip glared at him. "Now that the Ship of Space is complete and operational, they fear that we will find their world and wreak terrible vengeance on their race. They are few in number and almost powerless, except for the limited polymorphing ability possessed by some exceptional individuals and their acquisition of some of their former masters' equipment. There's no doubt we could dominate them completely once we arrived on their world in numbers. That is their great fear, and the reason they tried so hard to wreck the Rossem project. Now, though, they know that it's the Shipbuilder civilisation we're mainly interested in, and in order to avert our wrath they're offering to help us find it."

     "How?" demanded Saturn, leaning forward with sudden interest.

     "As I said, the two individuals we are holding don't know the location of the portal, or even if there is a portal, but they say that if they're allowed to communicate with their people they'll ask that one of those who does know come to us. He, or she, will join the crew of the Jules Verne and be our guide, helping us in our search. In return, we will grant a general amnesty for all the acts of sabotage..."

     "No!" roared Pondar Walton in outrage, startling the others with a display of furious energy few had thought him capable of. "They must pay for what they've done! They must be punished!"

     "They are being punished," replied Seskip, eying him coldly. "Their whole race is in an agony of terror, expecting terrible retribution from us."

     "Not good enough!" cried Pondar, his rage so great that his bent back straightened and he rose to his full height. He was a very tall man when motivated strongly enough to overcome the constant pain of his curved spine, and eyes widened in astonishment, especially some of the newer faculty members only recently arrived back at the University who'd never known him in the vigorous days of his youth.

     "What about all those killed by the interference while teleporting?" Pondar demanded. "What about Schoena Scull, murdered in cold blood..."

     "They have murdered no-one in cold blood," replied the Head Proctor, his eerily reptilian features hardening with anger. "I have read their minds through and through and I know this to be true. They are a pacifistic people. They deliberately caused the interference so that it would begin slowly, giving us plenty of time to become accustomed to it, and Schoena Scull's death was a tragic accident. They meant only to tie him up while they destroyed his laboratory. They didn't know how frail and weak he was..."

     "Nevertheless, he is dead," pointed out Pondar, pointing a long, accusing finger at the Head Proctor. "His killers must be punished. Frankly I'm astonished to hear you defending them. What's happened to your reputation for ruthlessly hunting down and punishing the guilty?"

     Heads nodded around the table. Seskip's reputation was well known. The disturbingly reptilian Head Proctor was feared by all but the most powerful.

     "They will be punished, have no fear of that," said Seskip. "Those responsible for individual acts of sabotage will be called to account and Schoena Scull's killer will be found and dealt with, but when all this has been done there must be peace with the Felisians. A Felisian aboard the Jules Verne can save us a lot of time, help us make up much of the time we've lost." He turned to the Director. "The alternative is war, which we will inevitably win but which will cost us much. I say we've lost enough already. It's time to make peace with them."

     "It's strange to hear you talk this way," said Natan Crowley, smiling. "You never struck me as a peacemaker. Saturn, if we do this, you're the one who'll be aboard ship with a Felisian. How do you feel about that?"

     "Anything that helps us find the Shipbuilder civilisation is to be welcomed," Saturn replied. "Precautions can easily be taken to prevent him causing any mischief. I think it would be unwise to let the rest of the crew know that one of their shipmates is a former enemy, though. I think it would be advisable for he or she to pose as a normal human. An advisor, perhaps. Only a few key officers would know the truth. With that proviso, I'm happy with it."

     "Very well. Seskip, you will allow your prisoners to communicate with their people, but listen to everything they say. I don't want them planning a rescue." Seskip nodded.

     "Director, I protest!" cried Pondar furiously. "We..."

     "Noted!" snapped Natan Crowley with a sharp glance at the wizard. "I know that the destruction of his equipment is a heavy blow to a wizard. I might remind you that I am a wizard myself, but your loss is small compared to what others have suffered. Please try to bear that in mind."

     Pondar growled angrily but sat down, eying the Head Proctor suspiciously.

     "In the meantime," continued Natan, "The Jules Verne will continue on to the planet Rama to examine it and its system of satellites, then on to Talphon and so on until we reach the last outpost of our planetary system. I realise that those worlds are frozen and cannot harbour our kind of life on their surfaces, so the crew will use the Helms of Farsensing to search for underground caverns and hollow worlds. And, of course, they will be constantly alert for anything that might resemble a transdimensional portal. I leave that in your hands, Saturn." The other wizard nodded gravely.

     "And so," continued the Director. "Unless anyone has anything else to add?"

     No-one spoke, and so the Director began to give the long speech that formally ended the meeting.