BAKER KEPT HIS EYES on the ceiling. “I found out a few things,” he said. “I could scarcely believe they were true. I have to believe after hearing your story.”
“What did you find?”
“Sam Atkins came from—somewhere else. He went back in the ship he had hidden in the silo.”
“Where did he come from? What was he doing here?”
“I don’t know the name of the world he was from or where it is located. Somewhere in this galaxy, is about all I can deduce from my impressions. He was here on a scientific mission, a sociological study. He was responsible for the crystals. I suppose you know that by now?” Baker glanced at Ellerbee.
Jim Ellerbee nodded. “I suspected for a long time that I was being led, but I couldn’t understand it. I thought I was doing the research that produced the crystals, but Sam
