When we first read Campbell\'s blurb for this novella, we wondered what the devil he (and, after a page or two, del Rey, too) were on about. We were still wondering, halfway through the tale -- until it fell on us, just the way you\'d expect it to in a work out of JWC\'s Astounding/Analog. The earth men may seem to be pathetic numbskulls collecting what they deserve -- but watch them closely. They\'re on to something.