There will never be another chance. We'll die out, there will be no morenomes anywhere, and it will be because of you. And in years and years tocome you'll be all alone and useless and you'll think 'Perhaps I shouldhave helped Masklin when he asked me,' and then you'll think 'If I had mytime all over again, I would have helped him.' Well, Thing, imagine allthat has happened and you've magically got your wish. Help us."

"It's a machine!" snapped Angalo. "You can't blackmail a machine!"

One small red light lit up on the Thing's black surface.

"I know you can tell what other machines are thinking," said Masklin.

"But can you tell what nomes are thinking? Read my mind, Thing, if youdon't think I'm serious. You want nomes to act intelligently. Well, I amacting intelligently. I'm intelligent enough to know when I need help. Ineed help now. And you can help. I know you can. If you don't help usnow, we'll leave right now and forget you ever existed."

A second light came on, very faintly.

Masklin stood up, and nodded to the other.

"All right," he said. "Let's go."

The Thing made a little electronic noise, which was the machine'sequivalent of a nome clearing his throat.

"How can I be of assistance?" it said.

Angalo grinned at Gurder.

Masklin sat down again.

"Find Grandson Richard Arnold, 39," he said.

"This will take a long time, " said the Thing.

"Oh."

A few lights moved on the Thing's surface. Then it said, "I have locateda Richard Arnold, aged 39. He has just gone into the departure lounge forFlight 205 to Miami, Florida."

"That didn't take a very long time," said Masklin.

"It was three hundred microseconds," said the Thing. "That's long."

"I don't think I understood all of it too," Masklin added.

"Which parts didn 't you understand?"

"Nearly all of them," said Masklin. "All the bits after 'gone into.'"