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“But what about the others?” asked Don. “There must be hundreds of applicants who would be of no use to you at all.”

“Oh, yes,” replied Crandon. “There are the mild religious fanatics. We enroll them as members and keep them interested by sending pamphlets in line with their interests. We even let them contribute to our upkeep, if they seem to want to. They never get beyond the reception room if they come to call on us. But they are additional people through whom we can act when the time finally comes.

“There are also the desperate people who try POSAT as a last resort—lost ones who can’t find their direction in life. For them we put into practice some of our newly won knowledge. We rehabilitate them—anonymously, of course. Even find jobs or patch up homes. It’s good practice for us.

“I think I’ve answered most of your questions, Don. But you haven’t answered mine. Will you join us?”

Don looked solemnly at the orderly array of the computer before him. He had one more question.

“Will it really work? Can it actually tell you how to motivate the stubborn, quarrelsome, opinionated people one finds on this Earth?”