"Look, I don't trust them--if they're the Outsiders they've got maybe a
hundred thousand years head-start on us scientifically. There may be
only a couple dozen of them, but we don't know how strong they are."

"That's if they're really the Outsiders," said Rynason.

Manning nodded his head impatiently. "Yes, that's what I'm saying. If
they're the Outsiders, which looks like a sensible conclusion. Or do you
have a better one?"

"Well, I don't know if it's better," said Rynason. "It may not even be
as attractive, for that matter. But have you considered that maybe when
the Outsiders pulled out of our area they simply moved on elsewhere?
We're so used to seeing dead cities that we think automatically that the
Outsiders must be dead too, which I suppose is what's bothering you
about finding the Hirlaji here alive. But it might be worse. That whole
empire could simply have moved on to this area; we could be on the edge
of it right now, ready to run head-on into a hundred star systems just
crowded with the Outsiders."

Manning stared at him, and the expression on his face was not quite
anger. Something like it, but not anger.

"The ruins we've found here were built by the Hirlaji," Rynason said. "I
saw them building when I was linked with Horng, and these are the same
structures. But the design was copied from older buildings, and I don't
know how far back I'd have to search the memories before I found where
they originally got that kind of approach to design. Maybe back before
they developed telepathy. But this race simply isn't as old as the
Outsiders; they came out of barbarism thousands of years after the