In Case of Fire Page 3

looked at him. "Didn't you know? I wondered why you appointed me,in the first place. No, I couldn't go. The reason why I'm here, coopedup in this office, hiding from the Saarkkada the way a good Saarkkadicbigshot should, is because I _like_ it that way. I suffer fromagoraphobia and xenophobia.

  "I have to be drugged to be put on a spaceship because I can't take allthat empty space, even if I'm protected from it by a steel shell." Alook of revulsion came over his face. "And I can't _stand_ aliens!"

  THE END

  Transcriber's Note:

  This etext was produced from _Astounding Science Fiction_ March 1960. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.