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                 _The ship went out safely, came back
               safely. The pilot was unaware of anything
              wrong. Somewhere in the depths of his brain
                 was locked the secret that made him_

                               MAN ALONE

                             BY DON BERRY

           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
              Worlds of If Science Fiction, October 1958.
         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]


_Phoenix I_ belled out smoothly in the region of a G-type star. There
was a bright flare as a few random hydrogen atoms were destroyed by the
ship's sudden appearance. One moment space had been empty except for
the few drifting atoms, and the next--the ship was there, squat and
ugly.

Inside, a bell chimed sweetly, signalling t