"At any rate, we may be sure of this: whatever it was that caused man to
become supreme on the earth, that condition is lacking on Sanus!"

Van Emmon did not agree to this. "The condition may be there, doc, but
there is some other factor which overbalances it; a factor such as is--
well, more favorable to the bees."

The doctor looked around the circle. "What do you think? 'A factor more
favorable to the bees.' Shall we let it go at that?" There was no
remark, even from Smith; and the doctor went on:

"Coming back to the bees, then, we note that they are remarkable for
several points of great value. First, as we have seen, they are very
industrious by nature. Second, all bees possess wings and on that count
alone they are far superior to humans.

"Third--and to me, the most important--the bees possess a remarkable
combination of community life and specialization. Of course, when you
come to analyze these two points, you see that they really belong to one
another. The bees we know, for instance, are either queens, whose only
function is to fertilize the eggs; or workers, who are unsexed females,
and whose sole occupations are the collecting of honey, the building of
hives, and the care of the young.

"Now," speaking carefully, "apparently these Sanusian bees have
developed something that is not unknown to certain forms of earth's
insect life. I mean, a soldier type. A kind of bee which specializes on
fighting!"