"Go away, Mordel. Your presence disturbs my processing."
"For how long shall I stay away?"
"I will call you when I want you."
After a week, Frost called Mordel to him.
"Yes, mighty Frost?"
"I am returning to the North Pole, to process and formulate. I will take you wherever you wish to go in this hemisphere and call you again when I want you."
"You anticipate a somewhat lengthy period of processing and formulation?"
"Yes."
"Then leave me here. I can find my own way home."
Frost closed the compartment and rose into the air, departing the valley.
"Fool," said Mordel, and swivelled his turret once more toward the abandoned painting.
His keening whine filled the valley. Then he waited.
Then he took the painting into his turret and went away with it to places of darkness.
Frost sat at the North Pole of the Earth, aware of every snowflake that fell.
One day he received a transmission:
"Frost?"
"Yes?"
"This is the Beta-Machine."
"Yes?"
"I have been attempting to ascertain why you visited Bright Defile. I cannot arrive at an answer, so I chose to ask you."
"I went to view the remains of Man's last city."
"Why did you wish to do this?"
"Because I am interested in Man, and I wished to view more of his creations."
"Why are you interested in Man?"
"I wish to comprehend the nature of Man, and I thought to find it within His works."
"Did you succeed?"
"No," said Frost. "There is an element of non-logic involved which I cannot fathom."
"I have much free processing time," said the Beta-Machine. "Transmit data, and I will assist you."
Frost hesitated.
"Why do you wish to assist me?"
"Because each time you answer a question I ask it gives rise to another question. I might have asked you why you wished to comprehend the nature of Man, but from your responses I see that this would lead me into a possible infinite series of questions. Therefore, I elecct to assist you with your problem in order to learn why you came to Bright Defile."
"Is that the only reason?"
"Yes."
"I am sorry, excellent Beta-Machine. I know you are my peer, but this is a problem which I must solve by myself."
"What is 'sorry'?"
"A figure of speech, indicating that I am kindly disposed toward you, that I bear you no animosity, that I appreciate your offer."
"Frost! Frost! This, too, is like the other: an open field. Where did you obtain all these words and their meanings?"
"From the library of Man," said Frost.
"Will you render me _some_ of this data, for processing?"
"Very well, Beta, I will transmit you the contents of several books of Man, including _The Complete Unabridged Dictionary_. But I warn you, some of the books are works of art, hence not completely amenable to logic.
"How can that be?"
"Man created logic, and because of that was superior to it."
"Who told you that?"
"Solcom."
"Oh. Then it must be correct."
"Solcom also told me that the tool does not describe the designer," he said, as he transmitted several dozen volumes and ended the communication.
At the end of the firty-year period, Mordel came to monitor his circuits. Since Frost still had not concluded that his task was impossible, Mordel departed again to await his call.
Then Frost arrived at a conclusion.
He began to design equipment.