A professor and two students stumble across a highly unusual phenomenon. At first they attempt to keep it secret whilst investigating further, but leaks occur despite the intervention of MI5. The phenomenon involves a newly discovered element, synthesized by the professor and others together with a material deposited on earth by visitors from another planet who use the earth for observation. Their society is more advanced than that of earth, though they had no anticipation of the highly unusual result of the combination between the terrestrial and the extra-terrestrial materials. They are both appalled and pleased with aspects of the intriguing results.