 Why is the supervising council worried about the Old Ones?
If the Old Ones have seized one of our probers our time margin is considerably narrowed. It was just like the council to put the screws on; they had a reputation for demanding results at any cost—even at the cost of destroying the only thing you had that would make results possible. His second in command was busy, but one of the other team workers reported—nothing new—and asked about Hatcher's appearance before the council. For endless generations the threat of the Old Ones had hung over his race, those queer, almost mythical beings from the Central Masses of the galaxy. One brush with them, in ages past, had almost destroyed Hatcher's people.
 The Old Ones have captured one of their probers.
 The Old Ones have captured one of their probers.  The Old Ones are not happy with the kind of science Hatcher is conducting.  The Old Ones need Hatcher’s data on the human specimen.  The Old Ones must be given a human tribute soon.