midnight
When I get it , and not until then , will I be ready to take the offensive . '' `` You intend starting open war upon your return ? '' `` The war started when I tried to pick off the women with my attractor . That is why I am leaving at midnight . He always goes to bed at eleven-thirty , and I will be out of range of his object-compass before he wakes up . Seaton and I understand each other perfectly . We both know that the next time we meet one of us is going to be resolved into his component atoms , perhaps into electrons .