,transcriber's ,note3      ,this etext  
was produced from ,planet ,stories ,july
 #aieb4 ,extensive     research did not 
uncover any evidence that the ,u4,s4    
copyright on     this publication was   
renewed4                                
,illustration                           
,,the ,,man ,,who ,,staked ,,the ,,stars
                               ,by      
,,charles ,,dye        ,bryce ,carter   
could afford a smug smile4 ,for hadn't  
he risen       gloriously from ,thieves 
,row to director of famed ,u4,t48 ,was  
not ,earth1 ,moon1 and all the ,belt1 at
 this very moment       awaiting his    
command for the grand coup8 ,and wasn't 
his       cousin-from-,montehedo a      
star-sent help8         99       99     
99       99       99     ,what do ,i do 
for a living8 repeated the slim         
dark-skinned young man in the next seat 
of the ,earth-,moon liner4 ,i'm a witch 
doctor1 he answered with complete       
sincerity4  ,what do you do8 ,i mean1   
what do they hire you for8 asked        

,donahue with understandable confusion  
and a touch of nervousness4             
,illustration3 ,bracing themselves1     
,bryce and ,pierce gave the body a      
combined strong shove toward ,earth4    
,two gone4  ,i'm registered as a        
psychotherapist1 said the dark-skinned  
young man4 ,he looked too young to be   
practicing a profession1 barely         
nineteen1 but that could be merely a    
sign of talent1 ,donahue reflected4 ,the
 new teaching and testing methods       
graduated them young4  ,i know ,i am a  
witch doctor because my grandfather and 
his father and his father's father were 
witch doctors and ,i learned a special  
technique from my uncles who are        
registered therapists with medical      
degrees like mine4 ,but the technique is
 not the one you find in the books1 it  
is 444 unusual4 ,they don't say where   
they learned it but it's not hard to    
guess4 ,the dark youth shrugged         
cheerfully4 ,so--,i'm a witch doctor4   
,that's an interesting thought1 said    

,donahue4 ,it would be a long three day 
trip to the ,moon and he had expected to
 be bored1 but this conversation was not
 boring4 ,what do you do8 he again      
asked4 ,specifically4 ,donahue had      
rugged features1 a dark tan and         
attractively sun-bleached hair worn a   
little too long4 ,he exuded a sort of   
rough charm which branded him one of the
 class of politicians1 and he knew how  
to draw people out1 so now he settled   
himself more comfortably for an extended
 spell of listening4 ,tell me more and  
join me in a drink4 ,he signalled the   
hostess and continued with the right    
mixture of admiring interest and        
condescending scepticism4 ,you don't    
chant spells and hire ghosts1 do you8   
,not exactly4 ,the dark innocent looking
 young face smiled with a cheerful flash
 of white teeth4 ,i'll tell you what ,i 
did to a man1 a man named ,bryce        
,carter4         99       99       99   
99       99  ,a group of men sat in a   
skyscraper at ,cape ,hatteras1 with     

their table running parallel to a huge  
floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked 
the clouded sky and gray waves of the   
,atlantic4 ,they were the respected     
directors of ,union ,transport1 and1    
like most men of high position1 they had
 a keen sense of self-preservation and a
 knowledge of ways and means that       
included little in the way of scruples4 
,the chairman rapped lightly4           
,gentlemen1 your attention please4 ,i   
have an announcement to make4  ,the buzz
 of talk at the long table stopped and  
the fourteen men turned their faces4    
,the meeting had been called a full week
 early1 and they expected some emergency
 as an explanation4 ,a disturbing       
announcement1 ,i am afraid4 ,someone is 
using this corporation for illegal      
purposes4 ,the chairman's voice was mild
 and apologetic4  ,bryce ,carter1 second
 from the opposite end1 was brought to a
 shock of tense balanced alertness4 ,how
 much did he know8 ,he gave no sign of  
emotion1 but reached for a cigarette to 

cover any change in his breathing1      
fumbling perhaps more than usual4  ,the 
men at the long table waited1 showing a 
variety of bored expressions that never 
had any connection with their true      
reactions4 ,the chairman was a small1   
inconspicuous1 sandy-haired man whose   
ability they respected so deeply that   
they had elected him the chairman to    
have him where they could watch him4    
,they knew he was not one to mention    
trifles1 and there was a moment of      
silence4 ,all right1 ,john1 said one1   
letting out his held breath and leaning 
back1 ,i'll bite4 ,what kind of illegal 
purposes8  ,i don't know much1 the small
 man apologized1 ,only that the crime   
rate has risen forty percent in the     
average of the cities served by ,,ut1   
and in ,callastro ,city1 ,callastro1 and
 ,panama ,city1 where we just put in a  
spaceport1 it more than doubled4  ,funny
 coincidence1 someone grunted4  ,very   
funny1 said another4 ,if the police     
notice it1 and the public hears of it-- 

,there was no man there who would       
willingly have parted with his place at 
that table1 no one who was unaware that 
in fighting his way to a place at that  
table he had seized some part of control
 of the destiny of the solar system4    
,,ut--,union ,transport1 spread the     
meshes of its transportation service    
through almost every city of ,earth and 
the hamlets and roads and bus and       
railroad and airlines between--and even 
to the few far ports where mankind had  
found a toehold in space4 ,but its      
existence was precariously balanced on  
public trust4  ,,ut's unity from city to
 city and country to country1 its       
spreading growth had saved the public   
much discomfort and expense of          
overlapping costs and transfers and     
confusion1 and so the public1 on the    
advice of economists1 grudgingly allowed
 ,,ut to grow ever bigger4 ,there was a 
conservative movement to put all such   
outsize businesses under government     
ownership as had been the trend in the  

last generation but the economy was     
mushrooming too fast for the necessary  
neatness1 and the public rightly would  
not trust politicos in any operation too
 confusing for them to be watched1 and  
preferred to leave such businesses to   
private operation1 accepting the danger 
for the profit of efficient and         
penurious operation1 dividends and      
falling costs4  ,but all these          
advantages were barely enough to buy    
,,ut's life from year to year4 ,it had  
grown too big4  ,its directors held     
power to make or break any city and the 
prosperity of its inhabitants by mere   
small shifts in shipping fees1 a        
decision to put in a line1 or a         
terminal1 or a crossroad4 ,the power was
 indirectly recognized in the honors and
 higher offices1 the free entertainment 
and lavish privileges available to them 
from any chamber of commerce and any    
political representative1 lobbying      
discreetly for a slight bias of choice  
that would place an airport or spaceport

 in their district rather than another4 
,perhaps some of the directors used     
their position for personal pleasure and
 advantage1 but power used for the sake 
of controlling the direction of growth  
of races and nations1 power for its own 
sake was the game which was played at   
that table1 its members playing the game
 of control against each other and the  
world for high stakes of greater        
control1 nursing behind their untelling 
faces who knows what megalomaniac dreams
 of dominion4  ,yet they used their     
control discreetly1 serving the public  
welfare and keeping the public          
good-will4 ,when it was possible4  ,as  
always ,bryce ,carter sat relaxed1      
lazily smiling1 his expression not      
changing to his thoughts4  ,who knows of
 this besides us8 someone asked4  ,the  
chairman answered mildly4 ,it was a     
company statistician in the publicity   
department who noticed it4 ,he was      
looking for favorable correlations1 ,i  
believe4 ,his pale blue eyes ranged     

across their faces1 touching ,bryce     
,carter's face expressionlessly in      
passing4 ,i requested that he tell no   
one else until ,i had investigated4 ,he 
added apologetically1 ,commitments for  
drug addiction correlate too4  ,that was
 worse news4 ,narcotics investigators   
are no fools1 someone said thoughtfully4
         99       99       99       99  
99  ,neiswanger1 a thin orderly man near
 the head of the table1 pressed his     
fingertips together1 frowning slightly4 
,i take it then that our corporation is 
being used as a criminal means of large 
scale smuggling of drugs1 transport of  
criminals on false identification and   
transport for resale of the goods       
resulting from their thefts4 ,is that   
correct8 ,neiswanger always liked to    
have things neatly listed4  ,i think so1
 said the chairman4  ,and you would say 
that the organization responsible is    
centered in this corporation8  ,it would
 seem likely1 yes4  ,the members of the 
board stirred uneasily1 seeing a blast  

of sensational headlines1 investigations
 which would spread to their private    
lives1 themselves giving repetitive     
testimony to inquisitive politicians in 
a glare of television lights while the  
,federated ,nations anti-cartel         
commission vivisected the ,,ut giant    
into puny1 separate squabbling midgets4 
,it was not an appealing prospect4      
,we'll have to stop it1 of course1 said 
a lean1 blond man whose name was ,stout4
 ,he could be relied on to say the      
obvious and keep a discussion driving to
 the point4 ,i understand we have a good
 detective agency4 ,if we put them on   
this with payment for speed and         
silence--  ,and when we know who is     
responsible1 asked ,neiswanger1 ,then   
what do we do8  ,there was silence as   
they came to another full stop in       
thinking4 ,turning culprits over to the 
police was out of the question1 an      
admission that such crimes had happened1
 and could happen again4 ,firing the few
 detected could not impress the         

undetected and unfired ones enough to   
discourage them from their profitable   
criminality4  ,hire some killings1 said 
the round faced ,mr4 ,beldman1 with     
simplicity4  ,the chairman laughed4 ,you
 are joking of course1 ,mr4 ,beldman4   
,of course1 said ,mr4 ,beldman1 and     
laughed barkingly1 being well aware of  
the permanent film record taken of all  
meetings4 ,but he was not joking4       
,nobody there was joking4  ,the         
detective agency and the hired killers  
would be arranged for4  ,bryce ,carter  
leaned back with the slight cynical     
smile on his lean face that was his     
habitual expression4 ,suppose the top   
man is high in the company8 he suggested
 softly4 ,what then8 ,he did not need to
 point out that the disappearance of    
such a man would be enough to start a   
police and stock-holders investigation  
of the company in itself4 ,the          
implication was clear4 ,such a man could
 not be touched4  ,a hypnotist1         
suggested ,raal4 ,someone to make our   

top man back track and clean up his own 
mess4  ,illegal1 dangerous and          
difficult1 ,mr4 ,raal1 ,irving said     
sourly4 ,there are extremely severe     
penalties against any complicity in the 
unsupervised use of hypnotism or        
hypnotic drugs1 and their use against   
the will of the subject is a major      
crime4  ,a circulating company          
psychologist would be legal1 suggested  
the lean blond man whose name was       
,stout4  ,we have over seventy-five of  
those on the company payrolls already   
and ,i fail to see what use--  ,one of  
the special high priced boys who iron   
out kinks in groups by joining them and 
working with them for a while1 like that
 ,conference ,manager we had with us    
last year4 ,every member of the group   
that hires one has to sign an           
application for treatment1 and a legal  
release4 ,they are very quiet and don't 
broadcast what they do or who they      
talked with1 but they have a good record
 of results4 ,the groups who hire them  

report better work and easier work4 ,we 
could use one as a trouble shooter4     
,are they a special organization8       
someone asked4 ,i think ,i've heard of  
them4  ,yes1 some sort of a union4 ,i   
can't remember the name4  ,what would   
you expect them to do for us8 asked     
,irving4  ,i hear-- ,stout said vaguely1
 his eyes wandering from face to face1  
that they have a special tough technique
 for hard case trouble makers4 ,for     
those who knew him1 the vague look was a
 veil over some thought which pleased   
him4 ,presumably he was thinking the    
thing which had occurred to them all4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,the culprit might be a member of the   
,board4 ,there was a sudden cheerful    
interest visible among them as they     
wondered who was quarry for the tough   
treatment4  ,i've heard of that1 said   
,wan ,lun1 remembering4 ,it has been    
said that they not only do not inform   
others of the fact of treatment but     
frequently do not inform the man under  

treatment but seem to be only a new     
friend until--poof4 ,he smiled4 ,i think
 the guild name is ,manoba4 ,the ,manoba
 ,group4  ,stout said1 ,they'll probably
 charge enough for the skill4  ,wan     
said1 smiling1 ,i also heard some idle  
rumor that in a few such cases discord  
within a group was alleviated by sudden 
suicide4 ,presumably a psychologist can 
grow impatient and push a certain button
 in the mind--  ,sounds like a good     
idea1 ,beldman said4 ,do you think if we
 offered this ,manoba the right kind of 
money--  ,you don't mean that1 ,mister  
,beldman1 cut in the chairman           
reprovingly4 ,you're joking again4      
,we're all great jokers1 said ,beldman1 
and laughed4  ,everyone laughed4  ,i    
move we vote a sum for the hiring of a  
,manoba psychologist4  ,seconded1 how   
about five hundred thousand8  ,i don't  
know their fees1 the chairman objected  
cautiously4  ,you can turn back any     
surplus4 ,we stand to lose more than    
that by several orders of magnitude4    

,spend it at your discretion4  ,make it 
seven hundred thousand4 ,give him a     
little more room4  ,i so move4          
,seconded4  ,carry it to a vote4  ,they 
slipped their hands under the table edge
 before their respective seats1 and each
 man ran his fingers over two buttons   
concealed there1 before him1 chose      
between the yes and the no button and   
pushed one1 the choice of his fingers   
unseen by the others4  ,two numbers lit 
up on the small divided panel before the
 chairman4 ,he looked at them with his  
mild face expressionless4 ,rejected by  
one vote4  ,unanimity was the law on    
,board decisions1 which by a natural law
 was probably the reason why no love was
 lost among them1 but this time         
irritation was curbed by interest4 ,they
 sat watching each other's expressions  
with glances which seemed casual4 ,whose
 was the one vote8  ,i move that the    
vote be repeated and made open1 someone 
said4  ,seconded4  ,all in favor of the 
appropriation for the psychologist raise

 your left hand1 the chairman requested4
  ,they complied and looked at each     
other4 ,all hands were up4  ,carried on 
the second vote1 the chairman said      
without apparent interest4 ,for my own  
curiosity will the gentleman who voted  
nay on the secret vote the first time   
speak up and explain his objections1 and
 why he changed his mind on the open    
vote8  ,there was silence a             
moment--,neiswanger looking at his neat 
fingernails1 ,bryce ,carter smoking1 and
 smiling slightly as he always smiled1  
,stout leaning back casually scanning   
his eyes from face to face4 ,beldman lit
 a cigar and released a cloud of blue   
smoke with a contented sigh4 ,no one    
spoke4  ,gentlemen1 said the chairman4  
,it is entirely likely that the culprit 
is among us4  ,never mind the melodrama1
 ,john4 ,irving tapped the table        
impatiently4 ,we've dealt with that4    
,let's get on to the next business4     
,,ii  ,in the exit lounge at floor five 
,bryce ,carter stopped a moment and     

glanced at himself in the mirror4 ,thick
 neck1 thick body--a physique so evenly 
and heavily muscled that it looked fat  
until he moved4 ,atop the thick body a  
lean face that he didn't like stared    
back at him4 ,it was darkly tanned1 with
 underlying freckles that were almost   
black4 ,years had passed since he had   
worked in space1 but the space-tan      
remained indelible4 ,it was not a bland 
or pretty face4  ,at the dinner1 deep in
 discussion with ,mr4 ,wan1 he had been 
surprised to find himself smiling at    
intervals1 irrepressibly4 ,he hoped it  
had looked cordial1 and not too much    
like a cat enjoying the company of mice4
  ,they had no defense against him4 ,the
 drugs organization could never be      
traced to him4 ,the connection was too  
well concealed4 ,even the organization  
knew nothing about him4  ,the only      
evidence which could make the connection
 was in his own mind4 ,the only witness 
against him was himself4 ,he cast his   
mind back over the meeting and dinner   

but there had been no slips past the    
first shock of the chairman's           
announcement1 and that had been         
unobserved by anyone4 ,the psychologist 
they had hired might perhaps get a      
betraying flicker of expression from him
 in an interview1 many well-trained     
observers of human reactions could read 
expressions that keenly1 but the        
interviewing of all the ,board by the   
psychologist was not likely4 ,the       
,directors of the ,board were even now  
climbing into trains and strato planes  
to scatter back to the far points of the
 earth4 ,it would take many days for an 
investigating psychologist to follow to 
interview each one4 ,he and ,irving     
would be last on the list1 for he went  
to ,moonbase ,city1 and ,irving to ,luna
 ,city4  ,he had weeks4  ,he smiled1    
fastening bands in his cuffs that folded
 them tightly on his wrists1 zipping up 
his suitcoat and slipping on gloves4 ,he
 looked at himself again4 ,where he had 
been wearing a conservative dark silk   

business suit with a short cape1 he now 
seemed to be wearing a tailored ski-suit
 with an odd cowl1 or a pressure suit   
without boots or helmet1 which was what 
it was4 ,carrying the zipper up further 
would have turned the cape to an        
airtight helmet bubble4  ,employes and  
executives passing in and out of the    
,,ut building gave the clothes an       
approving and interested glance as they 
passed4 ,the justification by utility   
was obvious4 ,it had cost money to have 
a pressure suit designed light and      
flexible enough for comfortable wear1   
but long ago he had grown irked by the  
repetitious business of climbing in and 
out of clothes every time one stepped   
through a space lock1 while overcapes   
and hoods were needed stepping outside  
of any temperate zone ,earth building in
 winter4  ,a pressure suit was          
completely independent of weather and   
regulated its own internal heat4 ,since 
the suit had been designed the          
manufacturer had begun to receive an    

increasing number of orders for         
duplicates1 and was now being put into  
mass production4 ,probably in these five
 minutes he had just made many more     
sales for the manufacturer4  ,he was    
setting a style1 he thought in pleased  
surprise1 stepping out of the building4 
,the salt wind hit him with a blast of  
cold1 and the automatic thermostatic    
wiring in the suit countered with a wave
 of warmth as he leaned into the wind   
and started to walk4 ,the connection    
between the ,union ,hotel and the       
building he had just left was an arched 
sidewalk that curved between them1 five 
stories above the sand and surf4  ,the  
hotel was an impressively towering      
building against the ragged sky1 and as 
he walked a gleam broke through from the
 hidden sunset and spotlighted it and   
the low scudding clouds in a sudden     
glowing red4 ,he stopped and leaned     
against the balustrade to watch the red 
gleams reflecting from the bay4 ,red and
 purple clouds fled by low overhead1    

their colors changing as they moved4    
,this was something a man couldn't see  
in space or on the moon4  ,but after a  
moment he couldn't fully enjoy it1      
because he was being watched4 ,the      
feeling was disturbing4  ,damn          
rubbernecks1 he thought1 and turned     
irritably1 half hoping that at least it 
would be an acquaintance or some pretty 
girls4  ,but there was no one watching  
him4  ,a few pedestrians walked by      
hurriedly because it was growing dark   
and the view that they had come to enjoy
 was fading4 ,the wind wrapped their    
enveloping capes around them and made   
them all look abnormally tall and       
columnar4  ,it was darker4 ,the sidewalk
 lights abruptly flicked on in a flood  
of amber light that thickened the       
twilight beyond their circle to an      
opaque purple curtain of darkness4  ,he 
noticed a pedestrian walking slowly     
towards him from the direction he had   
come4 ,the figure approached more slowly
 than seemed natural1 with his head     

bowed and his hands in his pockets as   
though lost in thought4         99      
99       99       99       99  ,a       
trailer from the detective agency8 ,it  
was too soon for that4 ,if it were      
arranged that every member of the ,board
 be trailed1 still it could not have    
been arranged and begun so soon4        
,illustration  ,besides1 there was      
something more deadly than that in the  
walking man's indifference4  ,a killer  
arranged by ,beldman8 ,it would be      
natural for ,beldman or ,stout to take a
 chance and fight back the direct way4  
,but there was no evidence4 ,how could  
either of them have decided who to blame
 or who to fight8  ,the few huge        
buildings that stood dark against the   
night sky were being brightened now by  
lights going on in hundreds of windows4 
,in long slender spans between them     
stretched the aerial walks and the      
necklaces of amber lights that outlined 
them4 ,the wind blew colder across the  
walks and the view of sea and sky that  

had been visible from them now was      
blotted out by night4 ,the walkers were 
going in4 ,there was small chance of    
sheltering himself in a crowd1 or even  
of keeping only one or two walkers      
between himself and the one who followed
 him4  ,at the first sight of the       
approaching figure he had instinctively 
leaned back against the concrete railing
 and taken his gun from its pocket      
holster1 holding it lightly in his      
gloved hand4  ,an aged couple and a     
vigorous middle-aged woman hurrying in  
the opposite direction glanced at him   
without interest or alarm4 ,his pose was
 not menacing1 and anyway most men with 
money enough to travel carried hand     
arms4  ,this was an indirect effect of a
 ,federated ,nations ruling that only   
hand arms of a regulated deadliness be  
manufactured as the armament of nations4
 ,the ruling had been carefully         
considered for other secondary effects1 
for any nation growing over-centralized 
and militaristic was likely to arm its  

citizens universally for greater        
military power by numbers1 and then     
suffer the natural consequences of      
having armed their public opinion4  ,an 
armed man need not vote to be counted1  
and once having learned that lesson1 the
 feeling that an armed man carried his  
bill of rights in his pocket made this  
the first clause of the written and     
unwritten constitutions of many suddenly
 democratic nations4 ,the right of the  
yoemanry to carry arms shall not be     
abridged4 ,they kept their guns4  ,and  
with weapons instantly available to hot 
tempers1 dueling came back into custom  
in most places4  ,all this had little   
effect on the large calm manufacturing  
countries who had run the ,,un and now  
ran the ,,fn1 but it made easy their    
decision that since1 in space1 policing 
is almost impossible1 the citizens who  
venture there must be armed to protect  
themselves4 ,thus1 in spite of the      
continued outcry of a minority of       
,christian moralists1 a holster pocket  

was now built into all space suits4     
,bryce had grown up in a famine country1
 an almost unpoliced area1 and weapons  
had been as familiar to his hands as    
fingers since he had passed twelve4 ,and
 when1 as a steel-worker1 he had been   
one of the first settlers in the foundry
 towns of the ,asteroid ,belt1 he had   
found life no gentler there4 ,but it was
 all right as far as he was concerned4  
,he had heard of safer and duller ways  
to live but had never wanted them4 ,life
 as a moonbased transport manager had   
been a short interval of nonviolence1   
five years of startling calm which he   
had not yet grown accustomed to4  ,the  
gun fitted into his hand as comfortably 
as his thumb1 or as the handshake of an 
old and trusted friend1 but it was      
useless here4 ,reluctantly he slipped it
 back into his pocket and began walking 
again4 ,a director of ,,ut couldn't     
shoot people on intuition4  ,he had     
barely stopped for a count of ten1 and  
there was still distance between them   

when he had turned1 but the follower    
could be walking faster now1 narrowing  
the distance between them4  ,if he had  
waited and fired1 an inspection of the  
man's pockets could have confirmed his  
judgment by the finding of an assassin's
 illegal needle gun4 ,that alone might  
be enough to satisfy the police if he   
were still merely a spaceworker1 but a  
,director of ,,ut couldn't live that    
casually4 ,it would be difficult to     
explain his certainty to the police1 and
 still more difficult to explain to the 
newspapers4 ,he could not afford that   
sort of publicity4  ,bryce let out a    
soft curse and lengthened his stride4   
,he had to wait for proof of the        
follower's intentions4 ,and the only    
proof would be to be attacked1 and the  
first proof of that1 since needle guns  
are soundless and inconspicuous1 would  
probably be a curare-loaded needle in   
his back4  ,after that the follower     
could inconspicuously drop his weapon   
over the balustrade1 its self-destroying

 mechanism set to melt it before it     
reached the sands far below4  ,however  
since the follower certainly would not  
openly run after him1 the most logical  
thing to do1 ,bryce decided1 was to run 
to the hotel as if he were in a hurry4  
,the idea irritated him4  ,he walked on1
 slowing perversely4 ,it was irrational 
to walk1 and he knew it1 but he walked1 
and the knowledge that it was irrational
 irritated him further4 ,the skin       
between his shoulder blades itched      
meditatively in its own imaginative     
anticipation of an entering needle4     
,what good did it do him to be proud of 
his brains when he put himself in a spot
 where he walked around like a target8  
,he controlled a rising rage but he     
walked4  ,the sky was totally dark now  
and there were only two or three couples
 ahead on the slender concrete span and 
one old couple he had just passed1 so   
that they were between himself and the  
follower4 ,but that was no adequate     
screen4  ,far above soared the sky      

taxis4 ,and now he wanted a taxi4 ,he   
was approaching a place where there was 
a hack stand4 ,just ahead1 at the midway
 point1 where the upward curve of the   
sidewalk leveled off and began to curve 
down1 a narrow catwalk jutted into space
 with a small landing platform at its   
end4 ,,taxi a luminescent arrow glowed  
at him directingly as he came abreast of
 it4         99       99       99       
99       99  ,he walked rapidly out     
along the railed catwalk1 making a      
perfect target he knew1 silhouetted     
against the glow4 ,he cursed under his  
breath1 reaching the end of it4 ,here he
 made an even more perfect target1 with 
the single bright light that poured down
 brilliance on the bench and landing    
platform spotlighting him against the   
darkness of the night4 ,the bench was   
thin iron grillwork4 ,it offered no     
cover4  ,he needed cover4 ,he considered
 the white concrete pillar of the lamp1 
put his hand on the railing and jumped  
up to sit on the railing casually1 a one

 hundred fifty foot fall behind him and 
the width of the lamp post between him  
and the follower1 who now was an        
unmoving figure leaning against the     
railing of the sidewalk near where the  
catwalk began4  ,the sight of the       
insolently lounging figure did nothing  
to sooth his irritation4 ,this escape   
was not the way he wanted to deal with a
 threat4 ,there was an oddity in the    
man's waiting4 ,the range was poor1 and 
he probably was not firing1 although he 
would look as if he were not in any     
case1 but if he were not going to take  
this chance for his murder attempt1 why 
did he openly exhibit himself1 arousing 
suspicion and cutting off future        
chances8 ,an innocent stroller or even a
 mere trailer from the detective agency 
would have strolled on4  ,above came the
 nearing drone of a taxi which had      
spotted him in the bright pool of light 
at the hack stand4  ,there was something
 in the careless confidence of the      
follower's open interest in him that    

raised his neck hair as no direct threat
 could have1 and filled the rumble of   
the night-hidden surf with obscure      
menace4 ,the man acted as if his job was
 over1 clinched4  ,bryce reached the    
answer as the taxi floated down on      
hissing roter blades and settled to the 
platform4 ,sliding down from the railing
 he walked toward it1 stiff-legged4 ,the
 light was out inside it1 and the cabby 
did not climb out or attempt to open the
 door for him4 ,bryce turned his head   
and looked back as if for a last glance 
at the watching figure1 grasping the    
door handle with his right hand as if   
fumbling blindly4 ,he was left handed4  
,when the door was open a crack1 it     
stopped opening1 and those inside saw   
the muzzle of a magnamatic in his left  
hand looking through the crack at them4 
,it's easier to catch wolves if you're  
disguised as a rabbit1 ,pop ,yak had    
told him once4 ,he must have looked a   
complete sucker1 starting to climb into 
a dark cab with his head turned         

backward6  ,don't move1 ,bryce said1    
some of his anger reaching his voice in 
a biting rasp4 ,inside1 the driver was  
frozen with his head turned enough to   
see the glint of a muzzle behind his    
neck1 and in the darkened far corner of 
the back seat where there should have   
been no one there was the pale blur of a
 face1 and a hand holding something4    
,bryce knew that there was no way a shot
 could reach him except through the     
shielding steel door or the shatterproof
 window1 and a man would hesitate before
 shooting through glass when he was     
looking down the throat of ,bryce's gun4
 ,bryce waited for him to think it over4
  ,the hand of the man in the back seat 
came into focus as his eyes adjusted to 
the dark inside1 and he could see that  
it was holding a gun4 ,the gun was not  
pointing at anything in particular4 ,it 
was frozen in mid-motion4 ,the man had a
 half-smile frozen on his face1 probably
 in the way he had been smiling just    
before ,bryce spoke4  ,open your hand4  

,drop it4 ,the glint of the gun         
disappeared1 and there was a faint thud 
from the floor4 ,bryce opened the door  
and slid into the rear seat1 watchful   
for motion1 ready to shoot4 ,face front6
 ,they faced front like two puppets1    
perhaps the uncontrollable rasp in his  
voice was convincing4 ,he still did not 
know whose men they were1 or why they   
had been hired4 ,it would be no use     
questioning them for they would not know
 either4 ,he could guess who it was1 a  
name came to mind1 but there was no way 
of checking up4 ,this kind of business  
did not fit well with the crucial       
balance of his plans for the next two   
weeks4 ,be careful1 he said perhaps     
unnecessarily1 ,i'm nervous4 ,union     
,hotel please4  ,the short ride to the  
hotel was made in dead silence1 with the
 man in the opposite corner barely      
moving enough to blink his eyes4 ,he was
 middle-aged1 with the resigned sagging 
lines to his face of ambition           
disappointed1 but he sat with a waiting 

stillness that ,bryce recognized as     
something to watch4 ,there was probably 
another gun within quick reach of that  
passive right hand4  ,the roter drifted 
down to a landing space on the          
floodlighted landing roof of the hotel  
and settled with a slight bump4 ,don't  
move4 ,the clumsy careful business of   
opening the door backward with his right
 hand and sliding out without taking his
 eyes from either of them was tediously 
slow4  ,once out1 he slammed the door   
briskly4 ,take off4 ,not until the red  
and green lights had faded into the     
distance did he turn away1 pocket his   
gun and walk into the wide doorway to   
the elevators4 ,as he brushed past the  
hotel detective standing in the doorway 
the detective was reholstering a large  
size police pacifier4 ,apparently he had
 been ready to impartially stun everyone
 concerned at the first sign of trouble1
 which probably explained why those in  
the aircab had not attempted any        
retaliation4 ,the detective gave ,bryce 

a cold stare as he went by1 probably in 
disapproval of guests waving weapons on 
hotel premises4   ,,iii  ,in his        
luxurious hotel room ,bryce checked his 
watch4 ,eight o'clock4 ,a telephone call
 was scheduled for some time in the half
 hour4 ,he filed the question of who was
 behind the night's attack and picked up
 the phone4 ,the dial system was in     
automatic contact with any city in the  
world4 ,he dialed4  ,somewhere in a     
city1 a phone rang4 ,it rang unheard1   
for it was locked into a safe in a tiny 
rented office with some unusual         
mechanisms attached4 ,the ringing was   
stopped abruptly and a recorded voice   
answered1 ,yeah8  ,bryce took a dial    
phone from the night table where it had 
been sitting innocently like a toy he   
had bought for some child4 ,hi ,al1 he  
said cheerfully to the automatic        
mechanism at the other end4 ,listen1 ,i 
think ,i've got a new phrase for that   
transition theme4 ,how's this8 ,he put  
the receiver against the back of the toy

 and dialed the toy dial4 ,it responded 
to each letter and number with a ringing
 note of different pitch that played a  
short unmelodious tune4  ,the pitch     
notes went over the line and entered the
 mechanism1 making the contacts within  
it that dialed the number he had dialed 
on the toy phone4  ,how's that8 ,bryce  
said cheerfully4  ,the recorded voice   
said1 ,sounds good4 ,i'll see what ,i   
can do with it4 ,somewhere far away and 
unheard another phone had begun to ring4
 ,want to speak to ,george8  ,sure4  ,a 
phone rang in a pay booth somewhere in a
 great city railroad station1 and       
someone browsing at a magazine stand or 
sitting on a suitcase apparently waiting
 for a train strolled casually to answer
 it4  ,hello8 said a noncommittal voice1
 prepared to claim that he was merely a 
stranger answering the phone because it 
was ringing in public4  ,hello ,george1 
how's everything going8 ,bryce asked4   
,those words were his trade mark1 the   
passwords that identified him to        

everyone as the ,voice who gave ,tips4  
,among the monster organization which   
had grown from the proven reliability of
 those tips1 the voice was known as     
,hello ,george4 ,hello ,george's tips   
were always good1 so they had come to be
 followed as blindly as tips from ,god1 
even when they were not understood4     
,certainty was one thing men in the     
fencing and drug smuggling business most
 sorely lacked4  ,they communicated only
 by phone4 ,they transmitted their wares
 by leaving them in public lockers and  
mailing the key4 ,they never saw each   
other's faces or heard each other's     
names1 but even the use of a key could  
be a trap that would bring a circle of  
narcotics agents of ,,inc around the    
unfortunate who attempted to open the   
locker4  ,far away over the bulge of the
 ,earth between1 a man sat in a phone   
booth waiting for his tip4 ,pretty well4
 ,no complaints4 ,how's with you1 any   
news8  ,i think you'd better cut        
connections with ,union ,transport4     

,they're getting pretty sloppy4 ,i think
 they might spill something4  ,wadja    
say8 asked the man at the other end     
cautiously1 ,i didn't get you4  ,better 
stop using ,,ut for shipping1 ,bryce    
repeated1 wording his sentence          
carefully4 ,they aren't careful enough  
anymore4 ,you don't want them to break  
an inc case wide open1 do you8 ,,inc was
 the ,international ,narcotics ,control 
agency of the ,f4 ,n4 ,but the          
conversation would have sounded like an 
innocent discussion of shipping         
difficulties to any chance listener on  
the telephone lines4  ,the flat tones   
were plaintive and aggrieved4 ,but we're
 expecting a load of stuff ,friday4 ,our
 buyers are expecting it4 ,stuff was    
drug1 and expecting was a mild word for 
the need of drug addicts6 ,and we've got
 a lotta loads of miscellaneous items to
 go out4 ,the contact was a small man in
 the organization but he evidently knew 
just how hot fenced goods could be4     
,that can't wait6  ,he had planned this4

 ,maybe they are all right for shipments
 this week4 ,i'll chew them out to be   
careful1 check up and call back ,friday4
 ,meanwhile break with them4  ,tell them
 a few things from me1 the-- the distant
 voice added a surprising string of     
derogatory adjectives4 ,friday when8    
,friday about--about six4 ,the double   
about confirmed the signal for a        
telephone appointment that was general  
for all contact numbers4  ,friday about 
six1 ,okay4 ,there was a faint click    
that meant he had hung up and the phone 
in the safe was open for more dialings  
on his toy dial4  ,bryce hung up1 leaned
 back on his bed and pushed a button    
that turned on the radio to a           
semiclassical program4 ,soothing music  
came into the room and slow waves of    
colored light moved across the ceiling4 
,he tuned to a book player1 and chose a 
heavy economics study from the current  
seller list of titles which appeared on 
the ceiling4 ,the daily moon ship was   
scheduled to blast off at five thirty1  

its optimum at this week's position of  
the ,moon4 ,by this time tomorrow night1
 he and all the other members of the    
,board would be out of reach of any easy
 observation or analysis by their hired 
psychological mind-hunter4  ,with a     
slight chilling of the skin he          
remembered the cop-psychos the gangs had
 warned him about in his scrambling and 
desperate childhood1 and what they were 
supposed to do to you when they caught  
you in a third offense4  ,he had been   
born into an ex-,european quarter in a  
,chinese city1 a descendant of something
 prideful and forgotten called an       
,empire ,builder1 and grew with the     
mixed gangs of children of all colors   
who roamed the back streets at night1   
looting and stealing and breaking4      
,population control was almost          
impossible in a land where the only     
social security against starvation in   
old age was sons1 and social security   
was impossible in a land so corrupted by
 the desperation of famines1 so little  

able to spare the necessary taxes4 ,the 
nation was too huge to be fed from      
outside1 and so had been left by the    
,,fn to stew in its own misery until its
 people solved their basic problem4     
,so1 in an enlightened clean and wealthy
 world1 ,bryce ,carter had grown up in a
 slum whose swarming viciousness was a  
matter of take1 steal1 kill1 climb or   
die4 ,perhaps under those special       
circumstances police penal compulsion   
had to be brutally strong1 stronger than
 the drive for life itself1 as brutal as
 the lurid tales he had heard4 ,perhaps 
in other countries the methods were     
different1 a hypno-converted man not a  
horror to his friends1 but he had had no
 time to study and investigate if it    
were so1 and the horror and hatred      
remained4  ,but there was no need to    
think about the psycho-hunter the ,board
 had put on him for by the time the     
hunter could reach him ,,ut would have  
fallen as a legal entity1 its corruption
 would be completely public1 and the    

psychologist would be called off before 
discovering anything4 ,bryce thought of 
the slight nervousness he had let show  
at the first words of the chairman's    
announcement4 ,the only witness against 
him was himself4 ,his control wasn't    
perfect4 ,no one's was4 ,but he was     
safe4  ,he concentrated on the opening  
pages of the ,basic ,principles of      
,economies4         99       99       99
       99       99  ,in the darkened    
,,ut building which could be seen from  
his window a few lights still burned    
where the night shift dealt with        
emergencies4  ,in a small projection    
room on the fifty-fifth floor a man sat 
and looked at a film of the ,,ut ,board 
meeting of that day4 ,he played only a  
certain small twenty minute interval1   
listening closely to the                
voices--,gentlemen1 your attention      
please-- ,watching the faces--,do the   
police know of this8 444 ,do you think  
if we offered this ,manoba the right    
kind of money4444 ,will the gentleman   

who voted nay on the secret vote the    
first time speak up and explain4444 ,it 
is entirely likely that the conspirator 
is among us4 ,on the screen showed the  
apparently bored faces and relaxed poses
 of men accustomed to the power game1   
habitually masking their feelings from  
each other1 shifting their positions    
slightly sometimes1 some smoking4 ,we've
 dealt with that1 let's get on to the   
next business4  ,the watcher stopped the
 film and silently reset it4 ,it began  
again with the chairman on the screen   
rapping the table lightly4 ,gentlemen1  
your attention4444  ,in the darkened    
projection room the chairman sat to one 
side smoking and thinking while the     
psychologist played the film through for
 the fourth time4  ,the chairman was    
wondering just how seriously the watcher
 was taking ,mr4 ,beldman's proposals   
about what he should do to the culprit1 
and whether he would raise his fee4     
,the telephone rang4         99       99
       99       99       99  ,four      

thirty1 ,mr4 ,carter1 said the voice of 
the night clerk in the receiver4  ,it   
was time to catch the five thirty ,moon 
ship4 ,he splashed cold water on his    
face and the back of his neck until he  
was awake1 took a hot shower1 dressed   
rapidly1 and gave up his key at the desk
 at #d3de4  ,a letter for you1 ,mister  
,carter1 she smiled1 handing it to him4 
,from the wall speakers a mild but      
penetrating voice began repeating1 ,bus 
line for spaceport leaving in twelve    
minutes4 ,all passengers for ,luna      
,city1 ,moon ,base1 ,asteroid ,belt and 
points out1 please go to the landing    
deck4 ,bus line for spaceport leaving in
 twelve minutes--  ,he opened the letter
 when he had settled down in a          
comfortable morris chair in the airbus4 
,the letterhead said ,,manoba ,group    
,psychotherapeutic ,research and        
,conference ,management4  ,one sheet of 
it was a half page contract in fine     
print1 apparently a standard form with  
the name of ,union ,transport           

,corporation typed in the appropriate   
blanks4 ,above it was printed in clear  
,english and large type for the benefit 
of those readers unaccustomed to        
contracts4 ,,warning4 ,after you have   
signed this release you have no legal   
recourse or claim as an individual      
against any physical or mental injury or
 inconvenience you may claim to have    
sustained as a result of the activities 
of the contracted psychotherapist7s7 in 
the course of group therapy4 ,your group
 is the responsible agent4 ,it must make
 all claims and complaints as a unit1   
and may withdraw from the contract as a 
unit4 ,those who withdraw from the group
 withdraw from participation in the     
contract4  ,bryce smiled4 ,or in other  
words1 if you didn't like it1 you could 
quit your job and get out6  ,the other  
sheet he glanced at casually4 ,it seemed
 to be an explanatory page to the effect
 that the ,manoba's work was strictly   
confidential and they were under no     
obligation to explain what they had done

 or were doing or give their identities 
to any member of the corporation who had
 hired them4 ,there was nothing         
resembling a sales talk about results1  
and the only thing approaching it was a 
stiff last sentence referring anyone who
 was curious about the results of such  
treatment to the ,national ,certified   
,analytical ,statistics of ,professional
 ,standing in such and such bulletins of
 such and such years4  ,he signed the   
contract1 smiling1 and mailed it at a   
handy postal and telegraph window at the
 spaceport before boarding the          
spaceship4         99       99       99 
99       99  ,the phone was ringing4    
,bryce rolled over sleepily and picked  
it up4 ,eight ,a4,m4 ,l4,s4 ,s4,s4 ,sir1
 said the soft voice of the desk clerk4 
,okay1 he grunted1 glancing at his watch
 and hanging up4 ,it was two minutes    
after eight1 but he didn't check her up 
on it4 ,if he placed the voice rightly1 
it belonged to an exceptionally pretty  
brunette4 ,he had not tried to date her 

yet1 but she looked accessible1 and     
,mona was becoming tiresome4  ,he turned
 the dial in the headboard that reversed
 the polarization of the window and rose
 reluctantly1 stretching as sunlight    
flooded the room4 ,it was daylight on   
,moonbase ,city4 ,it had been daylight  
for a week1 and it would be daylight    
still for another week4  ,through the   
softening filter of the airtight glass  
the view of distant crater walls and the
 airsealed towers of ,moonbase ,city    
shone in etched magnificence1 but he    
gave it only a glance4 ,it was always   
the same4 ,there was no weather on the  
,moon and no variety of view4  ,good    
morning1 he smiled1 passing a bellboy in
 the luxurious1 deep colored halls4     
,good morning1 ,mister ,carter1 the boy 
answered rapidly with an eager nervous  
smile4  ,bryce had caught the management
 up sharply on several small lapses1 and
 they all knew him now4 ,he strode on1  
pleased4 ,efficiency4444 ,no one gave   
him a second glance or noticed him in   

the tube trains1 but he was not         
irritated by it4 ,someday they would4   
,someday the whole world would know his 
face as well as they knew their own4 ,he
 promised that to them silently and then
 settled down to concentrate on some    
constructive planning before reaching   
the office4 ,he was not going to waste  
his time gawking at ads or listening to 
the music like the others4  ,mister     
,carter8 said a hesitant voice behind   
him as he was reaching for the handle of
 the office doors4  ,what is it8 he     
asked crisply1 turning1 but as he saw   
who had spoken he knew exactly what it  
would be4  ,pardon me ,mister ,carter1  
but-- ,it was a spaceman1 a skinny wreck
 of a man in clothes that hung on him4  
,a junky1 a drug addict4 ,bryce knew the
 signs4 ,he had spent all his money and 
gone without food for his drug1 and now 
he had remembered from ,belt talk that  
,bryce ,carter was a soft touch for a   
loan4 ,never mind1 ,bryce snarled1      
reaching for the door again4  ,he       

assisted the smuggling of the stuff but 
that did not mean that he had to admire 
the fools who took it4 ,the man was     
muttering something about a loan when   
the door shut and cut off his words4    
,the loan would be spent on more junk4  
,if he had wanted food he could have    
signed into a state hospital to take the
 ,cure1 and be imprisoned and fed until 
the hunger for his drug had passed and  
released him4 ,the ,cure was a brief    
hell1 but it was fair payment for having
 had his fun1 and if the addict had any 
guts he would face it4 ,any time he was 
ready to pay the price of exit he could 
go back to being a man4  ,bryce strode  
through the offices irritably4 ,it did  
not matter if ,earthlings chose to waste
 their time in artificial ecstasy1 but  
it was different to see a good ,belt    
spaceman let himself go4  ,the          
receptionist looked up with fright in   
her eyes as he passed and gave him a    
special good-morning1 with a smile that 
was tremulous and very eager to please4 

,he still had her in the stage of new   
employment where she was kept afraid of 
losing her new job with a bad reference4
 ,it was best to put them all over the  
hurdles at first4  ,he gave her a       
condescending smile as he went through  
into the inner offices4 ,good morning4  
,she was shaky enough4 ,a few well faked
 cold rages against minor errors had    
done well4 ,from now on she would need  
only smiles to give the utmost in       
loyalty and hard work4 ,what had        
,machiavelli said8 ,make them fear your 
wrath1 and they will be grateful for    
your forebearance4  ,he did not bother  
to speak to ,kesby when he passed his   
open office door4 ,kesby didn't need    
smiles or praise1 he worked loyally just
 for the rare curt acknowledgement that 
he had done well4 ,three years of       
managing had made him a good lieutenant1
 completely faithful4 ,when ,bryce quit 
,union ,transport ,kesby would follow   
him4   ,,iv  ,he went into his luxurious
 inner office with its deep rugs and    

eye-relaxing colors and its comfortable 
wide desk with its speaker box and      
telephones that were like the nerve     
wires of power1 and sat down comfortably
 like a king on a throne or a mule      
skinner in the driver's seat with ten   
pairs of reins in each hand4 ,he never  
felt completely awake and up to his full
 size in the morning until he was here4 
,there was a good stack of letters and  
memos on the desk waiting for him4 ,on  
top of the mail stack was a letter      
labeled ,,private in a beamed spacegram 
envelope4 ,he did not recognize the name
 at the head of it but the return       
address was ,general ,delivery1 ,reef   
,three1 ,the ,belt4 ,it read3           
,something urgent has come up4 ,must see
 you4 ,arrange when4 ,bob4 ,roberto     
,orillo1 who had been his manager in the
 small line that ,,ut had taken from    
him1 now the owner of a tiny line of his
 own which carefully avoided competition
 with ,,ut in the ,belt4  ,arrange when4
 ,they could only meet in secret4 ,what 

would ,orillo want to discuss8  ,the    
theory he had held in the back of his   
mind for three days gave                
answer--,murder6 ,it was ,orillo who was
 behind the attempted attack on ,earth4 
,this meeting was another trap4 ,orillo 
wanted him dead4  ,roberto ,orillo had  
been his first helper with the shipping 
and delivery service ,bryce had built up
 from the days when he had been merely  
an asteroid prospector with a ship      
overstocked with supplies and an        
obliging willingness to sell his        
surplus4  ,after he put his traveling   
stores on schedule he noticed that an   
increasing number of people began moving
 into the ,belt to settle along his     
route without investing in the proper   
ship or supplies1 depending on him1     
using his ship for a store and bus      
service1 swelling his profits4 ,he found
 that wherever he chose to extend a     
route and offer credit for a stake      
settlers would appear and a community   
begin to grow4  ,he absorbed that lesson

 and laid plans4  ,,ut blocked them4    
,running his store ships on their       
regular rounds1 making loans1 mediating 
deals1 taking half interests in ideas   
that looked profitable1 selling fuel and
 power1 subtly binding his customers to 
him with bonds of dependency deeper than
 peonage1 ,bryce found suddenly that    
,,ut1 whose trade mark had never been   
seen in the ,belt before1 had slipped in
 five ships patterned precisely after   
his1 but larger1 more magnificent and   
expensive1 and set them running on the  
same course as his but one day ahead4   
,his customers told him4 ,they were     
apologetic but they had bought at the   
ship which came earliest1 enticed by the
 glitter and the bargain prices4  ,it   
was a killing blow1 and was obviously   
meant to be so4 ,the ,,ut managers were 
wise in the ways of power1 and with     
limitless money could bankrupt him4     
,that day ,bryce saw that he could not  
fight ,,ut from outside1 and he saw a   
dream of empire greater than ,alexander 

ever dreamed of being ripped from his   
hands4 ,when a tactful and conciliating 
offer came from ,,ut for a merger and an
 exchange of stock at double its value1 
he saw it was an indirect bribe for his 
silent submission without complaints to 
,spaceways or to the ,anti-,cartel      
,commission of the ,,fn1 and he saw that
 the only way to compete with the       
gigantic corporation was to destroy it  
from within4  ,he held out for a seat on
 the ,board of ,directors4 ,they gave it
 to him4  ,and in three years had done  
an efficient job of corrupting and      
undermining ,,ut to the point where it  
was ready to fall4 ,,ut had a week more 
to live in respected public service     
before an outraged public tore it apart4
  ,bryce had left ,orillo in the ,belt  
to form a small delivery company        
servicing thinly settled outlying points
 where the profits were too small to    
disturb ,,ut4 ,it would be this company 
that would take over and buy out the    
,,ut equipment when ,spaceways chopped  

up the monster corporation1 and it was  
planned that ,orillo offer ,bryce full  
partnership when this event took place4 
,but perhaps ,orillo objected to sharing
 his reign with a partner4 ,and perhaps 
,orillo had always objected to the fact 
that ,bryce was the only one who knew   
,orillo was a fugitive from justice4    
,bryce had never quite been able to tell
 what went on behind the handsome blond 
face and impassive blue eyes of his     
assistant4  ,bryce had taken him in hand
 and given him a job after ,orillo fled 
from a murder charge in ,south ,africa4 
,and ,bryce had arranged the operations 
that gave ,orillo a new face1 new       
fingerprints and an unworried future4   
,only ,bryce could now give the word to 
the police which could bring the        
examination that would show ,orillo's   
retina tallied with that of a wanted    
man4  ,but if murder had always lain    
behind those impassive pale blue eyes1  
why had there been no attempts before8  
,the answer to that was easy4 ,up to    

this time ,bryce's activities had been  
profitable to ,orillo4 ,he had seen     
where ,bryce's plans were leading and   
wanted them to succeed1 so that he might
 step into ,bryce's shoes and reap the  
results4  ,in three more months ,bryce's
 death would be the death of a partner1 
and bring the unwanted spotlight of     
police investigation on ,orillo himself1
 but now1 at this point1 the            
disappearance of ,bryce ,carter would   
bring police inquiry and suspicion only 
to the already shaky and undermined     
fabric of ,,ut4  ,bryce counted the     
profit and loss of his death to the man 
he had helped1 and smiled ruefully4 ,yet
 the request for the meeting might be   
genuine and important4 ,he had to take a
 chance on it and meet his ex-assistant 
and future partner somewhere far away   
from witnesses1 recognition--or         
protection4  ,taking a memo pad he      
printed1 ,i'll meet you ,friday2 #c3,,pm
 ,,lm1 and wrote in the coordinates of a
 position in space not very far out from

 ,earth1 indicated the radar blink      
signals for its buoy and clipped the    
memo sheet to the envelope with its     
false name and return address4 ,ringing 
for his secretary1 he handed it to her4 
,see that that gets beamed back         
immediately4 ,friend of mine seems to be
 in some sort of a jam4  ,that was that4
 ,he turned to his work4 ,after an hour 
or so the intercom box clicked and      
,kesby said unexpectedly1 ,visitor to   
see you1 boss4 ,can ,i send him in8     
,yes4 ,the receptionist had strict      
orders to keep out everyone except those
 scheduled for appointment1 and to      
announce the names and businesses of    
dubious cases for his deciding1 but     
,kesby must have overridden her         
decision4 ,he sounded confident4        
,probably someone important4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,kesby   
opened the door with an expression half 
nervous1 half mischievous1 ,your        
visitor1 and closed it hastily as the   
person stepped in4  ,he didn't belong in

 there4 ,it was obvious to ,bryce that  
whoever he was1 he had gotten in through
 a lie4  ,the young man who stood inside
 his office watching him was no one     
connected with the business4 ,he was too
 young for any position of importance4  
,the slender frailty of childhood was   
still with him4 ,yet that impression    
soon faded under the impressiveness of  
his stance4 ,it was more than just      
arrogance or poise1 it was an unshakable
 confidence4 ,as if no failure could be 
conceived4  ,he stood balanced to move  
either forward or back4 ,his voice was  
again a surprise4 ,absolute total       
clarity1 almost without inflection as if
 the words reached the mind without     
needing a voice4 ,if you're going to    
throw me out1 this is the best time to  
do it4 ,dark brown skin of one of the   
dark races1 jet black straight hair1 a  
dark pair of eyes that were merry and   
watchful and had the impact of something
 dangerous4 ,colossal gall1 ,bryce      
characterized it to himself4 ,he might  

be as good as he thinks he is4 ,he was  
probably selling the ,brooklyn ,bridge1 
and he should never have gotten in1 but 
the fact that he had somehow gotten past
 ,kesby made him worth a few questions  
before being thrown out4  ,what do you  
want8  ,he came forward to the desk to  
answer4 ,i want to be your right arm4   
,he took out a pack of cigarettes1      
shaking one free and offering it with   
courtesy4 ,have one8 ,bryce shook his   
head and the boy put one between his own
 lips and put the pack away4 ,my name is
 ,pierce1 he said1 lighting the         
cigarette with the flame cupped in his  
hands as if he were used to smoking in  
the wind4 ,he looked up with his eyes   
squinting against the smoke1 shook the  
match out and dropped it in the desk ash
 tray4 ,roy ,pierce4  ,he was as much at
 home as an invading army4 ,bryce felt  
an impulse to laugh4  ,he knew this kid 
very well1 but he couldn't place where1 
when1 or how4 ,am ,i supposed to know   
the name8  ,do you remember ,pop ,yak8  

,bryce remembered ,pop ,yak4 ,he gave in
 with a sigh1 and ordered in the        
singsong vernacular of his childhood4   
,okay4 ,sitselfdel1 speeltalk cutchop6  
,pop ,yak was a grizzled man who had    
watched ,bryce fighting with another    
kid4 ,afterward he had taken ,bryce into
 his store and given him ice cream and  
some pointers on dirty fighting4 ,not   
much had penetrated the first time but  
,bryce went back for advice again1      
learning that that was the place to be  
told how to do things and get what he   
wanted4 ,pop was always patient with his
 teaching1 and always right4  ,he had   
chosen ,bryce as his agent to sell minor
 drugs to the other kids and acted as a 
fence for the things he stole1 and he   
encouraged him to study in the          
compulsory school and loaned him books4 
,and ,pop was the first to give him the 
tip on legitimate business and how to   
pull money on the right side of the law 
and make a profit they couldn't kick    
about4 ,good old ,pop4 ,will-pay4 ,the  

boy sat down and leaned forward with a  
slight intent motion of a hand that was 
,pop's favorite gesture1 one ,bryce had 
picked up from him himself4  ,he told me
 you're on the way up4 ,roy ,pierce held
 him with a steady dark gaze4 ,i want a 
slice of that1 and ,i want it the easy  
way1 hitching my wagon to your rocket4  
,you can use me4 ,a big man is too      
public4 ,you need a new hand and a new  
voice1 one that does what you want done1
 and can do it in the dark or the light1
 without your name--a stand-in for      
alibis1 and a contriver of accidents so 
they break for you without your motion4 
,a left arm that your enemies don't     
recognize as yours4  ,he was asking to  
be ,bryce's substitute in the things    
that had to be done without connection  
to himself1 and yet had to be done by   
,bryce himself1 because no one could be 
trusted with the knowledge of them4     
,could he be trusted8 ,his coming could 
be another trap by the unidentified     
enemy4 ,it was almost too providential1 

almost too well timed4 ,references and  
abilities8  ,roy ,pierce reached into   
his wallet and handed out an aptitude   
profile card backed by the universal    
test score listings in training and     
skills on the other side4 ,bryce played 
with the card and studied the youth4    
,the boy was well dressed in a dark     
tailored suit of the kind ,bryce        
favored4 ,he looked able1 clean1 cool   
and ruthless4 ,armed8 ,bryce asked4  ,a 
thing like a very thick cigar suddenly  
appeared in ,pierce's hand4 ,the end of 
it pointing at him was solid except for 
a very small hole4 ,a needle gun1       
obviously1 loaded with two and a half   
inch grooved drug carrying needles4     
,sleep or death8 ,bryce asked4  ,sleep1 
,pierce said1 putting it away4 ,it's    
licensed4 ,bryce wondered what made him 
so sure he could trust this kid4 ,he    
analyzed while he questioned4 ,he did   
not bother to look at the card4         
,languages8  ,basic coast pidgin1       
symbolic and glot4 ,basic ,english and  

,poliglot1 the two universals4          
,detector proofed8 ,lie detectors could 
be a nuisance1 for they were used       
casually and universally without needing
 the legal warrants and deference to    
constitutional immunities and medical   
supervision of hypno-questioning4       
,pierce smiled with a flash of white    
teeth4 ,first thing ,i ever saved my    
money for4  ,though they spoke standard 
,english1 ,bryce had placed his         
intonations almost to the block he grew 
up in4 ,almost to the half block6 ,he   
was as familiar as ,pop ,yak1 as        
familiar as his own face in the mirror1 
and as understandable4 ,bryce knew the  
inside of his mind as well as if it were
 a suddenly attached lobe of his own4   
,it was like looking back through time  
at himself younger and less complex4    
,pop ,yak had turned out another on the 
same model1 a younger simpler duplicate 
of himself4 ,pierce was doing exactly   
what he said1 offering service to ,bryce
 as he would offer him a sword1 simply  

for the risk and delight of being an    
instrument in a power game with stakes  
as high as he had guessed ,bryce's game 
to be4 ,there was no danger of him being
 a plant1 and no danger of him squealing
 under pressure3 the risk of death or   
arrest was part of his pay4         99  
99       99       99       99  ,okay1   
,bryce said4 ,he gestured with his head 
to a corner of the room behind him4 ,sit
 over there4 ,you're my cousin from     
,montehedo1 and ,i'm showing you the    
town4 ,he turned to his appointment pad 
again and read4 ,after ,pierce had      
placed a chair in the indicated         
position1 ,bryce said without turning4  
,this week ,i can use a bodyguard4      
,someone's hiring killers for me4       
,there was no sound of motion for a     
moment4 ,bryce got the idea that ,pierce
 was more surprised than the fact       
warranted4 ,but his question was gentle 
and deadly4 ,any idea who8  ,the line   
forms to the left4 ,bryce said dryly1   
,put away that needle gun and buy       

something legal that kills4 ,he handed  
back a sheaf of letters1 memos and      
graphs4 ,read these and learn4 ,for some
 reason he felt exhilarated4  ,he turned
 back to work1 routing shipments1       
shifting rates to balance shifting      
costs1 lowering rates for preliminary   
incentive on lines that could run at    
lower cost with a heavier load1         
occasionally using the ,bell            
communication load analyzer and ,kesby's
 formula analysis for a choice of ways  
of averting bottlenecks and overload    
slow-down points1 sometimes consulting  
the solar system maps on the walls4     
,good service built up customer demand  
and dependency on good service4         
,producers manufacturing now on ,earth  
with the new materials shipped in from  
space could not be cut off from access  
to the new materials without ruin to the
 manufacturers4 ,earth was becoming     
dependent on space transport4  ,once the
 customers were given it1 they grew to  
need it4 ,he smiled at the thought4 ,it 

was another kind of drug traffic1 and   
wielded the same kind of potentially    
infinite power over the customers4  ,one
 thing he had learned from the          
,economics tome he had struggled with   
four nights ago1 a simple inexorable    
principle he had recognized dimly       
before--that since it was difficult and 
more expensive to ship out goods from   
,earth to space than it was to drop     
goods into ,earth from space1 eventually
 spacepeople might be independent of    
,earth1 and ,earth totally dependent on 
space products4  ,the potentialities of 
the business game were amazing past     
anything ,pop ,yak had ever hinted1 but 
the funny thing was he had to find it   
out step by step for himself4 ,that kind
 of excitement wasn't in stories4 ,the  
adventures of explorers1 research men1  
and detectives were written into        
stories1 but not money men4 ,the life   
and growth and death and blackmail of   
individuals were in the stories he had  
read1 but not the murder of planets and 

cities1 the control and blackmail of    
whole populations1 in this odd legal    
game with the simple rules4 ,funny there
 hadn't been lurid stories about this in
 the magazines he read as a kid4  ,he   
grinned--,well1 the kids would read     
about him4 ,in fifteen years he'd have  
everyone under his thumb and they'd     
smile and bow and be frightened just    
speaking to him4  ,the work vanished    
rapidly1 the pile of accumulated letters
 and reports dwindling1 and the phone   
ringing at intervals4  ,complaints he   
dealt with carefully1 wording each      
letter in reply so as to give the       
impression that he1 ,bryce ,carter1 was 
personally breaking the corporation     
policy to satisfy the complainer1 and   
adding a word of praise on the          
intelligence and lucidity of the        
complaining letter4 ,so far he had made 
a total of some six hundred             
letter-writing allies that way4         
,complainants were usually loquacious1  
interfering types who expressed more    

than their share of public opinion1 and 
many would glorify him to everyone whose
 ear they could hold1 if only to have it
 known that they were on pally terms    
with a ,director of the great ,,ut4     
,many of the letters were merely        
friendly and chatty1 telling of money   
troubles1 successes and family affairs4 
,to these he recorded a few friendly    
remarks on wire spool1 telling the same 
joke to each1 and slipped each loop of  
wire into an envelope to be mailed4     
,pierce1 studying a transport routing   
map1 looked over and grinned at the     
sixth repetition of the joke1 and ,bryce
 grinned back and continued on recording
 a letter to an address in the ,ozarks4 
,got a young cousin of mine in from     
,montehedo1 ,miss ,furnald1 he's sitting
 here watching to see how a big business
 office operates and he's grinning at me
 because it looks like ,i want to just  
sit and talk at my friends all day long4
 ,i have fifty-nine business letters    
here to answer--honest to               

,god--fifty-nine1 ,i just counted them1 
so ,i guess ,i'll cut off and show the  
young squirt how ,i can work4 ,send me  
that photo of your sister's new baby4   
,he hung up the record mouthpiece4 ,one 
more voter and loyal friend to pull for 
him when he was a public figure and the 
going got rough4  ,he grinned4 ,it was a
 strange life and a strange game4   ,v  
,when he left the office with ,pierce1  
someone stepped out of a corner of the  
corridor and clutched at his sleeve1    
speaking rapidly4 ,bryce brushed off the
 hand carelessly and walked on4  ,a     
junky1 he remarked to ,pierce4 ,there   
was a quick flash of motion behind them 
that sent them whirling to one side4    
,pierce stood aside with the small      
needle gun in his palm waiting to see if
 it would be needed1 while ,bryce       
finished the downstroke of his hand that
 sent the knife and the junky reeling to
 the rubbery corridor flooring4  ,shall 
,i report him8 ,pierce asked1 making his
 needle gun vanish in the same smooth   

motion it had appeared1 and indicating a
 phone sign4  ,no4 ,it doesn't matter1  
,bryce walked on thoughtfully4 ,everyone
 wants to kill me at once4  ,pierce     
said1 ,it's easy to sway a miserable man
 to the point of pinning all his        
troubles and hate on to one name1 like  
,bryce ,carter4  ,i know1 said ,bryce4  
,he saw that the smiling dark young man 
was alert1 walking a little ahead of him
 and glancing quickly left and right as 
they approached corners and             
intersections and recessed doorways     
where a man could wait unseen1 doing his
 job as a bodyguard efficiently and     
inconspicuously4 ,if it's the man ,i    
think it is1 ,bryce told him1 falling   
into step again after they passed the   
turn into the tube trains1 he's working 
against a deadline4 ,it's now or never4 
,there won't be any more of this after  
next month4  ,pierce answered after a   
glance at a passing mirror to see if    
they were followed1 and a quick scan of 
the train platform4 ,your usual haunts  

will be booby trapped4 ,better stay out 
of routine4  ,that night1 in the        
spacehands end of the city1 they ate the
 dinner that he usually had with ,mona  
at a nightclub1 or alone looking for a  
good pickup in an expensive cocktail    
lounge4 ,it was in the shipping area    
around the docks1 at the opposite end of
 the city from his usual haunts4 ,the   
ceiling was low and the glasses shivered
 and danced with the constant muted     
thunder of jets that shuddered through  
the floor from the nearby landing       
fields4  ,his new assistant and         
bodyguard was pleasantly deferential1   
lighting cigarettes for him1 listening  
respectfully to his opinions1 drawing   
him out with questions that showed he   
understood what he was listening to4    
,bryce could not remember having had    
such a good time talking since he left  
the company of the meteorite miners at  
the ,belt4 ,everything he said seemed   
right and even brilliant4 ,as he talked 
and told anecdotes of his life and      

sketched some of his plans he saw his   
past life with peculiar vividness as if 
he were a stranger seeing it for the    
first time4 ,in the reflected light of  
the interest and enthusiasm of his      
audience1 events took on a new glow of  
entertainment and adventure and success 
where they had seemed to be just work   
and risk and routine at the time4  ,they
 had an evening to pass4 ,somehow       
,pierce got into conversation with a    
little ,egyptian who could have stood   
for ,cyrano and had the same merry      
impetuous way about him4 ,raz ,anna was 
his name4 ,he claimed to be the ,caliph 
of ,baghdad1 still incognito1 or perhaps
 a professional explorer disguised as a 
native4 ,after a few drinks he enlisted 
them1 somewhat confusedly1 as the two   
missing musketeers and they found       
themselves wandering arm in arm from bar
 to bar and up and down dark alleys     
interviewing the heathen natives4       
,bryce realized that he was laughing    
steadily and enjoying himself in a way  

that had nothing to do with the small   
number of drinks he had had4  ,he       
couldn't get any deference out of ,raz4 
,raz wouldn't have deferred to ,god     
himself1 and it was no use trying to    
impress him1 for nothing impressed him4 
,apparently the hook-nosed1 merry little
 man had no ambition and no envy of     
anyone1 and wanted no better of life    
than he had at the moment4  ,it was a   
strange new world they led ,bryce       
through--,not the ragged1 starving1     
crowded viciousness of his              
childhood--not the fighting equality of 
spacemen and rock miners1 many of them  
wanted by the law--not the simple barren
 hospitality of the settlers in the     
,belt who owed him money1 and who       
invited him to their sparse dinners in  
gratitude--,those he had always managed 
to keep in their places and exact a     
certain measure of respect4  ,even the  
smooth powerful men of wealth around him
 now accorded him a certain measure of  
deference that was an acknowledgement of

 strength4 ,but the two musketeers he   
was with and the world they opened for  
him seemed to respect neither distance  
nor politeness1 nor hold any fear for   
strength4 ,friendly insults1 and        
uncritical friendliness mingled oddly   
with the mock-solemn pretense of the    
fairy tale1 and that part was genuine   
and spontaneous4 ,it didn't seem to be a
 different kind of people he was meeting
 exactly3 it was the same kind of people
 approached differently4 ,he didn't know
 exactly how it was done1 and he let the
 other two take the lead4  ,perhaps he  
had drunk too much1 he thought as he    
rode the hotel elevator4 ,for in        
retrospect1 the evening was a haze of   
pleasure that was hard to pin his       
attention to4 ,everything he had said1  
everything that had happened seemed     
profoundly right1 an atmosphere which he
 had encountered rarely before and only 
then in the last stage of drunkenness4  
,but he was sober4 ,he had had only a   
few drinks1 and his perceptions seemed  

sharpened rather than blurred4 ,yet1    
where there should have been critical   
thoughts and regrets for errors and     
restless plans in his mind1 there was   
only a pleasant empty buzz4  ,too much  
talk1 he thought1 yawning as he walked  
down the luxurious hotel corridor to his
 room4         99       99       99     
99       99  ,it was that night that he 
first noticed something wrong with the  
mirror4  ,he glanced into it casually   
while undressing1 then not so casually1 
walking up to it and inspecting his     
face4 ,a slight1 unpleasant tingle      
coursed along his nerves4  ,a           
stranger--,when he tried to focus on    
what was wrong he could find nothing    
that looked any different1 yet the total
 effect was completely wrong4 ,he       
decided that it must be the mirror1 some
 subtle distortion of the reflection4   
,the old one must have been broken in   
cleaning and a new one put in4  ,the    
chill passed and still the good blank   
feeling lasted4 ,he went to bed         

reviewing the evening and smiling1 and  
went to sleep without resorting to the  
mental arithmetic that he generally used
 to clear his mind of dissatisfactions4 
,the next morning the mirror still      
looked peculiar4 ,there seemed to be    
nothing wrong with the reflected image  
of the room1 but when he gave himself   
the usual inspection before stepping out
 into the corridor the feeling of       
strangeness returned and his eyes felt  
as if they were blurring4  ,he put his  
hand up to his eyes instinctively and   
felt a distinct shock when the mirrored 
image did the same4  ,odd4  ,a slender  
smiling young man joined him in the     
lobby1 rising and falling into step with
 him as he passed1 going through doors  
before him with the inconspicuous       
alertness and precaution4 ,he did his   
duties as a bodyguard well1 ,bryce      
noted1 but that was only to be expected4
 ,efficiency is1 and should be1         
unnoticeable4  ,one thing he discovered 
during the working morning at the       

office4 ,there had been nothing wrong   
with the mirror in his hotel room4 ,the 
washroom mirror was worse6  ,he stood   
for a while1 frozen in midstep1 while he
 looked at a lean tanned and freckled   
face which looked like a color movie of 
his1 every feature in its proper place  
as he remembered it1 but yet not his4   
,it didn't belong to him4 ,he made faces
 at it1 and it made faces back as if it 
were his1 while he tried to believe that
 he was looking out of the gray eyes    
which looked back at him1 then he heard 
someone coming in and left suddenly and 
sheepishly4  ,that afternoon1 after     
,pierce got into the swing of the work1 
he began to be useful1 fitting himself  
into the work routine as though he had  
always been part of it1 making the right
 calls and contacts and appointments on 
the barest hints1 handing him the phone 
intuitively as he needed it1 always at  
the right time with almost telepathic   
instinct4 ,while checking over the      
decisions and plans of ,kesby and the   

staff that needed his okay1 and signing 
typed letters ,bryce talked the thoughts
 and plans which came half formed to    
mind1 almost thinking aloud4 ,and when  
his remarks struck something that       
sounded like it would be good to do     
soon1 he saw ,pierce jotting them down1 
later detailing the preliminary steps   
for ,bryce's use4  ,and too1 all the    
small tasks were being taken from him   
with easy naturalness1 saving him much  
time4 ,his assistant was being what he  
had claimed he would be1 a genuinely    
useful left hand4 ,bryce found himself  
proud of the kid's manifest efficiency1 
for he was a product of the same school 
that ,bryce himself had climbed from4   
,on the way back to the hotel1 after    
work1 he caught ,pierce glancing at him 
with a thoughtful expression1 and       
realized that he had been faltering and 
giving a second glance to every public  
mirror that he had passed4 ,he was      
momentarily embarrassed1 wondering if   
any strain had showed on his expression4

  ,there was a party he had to go to    
that night so he changed to formal      
clothes and stepped off again for the   
home of the ,,fn ,administrative        
,governor of the ,moon4  ,he did not    
want to attend4 ,it would be another of 
those stiff1 lonesome dinners he had    
suffered through before1 but he had to  
learn to make friends on his own social 
level1 and be easy and convivial with   
the kind of people he would be          
associating with the rest of his life4  
,after the first hour had given him a   
good test1 ,bryce decided that the      
evening was as bad as he had            
anticipated4 ,he stood on the outskirts 
of a small group1 holding a drink and   
watching resentfully as a startlingly   
beautiful woman laughed and talked with 
the others of the group and not with    
him4 ,she had been introduced to him as 
,sheila ,wesley4 ,the jokes she had with
 the others were quick and subtle       
flashes of wit and insight1 and seemed  
to be based on a mutual understanding   

that he could not share1 even though    
some of the others had just been        
introduced and had been strangers to    
each other a few minutes back2 it was   
something he grasped vaguely as a common
 background and approach to life that   
they shared1 perhaps through education4 
,there were quick references to         
political situations they all seemed    
familiar with1 or a name that could have
 been some character in a book they     
might all have read1 or could have been 
somebody in history1 each reference     
followed by a subdued laugh and an added
 witty statement from some other        
quarter4 ,no one of them gave a word to 
him or noticed that he was there4  ,why 
should they8 ,he was dressed well and   
expensively1 but so were they all4 ,he  
was a person of prominence and power1   
but so were they all1 and bored by it4  
,he could not talk like the others4     
,then what could he do to make ,sheila  
,wesley smile at him the way she smiled 
down at the ridiculous little fat man   

beside her as he excitably stuttered out
 his opinions4         99       99      
99       99       99  ,sheila ,wesley   
was not like ,mona1 to be captured by   
money and clothes and influence4 ,would 
she be impressed even by the power he   
would have later8 ,he tried to picture  
her as tremulous and awed1 hanging on   
his words and flattering him1 but he    
couldn't believe it4 ,she probably      
wouldn't notice him any more than now4  
,there was nothing he could do to       
impress her4 ,he had thought ,mona had  
poise1 but now he saw that her manner   
was just an inadequate carbon copy of a 
completely spontaneous original4 ,the   
woman1 ,sheila1 managed to be poised1   
aloof1 and yet friendly to everyone1    
simultaneously warm and unattainable4   
,he desired to be bitingly rude4 ,that1 
at least1 would make her admit that he  
existed4 ,she was smiling at that       
ridiculous little fat man again4  ,he   
drained his glass and1 completely       
unnoticed1 left the party4 ,nobody would

 miss him1 he was sure4  ,outside in the
 corridor1 ,roy ,pierce1 his assistant1 
was engaged in conversation with two    
young men and two girls4  ,there he is  
now1 he heard ,pierce say4  ,and one of 
the young men came toward him laughing4 
,is it true that this lunatic cannot go 
and make up with the lady of his heart  
because she has had him banned8 ,if we  
all try to smuggle him in--  ,and one of
 the girls1 a really gorgeous blonde1   
called1 ,he was just telling us about   
that time you were in space with the    
pirates after you and they had stolen   
the big focusing mirror from the first  
,belt foundry furnace4 ,i'm sure you can
 tell it better--you tell it4  ,he was  
surrounded by the five then4 ,go ahead1 
they were urging1 laughing1 ,go ahead6  
,it didn't really happen did it8  ,this 
accusation was made by the pretty       
blonde4 ,he looked at her half          
indignantly4 ,i don't know how he tells 
it but it happened4 ,and he began to    
tell what had happened4  ,the two girls 

and the two young men listened1 adding  
occasional startled interjections and   
admiring laughter4  ,pierce inserted an 
occasional question and ,bryce became   
aware that in answering them he was     
guided to stress and amplify points that
 made clearer the danger and comedy4    
,later he became aware that he was half 
consciously following the clues of      
,pierce's expression for the right      
stress and mood of the telling1 now     
off-hand and smiling in telling what he 
had done1 now heavily dramatic mimicking
 and burlesquing the tones and threats  
of the outlaws1 now ironic and bitterly 
indifferent in passing over damage and  
deaths--as a wryly lifted eyebrow in the
 dark young face listening1 and a faint 
imperceptible shrug made him see what   
had happened from a different angle than
 he had seen it then4 ,pierce apparently
 had something he needed1 a good story  
sense4 ,following him must be something 
he had learned unconsciously last night1
 but it worked4 ,he could see how well  

it worked in the expressions of his     
audience4  ,someone leaving the party   
had stopped to listen1 standing behind  
his right shoulder4 ,when he finished1  
amid the exclamations and sighs of his  
listeners a cool1 familiar voice        
drawled4  ,that's quite a story4 ,i     
picked up something about that at the   
new foundry on reef five1 but it was    
already an old yarn then4 ,she stood    
before him1 still smooth and poised and 
lovely1 offering her hand4 ,i'm glad to 
hear it from the horse's mouth4 ,aren't 
you ,bryce ,carter8 ,we were introduced 
in there1 ,i think1 but the name didn't 
click4  ,it was ,sheila ,wesley4  ,that 
evening was something to remember4      
,first they were a private party at a   
nightclub1 then at a small restaurant4  
,tom1 ,betty1 who was the pretty blonde1
 ,ralph and the pretty brunette whose   
name was ,marsha1 ,pierce1 himself and  
,sheila4 ,the talk ranged wildly over a 
multitude of subjects1 breaking         
sometimes into collective fantasies of  

nonsense like a hat full of fireworks   
that left them laughing helplessly1     
sometimes shifting to philosophy and    
mutual confidences4 ,every so often     
,pierce brought the subject around to   
something that struck home to ,bryce and
 he found himself holding forth with    
unexpected passion and eloquence1 and he
 was surprised to see that the others   
were keenly interested4  ,pierce rarely 
said more than an occasional cheerful   
remark1 but in the more subtle plays of 
conversation ,bryce found himself still 
half consciously consulting the cues of 
his expression to find what his own     
reaction should be1 to find the right   
word and the right attitude that pleased
 the table and urged them all on to     
greater and more fantastic heights of   
talk4 ,it was obvious that ,pierce never
 had any difficulty understanding       
anyone4 ,he had an instinct that ,bryce 
lacked1 and ,bryce willingly surrendered
 to superior skill and followed his     
silent lead4  ,sheila he discovered1    

besides being a member of one of the top
 diplomatic families1 had worked for a  
short while as a consultant at the ,belt
 plastic manufactory when it was being  
set up1 and had taken to space life4    
,she shared his enthusiasm about the    
future of the ,asteroid ,belts4  ,it was
 an unprecedented evening4 ,at the close
 of it he had four new friends1 and had 
discovered that ,tom was ,thomas        
,mayernick1 one of the attorneys of the 
,spaceways ,commission1 and one of the  
men whom he had gone to the dinner to   
meet4  ,and ,sheila1 tall and slender   
and beautiful1 pressed his hand as the  
group parted1 and said in her wonderful 
voice1 ,i want to see you again ,bryce1 
she smiled4 ,i eat at the technicians'  
end of town1 you know4 ,i'll be with a  
,group at ,geiger's ,counter1 tomorrow  
lunch4 ,if you bear the company of slide
 rule artists we'd be glad to see you   
any time4  ,he stood for a moment1 oddly
 surprised4  ,say thank you to the lady4
 ,pierce smiled4 ,and to ,sheila1 ,you  

shouldn't startle people like that1     
,ma'm4 ,his heart's weak4  ,i just      
dropped dead1 ,bryce said1 finding      
words4 ,you aren't leading me on8       
,you'll be there8  ,on my honor1 she    
smiled4 ,good night1 ,bryce4 ,she was   
used to such tributes4 ,half mocking as 
they were1 she knew how much they were  
basically sincere1 and accepted their   
tribute to her beauty as a matter of    
course4 ,what a wife to have and        
introduce as his wife to other men1 and 
see the look in their eyes4  ,he        
remembered suddenly that he had not once
 mentioned that he was a ,director of   
,,ut4 ,somehow the conversation had     
never been led to a subject where he    
could have said it4 ,he made a mental   
note to tell her next time4 ,it seemed  
strange that he had been with five      
people so many hours without informing  
them that he was a ,director of ,,ut4   
,he had done the same thing last night1 
now he remembered4 ,but they had seemed 
to like him without it4  ,he let himself

 into his hotel room and turned on the  
light1 but the first sidewise glimpse of
 himself in the mirror was disturbing4  
,he solved that problem by the          
remarkably simple expedient of turning  
the light out again1 and undressed in   
the dark1 grinning foolishly4   ,,vi    
,approaching the scientists' and        
technicians' row along the subsurface   
arcades1 the expensive restaurants grew 
fewer and were replaced by ,german-type 
beer halls1 schools with courses        
advertised in their posted schedules    
whose titles were completely            
unintelligible to him1 and second hand  
bookstalls selling battered technical   
books and journals whose titles were    
undecipherable in any tongue ,bryce     
could think of4 ,the lunch hour crowds  
were beginning to pour out into the     
arcades from elevators and tube trains  
in a rush to get first place in their   
favorite eating places4  ,pierce half   
turned as if his eyes caught on the     
expression of a face behind them4       

,carter6 ,there you are1 you bastard6   
,the voice came from behind him1 thick  
with rage1 but more than that was the   
insult4 ,it meant challenge4 ,this was  
nothing in which ,pierce could defend   
him6  ,bryce wheeled1 left hand         
automatically plucking out his          
magnomatic1 wondering if the attacker   
would be the honorable kind of duelist  
who would hold fire long enough for him 
to get his gun out4  ,miraculously it   
seemed to be happening4 ,he already had 
his sights halfway on to the speaker    
when he recognized him1 a gross heavy   
figure he had seen a hundred times4 ,mr4
 ,beldman of the ,board of ,directors4  
,what was he doing on the ,moon8        
,beldman stood with his fists on his    
hips and his legs spraddled1 sneering at
 ,bryce4 ,that's right1 he said1 heavily
 sarcastic1 start shootin' when you're  
surrounded by innocent spectators2 when 
you know ,i can't draw on you4 ,that's  
the way of a crook4 ,the husky base     
voice echoed from the walls4 ,behind him

 to the bend of the corridor people were
 scattering hastily out of the firing   
line4  ,crook was the central word4     
,somehow ,beldman had found out that    
,bryce was responsible for the          
corruption of ,,ut1 and he was dealing  
with the matter in the most direct way  
that it could be dealt with1 for a death
 in a private duel would be laid to a   
quarrel and not investigated4  ,how had 
he found out8 ,bryce forced down the    
question as he stiffly reholstered his  
magnomatic4 ,there was no use thinking  
of that until the question of surviving 
the next five minutes was settled4 ,he  
stood with his hands empty1 feeling     
curiously empty inside1 oddly missing   
the white rage and love of murder that  
usually carried him through such things4
  ,it seemed too good a day to spoil4   
,he would rather have continued his way 
to lunch with ,sheila1 and let the man  
live--or let himself live4 ,this would  
be no duel for a little bloodletting4   
,beldman's purpose was to kill4 ,and    

,beldman himself1 knowing what he knew1 
had to die4 ,do you understand what you 
have said1 sir8 ,bryce used the formal  
words of the dueling countries4  ,you're
 damn well right ,i do6  ,are you       
prepared to take the consequences1 sir8 
,more ready than you are1 ,beldman said1
 his hands still on his hips4 ,he       
amplified his remark with a few well    
chosen words that harked back to his    
truck driving days4  ,how many shots8   
,bryce asked more softly1 beginning to  
want to kill4  ,until one of us is down 
with his gun out of his hand4  ,bryce   
repeated the provision to the crowd that
 had drawn up discreetly along the      
side-lines4 ,we fire until one of us is 
both down and disarmed4  ,there was a   
murmur of surprise among the crowd for  
that was an unusual and deadly provision
 for a formal duel4 ,as ,bryce paced    
backward the required number of paces1  
counting aloud1 two men volunteered as  
seconds4 ,they came forward to compare  
the guns rapidly and show them to the   

duelists4 ,it had to be done and        
finished rapidly1 for lunch hour had    
begun with its flood of people into the 
corridors1 and they were holding up     
traffic4  ,bryce's gun was a 4#db       
magnomatic1 working on an electrical    
acceleration of the slug by             
electromagnetic rings in the thick      
barrel4 ,it was soundless except for a  
legal built-in radio yeep that announced
 its firing and number to the police    
emergency receivers4 ,beldman's gun was 
another maggy of the same make but      
heavier with a wide-mouthed barrel      
apparently throwing a much heavier      
caliber slug4  ,ready8 ,the second      
stepped back to the edge of the crowd   
and began counting off half a minute by 
seconds4  ,the faces of the crowd faded 
from his consciousness4 ,bryce stood    
with his hands empty at his sides as the
 seconds were counted4 ,thirty1         
twenty-nine1 twenty-eight1 twenty-seven1
 came the voice1 counting evenly and    
loudly4 ,the world narrowed to a        

corridor of space with the blocky figure
 of ,beldman at one end and himself at  
the other4 ,funny1 ,bryce thought1 that 
he had never considered that bull-headed
 impatience and strength as dangerous4  
,he was a massive block of a man2 where 
,bryce was thick with muscle1 ,j4 ,h4   
,beldman was so wide in shoulder and    
barrel and so thick in arm that he      
looked almost round4 ,like ,bryce he had
 worked up from the bottom1 ,bryce      
remembered1 starting as a truck driver  
and labor organizer1 and then owning his
 own line and giving ,,ut a stiff battle
 before being bought out4 ,crude1 but   
that didn't mean that there wasn't a    
lightning brain behind that round face4 
,twenty-six1 twenty-five1 twenty-four1  
twenty-three--  ,he had underestimated  
the deadliness of the man4 ,beldman was 
obviously subject to rages1 and in the  
grip of one now1 and if he had survived 
all the duels and battles that his rages
 had brought long enough to grow as old 
as he was then his age was an indication

 not of weakness1 but of the degree of  
his deadliness4 ,the irritable thought  
came that he might well be killed by    
this ox4  ,twenty-two1 twenty-one1      
twenty1 nineteen--  ,he flexed his      
fingers restlessly1 and felt in his mind
 the speed and sureness of his draw and 
firing4 ,that big blocky figure was just
 another obstacle standing in his way1  
to be blasted aside4 ,a loud mouth to be
 shut4  ,ten1 nine-- ,he concentrated on
 the counting1 --six1 five1 four--      
sureness growing like a coiled spring in
 every muscle4 --three-- ,he crouched   
slightly4 ,that blocky figure that was  
all the rest of the world was no more   
than a target4 ,a big target4           
,two--one--fire4  ,something confusing  
happened4 ,as the word came it seemed   
that a gigantic blow hit him somewhere  
on his left shoulder1 twisting him      
around so he couldn't see his target4   
,he spun back1 willing himself to shoot 
again quickly1 but his legs buckled     
oddly as he turned4 ,he reeled1 finding 

his balance with great effort4  ,heavy  
slug1 he thought1 seeing as delayed     
memory the coiled spring speed with     
which ,beldman had moved4 ,bryce's left 
arm did not seem to have any connection 
with his mind4 ,glancing down briefly he
 saw that it dangled4         99        
99       99       99       99  ,but the 
maggy was still there1 held in the numb1
 unfeeling hand1 pointed limply at the  
ground4  ,he wondered if he had fired it
 yet4  ,drop it and fall down1 advised  
,pierce's clear voice from somewhere4   
,there was a stirring and whisper from  
the blur of the crowd who stood watching
 to see that the rules were observed4   
,beldman was walking towards him4  ,do  
you end the duel8 asked someone1        
probably the second4  ,no1 the blur of  
,beldman answered and suddenly he came  
into focus1 walking up1 his wide mouthed
 gun unwavering in his hand4 ,bryce     
remembered the provisions of the duel4  
,fire until one is down and weaponless4 
,there was nothing said about remaining 

at a fixed distance4 ,beldman intended  
to walk up close enough to shoot him    
between the eyes4 ,it was too late to   
let himself fall and end the duel4      
,beldman would fire if he saw ,bryce    
begin to fall now4 ,he was already close
 enough for a sure head shot4  ,feeling 
was returning to his left arm4 ,it      
dangled abnormally far and probably     
looked broken and useless1 but there was
 nothing actually wrong with it1 only   
something in his shoulder was broken4   
,after the first cold numbness of       
impact1 sensation returned tingling in  
his fingers1 and pain was beginning to  
burn in his shoulder4 ,bryce waited a   
few more seconds1 feeling the control   
returning to his fingers1 not changing  
the glazed off focus of his eyes4 ,how  
many duels had ,beldman won like this8  
,the impact of one of those heavy slugs 
hitting bone was a dazing blow1 enough  
to stun some men1 and he probably       
counted on that effect4  ,the square    
figure lumbered closer1 a lumpish clumsy

 caricature of the self-made man1       
brutally strong1 unashamedly misfit to  
the society of the smooth-wise1 smiling1
 easy mannered people that he and ,bryce
 had joined2 a model of everything that 
,bryce was trying to destroy in himself4
  ,with a quick twist of the wrist      
,bryce swung his palm flat up flipping  
the magnomatic muzzle into line with it 
and put a bullet into the round face4   
,in that position of his hand the back  
kick of the shot twisted his arm back in
 its broken shoulder and pulled the     
maggy from his hand1 but it didn't      
matter4 ,the duel was over4  ,the       
motionless crowd dissolved again into   
talking individuals going to lunch4     
,pierce picked up the maggy and made the
 usual query of those who chose to      
remain4  ,which of you has any complaint
 of unfairness or advantage taken by    
either party of this duel8  ,most of    
them were leaving1 anticipating the     
arrival of the police with their        
time-consuming questions1 but twenty or 

so crowded close around ,bryce and the  
corpse4 ,press a thumb on your shoulder 
sub-clavian1 man1 someone advised       
,bryce4 ,you're bleeding like a faucet4 
,pierce's clear voice said the standard 
words over the murmur and shuffle of    
feet4 ,no unfairness having been        
observed1 when called to give testimony 
you can then say that he shot in        
self-defense and under duress4  ,a low  
wail of sirens was heard4         99    
99       99       99       99  ,who was 
that character8 ,pierce asked later1    
sitting beside the table while a surgeon
 patiently pieced together the three or 
four shattered pieces of ,bryce's       
collarbone and fastened them with       
ingenious plastic bolts4  ,bryce        
absently watched the process in a large 
tilted mirror slung overhead4 ,medicine 
bored him4 ,j4 ,h4 ,beldman1 member of  
the ,board of ,directors1 he explained1 
and for the benefit of the policeman    
standing beside the door he added1 ,bad 
tempered as they come4 ,he looked into  

the mirror uneasily1 trying to focus on 
his face4  ,his clothes were being      
cleaned of blood and dried somewhere4   
,when the doctor had finished sewing and
 patching ,bryce showered and dressed in
 a small dressing room beside the       
emergency ward1 where he found his      
clothes hanging neatly in a drying      
closet4  ,as he finished a man in plain 
clothes entered and dismissed the cop   
with a word1 and handed ,bryce a printed
 notice and his magnomatic2 ,you're     
clear1 he said1 leaving again with a    
friendly half salute4 ,no charges4 ,the 
police had already recorded the         
testimony of the witnesses and inspected
 the weapons used4 ,it had been a fair  
duel and the survivor was clear with a  
standard case for self-defense4 ,the    
printed notice called him to testify at 
the coroner's inquest into the death of 
,j4 ,h4 ,beldman during the next        
,saturday1 but there would be no charges
 and no investigation4  ,there would be 
no trouble from ,beldman1 but who else  

knew what he had known1 that ,bryce     
,carter was responsible for the         
corruption of ,,ut8 ,how had he learned 
it8 ,if someone else knew1 there was    
going to be trouble4  ,coming out of the
 emergency ward1 he checked his watch4  
,one-fifteen4 ,too late to find ,sheila 
,wesley still at ,geiger's ,counter4    
,but he knew he could see her another   
day--and with a good story to explain   
why he had not turned up the first time4
  ,they ate at the nearest stand and    
went back to work4 ,trying to write was 
almost impossible1 and even using his   
left hand for minor tasks was difficult4
 ,in spite of quick healing of muscle   
and flesh from the amino and nucleic    
acid powders the doctor had packed in1  
the shoulder ached with a tightness that
 spoiled his coordination4 ,he shifted  
to writing clumsily with his right hand4
  ,after twenty minutes he abandoned the
 pretense of working and began          
thoughtfully doing practice draws with  
his right hand4 ,it was stiff and       

clumsy1 and there was no holster in his 
right pocket to make grasping easy4 ,the
 second time the maggy caught on his    
pocket edge and slipped from his hand he
 left it on the rug where it had fallen1
 sitting looking at it thoughtfully for 
a moment4 ,today was the day he would   
meet ,orillo4  ,how well can you handle 
a four tube cabin cruiser8  ,line of    
sight only4 ,i'm no navigator1 ,pierce  
responded4  ,bryce said soberly1        
realizing what he had decided1 ,this is 
a good day to have a bodyguard who's a  
good shot4 ,i have an appointment to    
meet a friend--and ,i'm not sure he's a 
friend4  ,i shoot1 ,pierce said1 writing
 at one of the letters he had been set  
to4 ,happy to oblige4 ,shall ,i wear my 
bulletproof clothes8  ,you could do with
 something like that1 ,bryce said       
soberly4  ,pierce looked up from the    
letters4 ,would this be the man behind  
all these bullets1 and you're meeting   
him in space8  ,yes4  ,in armor plated  
tanks with heavy artillery8  ,no4  ,no  

light and heavy cruisers4 ,no marines8  
,just you4 ,bryce was smiling at        
,pierce's mock astonishment4 ,he knew   
that the kid didn't care in the         
slightest where ,bryce led him as long  
as there was a fight at the end of it1  
and he left it to ,bryce to choose the  
odds4  ,the odds might be even enough4  
,orillo himself1 if he came with murder 
as his intention1 would bring no helpers
 for witnesses1 and he would expect     
,bryce to bring none4 ,or if he had     
hired assassins1 he would not come      
himself1 and they would not know who had
 hired them1 but they would have been   
told to expect one man only4         99 
99       99       99       99  ,the     
secrecy of any meeting in space is      
practically absolute4 ,if there is one  
thing which space has plenty of1 it's   
distance--distance enough to lose things
 in1 distance enough to hide in1        
distance enough so that even if you know
 where something is by all the figures  
of its coordinates1 if it's smaller than

 a planet you can't find it even when   
you are there4 ,to put it crudely1 what 
space has is space4 ,and finding        
something that doesn't want to be found 
in space is like looking for a missing  
germ in the ,atlantic4  ,he had the     
coordinates of the beacon he had chosen 
for his appointment point and the robot 
pilot took him to that area with        
automatic precision4 ,but once there he 
had to cruise manually back and forth   
three times through the perpendicular   
plane of ,earth's equator before picking
 up the radar pip of the buoy1 which was
 set to broadcast its presence by a     
circular sweep of radar pulses on a flat
 plane corresponding to the ,earth      
equatorial average4  ,he found it no    
later than expected1 which was over an  
hour early1 on the principle that he who
 arrives first finds no ambush4  ,he    
left ,pierce with certain instructions  
and floated from the ship to the        
familiar globe that spun so placidly on 
the anchoring rod that attached it to   

the controlling buoy4 ,the buoy was     
powered strongly enough to have         
controlled the orbits of fifty such     
globes without strain4 ,buoys of that   
type were just beginning to be popular  
in the ,belt4  ,once inside he opened   
his faceplate1 looking around with the  
same pleasure he always felt on his     
visits here4 ,it was like being back at 
the ,belt for a time4 ,after the raw    
harshness of the moon and the artificial
 luxuries of its cities1 after the      
agoraphobic vastness of ,earth's giant  
surface1 to be within this little       
close-knit familiar world was soothing  
and relaxing4 ,it was a green glade of  
leaves and branches1 greenness underfoot
 and overhead1 a brown metal cliff with 
vines and a door to his left1 a larger  
brown metal cliff like the round head of
 a barrel with doors in it to his right1
 and a circular silver door in the      
center4 ,behind the small right hand    
cliff was the small amount of regulating
 machinery required1 behind the doors of

 the larger cliff was a small kitchen1  
and convertible study-bedrooms4 ,behind 
the silver door was a corridor leading  
to the airlock and space4 ,it was forty 
feet from cliff to cliff1 and from the  
growing greenery underfoot to the       
growing greenery overhead1 as spacious  
as a wide glade in the woods of ,earth4 
,he picked his way among the vines and  
shrubs to a carpetlike patch of green   
moss and sat down comfortably to wait4  
,pierce had drawn the ship off beyond   
detector range by now1 and it would seem
 to any ship approaching that he had not
 yet arrived4  ,it was peaceful there1  
no breeze stirred the leaves4 ,twenty   
feet above1 fixed in the air on clear   
spokes of lucite1 the crystal globe that
 was the sun for this small world gave  
forth its warming flood of light1       
sunlight borrowed from the sunlight     
outside and led in on the lucite spokes4
  ,he had an interest in its            
manufacture1 and had anchored his globe 
here as a commercial sample of a        

spaceglobe for the viewing of likely    
settlers4 ,it was slightly better and   
more compact1 since it was a newer      
model1 contained in an ovoid hull that  
was only forty-six by sixty-six feet1   
but in essence it was like any of the   
farms and homes of the asteroid belt1   
and there was nothing like it on any    
planet in the universe4   ,,vii  ,behind
 the silver door a bell rang suddenly4  
,a spaceship was approaching4  ,it was  
still early4 ,they would see the globe  
alone and assume that ,bryce had not yet
 arrived4 ,the spaceship itself might be
 armed illegally1 but those within would
 not blast the globe without checking   
its interior4 ,bryce glanced up at the  
silver door in the cliff and arranged   
his position so as to be lounging on one
 elbow1 with his gun hand lying relaxed 
under a thin curtain of leaves4 ,the    
magnomatic was pointing up towards the  
corridor door4  ,there were a few tall  
bushes between the base of the cliff and
 himself1 but the silver central door   

was five feet up a flight of steps and  
in clear view4  ,four flights of steps  
radiated away from the circular door to 
the hull1 like spokes from an axle1 all 
of them leading down to the inside      
surface of the globe4 ,as he waited he  
heard the faint clang of magnetic soles 
hitting the metal of the airlock1 and   
then the door chimes that announced that
 the airlock was being used4 ,someone   
was coming in4  ,he could follow their  
actions in his mind1 timing them4 ,now  
they would be floating in the vestibule1
 facing a circular wall with a door1 the
 wall spinning silently and rapidly1 and
 the door in its center turning slowly  
end over end4 ,the door marked the axis 
of rotation4 ,there was a turning bar   
with handles running through the center 
of the airlock4 ,they would float up to 
that and grip it to pick up spin1 until 
the vestibule seemed to be rotating     
around them and only the circular wall  
and the central door seemed to be       
steady4 ,beyond it would be the         

corridor1 and then the silver door4     
,the door in the cliff dilated silently4
 ,two spacesuited men stood in it4  ,it 
was incredible that he had let them come
 in without seeing the door open4 ,in   
the first split second he saw that      
neither of them was ,orillo4 ,in the    
second instant he saw that no weapons   
were visible1 but that one stood        
slightly behind the other and his right 
arm was hidden4  ,they had happened to  
come to the entrance at an angle to his 
orientation1 almost at right angles1 and
 they would be confused for a moment1   
before they identified his shape1 for to
 their orientation if they used         
,earth-thought for it1 he would seem to 
be leaning head downward on an almost   
vertical slope4 ,he took advantage of   
the lag to move his gun under its       
curtain of leaves and get the sights    
lined on them4  ,they swung their eyes  
around the circle and saw him4 ,mister  
,carter8 asked the foremost one4 ,their 
faceplates were still closed1 and their 

voices slightly distorted by            
transmission through the helmet speaker1
 but he could hear a note of surprise4  
,as the first one spoke the second one  
moved his hidden arm slightly1 as if he 
were holding something4  ,bryce did not 
tighten his finger on the trigger4      
,these could be mere innocent           
sight-seers4 ,the position of his head1 
almost upside down relative to theirs1  
was probably confusing them1 though     
almost certainly they had studied       
trimensional photographs of him4 ,at any
 rate they probably were aware that they
 were standing like targets in the      
corridor doorway and would be in no mood
 to postpone action4  ,take off your    
helmets1 gentlemen1 make yourselves at  
home4 ,it was a partial admission that  
he was the man they wanted1 but not     
certain enough for a decision4 ,he saw  
the shoulder-twitch that meant that the 
second one's hidden hand jerked in a    
moment of uncertainty1 and he thought he
 saw something glitter under the first  

one's arm--the old trick of shooting    
from under a friend's screening arm4444 
,mr4 ,bryce ,carter8 the foremost one   
was asking again4  ,bryce smiled4 ,no1  
,pierce1 he said4 ,he had turned on the 
two-way speaker and tuned it to the ship
 as he came in4  ,immediately the voice 
came in the corridor behind them4 ,stand
 still4 ,you're covered4  ,there was no 
chance that anyone could genuinely be   
behind them1 but the rear one whirled   
and snapped a startled shot into the    
darkened corridor1 and the other leaped 
sidewise down from the doorway1 drawing 
his gun with blurred speed1 and leveling
 on ,bryce as his feet left contact with
 the sill4 ,he was falling slowly1      
almost floating1 and it should have been
 an easy shot1 except for something he  
had obviously forgotten1 or he never    
would have leaped4  ,bryce disregarded  
him as a danger1 and threw three shots  
at the other1 who still stood startled  
and off balance in the corridor1 firing 
three with his inexperienced right hand 

to make sure of placing even one4 ,the  
figure dropped out of sight in the      
corridor4         99       99       99  
99       99  ,in the flick of time that 
,bryce's eyes had been away from the    
falling one1 the path of the man's leap 
had begun to curve strangely1 until now 
he seemed to be floating in a curve1    
flying sidewise and upward1 faster and  
faster as he approached the hull4 ,the  
rule of conservation of momentum was    
having its way4 ,to the man's dizzied   
eyes1 as he tried to keep ,bryce within 
his sights long enough to fire1 it must 
have seemed that the ground began       
inexplicably to turn and slide by1 that 
suddenly the whole shell was turning    
around him like a big wheel1 carrying   
his target up the wall and over his     
head4  ,he was almost to the sliding    
ground when a bush caught at his feet   
and yanked them from under him with a   
crackling of branches1 and the bottom   
tread of a flight of stairs swung at his
 head like a gigantic club4 ,among the  

sudden splintering of branches and      
snapping of vines was a crunching thud  
which sounded final4  ,to anyone within 
a globe1 it did not ordinarily appear to
 be spinning1 the only sign it was1 was 
the comfortable pseudo-gravity for      
anyone standing on hull level4 ,but to  
those who approached the ground from the
 lighter ,g corridor1 the stairs were   
necessary--stairs whose treads were     
oddly dipped in the middle in a shallow 
,u4 ,by bracing against one side of the 
,u coming down1 and on the other going  
up1 one invisibly picked up enough speed
 to match the speed of the ground level4
 ,jumping was the equivalent of jumping 
out of a moving car at forty feet a     
second1 the sixteen feet a second1 half 
of the corridor plus an extra thirty    
feet a second spin1 the side slip speed 
of an eighteen foot drop where it had   
looked like five4  ,it was probably     
these added extra distances in the air1 
,bryce decided1 that sometimes made the 
bird flights look so bewilderingly      

variable in speed and direction4 ,he had
 not thought before how difficult it    
would be to plot a straight course from 
one side of the globe to the other4  ,he
 waited for a sign of motion1 his       
magnomatic ready1 looking up at the     
gunman lying overhead1 forty feet away  
on the other side of the globe4 ,the    
limp figure was unmoving1 it looked     
badly tangled in vines1 and its gun was 
gone4 ,there was no need to shoot1 but  
he wondered suddenly1 if he had1 what   
kind of a curve would the bullet have   
followed8  ,there was no sound from the 
other1 but ,bryce hesitated to climb the
 stairs and put his head above floor    
level of the corridor4 ,a voice might   
give the other direction for a snap shot
 if that was what he was waiting for4   
,bryce chanced speaking4  ,i've got this
 one1 ,pierce4 ,how's the other8  ,the  
televiewer in the entrance hall replied1
 ,lying on his back with his gun five   
feet away4 ,you all right8  ,yes4 ,bryce
 walked around the circumference of the 

globe and searched in the vines for the 
missing weapon of number one4 ,the body 
in the spacesuit nearby was quite       
definitely a corpse4 ,he saw the gun    
glittering a little further on and      
picked it up1 wiping off leaf pulp on a 
clean patch of moss4 ,it was a heavy    
duty police pacifier1 a distance        
stunner1 adjusted to a narrow beam4  ,he
 climbed to the corridor and collected  
the other weapon4 ,it was a police      
pacifier too4 ,they had not meant direct
 murder then1 but only to stun him and  
deliver him to ,orillo1 ,c4 ,o4 ,d4     
,how are you doing with their ship8     
,bryce asked1 ,is it armed8 ,armament   
for spaceships was illegal1 and careful 
official inspection made it rare4  ,i   
didn't wait to see1 ,pierce's voice came
 apologetically after a pause in which  
some background noise sounding like a   
crash came over the televiewer speaker4 
,it started swinging around when ,i came
 in sight1 so ,i just rammed it with    
that pretty ornamental nose spike4 ,i'm 

backing off now with the forward braking
 jets4  ,then whoever's inside is       
probably either spacefrozen or cooked4  
,jockey that ship around on the spike   
and give her a four minute shove toward 
,earth1 then push that button that      
collapses the ornamental vanes on the   
spike and let it pull loose when you    
start braking4 ,i don't want any ship   
hulks floating around here4  ,aye-aye1  
,cap4  ,go slow on those braking jets   
when you pull loose4 ,the back wash     
could touch your hull4  ,pierce returned
 and came in to help ,bryce drag the    
corpses through the airlock and into    
space4  ,they braced against the silver 
curve of the floating spaceship and gave
 the body a combined strong shove       
towards ,earth4 ,spinning slowly end    
over end it dwindled into a dark speck  
against the glowing orb of ,earth1      
destined to be a meteorite and make a   
small bright streak in the ,earth sky   
several days later4      ,when the tubes
 conk out1 the fuel runs down1      ,the

 cold creeps in to where ,i lie4        
,pierce was reciting as they went back  
into the globe for the second corpse4   
,i'll take the meteor's trail--go home  
to ,earth      ,and make a ,viking's    
funeral in the sky4  ,this is too easy1 
,bryce complained as they watched the   
second corpse fade from sight4 ,the     
trouble is1 in space all corpses are    
delicti4 ,it's an incentive4 ,launch    
your enemies4  ,gaucho country did all  
right under that system1 ,pierce said   
somberly1 and so did the ,american      
frontier4 ,he floated motionless1 a     
spacesuited figure turned toward the    
gray-green misted globe of ,earth that  
shone against the black star-sprinkled  
sky as if he could have reached out and 
touched it4 ,the sun caught the planet  
on its day hemisphere and reflected     
brilliantly from a shadowy blue glaze of
 water that was the ,mediterranean1     
turning half of it to white fire4       
,bryce's earphones picked up ,pierce's  
voice again4 ,frontier-born nations     

always look back and say that the first 
years were the best4  ,the words caught 
at something ,bryce had felt before4 ,he
 looked at ,earth hanging splendidly in 
space4 ,it was beautiful and he was fond
 of it1 but--,he said1 ,i don't think   
we'll ever go back4 ,nor would mankind  
itself4 ,never again--through all       
conquests from this point in time--would
 mankind go back down into the mesh of  
gravity to be a thin film over the      
surface of a planet4  ,give old ,earth a
 smile1 ,bryce1 we've hatched4  ,for a  
moment longer ,bryce hung1 watching     
,earth turning below4 ,the management of
 ,,ut was down there4 ,he'd be damned if
 he'd let them get away with thinking   
they could tell him what to do1 or tell 
the ,belt where a line should be        
extended and a colony planted4 ,the belt
 was his country1 not theirs4 ,space    
belonged to the people who lived in it4 
,no taxation without representation1    
,pierce said irrelevantly1 as if he had 
been reading ,bryce's thoughts4 ,they   

jetted back to the ship and into the    
spacelock4  ,frontier country-- ,bryce  
said as he stepped into the cubical of  
the revolving door4 ,gently tightening  
elastic bands drew him into position    
within the man-shaped mold4 ,what's a   
frontier on your terms1 ,roy8 ,when he  
was in place the other half of the      
rubbery1 air-excluding mold closed on   
him and the airtight cylinder rotated1  
delivering him into the interior of the 
ship4 ,he pushed the button impatiently 
to have it revolve back for ,pierce1 but
 it remained obstinately open1 its servo
 refusing to close on a mold full of air
 and rotate air back for release into   
space4  ,bryce remembered then4 ,this   
was something he didn't have to bother  
with when he flew alone1 for when going 
in or out he was always in the door when
 it rotated2 it never turned empty4     
,beside the door on a hook hung an      
inflated pressure suit1 complete with   
gloves1 boots1 and helmet4 ,except for  
the absence of any sign of a head or    

face inside the dark translucence of the
 helmet it looked like a full-sized man4
 ,bryce reached it down and placed it in
 the mold1 and watched grinning as the  
mold closed and the door rotated1       
delivering the man-form to an equivalent
 hook in the spacelock4 ,the doll was   
known by all spacemen as ,hector        
,dimwitty1 and every ship had one or    
two4 ,there were a thousand yarns and   
jokes circulating about the adventures  
of the ,hectors1 most of them lewd1 and 
a few of them true4  ,pierce's answer   
was in his earphones1 ,a frontier is    
where people go when they are young1    
broke1 or have the cops after them4     
,right4 ,suppose ,i stake the broke1 and
 loan them transport1 and offer the     
fugitives unregistered safety to receive
 mail and to buy supplies8  ,you do     
that8 ,pierce stepped out of the door   
and they took off their helmets4  ,yes1 
when ,i am my own man1 not working for  
,,ut4  ,if you do that1 you bring in ten
 times as many of the broke who wanted  

to settle there1 and-- ,pierce took a   
long jump in understanding1 saying      
softly1 ,they're dependent on you4      
,handcuffed to you and praying for your 
health and prosperity as long as you    
hold their loans and secrets1 for with  
your death or bankruptcy1 another man   
might come to your books to read the    
records of your loans1 and demand       
payment1 and give the secrets to the    
police or keep them for his blackmail4  
,but to do it is to take a risk of      
murder or arrest1 and a high cost in    
hard work and money4 ,why do you want to
 do this8 ,what payment do you take8    
,they pay by being my men1 grateful and 
ready to back me up when ,i want help   
later4 ,they don't have to be grateful1 
for they know ,i can call any loan if   
the owner crosses me1 and ,i've built a 
reputation for an occasional fit of     
irrational temper that is threat enough 
for anyone to avoid crossing me1 without
 feeling that ,i have wanted to threaten
 or force them4 ,as for the fugitives   

they pay enough by wanting the ,belt to 
be organized as a nation independent of 
,earth1 so that the hand of the law     
can't stretch out and drag them back1   
and they can become wealthy in open     
business1 in the million chances for    
wealth that lie around them in the      
,belt4 ,they don't know that they want  
this yet1 but they will see it when it  
is told to them4 ,i can't do any of this
 now--it's suspended for as long as ,i  
am part of ,,ut and have to drag the    
dead weight of ten ,earth-tied          
conservatives with me in every decision4
   ,,viii  ,he stopped to set in the    
coordinates of the ,moon for the robot  
pilot1 but he found himself still       
wanting to talk4 ,man has reached       
space--do you think he'll ever go back  
to the ground8 ,in space he has gravity 
only when he wants it1 and any weight of
 gravity he likes1 depending on how fast
 he spins his house4 ,and no gravity    
when he wants that4 ,you see what that  
means to engineers in the advantage of  

building things8 ,no weight in          
transportation1 no weight in travel1    
limitless speed and almost no cost as   
long as he stays away from planet pulls4
 ,his house is in the sky1 and when he  
steps out of it he can fly like a bird4 
,and food4 ,to grow food there is       
sunlight ,earth never dreamed of4 ,for  
heat and power there is sunlight to     
focus4 ,space is flooded with heat1     
irradiated with power--  ,it's not      
child's play taming it1 and those on the
 ground don't see it yet4 ,but the next 
step of mankind is out into space1 and  
it's never coming back4  ,pierce1       
sitting in one of the shock tank        
armchairs1 asked1 ,what part do you have
 in this8  ,bryce looked at him with a  
feeling almost of surprise1 as if he had
 been called back from a long distance4 
,me8 he laughed1 a little awed by the   
immensity of the goal1 and the ease of  
it4444 ,first ,president of the ,belt   
and political boss for life4 ,that's    
enough4  ,enough to hold the solar      

system in the palm of his hand1 if he   
chose4 ,he who rules space1 rules the   
planets4 ,it was the first time he had  
ever mentioned his goal to anyone4  ,roy
 ,pierce asked1 ,what do ,i do about    
this 'friend' of yours who lays traps8  
,the last attack had settled the        
question of who was behind the other    
attacks1 and who had told ,beldman1 but 
,orillo would still be a useful pawn4   
,all that was necessary was to evade his
 attempts at murder for a month or so   
until partnership tied them too close   
for murder4  ,bryce explained some of   
that to ,pierce1 setting up a chess     
board to pass away the time until they  
arrived back at ,moonbase ,city4        
,what's my next assignment8 ,pierce     
asked1 when they were several moves into
 the game4  ,bryce recalled a danger he 
had made no move to guard against4 ,the 
,board hired a psychologist1 a mind     
hunter1 to find out who's doing the     
undermining4 ,he's one of the ,manoba   
group4 ,remember the name1 look it up   

and find out what their methods are1 how
 to recognize them1 and report back what
 to do about it4  ,i'll take care of    
him1 ,roy ,pierce said absently1 moving 
his knight to threaten ,bryce's bishop4 
,no unnecessary trouble4 ,remember ,i   
have to keep my name clean4 ,bryce moved
 a pawn one step to cover the bishop and
 leave room for his other bishop to     
menace the knight4  ,i'll be careful4   
,there'll be no publicity4 ,he won't get
 hurt1 ,pierce said1 moving the knight  
into ,bryce's second line where it      
threatened the king and a cornered      
castle4 ,check4 ,and he added1 as if    
apologizing for having delayed his move1
 ,i don't like to move until ,i'm sure  
what's going on4  ,the remark didn't    
seem to be suited to the game1 as if he 
had referred to something else4         
99       99       99       99       99  
,it was during dinner on the ,moon that 
he and ,pierce loosened up for the first
 time since the ambush4 ,pierce had been
 comparatively silent since the chess   

game on the trip back and ,bryce too1   
whether in sympathy with him or in a    
naturally parallel mood1 had little to  
say4 ,but now the tension had diffused  
and1 with the stimulus of aromatic food1
 they climbed out of their depression of
 emotional solemnity4  ,the decorations 
of the dining room were lush4 ,while    
they ate1 the materialism of their lives
 was reinforced4 ,from                  
silvered-and-tapestried wall to wall    
there was life here1 low-keyed with     
excitement in the blend of subdued talk 
and the shifting artistry of lights and 
music4 ,their table was almost in the   
center of the islands of tables and     
potted trees1 and around them were the  
diners1 their voices washing up at them 
both1 inviting them with gentle tugs to 
surrender their resistance1 beckoning   
them into the sea of simple pleasures4  
,we owe ourselves some fun1 ,bryce4  ,at
 ,pierce's words1 ,bryce sharpened his  
eyes on the face across the table4      
,there was a touch of seriousness in    

those words2 more like a statement than 
a suggestion4  ,pierce smiled wryly and 
took a vial out of his pocket and poured
 it into his drink4 ,he spun the empty  
bottle between thumb and fingers4  ,we  
owe ourselves some fun1 ,pierce         
repeated4 ,we've nothing on the fire    
tonight1 nothing to do that's crucial4  
,it's a good night to experiment4  ,the 
warm voice waves lapping at ,bryce's    
mind suddenly receded and left a chill4 
,with instinctive wariness he thought of
 hypnotics and single-shot addictors4   
,pierce couldn't have missed the        
emotionless freeze on the other's face4 
,still twirling the vial casually1 he   
began to explain4 ,it was a new drug1 he
 said1 found being used by a tribe in   
,central ,africa4 ,i've heard of it for 
some time and what you mentioned a      
little while back reminded me of it4    
,bryce caught the hidden reference4     
,central ,africa--and the ,manoba group4
 ,so ,pierce had not dismissed the mind 
hunter from his thoughts as a problem to

 be easily dealt with4  ,it's still in  
the testing stage1 ,pierce added4 ,but  
some of it is circulating among medical 
students4 ,the tests have interesting   
effects4 ,and1 as ,i say1 tonight's a   
good night to experiment1 it's called   
,b'nyab i'io4  ,the chill in ,bryce's   
head and spine was thawing out4 ,you're 
not conning me8 ,he said it with a grin1
 but there was an edge to the question  
which demanded an answer4  ,pierce gave 
it to him1 for a brief moment deadly    
serious4 ,you couldn't get addicted if  
you swam in it4  ,bryce believed him4   
,he stared at the glass4 ,what does it  
do to the ,i4,q48 ,we've got to collect 
some information here and there this    
evening4 ,i want to be able to read and 
talk4 ,he smiled crookedly4 ,no worse   
than usual1 that is4  ,either raises the
 ,i4,q4 or leaves it alone4  ,what's the
 effect8  ,it affects different people  
different ways4 ,after hearing the      
reports ,i'd like to see how it hits us4
 ,pierce pushed it towards him1         

grinning4 ,leave half for me4  ,bryce's 
wary thoughts touched poison and        
immunity and murder1 but inwardly he    
began to scoff at his own habits of     
suspicion4 ,however1 before he could    
reach for the glass1 ,pierce had given a
 short snort as though in recognition of
 his presumptuousness and drank his own 
share first4  ,then ,bryce raised the   
cold glass to his lips4  ,as he put it  
down he could feel the change beginning 
to spread through his blood1 warming and
 relaxing1 bringing closer the memories 
of pleasure and good times4 ,the        
restaurant was now completely seductive1
 with the surf of voices pleasant in his
 ears1 calling to him to join the world 
and its offers of uncomplicated         
pleasures4 ,he felt himself blending    
with the ethereal background mixture of 
light and sound4  ,i like this1 he      
decided4  ,we should take notes4 ,pierce
 was smiling as he stuffed the empty    
vial back in his pocket4         99     
99       99       99       99  ,the next

 day ,bryce looked back on that evening 
with pleasure4 ,everyone had been       
remarkably pleasant1 friendly and       
considerate1 and ,pierce had always had 
the right friendly word and gesture to  
reward them1 speaking for ,bryce1       
knowing his way around the cities of the
 ,moon to the right places for the      
information they sought1 always speaking
 for ,bryce ,carter1 his employer1      
getting him the things he wanted1 giving
 the orders he wanted to give before    
,bryce had even fully realized that he  
wanted them4 ,bryce had needed to say   
nothing the whole time except ,right4   
,that's it1 and everything went as he   
wanted it4  ,a perfect left hand man1 he
 smiled1 stretching1 and turned the     
polarization dial to let in the         
sunlight4  ,the telephone rang4 ,he     
picked it up and the desk clerk said in 
a deferentially hushed voice1 ,eight    
o'clock1 ,mister ,carter4  ,for some    
reason the hushed voice struck him as   
funny4 ,thanks1 ,i'm up4 ,he hung up and

 stretched again4 ,it was soothing to   
have someone solicitous that he arose on
 time1 if only a hotel4 ,the hotel had  
given him a lot of good service4 ,he    
felt suddenly grateful for all the      
pleasures and luxuries and small        
services they surrounded him with4 ,it  
was a good place4 ,he was feeling good  
that morning4 ,maybe because the sun was
 so bright4444  ,he liked the look of   
the people passing in the lobby as      
,pierce joined him1 and he liked the    
look of the passengers in the tube      
trains on the way to the office4 ,they  
all looked more friendly4 ,and as he    
pushed through the second glass door    
into his offices he liked the clean     
shine of the glass and the rich blended 
colors and soft rugs and gray textured  
desks and the soft efficient hum of work
 in progress4  ,bryce usually passed    
,kesby's office with a businesslike nod1
 but ,pierce smiled in1 stopping for an 
instant with ,bryce4 ,good morning1     
,kesby4 ,we're glad to see you4 ,it was 

true enough and expressed what he felt4 
,bryce exchanged a grin with ,kesby at  
the boy's insolence and then went on    
into his office4  ,it was a good day4   
,it was a good day for what he had to   
do4  ,in the luxury of his inner office 
he sank into the deepest1 softest chair1
 letting his cousin-from-,montehedo sort
 the mail1 agreeing with the boy's      
suggestions for action or sometimes     
issuing his own instructions1 keeping   
only half his mind on the routine day's 
business1 relying on ,pierce1 and       
concentrating the other half on the deed
 to be done4 ,the plan was set in his   
mind but he had changes to make4  ,he   
was barely conscious of the time        
slipping by as he lay1 rarely moving1 in
 his chair1 while ,pierce worked at top 
speed4  ,by one o'clock the deck was    
cleared for action4  ,bryce stood up1   
stretched1 and checked his watch again4 
,it was #acjd hours4 ,a telephone call  
was scheduled in about another hour1 and
 five more successively about a half    

hour apart4  ,order us some lunch1      
,pierce1 before ,i lift the drawbridge4 
,the food came in as he was instructing 
his staff to leave them undisturbed for 
the rest of the afternoon4  ,by the time
 they had finished eating1 their        
isolation was complete4 ,the office was 
a command post now1 with only the       
slender1 unattended telephone wires     
connecting them with the outside worlds4
  ,bryce moved over behind his desk4 ,he
 drew the telephone toward him and      
dialed a number4 ,somewhere1 in the     
locked safe1 the phone rang4  ,from the 
case he took a toy dial phone4 ,pierce's
 eyes were on it1 his eyebrows lifted   
quizzically1 but ,bryce offered no      
explanation4 ,the boy was due for a     
series of surprises4 ,and when it was   
over1 he would know everything without  
any explanations1 and too late to       
interfere4  ,hi ,al1 ,bryce said to the 
recorded ,yeah8 at the other end4 ,he   
dialed a number on the toy dial1 the one
 receiver against the other's back4     

,after the usual ritual1 ,bryce said1   
,hello ,george1 how's everything going8 
,this is it1 ,bryce thought4 ,this was  
the first part of the final blow to     
,,ut4 ,and the only instrument he needed
 in his delightfully simple method was a
 telephone4 ,originally he had planned  
six brief warning calls to the six key  
numbers of the ground organization4 ,he 
would tell them to refuse to take       
anything from the hands of the ,,ut     
branch1 and break contact with them     
immediately after accepting cash for    
miscellaneous items4 ,that would set the
 stage4  ,the police trap would close on
 all members of the ,,ut branch of the  
organization while they were encumbered 
with a maximum of incriminating objects 
to dispose of in too little time4 ,then 
would come his anonymous tip to the     
police4 ,he'd inform them that certain  
employees of ,,ut in a few listed cities
 would be found to be smuggling in large
 quantities of drugs4 ,the thing would  
be so simple4 ,and the whole works would

 blow up with the efficiency of the     
calculated explosion of nuclear         
reaction4  ,that had been his original  
plan4  ,but things would be different   
now4 ,the morning in the easy chair had 
changed his approach4 ,the newer1 more  
elaborate program1 still remarkably     
simple1 would bring down the whole      
structure within ,,ut without the help  
of the police1 but by himself alone1    
planning it1 initiating it1 executing it
 with no one's help4 ,not even          
,pierce's4  ,he heard himself saying3   
,this is ',hello ,george4' ,listen to me
 and don't interrupt4  ,somebody has    
talked4 ,i've been betrayed myself4 ,get
 that8 ,hello ,george is washed up4     
,right now the cops are tapping this    
line4 ,it doesn't make any difference to
 me1 now4 ,but it does to you4 ,this is 
an open warning from ,hello ,george to  
you4 ,spread the word4 ,i'll keep making
 calls until they break in on me and cut
 this line4  ,meanwhile1 spread the     
word4 ,break connections with me and the

 whole organization4 ,get out of range  
before the trap closes4 ,but pass on    
this warning first4  ,i'll hold out     
against questioning a short time4 ,the  
police will get me eventually1 of       
course4 ,and when they do they'll pump  
me dry4 ,they'll get names and          
addresses4 ,the whole works will get    
grabbed1 unless you move fast4 ,spread  
the word4  ,bryce paused and winked at  
,pierce who was standing at his elbow1  
,any questions8 ,yes1 ,i'm sure4 ,of    
course ,i'm sure4 ,any other questions8 
,good luck1 ,okay4  ,he hung up4  ,as   
,caesar once said1 the dice were        
rolling4  ,pierce1 beside him through it
 all1 simply stood there1 his eyes wide 
and his face sharp with curiosity and   
incredulity1 his body twitching now and 
then from the infection of the          
excitement which rippled over the room4 
,that excitement had been there1 though 
,bryce had not permitted himself to     
indulge in it in any visible way4 ,he   
had showed ,pierce a new facet to his   

operations1 one which ,pierce could not 
anticipate immediately1 one in which    
only he1 ,bryce1 could make the snap    
decisions and evaluate the immediate    
responses demanded of him4  ,that was   
with the first call4         99       99
       99       99       99  ,with the  
second one ,pierce began to contribute1 
rising to the occasion as he had so     
often and quickly done in the past4 ,he 
began pacing up and down between calls1 
smoking furiously and laughing under his
 breath4  ,tell 'em the police are      
breaking down the door1 he suggested    
during the third call4 ,say you're      
hypnoed to hold out against questioning 
five days at the most1 two hours more   
likely4  ,his suggestions were a howl4  
,bryce repeated them into the phone with
 counterfeit desperation and was        
rewarded by the sounds of panic at the  
other end4 ,he and ,pierce chortled over
 the frantic queries and exclamations   
from the victim4 ,the whole thing1      
succinct and pointed and with the       

dramatic power of simplicity1 was one   
super practical joke which would set the
 entire solar system scurrying around   
for the next few weeks4  ,the           
ramifications would be endless4 ,persons
 would vanish abruptly and take up new  
names and identities in the obscure     
countries1 others would draw out their  
heavy savings and take the first rocket 
out from ,earth4 ,there would be a new  
influx of refugees to the ,belt1 new    
settlers to be honest farmers and       
factory workers and repair men4  ,yes1  
the situation was dramatic4  ,the day   
was a good day4  ,but as ,bryce hung up 
on the last call1 a depressing sense of 
calamity1 unsettlingly anti-climatic1   
began to press down on him4 ,pierce was 
talking about plans for the next week   
with an enthusiasm which should have    
been completely contagious4  ,but there 
was something wrong4 ,there was         
something wrong4  ,what was it8  ,bryce 
felt ,pierce's enthusiasm catch at him  
and start to sweep him away4 ,he savored

 the pleased glow produced by the       
shattering changes he had managed to    
cram into one day4 ,with six telephone  
calls he had broken the drug ring       
completely and forever1 broken it so    
completely that no member of it would   
ever have dealings with any member of it
 again4 ,all of them were out of        
business1 fleeing with the imaginary    
hounds of the law baying at their heels4
  ,he smiled at the thought4  ,and then 
his smile faded for some strange reason 
and he ceased listening to ,pierce for a
 moment1 looked away and ceased         
listening1 for hearing ,pierce just then
 distracted oddly from the clarity of   
his thinking4 ,he wanted to review what 
he had just done4  ,what was wrong8     
,what8  ,he struggled with a mounting   
confusion1 the desk top and telephones  
blurring as he tried to concentrate with
 desperate effort4  ,unexpectedly the   
question sprang into focus4 ,it was as  
if the room turned inside out1 the day  
turned upside down4  ,he had smashed    

himself--not ,,ut6  ,why8  ,why had he  
made those calls--changed his plans--and
 made those calls8  ,with the most      
perfect and terrible clarity he saw the 
results of what he had done4 ,the       
organization destroyed4 ,the contacts he
 had made fifteen years ago as an       
anonymous young dock hand1 contacts that
 as ,bryce ,carter he could never make  
again--vanishing--merging with the great
 mass of the public--becoming gray      
unknown figures4 ,the building of years 
melting like a sugar castle melts into  
the tide--the invisible army that had   
obeyed his sourceless voice without     
being able to blackmail or rebel1 the   
perfectly balanced tool in his hands    
that could be used for the bribing of   
venal politicians1 with a limitless fund
 for the bribery1 the growing secret    
control of the most venal of the        
political machines of ,earth1 that by   
the time he needed it it would have been
 an irresistible weapon in his hand for 
the single swift political blow that    

would rip the ,belt from ,earth control1
 and give it a seat on the ,assembly of 
the ,federated ,nations1 and mastery of 
the solar system--  ,but as he sat there
 the organization dissolved4  ,he       
grasped the phone1 but there was nobody 
to call now1 no one would answer4 ,he   
could never reach them again4  ,this was
 sanity now1 but what had it been before
 when he was cheerfully destroying his  
future8 ,it seemed to him that there    
were two halves to his brain1 each      
wanting different things4 ,for a moment 
the one that had controlled the day was 
gone1 and he was sane again1 but how    
long would that moment last8 ,what sign 
had there been when it took control8    
,would he know it when it came again8   
,he remembered that in the tube train   
that morning he and ,pierce had had a   
half joking argument about the best     
short-and-merry life4 ,one of the happy 
ones on the list had been the ,,inc     
agent1 because they spent so much of    
their lives working into smuggling gangs

 that they had all the pleasures and    
profits of being a crook and an honest  
man too4 ,was that where he had slipped 
his cog8  ,looking back on the things he
 had done that day he saw that much of  
it had fitted an abstract pattern of    
justice1 as if he had been thinking of  
himself as an ,,inc man4 ,or as if--    
,he thought of the things he had seen in
 his childhood that they had called     
zombies1 and jeered at and tormented    
without fear of any retaliation or      
vengeance from their gray-faced victims4
 ,imprisoned men--they looked           
normal--but they had been mentally      
imprisoned4 ,law-zombies1 memorizing and
 following laws and being honest with a 
simple and terrifying literalness4  ,he 
had not known that he had any capacity  
for terror4  ,bryce ,carter4 ,he had his
 name1 his identity and his memory1 and 
they were his own4 ,sometimes he had had
 nothing else1 only the pride and       
strength of knowing his identity1 that  
it was his and stronger than others1    

just as his hands were stronger1 a thing
 they couldn't take from him4  ,could   
they8 ,there was a nightmare he had had 
more than once1 that he remembered      
suddenly for the first time1 with all   
its atmosphere of childish strangeness4 
,the cop psychos were after him4 ,he was
 trapped in a big room with lights and  
they had his head open and were chasing 
him around inside his head somehow1     
trying to catch him1 and kill him1 the  
him that lived in his mind4  ,would he  
know if it was gone8  ,the black        
sharp-edged shadows of the crater walls 
were drawing across the landing plain   
outside1 bringing to a close the two    
weeks of daylight1 and the reflected    
sunlight was dimming in the room4 ,he   
could hear the rumble of a heavy ship of
 a cargo fleet lowering in to a landing4
  ,his assistant was sitting quietly on 
the edge of the desk as he had been for 
some time1 motionlessly watching the    
thin plume of smoke that rose from a    
cigarette in his hand4 ,he was as still 

as if he were listening for some subtle 
sound far away4 ,rocket jets flashed an 
orange glow through the venetian blinds 
and fell in stripes of orange light     
across the dark young face4 ,the brief  
rumble of a rocket take-off came1       
transmitted through the ground and the  
building4 ,smoke curling up from the    
cigarette was the only motion4  ,roy1 is
 ,pierce your real name8  ,the light    
flashed and faded in bars of orange     
across the young face he had thought was
 like his own1 the boy he had thought   
had come from ,pop ,yak4 ,the quick deep
 rumble of sound came and faded in the  
walls around them4 ,a fleeting smile    
touched the face1 and the dark eyes     
rested on his for a moment as ,roy      
,pierce gave the information casually as
 if it were any other information1      
answering the question that had been    
meant4 ,it is my mother's name4 ,we     
always take our mother's names4 ,i am a 
,manoba--a ,manoba of ,jaracho4   ,,ix  
,looking into ,bryce's face he slid to  

his feet slowly1 ground out the stub of 
his cigarette and stood before the desk4
  ,bryce took out his gun and held it   
where ,pierce could see it4 ,are        
,manobas ever shot8 ,it was a heavy     
little gun1 his maggy1 its barrel sleek 
and rounded1 the heavy metal warm from  
being worn close to the skin4           
,sometimes4 ,it's a natural enough      
reaction4  ,it was a spaceworthy gun    
with adjustable velocity for driving    
through padded suits and pressure suits4
 ,the velocity was set high1 but it     
would be inartistic to blow a large hole
 through a psychotherapist4 ,bryce      
turned the dial down slowly1 watching   
him4  ,do the professional ethics of    
privacy and non-publicity cover this    
kind of situation8  ,pierce was smiling 
slightly with a touch of bitter humor4  
,it's undiplomatic to tell you that1 but
 yes1 the contingency is covered4 ,there
 is nothing to connect myself with you  
as a case in any records1 nor anything  
to identify me as a member of the       

,manoba group contracted by your        
company4 ,the ethic of privacy is       
allowed to have no exceptions for the   
family's record4  ,a cool curiosity held
 him4 ,tell me--when you saw that ,i was
 beginning to think1 why didn't you just
 needle me down for a short nap and     
leave8  ,the smile remained4 ,i am      
supposed to control the shock of        
realization1 and make sure that it is   
assimilated without damage to the       
subject4 ,his dark expressionless eyes  
met ,bryce's1 and ,bryce felt the impact
 of them1 and realized for the first    
time that there was the same slight     
bitter off-hand smile on his own lips1  
and inwardly the quiet ironical mood    
with the still clarity of a deep pool4  
,his own mood8 ,he hefted the gun in his
 hand1 feeling its weight and balance4  
,you could have done that over the      
televiewer1 he pointed out              
dispassionately4 ,what is the average   
mortality1 do you know8  ,not high4 ,it 
is only inexperience that is dangerous4 

,if one can get through one's first     
three or four cases1 it's safe enough4  
,looking back over the past days it was 
quite clear that ,pierce had control    
over his emotions4 ,any emotion ,pierce 
chose him to feel he would feel4 ,it    
remained to be seen how much that could 
influence what he was going to do4 ,the 
dark-skinned young man stood before the 
desk casually and answered questions    
with a slight restrained smile that set 
the wry irony of both their minds4  ,a  
man does what he wants4 ,that is        
freedom1 but what he wanted could be    
controlled apparently4 ,a man is what he
 wants4 ,but what he wanted could be    
changed4 ,how easy had it been to change
 him4 ,bryce tried himself with a       
thought of the power and glory of rule1 
the reign and mastery of space--a goal  
that had warmed his thoughts for many   
years4  ,he didn't want it4  ,there was 
a numbness where there should have been 
emotion1 and all he could feel for his  
loss was the resignation and the faint  

bitter humor permitted him by ,pierce's 
smile4 ,watching that smile he shifted  
the heavy little gun in his hand1       
turning it over casually1 feeling its   
familiar weight and the texture of its  
surfaces4  ,he spoke gently4 ,if you    
don't mind my asking1 have you passed   
through your first three cases yet8     
,you are my first1 said ,roy ,pierce1   
whom he had trusted4 ,i'm afraid ,i was 
clumsy4  ,oh--you did all right4 ,bryce 
shot him then1 placing the bullet       
carefully in the pit of his stomach     
where it would hurt4 ,that was for doing
 well4 ,for justice4 ,no man has the    
right to meddle in another man's mind4  
,pierce had been starting to speak4 ,he 
swayed back a half step with a flicker  
of change crossing his face then stood  
steady and smiling again4 ,that brief   
grimace touched ,bryce's nerves with a  
sensation that was like the jangle of   
something heavy dropped inside a piano1 
a sound he had heard once4 ,but the     
numbness did not lift from his feelings4

 ,he was still smiling4 ,the third      
bullet would be between the eyes4  ,the 
words were low and rapid but clear4     
,bryce did not listen4 ,this is for     
doing a good job1 he said1 overriding   
the other voice with his own1 and pulled
 the trigger again1 placing the slug    
slightly lower this time1 in the belly1 
where if it entangled in one of the     
spinal plexus it could hurt past belief4
 ,pierce swayed slightly4 ,his face went
 to the clay-blue color that comes to   
dark-skinned races when they pale4      
,bleeding inside somewhere1 and already 
dead unless he were given help1 ,bryce  
figured4  ,for a moment ,bryce saw      
something like effort in the dark       
unreadable eyes4 ,then suddenly ,pierce 
smiled1 his young face disarmingly      
innocent and merry4 ,oh1 come on1       
,bryce1 it's not that serious4 ,be a    
good sport4 ,you don't want to--        
,suddenly ,bryce saw the situation as   
the sheerest humor1 a sort of lunatic   
farce for the laughter of some cosmic   

joker4 ,he swung the gunsights up       
towards the smiling face4 ,amusement    
bubbled in his blood and he heard       
himself laugh--heard it with a grim     
secondary amusement4  ,the joke's on    
you1 he said1 and pulled the trigger1   
then laughed again4 ,the joke was on    
him4  ,he had missed4 ,he had missed at 
a distance of three feet4 ,yet his hand 
was rock-steady4 ,pierce's control had  
him4 ,his laughter stopped as the humor 
in ,pierce's attitude faded down again  
to the small wry smile that had been    
there from the beginning4  ,bryce had   
not lost4 ,he had only to wait a little 
and he had won4 ,unless ,pierce could   
use his control to force him to call    
help4 ,he set himself to resist and not 
to listen4 ,there was not long to go4   
,the expressionless dark eyes that held 
his were beginning to widen slightly in 
an effort of sight that meant that a    
private darkness was closing in on the  
psychotherapist4 ,the rumble of distant 
rockets seemed louder1 covering his     

fading voice4 ,it's your choice1 ,bryce4
 ,i give it to you4 ,you won't want this
 later--,bryce--but don't--hunger to    
undo4 ,it is payment enough for         
all--times like this--that you          
change--and do not--want--them          
any--again-- ,pierce pulled in a        
strangling breath1 swaying more visibly4
 ,gun1 he whispered1 reaching out in    
,bryce's direction1 his eyes going      
sightless4  ,bryce handed him the       
magnomatic1 and watched as ,pierce      
fumbled his hands over it1 putting his  
prints on it blindly1 his knees bending4
  ,when he fell1 ,bryce picked up the   
phone and called ,emergency4 ,the       
emergency squad would be cruising around
 in the halls somewhere nearby1 looking 
for the source of the three radio notes 
that had told them that a gun was fired4
         99       99       99       99  
99  ,that was the last ,i saw of him1   
the young man stopped talking and looked
 pleased with himself4  ,donahue drained
 his drink irritably and put it on the  

bar that had been set up on the ceiling 
when the ,gs went off4 ,it clung        
magnetically4 ,make it the same1 please4
 ,he turned to ,roy ,pierce1 floating   
beside him4 ,stop needling me1 man1     
finish the story4 ,the way you tell it1 
,i don't know what you did1 how you did 
it1 or even whether you died or not4    
,oh1 ,i died1 said ,roy ,pierce4 ,but   
they revived me1 he added4  ,good6 ,i'm 
glad to hear that6 said ,donahue more   
cheerfully1 wondering suddenly just how 
extensively he was being kidded4 ,for a 
moment there you had me worried4 ,now   
explain about this treatment4  ,it's    
called soul eating1 explained the       
dark-skinned1 straight-haired boy1 ,i   
don't think you could do it4  ,donahue  
thought that information over carefully4
 ,maybe not4 ,how's it done8  ,in the   
tribes of my people the soul is supposed
 to be an invisible double who walks at 
your side1 protecting you and speaking  
silently to your mind4 ,its face is the 
face that looks out of mirrors and up   

from pools at you1 and the shadow that  
walks on the ground beside you4         
,evildoers1 after they had spoken to a  
,manoba1 would say that their           
reflections were gone4 ,our family was  
called ,the ,eaters of ,souls1 and all  
the tribes were afraid of us for nine   
hundred miles around4  ,so am ,i1 said  
,donahue compactly4 ,as my ,yiddish     
grandmother on my mother's side would   
say1 it sounds from werewolves4  ,i can 
explain it4  ,no magic8  ,look1 said the
 youth tersely1 ,do ,i want to get      
kicked out of the ,,fnma8 ,what if ,i   
had sat in a jungle circle loaded to the
 ears with herbs and spells1 with the   
drums of my cousins throbbing around me1
 and learned the best and subtlest ways 
of my technique back in time looking    
through the eyes of my great            
grandfather1 or conversing with his     
ghost4 ,do you think ,i would say so8   
,no1 ,donahue admitted4 ,he edged away a
 little4  ,the youth spoke gloomily4    
,rapport and intensified empathy is     

something you learn by exposing yourself
 to mirrors4 ,the technique is          
published1 known and accepted among     
psychologists1 but most of them just    
don't try4 ,it backfires too easily1 and
 it takes too high a level of skill4 ,it
 originated with my family4 ,the youth  
spoke even more gloomily4 ,what ,i do is
 obvious enough if ,i make it so4 ,it's 
simply prior mimicry4 ,i watch the trend
 of what goes on in his thoughts1 and   
express approximately what he is feeling
 and thinking a little before he does4  
,so that presently1 subconsciously he is
 depending on me to tell him what he    
thinks and how he feels4  ,i was his    
mirror1 his prior mirror4 ,i am a clear1
 expressive underplaying actor as an    
actor1 and each shade of reaction is    
separate and unmistakable4 ,the         
subconscious is not rational1 but it    
generalizes from regularities that the  
conscious mind never has the subtlety to
 notice4 ,it saw me consistently        
representing its own internal reactions1

 hour after hour in every situation more
 clearly than ,bryce ever saw himself   
express anything in a mirror1 and more  
steadily than he ever saw any mirror4   
,the subconscious then associated the   
inside emotion with the corresponding   
outside image for each one4 ,i became   
,bryce's subconscious self image4 ,when 
he thinks of doing anything1 the image  
in the imagination that does it is not  
himself1 it is me4 ,this can cause      
considerable mental confusion4  ,it     
should6 ,donahue agreed fervently4  ,i  
put him in new places and situations    
where he was unsure and ,i was sure1 so 
that when ,i diverged from mirroring    
him1 he gave me the lead and mirrored   
me4 ,one of us had to be the originator 
and the other the reflection1 but now it
 was reversed4 ,he did not fight it     
subconsciously because the results were 
pleasant4 ,i kept the lead and led him a
 mental dance through thoughts and      
reactions he had never had before1 in a 
personality pattern completely foreign  

to his own1 one that ,i wanted him to   
have4 ,i hadn't been hired for that1 but
 ,i had time to pass before ,i could    
untangle that ,,ut problem1 and ,i      
wanted to do it for him4 ,the mirror    
link was complete the first day1 but    
,i'm afraid the extra days made it      
indelible4 ,he'll always be me in his   
mind1 and mirrors will never look right 
to him4         99       99       99    
99       99  ,it's so simple1 it's      
obvious1 said ,donahue with             
disappointment4 ,it doesn't sound like  
magic to me4  ,the youth was thoughtful1
 frowning4 ,sometimes it doesn't to me  
either4 ,i wonder if the ghost of my    
grandfather was telling me the right--  
,forget the ghost of your grandfather1  
,donahue interrupted hastily4 ,on his   
few space trips he could never get used 
to this business of floating eerily     
around in the air1 and it seemed a poor 
time to talk about ghosts4 ,what about  
,bryce ,carter4 ,what became of him8    
,you know1 he said defiantly1 ,i like   

his plans for organizing the ,belt and  
breaking ,,ut4 ,and1 come to think of   
it1 if ,i had been there when you were  
interfering with that1 ,i think ,i would
 have shot you myself4  ,,ut had only   
hired me to find the organizer of the   
smuggling ring and persuade him to      
disband his organization in ,,ut4 ,i had
 done that4 ,so the third day1 when ,i  
could walk1 ,i left the hospital and    
went back to ,earth1 and collected my   
fee for a job done4 ,many people had    
vanished suddenly from their payrolls1  
and the crime statistics in some cities 
had shown a startling lull4 ,they knew  
,i had done it1 and so they paid and    
were grateful4 ,the dark youth shrugged4
 ,i didn't feel ,i had to tell them     
about ,orillo4 ,he tipped the police and
 started a rumor1 and there was evidence
 enough in the crime statistics of the  
months before1 when they were correlated
 with the distribution of branches of   
,union ,transport1 though there was     
nothing to point at anyone in particular

 except the ones who had disappeared4   
,donahue remembered4 ,sure that's that  
investigation of transportation         
monopolies that raised such a stink last
 year4 ,i saw part of it in ,congress4  
,pierce handed him a travel folder4     
,gaudily illustrated1 it advertised the 
advantages of the ,c,o lines for space  
tourists4 ,carter and ,orillo4  ,donahue
 looked up1 puzzled1 ,but this is the   
next step in what he planned4 ,i thought
 you changed him4  ,mahatma ,gandhi     
would have followed out those plans1    
,pierce said with a touch of grimness4  
,as you pointed out1 they are           
attractive4 ,but ,i changed him4 ,i     
won't give you personality dynamics1 but
 if you want a list of changes--,he's   
married to ,sheila ,wesley1 that's one  
change4 ,and instead of going home      
nights he roisters around in bars and   
restaurants1 talking to everybody1      
listening to everybody1 liking them all 
and enthusiastically making friends in  
carload lots4 ,that's another change4   

,he doesn't look into mirrors because   
they make him feel cross-eyed4 ,that's  
because he unconsciously expects to see 
me in the mirror4 ,and he will organize 
the ,belt and be president as he        
planned4 ,i won't stop him in that4 ,the
 difference will be that he won't want  
the power he'll get4 ,pierce said       
grimly1 ,a power-lusting man can never  
be trusted with power3 he goes          
megalomaniacal4 ,carter was already     
halfway there4 ,but he's safe from that 
now4 ,he's going to be given plenty of  
power1 and see it only as               
responsibility1 and not want it4 ,that's
 the only safe kind of man to have in a 
powerful position4  ,that-- said        
,donahue with great earnestness1 --is   
like sending a poor damned soul to      
,kismetic paradise as a eunuch4 ,you    
psychologists are all complete sadists1 
he said lifting his drink4 ,i suppose   
you've put something in my drink8       
,absolutely nothing1 ,roy ,pierce       
assured him1 grinning4 ,funny thing was1

 when ,i got back to ,earth that time1  
,i kept feeling cross-eyed when ,i      
looked into a mirror4 ,and my friends   
said ,i was not myself4 ,if ,i was not  
myself1 ,i knew ,i must still be ,bryce 
,carter4 ,things had seemed different1  
and they had warned me that the         
technique sometimes backfired when ,i   
was learning4 ,so ,i called my uncle    
,mordand on the televiewer--he's the    
head of the family1 and he lives in an  
estate in the jungle--and he--  ,donahue
 was fascinated again4  ,there was a    
different approach for each case1       
,pierce had found4 ,it was not          
ordinarily ethical to discuss any case  
history1 but he knew with great surety  
that ,donahue could be trusted not to   
repeat what he was being told4 ,the only
 reason there wasn't something extra in 
his current drink was because there had 
been something in the last drink4  ,this
 was case five4         99       99     
99       99       99