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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b5812f9 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51273 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51273) diff --git a/old/51273-h.zip b/old/51273-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2175136..0000000 --- a/old/51273-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51273-h/51273-h.htm b/old/51273-h/51273-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 201449c..0000000 --- a/old/51273-h/51273-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2066 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Advance Agent, by Christopher Anvil. - </title> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Advance Agent, by Christopher Anvil - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Advance Agent - -Author: Christopher Anvil - -Release Date: February 21, 2016 [EBook #51273] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVANCE AGENT *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="379" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>Advance Agent</h1> - -<p>By CHRISTOPHER ANVIL</p> - -<p>Illustrated by FINLAY</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Galaxy Science Fiction February 1957.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>Raveling Porcy's systematized enigma, Dan<br /> -found himself with a spy's worst break—he<br /> -was saddled with the guise of a famed man!</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">I</p> - -<p>Dan Redman stooped to look in the mirror before going to see the -director of A Section. The face that looked back wasn't bad, if he had -expected strong cheekbones, copper skin and a high-arched nose. But Dan -wasn't used to it yet.</p> - -<p>He straightened and his coat drew tight across chest and shoulders. The -sleeves pulled up above hands that felt average, but that the mirror -showed to be huge and broad. Dan turned to go out in the hall and had -to duck to avoid banging his head on the door frame. On the way down -the hall, he wondered just what sort of job he had drawn this time.</p> - -<p>Dan stopped at a door lettered:</p> - -<p class="ph4">A SECTION<br /> -J. KIELGAARD<br /> -DIRECTOR</p> - -<p>A pretty receptionist goggled at him and said to go in. Dan opened the -inner door.</p> - -<p>Kielgaard—big, stocky, expensively dressed—looked up and studied Dan -as he came in. Apparently satisfied, he offered a chair, then took out -a small plastic cartridge and held it in one hand.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="600" height="492" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Dan," he said, "what do you know about subspace and null-points?"</p> - -<p>"Practically nothing," admitted Dan honestly.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Kielgaard laughed. "Then I'll fill you in with the layman's analogy, -which is all <i>I</i> know. Suppose you have a newspaper with an ant on the -middle of the front page. To get to the middle of page two, the ant -has to walk to the edge of the paper, then walk back on the inside. -Now suppose the ant could go <i>through</i> the page. The middle of page -two is just a short distance away from the middle of page one. That -going <i>through</i>, instead of around, is like travel in subspace. And -a null-point is a place just a short distance away, going through -subspace. The middle of page two, for instance, is a null-point for the -middle of page one."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Dan patiently, waiting for the point of the interview.</p> - -<p>Kielgaard pushed the plastic cartridge he'd been holding through a slot -in his desk. A globe to one side lighted up a cottony white, with faint -streaks of blue. "This," he said, "is Porcys."</p> - -<p>Dan studied the globe. "Under that cloud blanket, it looks as if it -might be a water world."</p> - -<p>"It is. Except for a small continent, the planet is covered with water. -And the water is full of seafood—<i>edible</i> seafood."</p> - -<p>Dan frowned, still waiting.</p> - -<p>"Galactic Enterprises," said Kielgaard, "has discovered a region in -subspace which has Porcys for one null-point and Earth for another."</p> - -<p>"Oh," said Dan, beginning to get the point. "And Earth's hungry, of -course. Galactic can ship the seafood straight through subspace at a -big profit."</p> - -<p>"That's the idea. But there's one trouble." Kielgaard touched a button, -and on the globe, the white layer vanished. The globe was a brilliant -blue, with a small area of mingled green and grayish-brown. "The land -area of the planet is inhabited. Galactic must have the permission of -the inhabitants to fish the ocean. And Galactic needs to close the -deal fast, or some other outfit, like Trans-Space, may get wind of -things and move in."</p> - -<p>Kielgaard looked at the globe thoughtfully. "All we know about the -Porcyns could be put on one side of a postage stamp. They're physically -strong. They have a few large cities. They have an abundant supply -of seafood. They have spaceships and mataform transceivers. This -much we know from long-distance observation or from the one Porcyn -we anesthetized and brain-spied. We also know from observation -that the Porcyns have two other habitable planets in their solar -system—Fumidor, a hot inner planet, and an Earthlike outer planet -called Vacation Planet."</p> - -<p>Kielgaard drummed his fingers softly. "Granting the usual course -of events, Dan, what can we expect to happen? The Porcyns have an -abundance of food, a small living area, space travel and two nearby -habitable planets. What will they do?"</p> - -<p>"Colonize the nearby planets," said Dan.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Right," said Kielgaard. "Only they aren't doing it. We've spied both -planets till we can't see straight. Fumidor has a mine entrance and a -mataform center. Vacation Planet has a mataform center and one or two -big buildings. And that's it. There's no emigration from Porcys to the -other two planets. Instead, there's a sort of cycling flow from Porcys -to Vacation Planet to Fumidor to Porcys. Why?</p> - -<p>"The Porcyn we brain-spied," he went on, "associated Vacation Planet -with 'rejuvenation.' What does that mean we're up against? Galactic -wants to make a contract, but not till they know what they're -dealing with. There are some races it's best to leave alone. This -'rejuvenation' might be worth more than the seafood, sure, but it could -also be a sackful of trouble."</p> - -<p>Dan waited, realizing that Kielgaard had come to the crux of the matter.</p> - -<p>Kielgaard said, "Galactic wants us to find the answers to three -problems. One, how do the Porcyns keep the size of their population -down? Two, what is the connection between rejuvenation and 'Vacation -Planet'? And three, do the Porcyns have a proper mercantile attitude? -Are they likely to make an agreement? Will they keep one they do make?"</p> - -<p>Kielgaard looked intently at Dan. "The only way we're likely to -find the answers in a reasonable time is to send someone in. You're -elected."</p> - -<p>"Just me?" asked Dan in surprise. "All your eggs in one basket?"</p> - -<p>"In a situation like this," said Kielgaard, "one good man is worth -several gross of dubs. We're relying on you to keep your eyes open and -your mind on what you're doing."</p> - -<p>"And suppose I don't come back?"</p> - -<p>"Galactic probably loses the jump it's got on Trans-Space and you miss -out on a big bonus."</p> - -<p>"When do I leave?"</p> - -<p>"Tomorrow morning. But today you'd better go down and pick up a set of -Porcyn clothes we've had made for you and some of their money. It'd -be a good idea to spend the evening getting used to things. We've -implanted in your brain the Porcyn language patterns we brain-spied -and we've installed in your body cavity a simple organo-transmitter -you can use during periods of calm. Because the Porcyns are physically -strong and possibly worship strength, we've had your body rebuilt to -one of the most powerful human physique patterns—that of an American -Indian—that we have on record."</p> - -<p>They shook hands and Dan went to his room. He practiced the Porcyn -tongue till he had some conscious familiarity with it. Then he tried -his strength to make sure he wouldn't accidentally use more force than -he intended. Then, while the evening was still young, he went to bed -and fell asleep.</p> - -<p>It was Dan's experience that everything possible went wrong the first -few days on a new planet and he wanted to be wide-awake enough to live -through it.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">II</p> - -<p>The next day, Dan left in a spacetug that Galactic was sending on a -practice trip through subspace to Porcys. From the tug, he went by -mataform to the lab ship in the Porcyn sea. Here he learned that he had -only twenty minutes during which conditions would be right to make the -next mataform jump to a trawler close to the mainland.</p> - -<p>Dan had wanted to talk to the men on the lab ship and learn all they -could tell him about the planet. This being impossible, he determined -to question the trawler crew to the limit of their patience.</p> - -<p>When Dan reached the trawler, it was dancing like a blown leaf in a -high wind. He became miserably seasick. That evening, there was a -violent electrical storm which lasted into the early morning.</p> - -<p>Dan spent the whole night nauseously gripping the edge of his bunk, his -legs braced against the violent heave and lurch of the trawler.</p> - -<p>Before dawn of the next day, aching in every muscle, his insides sore -and tender, his mind fuzzy from lack of sleep, Dan was set ashore on a -dark, quiet and foggy strip of beach. He stood for a moment in the soft -sand, feeling it seem to dip underfoot.</p> - -<p>This, he thought, was undoubtedly the worst start he had ever made on -any planet anywhere.</p> - -<p>From around him in the impenetrable fog came distant croakings, -whistlings and hisses. The sounds were an unpleasant suggestion that -something else had gone wrong. Between bouts of sickness, Dan had tried -to arrange with the crew to land him near the outskirts of a Porcyn -city. But the sounds were those of the open country.</p> - -<p>What Dan wanted was to go through the outskirts of the city before -many people were moving around. He could learn a great deal from their -homes, their means of transportation and the actions of a few early -risers. He could learn from the things he expected to see, or from the -lack of them, <i>if</i> he was there to see them.</p> - -<p>Dan moved slowly inland, crossed a ditch and came to what seemed to -be a macadam road. He checked his directions and started to walk. He -forced the pace so his breath came hard, and hoped it would pump some -life into his dulled brain and muscles.</p> - -<p>As his senses gradually began to waken, Dan became aware of an odd -<i>swish-swish, swish-swish</i>, like a broom dusting lightly over the -pavement behind him. The sound drew steadily closer.</p> - -<p>Dan halted abruptly.</p> - -<p>The sound stopped, too.</p> - -<p>He walked on.</p> - -<p><i>Swish-swish.</i></p> - -<p>He whirled.</p> - -<p>Silence.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dan listened carefully. The sound could be that of whatever on Porcys -corresponded to a playful puppy—or to a rattlesnake.</p> - -<p>He stepped sharply forward.</p> - -<p><i>Swish-swish.</i> It was behind him.</p> - -<p>He whirled.</p> - -<p>There was a feeling of innumerable hairy spiders running over him from -head to foot. The vague shape of a net formed and vanished in the gloom -before him. He lashed out and hit the dark and the fog.</p> - -<p><i>Swish-swish.</i> It was moving away.</p> - -<p>He stood still while the sound faded to a whisper and was gone. Then -he started to walk. He was sure that what had just happened meant -something, but <i>what</i> it meant was a different question. At least, he -thought ruefully, he was wider awake now.</p> - -<p>He walked on as the sky grew lighter. Then the fog shifted to show a -solid mass of low blocky buildings across the road ahead. The road -itself disappeared into a tunnel under one of the buildings. To one -side, a waist-high metal rail closed off the end of one of the city's -streets. Dan walked off the road toward the rail. His eye was caught -by the building ahead. Each was exactly the same height, about two to -three Earth stories high. They were laid out along a geometrically -straight border with no transition between city and farmland.</p> - -<p>There was a faint hum. Then a long, low streak, its front end rounded -like a horseshoe crab, shot out of the tunnel under the building beside -him and vanished along the road where he'd just been walking.</p> - -<p>Now Dan saw a small modest sign beside the road.</p> - -<p class="ph4">Care<br /> -High-Speed<br /> -Vehicles Only<br /> -—<i>Swept</i>—</p> - -<p>Dan crossed the rail at the end of the street with great caution.</p> - -<p>The Porcyn clothing he was wearing consisted of low leather boots, -long green hose, leather shorts, a bright purple blouse and a sky-blue -cape. Dan bunched the cape in his hand and thrust it ahead of him as -he crossed the rail, for some races were finicky about their exits and -entrances. The straight, sharp boundary between city and farmland, -and the identical buildings, suggested to Dan that here was a race -controlled by strict rules and forms, and he was making an obviously -unauthorized entrance.</p> - -<p>It was with relief that he stood on the opposite side, within the city. -He glanced back at the sign and wondered what "Swept" meant. Then he -gave his attention to the buildings ahead of him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Low at first, the buildings rose regularly to a greater height, as far -as the fog would let him see. Dan remembered the storm of the night -before and wondered if the progressive heightening of the buildings was -designed to break the force of the wind. The buildings themselves were -massive, with few and narrow windows, and wide heavy doors opening on -the street.</p> - -<p>Dan walked farther into the city and found that the street took -right-angle bends at regular intervals, probably also to break the -wind. There was no one in sight, and no vehicles.</p> - -<p>Dan decided he was probably in a warehouse district.</p> - -<p>He paused to look at a partly erected new building, built on the -pattern of the rest. Then he heard from up the street a grunting, -straining sound interspersed with whistling puffs. There was a stamping -noise, a <i>thud</i> and the clash of metal.</p> - -<p>Dan ran as quietly as he could up the street, stopped, glanced around -one of the right-angle bends. He was sure the sound had come from there.</p> - -<p>The street was empty.</p> - -<p>Dan walked closer and studied a large brass plate set in the base of -a building. It looked about twenty inches high by thirty wide with a -rough finish. In the center of the plate was a single word:</p> - -<p class="ph4">SWEEPER</p> - -<p>Dan looked at this for a moment. Then, frowning, he strode on. In his -mind's eye, he was seeing the sign by the road:</p> - -<p class="ph4">Care<br /> -High-Speed<br /> -Vehicles Only<br /> -—<i>Swept</i>—</p> - -<p>Dan couldn't decide whether the word "Swept" was part of the warning or -just an afterthought. In any case, he had plainly heard a struggle here -and now there was nothing to be seen. Alert for more brass plates, he -wound his way through the streets until he came out on a broad avenue. -On the opposite side were a number of tall, many-windowed buildings -like apartment houses. On the sidewalks and small lawns in front, -crowds of children were playing. They were wearing low boots, leather -shorts or skirts, brightly colored blouses and hose, and yellow capes. -Walking quietly among them was a tawny animal with the look and lordly -manner of a lion.</p> - -<p>It <i>was</i> a lion.</p> - -<p>As far as the rapidly dispersing fog let him see, the avenue ran -straight in one direction. In the other, it ended a block or so away. -Apparently the crooked, wind-breaking streets were only on the edge of -the city.</p> - -<p>Dan thought of the questions Kielgaard wanted him to answer:</p> - -<p>1, how do the Porcyns keep the size of their population down?</p> - -<p>2, what is the connection between rejuvenation and Vacation Planet?</p> - -<p>3, do the Porcyns have a proper mercantile attitude? Are they likely to -make an agreement? Will they keep one they do make?</p> - -<p>To find the answers, Dan intended to work his way carefully through -the city. If nothing went wrong, he should be able to see enough to -eliminate most of the possibilities. Already he had seen enough to -make Porcyns look unpromising. The rigid city boundary, the strict -uniformity of the buildings and the uniform pattern of the clothing -suggested a case-hardened, ingrown way of living.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Across the street, a low door to one side of the apartment building's -main entrance came open. The lion walked out.</p> - -<p>It was carrying a squirming little boy by his bunched-up cape. The big -creature flopped down, pinned the struggling boy with a huge paw and -methodically started to clean him. The rasp of the animal's tongue -could be heard clearly across the street.</p> - -<p>The boy yelled.</p> - -<p>A healthy-looking girl of about twelve, wearing a cape diagonally -striped in yellow and red, ran over and rescued the boy. The lion -rolled over on its back to have its belly scratched.</p> - -<p>Dan scowled and walked toward the near end of the street. On -less advanced planets, where the danger of detection was not so -great, agents often went in with complex, surgically inserted -organo-transmitters in their body cavities. Unlike the simple -communicator Dan had, these were fitted with special taps on the optic -and auditory nerves, and the transmitter continuously broadcast all -that the agent saw and heard. Experts back home went over the data and -made their own conclusions.</p> - -<p>The method was useful, but it had led to some dangerous mistakes. Sight -and sound got across, but often the atmosphere of the place didn't. Dan -thought it might be the same here.</p> - -<p>The feeling that the city gave him didn't match what his reasoning told -him.</p> - -<p>He crossed a street, passed an inscription on a building:</p> - -<p class="ph4">Freedom<br /> -Devisement<br /> -Fraternity</p> - -<p>Then he was back in a twisting maze of streets. He walked till the wind -from the sea blew in his face.</p> - -<p>The street dipped to a massive wall and the sea, where a few brightly -colored, slow-moving trawlers were going out. Dan turned in another -street and wound back and forth till he came out along the ocean front. -On one side of the street was the ocean, a broad strip of sand, and -the sea wall. On the other side was a row of small shops, brightly -awninged, with displays just being set in place out in front.</p> - -<p>In the harbor, a ship was being unloaded. Flat-bottomed boats were -running back and forth from several long wharves. On the street ahead, -a number of heavy wagons, drawn by six-legged animals with heads like -eels, bumped and rattled toward the wharves. Behind them ran a crowd -of boys in yellow capes, a big tawny lioness trotting among them. On -the sidewalk nearby strode a few powerfully built old men, their capes -of various colors.</p> - -<p>Dan glanced at the displays in front of the shops. Some were cases of -fish on ice. Others were piles of odd vegetables in racks. Dan paused -to look at a stack of things like purple carrots.</p> - -<p>A man immediately came forward from the rear of the store, wiping his -hands on his apron. Dan moved on.</p> - -<p>The next shop had the universal low boots, shorts, skirts, blouses and -hose, in assorted sizes and colors, but no capes. Dan slowed to glance -at the display and saw the proprietor coming briskly from the dark -interior, rubbing his hands. Dan speeded up and got away before the -proprietor came out.</p> - -<p>The Porcyns, he thought, seemed at least to have a proper mercantile -attitude.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">III</p> - -<p>Dan passed another fish market, then came to a big, brightly polished -window. Inside was a huge, chromium-plated bar-bell on a purple velvet -cloth. Behind it were arranged displays of hand-grips, exercise -cables, dumb-bells and skipping ropes. The inside of the store was -indirectly lighted and expensively simple. The place had an air that -was quiet, lavish and discreet. It reminded Dan of a well-to-do funeral -establishment. In one corner of the window was a small, edge-lighted -sign:</p> - -<p class="ph4">You Never Know What the<br /> -Next Life Will Be Like.</p> - -<p>In the other corner of the window was a polished black plate with a -dimly glowing bulb in the center. Around the bulb were the words:</p> - -<p class="ph4">Your Corrected Charge—<br /> -Courtesy of Save-Your-Life Co.</p> - -<p>A tall, heavily muscled man in a dark-blue cape stepped outside.</p> - -<p>"Good morning, Devisement," he said affably. "I see you're a stranger -in town. I thought I might mention that our birth rate's rather high -just now." He coughed deferentially. "You set an example, you know. Our -main store is on 122 Center Street, so if you—"</p> - -<p>He was cut off by a childish scream.</p> - -<p>Down the street, a little boy struggled and thrashed near an oblong -hole at the base of a building, caught in a tangle of the mysterious -ropes.</p> - -<p>"A <i>kid</i>!" cried the man. He sucked in his breath and shouted, "<i>Dog!</i> -Here, Dog! <i>Dog!</i>"</p> - -<p>On the end of a wharf, a crowd of children was watching the unloading. -From their midst, a lioness burst.</p> - -<p>"<i>Here</i>, Dog!" shouted the man. "A sweeper! A sweeper! <i>Run</i>, Dog!"</p> - -<p>The lioness burst into a blur of long bounds, shot down the wharf, -sprang into the street and glanced around with glaring yellow eyes.</p> - -<p>The little boy was partway inside the hole, clinging to the edge with -both hands. "Doggie," he sobbed.</p> - -<p>The lioness crouched, sprang into the hole. A crash, a bellow and -a thin scream came from within. The lioness reappeared, its eyes -glittering and its fur on end. It gripped the little boy by the cape -and trotted off, growling.</p> - -<p>"Good <i>dog</i>!" cried the man.</p> - -<p>Men in the shops' doorways echoed his shout.</p> - -<p>"A <i>kid</i>," said the man. "They have to learn sometime, I know, but—" -He cut himself short. "Well, all's well that ends well." He glanced -respectfully at Dan. "If you're here any length of time, sir, we'd -certainly appreciate your looking into this. And if you're planning to -stay long—well, as you see, our sweepers are hungry—our main store -is on 122 Center Street. Our vacation advisor might be of some service -to you."</p> - -<p>"Thank you," said Dan, his throat dry.</p> - -<p>"Not at all, Devisement." The man went inside, muttering, "A <i>kid</i>."</p> - -<p>Dan passed several more shops without seeing very much. He turned -the corner. Across the street, where the boy had been, was a dented -brass plate at the base of the building. On Dan's side of the street, -trotting toward him, was a big, tawny-maned lion. Dan hesitated, then -started up the street.</p> - -<p>There was a faint clash of metal.</p> - -<p><i>Swish-swish.</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A net seemed to form in the air and close around him. There was a feel -of innumerable hairy spiders running over him from head to foot. The -net vanished. Something wrapped around his ankle and yanked.</p> - -<p>The lion growled.</p> - -<p>There was a loud <i>clang</i> and Dan's foot was free. He looked down and -saw a brass plate labeled SWEEPER.</p> - -<p>Dan decided it might be a good idea to see the Save-Your-Life Co.'s -vacation advisor. He started out to locate 122 Center Street and gave -all brass plates a wide berth on the way.</p> - -<p>He strode through a briskly moving crowd of powerfully built men and -women in capes of various colors, noticing uneasily that they were -making way for him. He studied them as they passed, and saw capes of -red, green, dark blue, brown, purple, and other shades and combinations -of colors. But the only sky-blue cape he had seen so far was his own.</p> - -<p>A sign on the corner of a building told Dan he was at Center Street. He -crossed and the people continued to draw back for him.</p> - -<p>It began to dawn on Dan that he had had the ultimate bad luck for a -spy in an unknown country: He was marked out on sight as some sort of -notable.</p> - -<p>Just how bad his luck had been wasn't clear to him till he came to a -small grassy square with an iron fence around it and a man-sized statue -in the center. The granite base of the statue was inscribed:</p> - -<p class="ph4">I DEVISE</p> - -<p>The statue itself was of bronze, showing a powerful man, his foot -crushing down a mass of snapping monsters. In his right hand, he held -together a large circle of metal, his fingers squeezing shut a cut in -the metal, which would break the circle if he let go. His left hand -made a partially open fist, into which a wrench had been fitted. The -statue itself, protected by some clear finish from the weather, was -plain brown in color.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="578" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>But the statue's cape was enameled sky-blue.</p> - -<p>Dan stared at the statue for a moment, then looked around. In the -street beside it, a crowd of people was forming, their backs toward him -and their heads raised. Dan looked up. Far up, near the tops of the -buildings, he could make out a long cable stretched from one building -to another across the street. Just on the other side of the crowd was -the entrance to the main store of the Save-Your-Life Co.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dan crossed the street and saw a very average-looking man, wearing an -orange cape, come to a stop at the corner and look shrewdly around.</p> - -<p>Dan blinked and looked again. <i>The man in orange was no Porcyn.</i></p> - -<p>The man's glance fell on the statue and his lips twisted in an amused -smile. He looked up toward the rope, then down at the crowd, and then -studied the backs of the crowd and the fronts of the stores around him, -the lids of his eyes half-closed in a calculating look.</p> - -<p>A brass plate nearby popped open, a net of delicate hairy tendrils -ran over him, and something like a length of tarred one-inch rope -snaked out and wrapped around his legs. An outraged expression crossed -his face. His hand came up. The rope yanked. He fell on the sidewalk. -The rope hauled him into the hole. The brass plate snapped shut. From -inside came a muffled report.</p> - -<p>It occurred to Dan that Galactic was not the only organization -interested in Porcys.</p> - -<p>Dan looked thoughtfully at the brass plate for a moment, then walked -toward the entrance of the Save-Your-Life Co., past display windows -showing weights, cables, parallel bars, trapezes and giant springs with -handles on each end.</p> - -<p>He tried the door. It didn't move.</p> - -<p>A clerk immediately opened the door and took Dan along a cool, chaste -hallway to an office marked "Vacation Advisor." Here a suave-looking -man made an offhand remark about the birth rate, took a sudden look -at Dan's cape, blinked, stiffened, glanced at Dan's midsection and -relaxed. He went through his files and gave Dan a big photograph -showing a smiling, healthy, middle-aged couple and a lovely girl about -nineteen.</p> - -<p>"These are the Milbuns, sir. Mr. Milbun is a merchant at present. -Quite well-to-do, I understand. Mrs. Milbun is a housewife right now. -The daughter, Mavis, is with a midtown firm at the moment. The mother -became ill at an awkward time. The family put their vacation off for -her, and as a result their charge has run very low. If you can get to -their apartment without being—ah—swept, I feel sure they will welcome -you, sir." He scribbled a rough map on a piece of paper, drew an arrow -and wrote "6140 Runfast Boulevard, Apartment 6B," and stamped the paper -"Courtesy of Save-Your-Life Co."</p> - -<p>Then he wished Dan a healthy vacation and walked with him to hold open -the outer door.</p> - -<p>Dan thanked him and went outside, where the crowd was now almost -blocking the sidewalk. He forced his way free, saw someone point, and -glanced at the statue.</p> - -<p>The wrench in the statue's left hand had been replaced by what looked -like a magnifying glass.</p> - -<p>Dan had gone a few steps when there was a thundering cheer, then a -terrified scream high in the air behind him. He turned around and saw -a man come plummeting down. Dan gaped higher and saw a line of tiny -figures going across high up on the rope. One of the figures slipped. -There was another cheer.</p> - -<p>Dan hurriedly turned away.</p> - -<p>He had already convinced himself that the Porcyns had a "proper -mercantile attitude." And he thought he was beginning to get an idea as -to how they kept their population down.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">IV</p> - -<p>Carefully avoiding brass plates, Dan made his way along an avenue of -shops devoted to exercise and physical fitness. He came to Runfast -Blvd. and located 6140, which looked like the apartment houses he had -seen earlier.</p> - -<p>He tried the outer door; it was locked. When someone came out, Dan -caught the door and stepped in. As the door shut, he tried it and found -it was locked again. He stood for a moment trying to understand it, but -his sleeplessness of the night before was catching up with him. He gave -up and went inside.</p> - -<p>There were no elevators on the ground floor. Dan had his choice of six -ropes, two ladders and a circular staircase. He went up the staircase -to the third floor, where he saw a single elevator. He rode it up to -the sixth, got off and found that there was a bank of four elevators on -this floor.</p> - -<p>He looked at the elevators a minute, felt himself getting dizzy, and -walked off to locate apartment 6B.</p> - -<p>A powerfully built gray-haired man of middle height answered his -knock. Dan introduced himself and explained why he had come.</p> - -<p>Mr. Milbun beamed and his right hand shot forward. Dan felt like a man -with his hand caught in an airlock.</p> - -<p>"Lerna!" called Milbun. "Lerna! Mavis! We have a guest for vacation!"</p> - -<p>Dan became aware of a rhythmical clinking somewhere in the back of the -apartment. Then a big, strong-looking woman, obviously fresh from the -kitchen, hurried in, smiling. If she had been ill, she was clearly -recovered now.</p> - -<p>"Ah, how are you?" she cried. "We're so happy to have you!" She gripped -his hand and called, "<i>Mavis!</i>"</p> - -<p>The clinking stopped. A beautifully proportioned girl came in, wearing -a sweatshirt and shorts. "Mother, I simply have to get off another -pound or so—Oh!" She stared at Dan.</p> - -<p>"Mavis," said Mr. Milbun, "this is Mr. Dan Redman. Devisement, my -daughter Mavis."</p> - -<p>"You're going with us!" she said happily. "How wonderful!"</p> - -<p>"Now," said Mr. Milbun, "I imagine his Devisement wants to get a little -rest before he goes down to the gym." He glanced at Dan. "We have a -splendid gym here."</p> - -<p>"Oh," said Mavis eagerly, "and you can use my weights."</p> - -<p>"Thanks," said Dan.</p> - -<p>"We're leaving tomorrow," Milbun told him. "The birth rate's still -rising here, and last night the charge correction went up again. A -little more and it'll take two of us to get a door open. It won't -inconvenience you to leave tomorrow?"</p> - -<p>"Not at all," said Dan.</p> - -<p>"Splendid." Milbun turned to his wife. "Lerna, perhaps our guest would -like a little something to eat."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The food was plain, good and plentiful. Afterward, Mavis showed Dan to -his room. He sank down gratefully on a firm, comfortable bed. He closed -his eyes....</p> - -<p>Someone was shaking him gently.</p> - -<p>"Don't you want to go down to the gym?" asked Mr. Milbun. "Remember, -we're leaving tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"Of course," said Dan.</p> - -<p>Feeling that his brain was functioning in a vacuum, Dan followed the -Milbuns into the hall, climbed down six stories on a ladder, then into -the basement on a rope. He found himself in a room with a stony dirt -track around the wall, ropes festooning the ceiling, an irregularly -shaped pool, and artificial shrubs and foliage from behind which sprang -mechanical monsters. The Milbuns promptly vanished behind imitation -vine-covered doors and came out again in gym clothes.</p> - -<p>Dan went through the doorway Mr. Milbun had come out of and discovered -that the Save-Your-Life Co. had a machine inside which dispensed -washed, pressed and sterilized gym clothes for a small fee. The machine -worked by turning a selector dial to the proper size, pressing a lever, -and then depositing the correct fee in an open box on the wall nearby. -Dan studied this a moment in puzzlement, guessed his proper size and -put the correct payment in the box.</p> - -<p>He put on the gym clothes and went outside.</p> - -<p>For forty-five minutes, mechanical creatures of odd and various shapes -sprang at him from behind shrubbery, gripped him when he passed holes -in the floor and wound themselves around his legs as he tried to swim -in the pool.</p> - -<p>His temper worsened. He stopped to look at Mavis as she swayed, -laughing, on a rope above two things like mobile giant clamshells.</p> - -<p>Mr. Milbun shook his head. "Mavis, remember, we're leaving <i>tomorrow</i>."</p> - -<p>Just then, something snarled and lunged at Dan from the side. There was -a flash of teeth.</p> - -<p>Dan whirled. His fist shot out. There was a scream of machinery, then -a crash and a clatter. An imitation monster with a huge jaw and giant -teeth lay on its back on the floor.</p> - -<p>Milbun let out a slow whistle. "<i>Dismounted</i> it. Boy!"</p> - -<p>"A one-bite, too," breathed Mavis.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Milbun came over and looked at Dan approvingly.</p> - -<p>Dan had been about to apologize, but checked himself when the others -smiled cheerfully and went back to what they were doing. This consisted -of dodging, tricking or outrunning the various contraptions that lunged -at them, chased them, tripped them, trailed, stalked and sprang out at -them from nearly every place in the room.</p> - -<p>Finally the gym began to fill up with other people. The Milbuns got -ready to leave and Dan followed.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dan lay in his bed that night and tried to summarize the points he -didn't understand. First was the question of vacation. But he supposed -he would learn about that tomorrow. Next was "charge." Apparently -one went on vacation when his "charge" was low, because the vacation -advisor had said, "The family put their vacation off for her, and as a -result their charge has run very low." But just what was "charge"?</p> - -<p>Dan remembered the flickering bulb in the store window, ringed by -the words "Your Corrected Charge—Courtesy of Save-Your-Life Co." -Apparently he had <i>some</i> charge, because the bulb had flickered. But -where did he get it?</p> - -<p>Then he thought of the waterfront and of the little boy caught at the -hole. What was the point of that? And why did that produce such an -uproar when, a little later, a grown man could get dragged out of sight -on a well-traveled street and never cause a single notice?</p> - -<p>Dan felt himself sinking into a maze of confusion. He dismissed the -problems and went to sleep clinging to one fact. The Porcyns <i>must</i> be -honest people who would keep an agreement, once made. On what other -planet could anyone find a slot machine with no slot, but just an open -box for the money?</p> - -<p>Dan fell asleep, content that he had the answer to that part of the -problem, at least.</p> - -<p>Before it was light, he awoke to an odd familiar buzz inside his head.</p> - -<p>"Dan," said Kielgaard's voice, small and remote.</p> - -<p>Dan rolled over, lay on his back and spoke sub-vocally. "Right here."</p> - -<p>"Can you talk?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Dan, "if I can stay awake."</p> - -<p>"Can you give us a summary?"</p> - -<p>"Sure." Dan told him briefly what had happened.</p> - -<p>Kielgaard was silent a moment. Then he said, "What do you think -'charge' is?"</p> - -<p>"I haven't been in any condition to think. Maybe it's a surgically -implanted battery, set to run down after so long."</p> - -<p>"Too clumsy. What about radioactivity?"</p> - -<p>"H'm. Yes, you mentioned a mine on the inner planet. Maybe they mine -radioactive ore. That would explain why I have <i>some</i> charge. There's -residual radioactivity even in the atmosphere of Earth."</p> - -<p>"That's so," said Kielgaard. "But not every planet has it. I'm -wondering about this other agent you mentioned seeing. He sounds to me -like someone from Trans-Space. And that's bad."</p> - -<p>"They play dirty," Dan conceded.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Worse than that," said Kielgaard's tiny voice. "They recruit their -agents from Lassen Two. Maybe that's a break. Unlike Earth, Lassen Two -is nearly radiation-free. And Trans-Space doesn't use finesse. They'll -pump Porcys full of agents loaded down with organo-transmitters. -Visual, auditory and olfactory. They'll broadcast on every wave-length, -suck out as much information in as short a time as they can, then -either pull some dirty trick or slam the Porcyns an offer. That is, if -everything goes according to plan.</p> - -<p>"But meanwhile," he added, "one or more of their agents is bound to -stand in front of a free 'Your charge' device somewhere in the city. -Very likely, that agent will be radiation-free and some Porcyn, for -the first time in his life, is going to see a bulb that doesn't even -flicker. If the Porcyns are as scientifically advanced as we think, and -if Trans-Space is as dirty as usual, there may be a rat-race on before -we know it."</p> - -<p>Dan lay gloomily still.</p> - -<p>"Dan," said Kielgaard, "where were you standing in relation to the -other agent? Did he come up from behind or was he in front of you when -you reached the statue?"</p> - -<p>"I was in front of him. Why?"</p> - -<p>"Because then you were in his range of vision. <i>He</i> may not have -noticed you, but his organo-transmitter would. The chances are you -appeared on the screen back at Trans-Space headquarters. They record -those scenes as they come in and their experts go over them frame by -frame. Unless you happened to be behind someone, they'll see your image -on the screen, spot you here and there in other scenes from other -agents, study your actions and recognize you as an agent just as -surely as you recognized their agent."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Dan wearily, "of course they will." He was thinking that if -he had been more awake yesterday, he would have thought of this himself -and perhaps avoided it. But he couldn't be alert without sleep and who -could sleep in a heaving boat in a thunderstorm?</p> - -<p>"This changes things," Kielgaard was saying. "I'm going to see if we -can get a little faster action."</p> - -<p>"I think I'd better get some more sleep," Dan answered. "I may need it -tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"I agree," said Kielgaard. "You'll have to keep your eyes open. Good -night, Dan, and good luck."</p> - -<p>"Thanks."</p> - -<p>Dan rolled over on his side. He tried for a moment to remember how -the other agent had been standing and whether anyone had been between -them to block his view, but he couldn't be sure. Dan decided there was -nothing to do but assume the worst. He blanked his mind. Soon a feeling -of deep weariness came over him and he fell asleep.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In the morning, Dan and the Milbuns ate a hurried breakfast. Dan helped -Mr. Milbun grease his rowing machine, weights, springs and chinning -bar, so they wouldn't rust in his absence. Milbun worked in a somber -mood. All the Milbuns, in fact, were unusually quiet for a family going -on vacation. When they went out into the hall, carrying no baggage, -they even took the elevator to the third floor.</p> - -<p>"Better save our strength," said Mr. Milbun.</p> - -<p>The street seemed to Dan to have a different atmosphere. People were -walking quietly in groups, their eyes cool and alert. The Milbuns -walked in front of the apartment houses Dan had passed the day before, -and across the street he saw the place where the chiseled motto had -read:</p> - -<p class="ph4">Freedom<br /> -Devisement<br /> -Fraternity</p> - -<p>It was gone. Some workmen nearby were lifting a stone slab onto a cart. -Dan blinked. The motto now read:</p> - -<p class="ph4">Alertness<br /> -Devisement<br /> -Vigilance</p> - -<p>The Milbuns plainly noticed it, too. They drew closer together and -looked around thoughtfully. Carefully keeping away from brass plates -labeled SWEEPER, they followed a devious route that led to the statue.</p> - -<p>The statue had changed, too. The hand that gripped the circle was now -hidden by a massive shield. The other hand still held what looked like -a magnifying glass, and the motto was still "I Devise." But the shield -gave the whole statue a look of strange menace.</p> - -<p>Across the street, near the place where Dan had seen the Trans-Space -agent, stood several men wearing orange capes, barred black across the -shoulders. Nearby, the brass plate opened and a man in work clothes -handed out a box and went back in.</p> - -<p>At a store entrance up the street, watching them, stood an -average-looking man in a purple cape, his look intent and calculating.</p> - -<p>Mavis glanced at the statue and took Dan's arm. "Devisement," she said, -"they won't take you now, will they, before vacation?"</p> - -<p>Dan kept an uneasy silence and Mr. Milbun said, "Of course not, Mavis. -Where's the belt?"</p> - -<p>Mavis glanced at the statue. "Oh."</p> - -<p>Dan looked at the statue, then at Mavis and Mr. Milbun, said nothing -and went on.</p> - -<p>They came to a large building with a long flight of broad wide steps. -Across the face of the building was boldly and sternly lettered, high -up:</p> - -<p class="ph4">HALL OF TRUTH</p> - -<p>Lower down was the motto:</p> - -<p class="ph4">"Speak the Truth—<br /> -Live Yet a While With Us."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">V</p> - -<p>On one side of the stairs as they climbed was a statue of a man, -smiling. On the other side was an urn with a bunch of carved flowers -lying beside it.</p> - -<p>A big bronze door stood open at the top. They walked through into a -large chamber with massive seats in triple rows along two walls, and a -single row of yet more massive seats raised along the farther wall.</p> - -<p>A bored-looking man got up from a low desk as the Milbuns sat down in -three of the massive seats.</p> - -<p>The man asked in a dreary voice, "Have you, to the best of your -knowledge, committed any wrong or illegal act or acts since your last -vacation?" He picked up a whiskbroom and pan and waited for their -answers.</p> - -<p>"No," said the three Milbuns in earnest quavering voices.</p> - -<p>The man looked at each of them, shrugged and said boredly, "Pass -through to your vacations, live law-abiding citizens." He beckoned -impatiently to Dan, turned to scowl at him, saw Dan's cape, stiffened, -looked hastily out to the statue framed by the doorway, relaxed -slightly and inquired respectfully, "Is it time for you to go on -vacation, Devisement?"</p> - -<p>"It seems to be," said Dan.</p> - -<p>"I think you should, sir. Then you'd be still more helpful if called."</p> - -<p>Dan nodded noncommittally and sat down in one of the massive chairs. -His glance fell on an ornamental carving above the big doorway. It was -a set of scales held by a giant hand. In one pan of the scales sat a -smiling man. In the other was a small heap of ashes.</p> - -<p>"Have you," asked the bored man, "to the best of your knowledge, -committed any wrong or illegal act or acts since your last vacation?"</p> - -<p>He readied the dustpan and whiskbroom.</p> - -<p>The Milbuns watched anxiously at a door in the back of the room.</p> - -<p>Uneasily, Dan thought back and remembered no wrong or illegal acts he -had committed since his last vacation.</p> - -<p>"No," he said.</p> - -<p>The functionary stepped back. "Pass through to your vacation, live -law-abiding citizen, sir."</p> - -<p>Dan got up and walked toward the Milbuns. Another bored functionary -came in wheeling a cartful of urns. He stopped at a massive chair with -a heap of ashes on the seat, a small pile on either arm, and two small -piles at the foot. The functionary swept the ashes off and dumped them -in the urn.</p> - -<p>A cold sensation went through Dan. He followed the Milbuns out into a -small room.</p> - -<p>He felt an out-of-focus sensation and realized the room was a mataform -transmitter. An instant later, they were in a spaceship crowded with -thoughtful-looking people.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Life on the spaceship seemed to be given over to silent, morose -meditation, with an occasional groan that sounded very much like, "Oh, -give me just one more chance, God."</p> - -<p>When they left the ship, it was again by mataform, this time to a -building where they stood in a line of people. The line wound through -a booth where the color of their capes was marked on their foreheads, -thence past a counter where they received strong khaki-colored capes, -blouses and hose, and new leather shorts and boots to replace those -they were wearing. They changed in tiny private rooms, handed their -own clothing in at another counter, had a number stamped on their left -shoulders and on their boxes of clothing.</p> - -<p>Then they walked out onto a strip of brilliant white sand, fronting on -an inlet of sparkling blue water.</p> - -<p>Here and there huddled little crowded knots of people, dancing from one -foot to another on the hot sand and yet apparently afraid to go in the -water. Dan looked to the Milbuns for some clue and saw them darting -intense calculating glances at the beach and the water.</p> - -<p>Then Mr. Milbun yelled, "<i>Run for it!</i>"</p> - -<p>A slavering sound reached Dan's ear. He sprinted after the Milbuns, -burst through the crowd in a headlong bolt for the cove, then swam as -fast as he could to keep up with them as they raced for the opposite -shore. They crawled out, strangling and gasping, and dragged themselves -up on the sand. Dan lay, heaving in deep breaths, then rolled over and -sat up.</p> - -<p>The air around them was split by screams, laced through with sobs, -curses and groans. On the shore opposite, a mad dog darted across -the crowded beach and emptied people into the cove. In the cove, a -glistening black sweep of hide separated the water for an instant, then -sank below. People thrashed, fought and went under.</p> - -<p>Dan looked up. On the wooden building beyond the cove and the beach was -a broad sign:</p> - -<p class="ph4">PORCYS PLANET<br /> -REJUVENATION CENTER</p> - -<p>Dan read the sign three times. If this was rejuvenation, the Porcyns -could have it.</p> - -<p>Beside Dan, Milbun stood up, still struggling for breath, and pulled -his wife and Mavis to their feet.</p> - -<p>"Come on," he said. "We've <i>got</i> to get through the swamp ahead of the -grayboas!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The rest of the day, they pushed through slimy muck up to their knees -and sometimes up to their necks. Behind them, the crowd screamingly -thinned out.</p> - -<p>That night, they washed in icy spring water, tore chunks of meat from -a huge broiled creature turning on a spit and went to sleep in tents -to the buzz and drone of creatures that shot their long needle noses -through the walls like drillers hunting for oil.</p> - -<p>The following day, they spent carefully easing from crevice to narrow -toehold up the sheer face of a mountain. Food and shelter were at the -top. Jagged rocks and hungry creatures were at the bottom. That night, -Dan slept right through an urgent buzz from Kielgaard. The next night, -he woke enough to hear it, but he didn't have the strength to answer.</p> - -<p>Where, he thought, is the rejuvenation in this?</p> - -<p>Then he had a sudden glimmering. It was the Porcyn <i>race</i> that was -rejuvenated. The unfit of the Porcyns died violently. It took stamina -just to live from one day to the next.</p> - -<p>Even the Milbuns were saying that this was the worst vacation ever. -Trails slid out from under them. Trees fell toward them. Boulders -bounded down steep slopes at them.</p> - -<p>At first, the Milbuns tried to remember forgotten sins for which all -this might be repayment. But when there was the dull <i>boom</i> of an -explosion and they narrowly escaped a landslide, Milbun looked at the -rocks across the trail with sunken red eyes. He sniffed the air and -growled, "Undevised."</p> - -<p>That afternoon, Dan and the Milbuns passed three average-looking men -hanging by their hands from the limb of a tree beside the trail. -The faces of the hanging men bore a surprised expression. They hung -perfectly still and motionless, except for a slight swaying caused by -the wind.</p> - -<p>Dan and the Milbuns reached a mataform station late that afternoon.</p> - -<p>A very hard-eyed guard in an orange cape, barred across the shoulders -in black, let them through and they found themselves in another -spaceship, bound for Fumidor, the mining planet.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dan sat back exhausted and fell asleep. He was awakened by a determined -buzz.</p> - -<p>"<i>Dan!</i>" said Kielgaard's voice.</p> - -<p>"Yes." Dan sat up. "Go ahead."</p> - -<p>"Trans-Space is going to try to take over Porcys. There's nothing you -can do about that, but they've landed agents on Vacation Planet to pick -you off. Look out."</p> - -<p>Dan told Kielgaard what had happened to the agents on Vacation Planet, -such as the "undevised" explosion and being hung up by the hands.</p> - -<p>Kielgaard whistled. "Maybe the Porcyns can take care of themselves. -Trans-Space doesn't think so."</p> - -<p>"How did you find out?"</p> - -<p>The tiny voice held a note of grim satisfaction. "They ran an agent in -on us and he gave himself away. He went back with an organo-transmitter -inside him, and a memory bank. The bank stores up the day's -impressions. The transmitter squirts them out in one multi-frequency -blast. The agent is poorly placed for an informant, but we've learned a -lot through him."</p> - -<p>"How are they going to take over Porcys?"</p> - -<p>"We don't know. They think they've found the Porcyns' weak point, but -if so, we don't know what it is."</p> - -<p>"Listen," urged Dan, "maybe <i>we</i> ought to put a lot of agents on -Porcys."</p> - -<p>"No," said Kielgaard. "That's the wrong way to play it. If we go in -now, we'll be too late to do any good. We're still counting on you."</p> - -<p>"There's not very much I can do by myself."</p> - -<p>"Just do your best. That's all we can ask."</p> - -<p>Dan spent the next week chipping out pieces of a radioactive ore. At -night, Kielgaard would report the jubilant mood of Trans-Space. On -the following days, Dan would chop at the ore with vicious blows that -jarred him from his wrists to his heels.</p> - -<p>The steady monotonous work, once he was used to it, left his mind free -to think and he tried furiously to plan what he would do when he got -out. But he found he didn't really know enough about Porcys to make a -sensible plan. Then he began trying to organize what he had seen and -heard during his stay on the planet. At night, Kielgaard helped him and -together they went over their theories, trying to find those that would -fit the facts of Porcys.</p> - -<p>"It all hinges on population pressure," said Kielgaard finally. "On -most planets we know of, overpopulation leads to war, starvation, -birth control or emigration. These are the only ways. At least, they -were, till we discovered Porcys."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"All right," agreed Dan. "Grant that. The Porcyns plainly don't have -any of those things, or not to any great extent. Instead, they have -institutions such as we've never seen before. They have 'sweepers,' -so-called 'vacations' and a rope from building to building. All these -things cut down population."</p> - -<p>"Don't forget their 'truth chairs,'" said Kielgaard.</p> - -<p>"Where you either tell the truth or get converted to ashes—yes. But -how does it all fit in?"</p> - -<p>"Let's take one individual as an example. Start at birth."</p> - -<p>"He's born," said Dan. "Probably they have nurseries, but we know they -stick together as families, because we have the Milbuns to go by. He -grows up, living at his parents' place. He goes with other children to -school or to see different parts of his city. A lion—which he calls a -'dog'—protects him."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Kielgaard. "It protects him from sweepers. But most -grownups don't need protection. Only those whose charge is low."</p> - -<p>"Of course. The boy hasn't been on vacation yet. He's not radioactive. -Apparently you have to be radioactive to open doors. At the apartment -house, the boy comes in a small door to one side. The lions, or what -resemble lions, like the children but don't like the sweepers. And the -sweepers are afraid of them. All right. But what about when he grows -up?"</p> - -<p>"Well, for one thing, he has to use the regular doors now. And they -won't open unless he's been on vacation. And if he hasn't been on -vacation and if his charge isn't high, the sweepers will go out and -grab him. That must be what that sign you saw meant. 'Swept' was a -warning that there was no escape in that direction."</p> - -<p>"I begin to see it," said Dan. "I was safe on that road because the -birth rate in that section wasn't high. But in the city, the birth rate -<i>was</i> high, so, to keep the population down, the standards were raised. -Apparently the sweepers were fed less and got more hungry. People had -to go on vacation more often. But what about the rope?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"I don't think we really know enough to understand the rope," said -Kielgaard, "but maybe it's a face-saving device. People who don't think -they're in good enough shape to get through 'vacation,' and who don't -want to die a slow death avoiding sweepers and waiting to go through -locked doors, can go across on the rope. Or perhaps it's a penance. If -a man has done something wrong and he's afraid to deny it in the truth -chair, perhaps he's allowed to confess and go so many times across the -rope as punishment. The people cheered. That must mean it's honorable."</p> - -<p>"That makes sense," Dan agreed. "All right, but why don't they just -ship their surplus population to the other two planets?"</p> - -<p>"We've studied that back here," said Kielgaard. "We think it's because -they wouldn't dare. They've got their little mainland allotted and -rationed down to the last blade of grass. They can do that because it's -small enough to keep control of. Now suppose they try to enforce the -same system on a new planet with a hundred times the land area—what's -going to happen? They'll have unknown, uncontrollable factors to deal -with. Their system will break down. That statue of theirs shows they -know it, too. The man in the blue cape 'devises' and his strong right -hand does nothing but keep the circle—their system—from flying apart. -What puzzles me is that they're satisfied with it."</p> - -<p>"There's another point," Dan said, "but I think I see it now. They've -got a caste system, but people must be able to move from one caste to -another. There must be a competitive exam or some system of choice. -The vacation advisor said Mr. Milbun was 'at present' a merchant. His -wife was 'now' a housewife. And no one ever asked my name, though I -told it voluntarily to Milbun. It was always 'Yes, Devisement,' or 'Is -it time to take your vacation, Devisement?' There were no personal -titles like 'Sir Moglin,' or 'First Magistrate Moglin,' such as we've -encountered on other planets."</p> - -<p>Kielgaard grunted. "That would explain the differently colored capes, -too. No one would care if a man was a street-cleaner ten years ago. -They'd see his cape was blue and give him immediate, automatic respect."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Dan. "That's it. And no one would dare <i>cheat</i> about -the color of the cape he wore, because, regardless of his position, -sooner or later his charge would be gone. Then he would have to go on -vacation. And to do <i>that</i>, he <i>has</i> to sit in the truth chair and tell -the truth or get incinerated." Dan stopped suddenly and sucked in a -deep breath.</p> - -<p>"What's wrong?" asked Kielgaard.</p> - -<p>"<i>That's</i> the weak point."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">VI</p> - -<p>By the end of the week, Dan was able to pass through a door with a -specialized type of Geiger counter in the locking circuit.</p> - -<p>And by that time, Kielgaard had noted sharp fluctuations in the mood -at Trans-Space. There had been an interval of wild confusion, but it -hadn't lasted. Many more Trans-Space agents had gone to Porcys and -Trans-Space seemed to be on top again.</p> - -<p>The instant Dan stepped from the mines through the door marked "Out," -he was rushed through a shower, a shave and a haircut, shoved into -a truth chair and asked questions, given a new cape and clothes, -and buckled into a glittering belt by a purple-caped man addressed -as "Reverence." No sooner was the belt in place than all, including -"Reverence," snapped to attention.</p> - -<p>"Devisement," said a man in an orange-and-black cape, "we need your -decision quickly. At home, men have usurped cloaks of devisement and -given orders contrary to the public good. They wore belts of power, but -did not die when their false orders were given. In the Central City, -they convened a council, seated themselves in the Hall of Truth, and on -the very first oath every single one of them present was thrown into -the life beyond.</p> - -<p>"Because the statue was already belted, men wearing cloaks of -devisement <i>had</i> to give the orders. But now they were all gone. -Looters roamed the streets, breaking in doors. These men were -vacation-dodgers—out so long that they couldn't even make a -charge-light flicker—and the sweepers cleaned up some of them. <i>But -they killed the sweepers!</i> Devisement, I tell you the truth!"</p> - -<p>"I believe you," said Dan.</p> - -<p>"Thank heaven. Devisement, something must be done. A young boy passed -and graduated to the devisement cape, but before he could take action, -he was shot from ambush. We found an old man of the right cape out -in the country, and when we finally convinced him, he rounded up one -hundred and fifty-seven vacation-dodgers and executed them. We had -things in order, but now a glut of lunatics in devisement capes and -belts of power have burst into the streets. Their orders are silly, yet -their belts don't kill them. They have no fear of the Truth. Business -is stopped and men are hungry. The people are going wild. Strange boats -have appeared offshore. Mataform transmitters of odd design are being -set up near the shore. This cannot go on without breaking the circle!"</p> - -<p>Dan's throat felt dry.</p> - -<p>"Sir," said the Porcyn desperately, "you <i>must</i> devise something! What -shall we do?"</p> - -<p>A faint tingling at Dan's waist suggested to him that he choose his -words carefully. One lie or bad intention and the belt of power would -probably finish him.</p> - -<p>He thought carefully. The total power of the Porcyn planet must be at -least the equal of even the huge Trans-Space organization. And Porcys -had its power all in one place. The planet was organized to the last -ounce of energy, if only it could be brought to bear in time.</p> - -<p>Dan ordered his anxious companions to take him to Porcys.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Far under the Central City, which was the city he had seen, he found -a weary, powerful old man in a light-blue cape and glittering belt, -directing operations from a television command post. The console -showed street scenes of men in sky-blue capes and flashing belts, who -danced and jabbered, their faces aglow with lunacy as they rapped out -conflicting orders and the people jerked and dashed this way and that, -tears running down their faces.</p> - -<p>Near the statue, before the Hall of Truth, close ranks of Porcyn men in -orange-and-black capes stood massed on the steps, holding sleek-bored -guns. On the street below, gibbering lunatics in sky-blue danced and -shrieked orders, but the eyes of the men on the steps were tightly -shut. By a technicality, they avoided obedience to the lunacy, for -with their eyes shut, how could they be sure who gave the command?</p> - -<p>At the belted statue itself, a man in blue was clinging to one bronze -arm as he slammed down a hammer to knock loose the partly broken -circle. The statue obstinately refused to let go. At the base of -the statue, holding a microphone, stood an average-looking man in a -sky-blue cape, his lips drawn back in an amused smile. He gestured to -men with crowbars and they tried to jam them between the statue and its -base. This failing, they took up chisels and hammers. The man working -on the circle shrugged and jumped down.</p> - -<p>At the console, the old man looked up at Dan. He put his hand out and -felt Dan's belt. Apparently the tingle reassured him and he seemed to -accept Dan without further question.</p> - -<p>"This is about the end," he said. "When that statue goes, those men -will feel the jolt and open their eyes. They're the last formed body of -troops on the planet, and when they go, we'll have nothing to strike -with. There must be something I could devise for this, but I've been up -three nights and I can't think."</p> - -<p>"Can you delay it?" asked Dan, grappling with the beginning of his plan.</p> - -<p>"Oh, we'll delay it. I've got the last of the sweepers collected at -the holes opening into the square. Just when that statue begins to tip, -I'll let the sweepers out. That will stop things for a while. Then -they'll kill the sweepers and my bolt is shot."</p> - -<p>"Won't the men you've got here fire on those blue-caped fakes?"</p> - -<p>"Devisement," said the old man, shaking his head, "you know better."</p> - -<p>"Are there any fire hoses? Will your men squirt water on the blue-caped -ones?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," said the old man, leaning forward. "They'll get shot. But yes, -they will. What is it? What are you devising?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dan outlined his plan. The old man's eyes lighted. He nodded and Dan -went out and climbed with guides through a grim, dark tunnel where the -sweepers were kept. He peered out the hole, and as across the street -the statue began to tip, he burst outside and sprinted into the square.</p> - -<p>The Trans-Space leader raised his microphone.</p> - -<p>Dan ripped it out of his hand and knocked him off his feet, then knelt -and picked up the heavy shield that had been taken off the statue to -get at the ring.</p> - -<p>A bullet hummed over Dan's head.</p> - -<p>With a rush of air and a heavy smash, the statue landed full length on -the ground. Dan hauled himself up onto its base. Another bullet buzzed -past him. Then there was a yell, and Dan looked down in the street.</p> - -<p>The sweepers were horrible as they poured from their holes, but they -looked almost beautiful to Dan. He glanced at the Porcyns massed on the -steps, their faces white with near-hysteria. Their eyes were open and -watching him; the Trans-Space men were too busy to give orders.</p> - -<p>Dan raised the microphone and his voice boomed out:</p> - -<p>"<i>Close your eyes till you hear the roar of the lion! Then obey your -true leaders!</i>"</p> - -<p>He repeated the order three times before it dawned on the Trans-Space -technicians that this was not according to plan. The loudspeaker gave -a booming click and cut off. By then, the sweepers had been killed and -Dan became aware of bullets thrumming past him. Suddenly he felt weak -with panic that the rest of the plan had fallen apart.</p> - -<p>Up the street, Porcyn men were unscrewing a cap on the face of a -building. They connected a hose. A sky-blue-caped Trans-Space agent -ordered them away. The Porcyns turned, wads of wax in their ears, and -raised the hose.</p> - -<p>A stream of water knocked the agents backward. Shots rang out. Porcyns -fell, but other Porcyns took their places. The stream arched and fell -on the Trans-Space agents and abruptly a whirl of color tinged the -water. Blots and blobs of green, orange, pink and yellow spattered the -blue-caped agents.</p> - -<p>At the end of the street, someone ran up tugging a lion by the mane.</p> - -<p>"<i>Go</i>, dog! <i>Run!</i>"</p> - -<p>Somewhere a child cried out in terror.</p> - -<p>The lion roared.</p> - -<p>The troops on the steps opened their eyes.</p> - -<p>An old man's voice, amplified, spoke out with icy authority:</p> - -<p>"<i>Deploy for street-fighting! First rank, move out along Center Street -toward North Viaduct. Rifles at full charge. Wide intervals. Use every -scrap of cover. Shoot the false-belted usurpers on sight.</i></p> - -<p>"<i>Second rank, move out along West Ocean Avenue toward the sea -wall....</i>"</p> - -<p>Shots rang out.</p> - -<p>There was a faint thrumming hum, like wires in the wind, and streaks of -cherry radiance criss-crossed in the air.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> - - <img src="images/illus3.jpg" width="399" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>The lion roared, unable to find the child. The roars of other lions -joined in.</p> - -<p>Dan was aware that he was lying atop the hard base of the statue, but -he didn't know how he had come to be there. He tried to stand up.</p> - -<p>He heard voices screaming orders, then falling still, and a scene swung -into his line of sight like something watched through the rear-view -mirror of a turning groundcar.</p> - -<p>Half a dozen men, guns in their hands, their bodies and blue capes -spattered and smeared till they could hardly be recognized, lay -motionless on the pavement</p> - -<p>Then the scene swung up and away, and Dan felt weightless. Something -hit him hard. His head bounced and he rolled over. Soft grass was in -his face. It smelled fresh.</p> - -<p>There was a dull boom that moved the ground under him.</p> - -<p>He twisted his head to look up.</p> - -<p>A massive arm was stretched out over him, its hand firmly gripping the -cut edges of a big metal ring.</p> - -<p>Somewhere a drum took up a steady monotonous beat.</p> - -<p>He fell into a deep black quiet and all the sights and sounds grew -smaller and fainter and disappeared entirely.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He awoke in a Porcyn hospital. Kielgaard was there, wearing a broad -grin and brilliant Porcyn clothes and promising Dan a huge bonus. But -it was all like a dream.</p> - -<p>Kielgaard said the Porcyns were as mad as hornets. They had raised a -battle fleet and it had taken a corps of diplomats and the Combined -Intergalactic Space Fleet to argue them out of personally chopping -Trans-Space into fine bits. No one knew what would finally happen, but -meanwhile Galactic had its contract and everyone was tentatively happy.</p> - -<p>His account finished, Kielgaard grinned more broadly yet and switched -on a bedside televiewer.</p> - -<p>Dan lifted his head off the pillow and looked at the screen. Then he -stared.</p> - -<p>It was the statue, solid once more on its base, the ring grasped -firmly in one hand and a big wrench in the other. But something seemed -different.</p> - -<p>Dan at last saw what it was.</p> - -<p>It was the face. It wasn't a bad face, if one expected to see strong -cheekbones, copper skin and a high-arched nose.</p> - -<p>"What a compliment!" he said, embarrassedly pleased. "I—hell, I feel -like blushing."</p> - -<p>"Make it a good one," said Kielgaard. "After tomorrow, you'll have to -blush with your own face again."</p> - -<p>"<i>Tomorrow?</i>"</p> - -<p>"Sure. You're still working for us, remember."</p> - -<p>Dan sank back on the pillow and gazed up speculatively at the ceiling. -"All right, but I want some time off. I have a fat bonus to spend."</p> - -<p>"You could use a holiday," Kielgaard agreed. "Why not try the -Andromedan cloud gardens? Pretty expensive, but with your bonus—"</p> - -<p>"I've got a place picked out," said Dan. "I'm going to take a vacation -on Porcys."</p> - -<p>Kielgaard started. "You're joking! Or you've gone twitchy!"</p> - -<p>"No. Before I have to give this face back to Surgery, I ought to get -a <i>little</i> enjoyment out of it. And what could be more enjoyable than -hanging around the statue, letting people see the resemblance? Besides, -they can't make me take my vacation on the Vacation Planet—I've -already had it."</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Advance Agent, by Christopher Anvil - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVANCE AGENT *** - -***** This file should be named 51273-h.htm or 51273-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/2/7/51273/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Advance Agent - -Author: Christopher Anvil - -Release Date: February 21, 2016 [EBook #51273] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVANCE AGENT *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - Advance Agent - - By CHRISTOPHER ANVIL - - Illustrated by FINLAY - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Science Fiction February 1957. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - Raveling Porcy's systematized enigma, Dan - found himself with a spy's worst break--he - was saddled with the guise of a famed man! - - -I - -Dan Redman stooped to look in the mirror before going to see the -director of A Section. The face that looked back wasn't bad, if he had -expected strong cheekbones, copper skin and a high-arched nose. But Dan -wasn't used to it yet. - -He straightened and his coat drew tight across chest and shoulders. The -sleeves pulled up above hands that felt average, but that the mirror -showed to be huge and broad. Dan turned to go out in the hall and had -to duck to avoid banging his head on the door frame. On the way down -the hall, he wondered just what sort of job he had drawn this time. - -Dan stopped at a door lettered: - - A SECTION - J. KIELGAARD - DIRECTOR - -A pretty receptionist goggled at him and said to go in. Dan opened the -inner door. - -Kielgaard--big, stocky, expensively dressed--looked up and studied Dan -as he came in. Apparently satisfied, he offered a chair, then took out -a small plastic cartridge and held it in one hand. - -"Dan," he said, "what do you know about subspace and null-points?" - -"Practically nothing," admitted Dan honestly. - - * * * * * - -Kielgaard laughed. "Then I'll fill you in with the layman's analogy, -which is all _I_ know. Suppose you have a newspaper with an ant on the -middle of the front page. To get to the middle of page two, the ant -has to walk to the edge of the paper, then walk back on the inside. -Now suppose the ant could go _through_ the page. The middle of page -two is just a short distance away from the middle of page one. That -going _through_, instead of around, is like travel in subspace. And -a null-point is a place just a short distance away, going through -subspace. The middle of page two, for instance, is a null-point for the -middle of page one." - -"Yes," said Dan patiently, waiting for the point of the interview. - -Kielgaard pushed the plastic cartridge he'd been holding through a slot -in his desk. A globe to one side lighted up a cottony white, with faint -streaks of blue. "This," he said, "is Porcys." - -Dan studied the globe. "Under that cloud blanket, it looks as if it -might be a water world." - -"It is. Except for a small continent, the planet is covered with water. -And the water is full of seafood--_edible_ seafood." - -Dan frowned, still waiting. - -"Galactic Enterprises," said Kielgaard, "has discovered a region in -subspace which has Porcys for one null-point and Earth for another." - -"Oh," said Dan, beginning to get the point. "And Earth's hungry, of -course. Galactic can ship the seafood straight through subspace at a -big profit." - -"That's the idea. But there's one trouble." Kielgaard touched a button, -and on the globe, the white layer vanished. The globe was a brilliant -blue, with a small area of mingled green and grayish-brown. "The land -area of the planet is inhabited. Galactic must have the permission of -the inhabitants to fish the ocean. And Galactic needs to close the -deal fast, or some other outfit, like Trans-Space, may get wind of -things and move in." - -Kielgaard looked at the globe thoughtfully. "All we know about the -Porcyns could be put on one side of a postage stamp. They're physically -strong. They have a few large cities. They have an abundant supply -of seafood. They have spaceships and mataform transceivers. This -much we know from long-distance observation or from the one Porcyn -we anesthetized and brain-spied. We also know from observation -that the Porcyns have two other habitable planets in their solar -system--Fumidor, a hot inner planet, and an Earthlike outer planet -called Vacation Planet." - -Kielgaard drummed his fingers softly. "Granting the usual course -of events, Dan, what can we expect to happen? The Porcyns have an -abundance of food, a small living area, space travel and two nearby -habitable planets. What will they do?" - -"Colonize the nearby planets," said Dan. - - * * * * * - -"Right," said Kielgaard. "Only they aren't doing it. We've spied both -planets till we can't see straight. Fumidor has a mine entrance and a -mataform center. Vacation Planet has a mataform center and one or two -big buildings. And that's it. There's no emigration from Porcys to the -other two planets. Instead, there's a sort of cycling flow from Porcys -to Vacation Planet to Fumidor to Porcys. Why? - -"The Porcyn we brain-spied," he went on, "associated Vacation Planet -with 'rejuvenation.' What does that mean we're up against? Galactic -wants to make a contract, but not till they know what they're -dealing with. There are some races it's best to leave alone. This -'rejuvenation' might be worth more than the seafood, sure, but it could -also be a sackful of trouble." - -Dan waited, realizing that Kielgaard had come to the crux of the matter. - -Kielgaard said, "Galactic wants us to find the answers to three -problems. One, how do the Porcyns keep the size of their population -down? Two, what is the connection between rejuvenation and 'Vacation -Planet'? And three, do the Porcyns have a proper mercantile attitude? -Are they likely to make an agreement? Will they keep one they do make?" - -Kielgaard looked intently at Dan. "The only way we're likely to -find the answers in a reasonable time is to send someone in. You're -elected." - -"Just me?" asked Dan in surprise. "All your eggs in one basket?" - -"In a situation like this," said Kielgaard, "one good man is worth -several gross of dubs. We're relying on you to keep your eyes open and -your mind on what you're doing." - -"And suppose I don't come back?" - -"Galactic probably loses the jump it's got on Trans-Space and you miss -out on a big bonus." - -"When do I leave?" - -"Tomorrow morning. But today you'd better go down and pick up a set of -Porcyn clothes we've had made for you and some of their money. It'd -be a good idea to spend the evening getting used to things. We've -implanted in your brain the Porcyn language patterns we brain-spied -and we've installed in your body cavity a simple organo-transmitter -you can use during periods of calm. Because the Porcyns are physically -strong and possibly worship strength, we've had your body rebuilt to -one of the most powerful human physique patterns--that of an American -Indian--that we have on record." - -They shook hands and Dan went to his room. He practiced the Porcyn -tongue till he had some conscious familiarity with it. Then he tried -his strength to make sure he wouldn't accidentally use more force than -he intended. Then, while the evening was still young, he went to bed -and fell asleep. - -It was Dan's experience that everything possible went wrong the first -few days on a new planet and he wanted to be wide-awake enough to live -through it. - - -II - -The next day, Dan left in a spacetug that Galactic was sending on a -practice trip through subspace to Porcys. From the tug, he went by -mataform to the lab ship in the Porcyn sea. Here he learned that he had -only twenty minutes during which conditions would be right to make the -next mataform jump to a trawler close to the mainland. - -Dan had wanted to talk to the men on the lab ship and learn all they -could tell him about the planet. This being impossible, he determined -to question the trawler crew to the limit of their patience. - -When Dan reached the trawler, it was dancing like a blown leaf in a -high wind. He became miserably seasick. That evening, there was a -violent electrical storm which lasted into the early morning. - -Dan spent the whole night nauseously gripping the edge of his bunk, his -legs braced against the violent heave and lurch of the trawler. - -Before dawn of the next day, aching in every muscle, his insides sore -and tender, his mind fuzzy from lack of sleep, Dan was set ashore on a -dark, quiet and foggy strip of beach. He stood for a moment in the soft -sand, feeling it seem to dip underfoot. - -This, he thought, was undoubtedly the worst start he had ever made on -any planet anywhere. - -From around him in the impenetrable fog came distant croakings, -whistlings and hisses. The sounds were an unpleasant suggestion that -something else had gone wrong. Between bouts of sickness, Dan had tried -to arrange with the crew to land him near the outskirts of a Porcyn -city. But the sounds were those of the open country. - -What Dan wanted was to go through the outskirts of the city before -many people were moving around. He could learn a great deal from their -homes, their means of transportation and the actions of a few early -risers. He could learn from the things he expected to see, or from the -lack of them, _if_ he was there to see them. - -Dan moved slowly inland, crossed a ditch and came to what seemed to -be a macadam road. He checked his directions and started to walk. He -forced the pace so his breath came hard, and hoped it would pump some -life into his dulled brain and muscles. - -As his senses gradually began to waken, Dan became aware of an odd -_swish-swish, swish-swish_, like a broom dusting lightly over the -pavement behind him. The sound drew steadily closer. - -Dan halted abruptly. - -The sound stopped, too. - -He walked on. - -_Swish-swish._ - -He whirled. - -Silence. - - * * * * * - -Dan listened carefully. The sound could be that of whatever on Porcys -corresponded to a playful puppy--or to a rattlesnake. - -He stepped sharply forward. - -_Swish-swish._ It was behind him. - -He whirled. - -There was a feeling of innumerable hairy spiders running over him from -head to foot. The vague shape of a net formed and vanished in the gloom -before him. He lashed out and hit the dark and the fog. - -_Swish-swish._ It was moving away. - -He stood still while the sound faded to a whisper and was gone. Then -he started to walk. He was sure that what had just happened meant -something, but _what_ it meant was a different question. At least, he -thought ruefully, he was wider awake now. - -He walked on as the sky grew lighter. Then the fog shifted to show a -solid mass of low blocky buildings across the road ahead. The road -itself disappeared into a tunnel under one of the buildings. To one -side, a waist-high metal rail closed off the end of one of the city's -streets. Dan walked off the road toward the rail. His eye was caught -by the building ahead. Each was exactly the same height, about two to -three Earth stories high. They were laid out along a geometrically -straight border with no transition between city and farmland. - -There was a faint hum. Then a long, low streak, its front end rounded -like a horseshoe crab, shot out of the tunnel under the building beside -him and vanished along the road where he'd just been walking. - -Now Dan saw a small modest sign beside the road. - - Care - High-Speed - Vehicles Only - --_Swept_-- - -Dan crossed the rail at the end of the street with great caution. - -The Porcyn clothing he was wearing consisted of low leather boots, -long green hose, leather shorts, a bright purple blouse and a sky-blue -cape. Dan bunched the cape in his hand and thrust it ahead of him as -he crossed the rail, for some races were finicky about their exits and -entrances. The straight, sharp boundary between city and farmland, -and the identical buildings, suggested to Dan that here was a race -controlled by strict rules and forms, and he was making an obviously -unauthorized entrance. - -It was with relief that he stood on the opposite side, within the city. -He glanced back at the sign and wondered what "Swept" meant. Then he -gave his attention to the buildings ahead of him. - - * * * * * - -Low at first, the buildings rose regularly to a greater height, as far -as the fog would let him see. Dan remembered the storm of the night -before and wondered if the progressive heightening of the buildings was -designed to break the force of the wind. The buildings themselves were -massive, with few and narrow windows, and wide heavy doors opening on -the street. - -Dan walked farther into the city and found that the street took -right-angle bends at regular intervals, probably also to break the -wind. There was no one in sight, and no vehicles. - -Dan decided he was probably in a warehouse district. - -He paused to look at a partly erected new building, built on the -pattern of the rest. Then he heard from up the street a grunting, -straining sound interspersed with whistling puffs. There was a stamping -noise, a _thud_ and the clash of metal. - -Dan ran as quietly as he could up the street, stopped, glanced around -one of the right-angle bends. He was sure the sound had come from there. - -The street was empty. - -Dan walked closer and studied a large brass plate set in the base of -a building. It looked about twenty inches high by thirty wide with a -rough finish. In the center of the plate was a single word: - - SWEEPER - -Dan looked at this for a moment. Then, frowning, he strode on. In his -mind's eye, he was seeing the sign by the road: - - Care - High-Speed - Vehicles Only - --_Swept_-- - -Dan couldn't decide whether the word "Swept" was part of the warning or -just an afterthought. In any case, he had plainly heard a struggle here -and now there was nothing to be seen. Alert for more brass plates, he -wound his way through the streets until he came out on a broad avenue. -On the opposite side were a number of tall, many-windowed buildings -like apartment houses. On the sidewalks and small lawns in front, -crowds of children were playing. They were wearing low boots, leather -shorts or skirts, brightly colored blouses and hose, and yellow capes. -Walking quietly among them was a tawny animal with the look and lordly -manner of a lion. - -It _was_ a lion. - -As far as the rapidly dispersing fog let him see, the avenue ran -straight in one direction. In the other, it ended a block or so away. -Apparently the crooked, wind-breaking streets were only on the edge of -the city. - -Dan thought of the questions Kielgaard wanted him to answer: - -1, how do the Porcyns keep the size of their population down? - -2, what is the connection between rejuvenation and Vacation Planet? - -3, do the Porcyns have a proper mercantile attitude? Are they likely to -make an agreement? Will they keep one they do make? - -To find the answers, Dan intended to work his way carefully through -the city. If nothing went wrong, he should be able to see enough to -eliminate most of the possibilities. Already he had seen enough to -make Porcyns look unpromising. The rigid city boundary, the strict -uniformity of the buildings and the uniform pattern of the clothing -suggested a case-hardened, ingrown way of living. - - * * * * * - -Across the street, a low door to one side of the apartment building's -main entrance came open. The lion walked out. - -It was carrying a squirming little boy by his bunched-up cape. The big -creature flopped down, pinned the struggling boy with a huge paw and -methodically started to clean him. The rasp of the animal's tongue -could be heard clearly across the street. - -The boy yelled. - -A healthy-looking girl of about twelve, wearing a cape diagonally -striped in yellow and red, ran over and rescued the boy. The lion -rolled over on its back to have its belly scratched. - -Dan scowled and walked toward the near end of the street. On -less advanced planets, where the danger of detection was not so -great, agents often went in with complex, surgically inserted -organo-transmitters in their body cavities. Unlike the simple -communicator Dan had, these were fitted with special taps on the optic -and auditory nerves, and the transmitter continuously broadcast all -that the agent saw and heard. Experts back home went over the data and -made their own conclusions. - -The method was useful, but it had led to some dangerous mistakes. Sight -and sound got across, but often the atmosphere of the place didn't. Dan -thought it might be the same here. - -The feeling that the city gave him didn't match what his reasoning told -him. - -He crossed a street, passed an inscription on a building: - - Freedom - Devisement - Fraternity - -Then he was back in a twisting maze of streets. He walked till the wind -from the sea blew in his face. - -The street dipped to a massive wall and the sea, where a few brightly -colored, slow-moving trawlers were going out. Dan turned in another -street and wound back and forth till he came out along the ocean front. -On one side of the street was the ocean, a broad strip of sand, and -the sea wall. On the other side was a row of small shops, brightly -awninged, with displays just being set in place out in front. - -In the harbor, a ship was being unloaded. Flat-bottomed boats were -running back and forth from several long wharves. On the street ahead, -a number of heavy wagons, drawn by six-legged animals with heads like -eels, bumped and rattled toward the wharves. Behind them ran a crowd -of boys in yellow capes, a big tawny lioness trotting among them. On -the sidewalk nearby strode a few powerfully built old men, their capes -of various colors. - -Dan glanced at the displays in front of the shops. Some were cases of -fish on ice. Others were piles of odd vegetables in racks. Dan paused -to look at a stack of things like purple carrots. - -A man immediately came forward from the rear of the store, wiping his -hands on his apron. Dan moved on. - -The next shop had the universal low boots, shorts, skirts, blouses and -hose, in assorted sizes and colors, but no capes. Dan slowed to glance -at the display and saw the proprietor coming briskly from the dark -interior, rubbing his hands. Dan speeded up and got away before the -proprietor came out. - -The Porcyns, he thought, seemed at least to have a proper mercantile -attitude. - - -III - -Dan passed another fish market, then came to a big, brightly polished -window. Inside was a huge, chromium-plated bar-bell on a purple velvet -cloth. Behind it were arranged displays of hand-grips, exercise -cables, dumb-bells and skipping ropes. The inside of the store was -indirectly lighted and expensively simple. The place had an air that -was quiet, lavish and discreet. It reminded Dan of a well-to-do funeral -establishment. In one corner of the window was a small, edge-lighted -sign: - - You Never Know What the - Next Life Will Be Like. - -In the other corner of the window was a polished black plate with a -dimly glowing bulb in the center. Around the bulb were the words: - - Your Corrected Charge-- - Courtesy of Save-Your-Life Co. - -A tall, heavily muscled man in a dark-blue cape stepped outside. - -"Good morning, Devisement," he said affably. "I see you're a stranger -in town. I thought I might mention that our birth rate's rather high -just now." He coughed deferentially. "You set an example, you know. Our -main store is on 122 Center Street, so if you--" - -He was cut off by a childish scream. - -Down the street, a little boy struggled and thrashed near an oblong -hole at the base of a building, caught in a tangle of the mysterious -ropes. - -"A _kid_!" cried the man. He sucked in his breath and shouted, "_Dog!_ -Here, Dog! _Dog!_" - -On the end of a wharf, a crowd of children was watching the unloading. -From their midst, a lioness burst. - -"_Here_, Dog!" shouted the man. "A sweeper! A sweeper! _Run_, Dog!" - -The lioness burst into a blur of long bounds, shot down the wharf, -sprang into the street and glanced around with glaring yellow eyes. - -The little boy was partway inside the hole, clinging to the edge with -both hands. "Doggie," he sobbed. - -The lioness crouched, sprang into the hole. A crash, a bellow and -a thin scream came from within. The lioness reappeared, its eyes -glittering and its fur on end. It gripped the little boy by the cape -and trotted off, growling. - -"Good _dog_!" cried the man. - -Men in the shops' doorways echoed his shout. - -"A _kid_," said the man. "They have to learn sometime, I know, but--" -He cut himself short. "Well, all's well that ends well." He glanced -respectfully at Dan. "If you're here any length of time, sir, we'd -certainly appreciate your looking into this. And if you're planning to -stay long--well, as you see, our sweepers are hungry--our main store -is on 122 Center Street. Our vacation advisor might be of some service -to you." - -"Thank you," said Dan, his throat dry. - -"Not at all, Devisement." The man went inside, muttering, "A _kid_." - -Dan passed several more shops without seeing very much. He turned -the corner. Across the street, where the boy had been, was a dented -brass plate at the base of the building. On Dan's side of the street, -trotting toward him, was a big, tawny-maned lion. Dan hesitated, then -started up the street. - -There was a faint clash of metal. - -_Swish-swish._ - - * * * * * - -A net seemed to form in the air and close around him. There was a feel -of innumerable hairy spiders running over him from head to foot. The -net vanished. Something wrapped around his ankle and yanked. - -The lion growled. - -There was a loud _clang_ and Dan's foot was free. He looked down and -saw a brass plate labeled SWEEPER. - -Dan decided it might be a good idea to see the Save-Your-Life Co.'s -vacation advisor. He started out to locate 122 Center Street and gave -all brass plates a wide berth on the way. - -He strode through a briskly moving crowd of powerfully built men and -women in capes of various colors, noticing uneasily that they were -making way for him. He studied them as they passed, and saw capes of -red, green, dark blue, brown, purple, and other shades and combinations -of colors. But the only sky-blue cape he had seen so far was his own. - -A sign on the corner of a building told Dan he was at Center Street. He -crossed and the people continued to draw back for him. - -It began to dawn on Dan that he had had the ultimate bad luck for a -spy in an unknown country: He was marked out on sight as some sort of -notable. - -Just how bad his luck had been wasn't clear to him till he came to a -small grassy square with an iron fence around it and a man-sized statue -in the center. The granite base of the statue was inscribed: - - I DEVISE - -The statue itself was of bronze, showing a powerful man, his foot -crushing down a mass of snapping monsters. In his right hand, he held -together a large circle of metal, his fingers squeezing shut a cut in -the metal, which would break the circle if he let go. His left hand -made a partially open fist, into which a wrench had been fitted. The -statue itself, protected by some clear finish from the weather, was -plain brown in color. - -But the statue's cape was enameled sky-blue. - -Dan stared at the statue for a moment, then looked around. In the -street beside it, a crowd of people was forming, their backs toward him -and their heads raised. Dan looked up. Far up, near the tops of the -buildings, he could make out a long cable stretched from one building -to another across the street. Just on the other side of the crowd was -the entrance to the main store of the Save-Your-Life Co. - - * * * * * - -Dan crossed the street and saw a very average-looking man, wearing an -orange cape, come to a stop at the corner and look shrewdly around. - -Dan blinked and looked again. _The man in orange was no Porcyn._ - -The man's glance fell on the statue and his lips twisted in an amused -smile. He looked up toward the rope, then down at the crowd, and then -studied the backs of the crowd and the fronts of the stores around him, -the lids of his eyes half-closed in a calculating look. - -A brass plate nearby popped open, a net of delicate hairy tendrils -ran over him, and something like a length of tarred one-inch rope -snaked out and wrapped around his legs. An outraged expression crossed -his face. His hand came up. The rope yanked. He fell on the sidewalk. -The rope hauled him into the hole. The brass plate snapped shut. From -inside came a muffled report. - -It occurred to Dan that Galactic was not the only organization -interested in Porcys. - -Dan looked thoughtfully at the brass plate for a moment, then walked -toward the entrance of the Save-Your-Life Co., past display windows -showing weights, cables, parallel bars, trapezes and giant springs with -handles on each end. - -He tried the door. It didn't move. - -A clerk immediately opened the door and took Dan along a cool, chaste -hallway to an office marked "Vacation Advisor." Here a suave-looking -man made an offhand remark about the birth rate, took a sudden look -at Dan's cape, blinked, stiffened, glanced at Dan's midsection and -relaxed. He went through his files and gave Dan a big photograph -showing a smiling, healthy, middle-aged couple and a lovely girl about -nineteen. - -"These are the Milbuns, sir. Mr. Milbun is a merchant at present. -Quite well-to-do, I understand. Mrs. Milbun is a housewife right now. -The daughter, Mavis, is with a midtown firm at the moment. The mother -became ill at an awkward time. The family put their vacation off for -her, and as a result their charge has run very low. If you can get to -their apartment without being--ah--swept, I feel sure they will welcome -you, sir." He scribbled a rough map on a piece of paper, drew an arrow -and wrote "6140 Runfast Boulevard, Apartment 6B," and stamped the paper -"Courtesy of Save-Your-Life Co." - -Then he wished Dan a healthy vacation and walked with him to hold open -the outer door. - -Dan thanked him and went outside, where the crowd was now almost -blocking the sidewalk. He forced his way free, saw someone point, and -glanced at the statue. - -The wrench in the statue's left hand had been replaced by what looked -like a magnifying glass. - -Dan had gone a few steps when there was a thundering cheer, then a -terrified scream high in the air behind him. He turned around and saw -a man come plummeting down. Dan gaped higher and saw a line of tiny -figures going across high up on the rope. One of the figures slipped. -There was another cheer. - -Dan hurriedly turned away. - -He had already convinced himself that the Porcyns had a "proper -mercantile attitude." And he thought he was beginning to get an idea as -to how they kept their population down. - - -IV - -Carefully avoiding brass plates, Dan made his way along an avenue of -shops devoted to exercise and physical fitness. He came to Runfast -Blvd. and located 6140, which looked like the apartment houses he had -seen earlier. - -He tried the outer door; it was locked. When someone came out, Dan -caught the door and stepped in. As the door shut, he tried it and found -it was locked again. He stood for a moment trying to understand it, but -his sleeplessness of the night before was catching up with him. He gave -up and went inside. - -There were no elevators on the ground floor. Dan had his choice of six -ropes, two ladders and a circular staircase. He went up the staircase -to the third floor, where he saw a single elevator. He rode it up to -the sixth, got off and found that there was a bank of four elevators on -this floor. - -He looked at the elevators a minute, felt himself getting dizzy, and -walked off to locate apartment 6B. - -A powerfully built gray-haired man of middle height answered his -knock. Dan introduced himself and explained why he had come. - -Mr. Milbun beamed and his right hand shot forward. Dan felt like a man -with his hand caught in an airlock. - -"Lerna!" called Milbun. "Lerna! Mavis! We have a guest for vacation!" - -Dan became aware of a rhythmical clinking somewhere in the back of the -apartment. Then a big, strong-looking woman, obviously fresh from the -kitchen, hurried in, smiling. If she had been ill, she was clearly -recovered now. - -"Ah, how are you?" she cried. "We're so happy to have you!" She gripped -his hand and called, "_Mavis!_" - -The clinking stopped. A beautifully proportioned girl came in, wearing -a sweatshirt and shorts. "Mother, I simply have to get off another -pound or so--Oh!" She stared at Dan. - -"Mavis," said Mr. Milbun, "this is Mr. Dan Redman. Devisement, my -daughter Mavis." - -"You're going with us!" she said happily. "How wonderful!" - -"Now," said Mr. Milbun, "I imagine his Devisement wants to get a little -rest before he goes down to the gym." He glanced at Dan. "We have a -splendid gym here." - -"Oh," said Mavis eagerly, "and you can use my weights." - -"Thanks," said Dan. - -"We're leaving tomorrow," Milbun told him. "The birth rate's still -rising here, and last night the charge correction went up again. A -little more and it'll take two of us to get a door open. It won't -inconvenience you to leave tomorrow?" - -"Not at all," said Dan. - -"Splendid." Milbun turned to his wife. "Lerna, perhaps our guest would -like a little something to eat." - - * * * * * - -The food was plain, good and plentiful. Afterward, Mavis showed Dan to -his room. He sank down gratefully on a firm, comfortable bed. He closed -his eyes.... - -Someone was shaking him gently. - -"Don't you want to go down to the gym?" asked Mr. Milbun. "Remember, -we're leaving tomorrow." - -"Of course," said Dan. - -Feeling that his brain was functioning in a vacuum, Dan followed the -Milbuns into the hall, climbed down six stories on a ladder, then into -the basement on a rope. He found himself in a room with a stony dirt -track around the wall, ropes festooning the ceiling, an irregularly -shaped pool, and artificial shrubs and foliage from behind which sprang -mechanical monsters. The Milbuns promptly vanished behind imitation -vine-covered doors and came out again in gym clothes. - -Dan went through the doorway Mr. Milbun had come out of and discovered -that the Save-Your-Life Co. had a machine inside which dispensed -washed, pressed and sterilized gym clothes for a small fee. The machine -worked by turning a selector dial to the proper size, pressing a lever, -and then depositing the correct fee in an open box on the wall nearby. -Dan studied this a moment in puzzlement, guessed his proper size and -put the correct payment in the box. - -He put on the gym clothes and went outside. - -For forty-five minutes, mechanical creatures of odd and various shapes -sprang at him from behind shrubbery, gripped him when he passed holes -in the floor and wound themselves around his legs as he tried to swim -in the pool. - -His temper worsened. He stopped to look at Mavis as she swayed, -laughing, on a rope above two things like mobile giant clamshells. - -Mr. Milbun shook his head. "Mavis, remember, we're leaving _tomorrow_." - -Just then, something snarled and lunged at Dan from the side. There was -a flash of teeth. - -Dan whirled. His fist shot out. There was a scream of machinery, then -a crash and a clatter. An imitation monster with a huge jaw and giant -teeth lay on its back on the floor. - -Milbun let out a slow whistle. "_Dismounted_ it. Boy!" - -"A one-bite, too," breathed Mavis. - -Mrs. Milbun came over and looked at Dan approvingly. - -Dan had been about to apologize, but checked himself when the others -smiled cheerfully and went back to what they were doing. This consisted -of dodging, tricking or outrunning the various contraptions that lunged -at them, chased them, tripped them, trailed, stalked and sprang out at -them from nearly every place in the room. - -Finally the gym began to fill up with other people. The Milbuns got -ready to leave and Dan followed. - - * * * * * - -Dan lay in his bed that night and tried to summarize the points he -didn't understand. First was the question of vacation. But he supposed -he would learn about that tomorrow. Next was "charge." Apparently -one went on vacation when his "charge" was low, because the vacation -advisor had said, "The family put their vacation off for her, and as a -result their charge has run very low." But just what was "charge"? - -Dan remembered the flickering bulb in the store window, ringed by -the words "Your Corrected Charge--Courtesy of Save-Your-Life Co." -Apparently he had _some_ charge, because the bulb had flickered. But -where did he get it? - -Then he thought of the waterfront and of the little boy caught at the -hole. What was the point of that? And why did that produce such an -uproar when, a little later, a grown man could get dragged out of sight -on a well-traveled street and never cause a single notice? - -Dan felt himself sinking into a maze of confusion. He dismissed the -problems and went to sleep clinging to one fact. The Porcyns _must_ be -honest people who would keep an agreement, once made. On what other -planet could anyone find a slot machine with no slot, but just an open -box for the money? - -Dan fell asleep, content that he had the answer to that part of the -problem, at least. - -Before it was light, he awoke to an odd familiar buzz inside his head. - -"Dan," said Kielgaard's voice, small and remote. - -Dan rolled over, lay on his back and spoke sub-vocally. "Right here." - -"Can you talk?" - -"Yes," said Dan, "if I can stay awake." - -"Can you give us a summary?" - -"Sure." Dan told him briefly what had happened. - -Kielgaard was silent a moment. Then he said, "What do you think -'charge' is?" - -"I haven't been in any condition to think. Maybe it's a surgically -implanted battery, set to run down after so long." - -"Too clumsy. What about radioactivity?" - -"H'm. Yes, you mentioned a mine on the inner planet. Maybe they mine -radioactive ore. That would explain why I have _some_ charge. There's -residual radioactivity even in the atmosphere of Earth." - -"That's so," said Kielgaard. "But not every planet has it. I'm -wondering about this other agent you mentioned seeing. He sounds to me -like someone from Trans-Space. And that's bad." - -"They play dirty," Dan conceded. - - * * * * * - -"Worse than that," said Kielgaard's tiny voice. "They recruit their -agents from Lassen Two. Maybe that's a break. Unlike Earth, Lassen Two -is nearly radiation-free. And Trans-Space doesn't use finesse. They'll -pump Porcys full of agents loaded down with organo-transmitters. -Visual, auditory and olfactory. They'll broadcast on every wave-length, -suck out as much information in as short a time as they can, then -either pull some dirty trick or slam the Porcyns an offer. That is, if -everything goes according to plan. - -"But meanwhile," he added, "one or more of their agents is bound to -stand in front of a free 'Your charge' device somewhere in the city. -Very likely, that agent will be radiation-free and some Porcyn, for -the first time in his life, is going to see a bulb that doesn't even -flicker. If the Porcyns are as scientifically advanced as we think, and -if Trans-Space is as dirty as usual, there may be a rat-race on before -we know it." - -Dan lay gloomily still. - -"Dan," said Kielgaard, "where were you standing in relation to the -other agent? Did he come up from behind or was he in front of you when -you reached the statue?" - -"I was in front of him. Why?" - -"Because then you were in his range of vision. _He_ may not have -noticed you, but his organo-transmitter would. The chances are you -appeared on the screen back at Trans-Space headquarters. They record -those scenes as they come in and their experts go over them frame by -frame. Unless you happened to be behind someone, they'll see your image -on the screen, spot you here and there in other scenes from other -agents, study your actions and recognize you as an agent just as -surely as you recognized their agent." - -"Yes," said Dan wearily, "of course they will." He was thinking that if -he had been more awake yesterday, he would have thought of this himself -and perhaps avoided it. But he couldn't be alert without sleep and who -could sleep in a heaving boat in a thunderstorm? - -"This changes things," Kielgaard was saying. "I'm going to see if we -can get a little faster action." - -"I think I'd better get some more sleep," Dan answered. "I may need it -tomorrow." - -"I agree," said Kielgaard. "You'll have to keep your eyes open. Good -night, Dan, and good luck." - -"Thanks." - -Dan rolled over on his side. He tried for a moment to remember how -the other agent had been standing and whether anyone had been between -them to block his view, but he couldn't be sure. Dan decided there was -nothing to do but assume the worst. He blanked his mind. Soon a feeling -of deep weariness came over him and he fell asleep. - - * * * * * - -In the morning, Dan and the Milbuns ate a hurried breakfast. Dan helped -Mr. Milbun grease his rowing machine, weights, springs and chinning -bar, so they wouldn't rust in his absence. Milbun worked in a somber -mood. All the Milbuns, in fact, were unusually quiet for a family going -on vacation. When they went out into the hall, carrying no baggage, -they even took the elevator to the third floor. - -"Better save our strength," said Mr. Milbun. - -The street seemed to Dan to have a different atmosphere. People were -walking quietly in groups, their eyes cool and alert. The Milbuns -walked in front of the apartment houses Dan had passed the day before, -and across the street he saw the place where the chiseled motto had -read: - - Freedom - Devisement - Fraternity - -It was gone. Some workmen nearby were lifting a stone slab onto a cart. -Dan blinked. The motto now read: - - Alertness - Devisement - Vigilance - -The Milbuns plainly noticed it, too. They drew closer together and -looked around thoughtfully. Carefully keeping away from brass plates -labeled SWEEPER, they followed a devious route that led to the statue. - -The statue had changed, too. The hand that gripped the circle was now -hidden by a massive shield. The other hand still held what looked like -a magnifying glass, and the motto was still "I Devise." But the shield -gave the whole statue a look of strange menace. - -Across the street, near the place where Dan had seen the Trans-Space -agent, stood several men wearing orange capes, barred black across the -shoulders. Nearby, the brass plate opened and a man in work clothes -handed out a box and went back in. - -At a store entrance up the street, watching them, stood an -average-looking man in a purple cape, his look intent and calculating. - -Mavis glanced at the statue and took Dan's arm. "Devisement," she said, -"they won't take you now, will they, before vacation?" - -Dan kept an uneasy silence and Mr. Milbun said, "Of course not, Mavis. -Where's the belt?" - -Mavis glanced at the statue. "Oh." - -Dan looked at the statue, then at Mavis and Mr. Milbun, said nothing -and went on. - -They came to a large building with a long flight of broad wide steps. -Across the face of the building was boldly and sternly lettered, high -up: - - HALL OF TRUTH - -Lower down was the motto: - - "Speak the Truth-- - Live Yet a While With Us." - - -V - -On one side of the stairs as they climbed was a statue of a man, -smiling. On the other side was an urn with a bunch of carved flowers -lying beside it. - -A big bronze door stood open at the top. They walked through into a -large chamber with massive seats in triple rows along two walls, and a -single row of yet more massive seats raised along the farther wall. - -A bored-looking man got up from a low desk as the Milbuns sat down in -three of the massive seats. - -The man asked in a dreary voice, "Have you, to the best of your -knowledge, committed any wrong or illegal act or acts since your last -vacation?" He picked up a whiskbroom and pan and waited for their -answers. - -"No," said the three Milbuns in earnest quavering voices. - -The man looked at each of them, shrugged and said boredly, "Pass -through to your vacations, live law-abiding citizens." He beckoned -impatiently to Dan, turned to scowl at him, saw Dan's cape, stiffened, -looked hastily out to the statue framed by the doorway, relaxed -slightly and inquired respectfully, "Is it time for you to go on -vacation, Devisement?" - -"It seems to be," said Dan. - -"I think you should, sir. Then you'd be still more helpful if called." - -Dan nodded noncommittally and sat down in one of the massive chairs. -His glance fell on an ornamental carving above the big doorway. It was -a set of scales held by a giant hand. In one pan of the scales sat a -smiling man. In the other was a small heap of ashes. - -"Have you," asked the bored man, "to the best of your knowledge, -committed any wrong or illegal act or acts since your last vacation?" - -He readied the dustpan and whiskbroom. - -The Milbuns watched anxiously at a door in the back of the room. - -Uneasily, Dan thought back and remembered no wrong or illegal acts he -had committed since his last vacation. - -"No," he said. - -The functionary stepped back. "Pass through to your vacation, live -law-abiding citizen, sir." - -Dan got up and walked toward the Milbuns. Another bored functionary -came in wheeling a cartful of urns. He stopped at a massive chair with -a heap of ashes on the seat, a small pile on either arm, and two small -piles at the foot. The functionary swept the ashes off and dumped them -in the urn. - -A cold sensation went through Dan. He followed the Milbuns out into a -small room. - -He felt an out-of-focus sensation and realized the room was a mataform -transmitter. An instant later, they were in a spaceship crowded with -thoughtful-looking people. - - * * * * * - -Life on the spaceship seemed to be given over to silent, morose -meditation, with an occasional groan that sounded very much like, "Oh, -give me just one more chance, God." - -When they left the ship, it was again by mataform, this time to a -building where they stood in a line of people. The line wound through -a booth where the color of their capes was marked on their foreheads, -thence past a counter where they received strong khaki-colored capes, -blouses and hose, and new leather shorts and boots to replace those -they were wearing. They changed in tiny private rooms, handed their -own clothing in at another counter, had a number stamped on their left -shoulders and on their boxes of clothing. - -Then they walked out onto a strip of brilliant white sand, fronting on -an inlet of sparkling blue water. - -Here and there huddled little crowded knots of people, dancing from one -foot to another on the hot sand and yet apparently afraid to go in the -water. Dan looked to the Milbuns for some clue and saw them darting -intense calculating glances at the beach and the water. - -Then Mr. Milbun yelled, "_Run for it!_" - -A slavering sound reached Dan's ear. He sprinted after the Milbuns, -burst through the crowd in a headlong bolt for the cove, then swam as -fast as he could to keep up with them as they raced for the opposite -shore. They crawled out, strangling and gasping, and dragged themselves -up on the sand. Dan lay, heaving in deep breaths, then rolled over and -sat up. - -The air around them was split by screams, laced through with sobs, -curses and groans. On the shore opposite, a mad dog darted across -the crowded beach and emptied people into the cove. In the cove, a -glistening black sweep of hide separated the water for an instant, then -sank below. People thrashed, fought and went under. - -Dan looked up. On the wooden building beyond the cove and the beach was -a broad sign: - - PORCYS PLANET - REJUVENATION CENTER - -Dan read the sign three times. If this was rejuvenation, the Porcyns -could have it. - -Beside Dan, Milbun stood up, still struggling for breath, and pulled -his wife and Mavis to their feet. - -"Come on," he said. "We've _got_ to get through the swamp ahead of the -grayboas!" - - * * * * * - -The rest of the day, they pushed through slimy muck up to their knees -and sometimes up to their necks. Behind them, the crowd screamingly -thinned out. - -That night, they washed in icy spring water, tore chunks of meat from -a huge broiled creature turning on a spit and went to sleep in tents -to the buzz and drone of creatures that shot their long needle noses -through the walls like drillers hunting for oil. - -The following day, they spent carefully easing from crevice to narrow -toehold up the sheer face of a mountain. Food and shelter were at the -top. Jagged rocks and hungry creatures were at the bottom. That night, -Dan slept right through an urgent buzz from Kielgaard. The next night, -he woke enough to hear it, but he didn't have the strength to answer. - -Where, he thought, is the rejuvenation in this? - -Then he had a sudden glimmering. It was the Porcyn _race_ that was -rejuvenated. The unfit of the Porcyns died violently. It took stamina -just to live from one day to the next. - -Even the Milbuns were saying that this was the worst vacation ever. -Trails slid out from under them. Trees fell toward them. Boulders -bounded down steep slopes at them. - -At first, the Milbuns tried to remember forgotten sins for which all -this might be repayment. But when there was the dull _boom_ of an -explosion and they narrowly escaped a landslide, Milbun looked at the -rocks across the trail with sunken red eyes. He sniffed the air and -growled, "Undevised." - -That afternoon, Dan and the Milbuns passed three average-looking men -hanging by their hands from the limb of a tree beside the trail. -The faces of the hanging men bore a surprised expression. They hung -perfectly still and motionless, except for a slight swaying caused by -the wind. - -Dan and the Milbuns reached a mataform station late that afternoon. - -A very hard-eyed guard in an orange cape, barred across the shoulders -in black, let them through and they found themselves in another -spaceship, bound for Fumidor, the mining planet. - - * * * * * - -Dan sat back exhausted and fell asleep. He was awakened by a determined -buzz. - -"_Dan!_" said Kielgaard's voice. - -"Yes." Dan sat up. "Go ahead." - -"Trans-Space is going to try to take over Porcys. There's nothing you -can do about that, but they've landed agents on Vacation Planet to pick -you off. Look out." - -Dan told Kielgaard what had happened to the agents on Vacation Planet, -such as the "undevised" explosion and being hung up by the hands. - -Kielgaard whistled. "Maybe the Porcyns can take care of themselves. -Trans-Space doesn't think so." - -"How did you find out?" - -The tiny voice held a note of grim satisfaction. "They ran an agent in -on us and he gave himself away. He went back with an organo-transmitter -inside him, and a memory bank. The bank stores up the day's -impressions. The transmitter squirts them out in one multi-frequency -blast. The agent is poorly placed for an informant, but we've learned a -lot through him." - -"How are they going to take over Porcys?" - -"We don't know. They think they've found the Porcyns' weak point, but -if so, we don't know what it is." - -"Listen," urged Dan, "maybe _we_ ought to put a lot of agents on -Porcys." - -"No," said Kielgaard. "That's the wrong way to play it. If we go in -now, we'll be too late to do any good. We're still counting on you." - -"There's not very much I can do by myself." - -"Just do your best. That's all we can ask." - -Dan spent the next week chipping out pieces of a radioactive ore. At -night, Kielgaard would report the jubilant mood of Trans-Space. On -the following days, Dan would chop at the ore with vicious blows that -jarred him from his wrists to his heels. - -The steady monotonous work, once he was used to it, left his mind free -to think and he tried furiously to plan what he would do when he got -out. But he found he didn't really know enough about Porcys to make a -sensible plan. Then he began trying to organize what he had seen and -heard during his stay on the planet. At night, Kielgaard helped him and -together they went over their theories, trying to find those that would -fit the facts of Porcys. - -"It all hinges on population pressure," said Kielgaard finally. "On -most planets we know of, overpopulation leads to war, starvation, -birth control or emigration. These are the only ways. At least, they -were, till we discovered Porcys." - - * * * * * - -"All right," agreed Dan. "Grant that. The Porcyns plainly don't have -any of those things, or not to any great extent. Instead, they have -institutions such as we've never seen before. They have 'sweepers,' -so-called 'vacations' and a rope from building to building. All these -things cut down population." - -"Don't forget their 'truth chairs,'" said Kielgaard. - -"Where you either tell the truth or get converted to ashes--yes. But -how does it all fit in?" - -"Let's take one individual as an example. Start at birth." - -"He's born," said Dan. "Probably they have nurseries, but we know they -stick together as families, because we have the Milbuns to go by. He -grows up, living at his parents' place. He goes with other children to -school or to see different parts of his city. A lion--which he calls a -'dog'--protects him." - -"Yes," said Kielgaard. "It protects him from sweepers. But most -grownups don't need protection. Only those whose charge is low." - -"Of course. The boy hasn't been on vacation yet. He's not radioactive. -Apparently you have to be radioactive to open doors. At the apartment -house, the boy comes in a small door to one side. The lions, or what -resemble lions, like the children but don't like the sweepers. And the -sweepers are afraid of them. All right. But what about when he grows -up?" - -"Well, for one thing, he has to use the regular doors now. And they -won't open unless he's been on vacation. And if he hasn't been on -vacation and if his charge isn't high, the sweepers will go out and -grab him. That must be what that sign you saw meant. 'Swept' was a -warning that there was no escape in that direction." - -"I begin to see it," said Dan. "I was safe on that road because the -birth rate in that section wasn't high. But in the city, the birth rate -_was_ high, so, to keep the population down, the standards were raised. -Apparently the sweepers were fed less and got more hungry. People had -to go on vacation more often. But what about the rope?" - - * * * * * - -"I don't think we really know enough to understand the rope," said -Kielgaard, "but maybe it's a face-saving device. People who don't think -they're in good enough shape to get through 'vacation,' and who don't -want to die a slow death avoiding sweepers and waiting to go through -locked doors, can go across on the rope. Or perhaps it's a penance. If -a man has done something wrong and he's afraid to deny it in the truth -chair, perhaps he's allowed to confess and go so many times across the -rope as punishment. The people cheered. That must mean it's honorable." - -"That makes sense," Dan agreed. "All right, but why don't they just -ship their surplus population to the other two planets?" - -"We've studied that back here," said Kielgaard. "We think it's because -they wouldn't dare. They've got their little mainland allotted and -rationed down to the last blade of grass. They can do that because it's -small enough to keep control of. Now suppose they try to enforce the -same system on a new planet with a hundred times the land area--what's -going to happen? They'll have unknown, uncontrollable factors to deal -with. Their system will break down. That statue of theirs shows they -know it, too. The man in the blue cape 'devises' and his strong right -hand does nothing but keep the circle--their system--from flying apart. -What puzzles me is that they're satisfied with it." - -"There's another point," Dan said, "but I think I see it now. They've -got a caste system, but people must be able to move from one caste to -another. There must be a competitive exam or some system of choice. -The vacation advisor said Mr. Milbun was 'at present' a merchant. His -wife was 'now' a housewife. And no one ever asked my name, though I -told it voluntarily to Milbun. It was always 'Yes, Devisement,' or 'Is -it time to take your vacation, Devisement?' There were no personal -titles like 'Sir Moglin,' or 'First Magistrate Moglin,' such as we've -encountered on other planets." - -Kielgaard grunted. "That would explain the differently colored capes, -too. No one would care if a man was a street-cleaner ten years ago. -They'd see his cape was blue and give him immediate, automatic respect." - -"Yes," said Dan. "That's it. And no one would dare _cheat_ about -the color of the cape he wore, because, regardless of his position, -sooner or later his charge would be gone. Then he would have to go on -vacation. And to do _that_, he _has_ to sit in the truth chair and tell -the truth or get incinerated." Dan stopped suddenly and sucked in a -deep breath. - -"What's wrong?" asked Kielgaard. - -"_That's_ the weak point." - - -VI - -By the end of the week, Dan was able to pass through a door with a -specialized type of Geiger counter in the locking circuit. - -And by that time, Kielgaard had noted sharp fluctuations in the mood -at Trans-Space. There had been an interval of wild confusion, but it -hadn't lasted. Many more Trans-Space agents had gone to Porcys and -Trans-Space seemed to be on top again. - -The instant Dan stepped from the mines through the door marked "Out," -he was rushed through a shower, a shave and a haircut, shoved into -a truth chair and asked questions, given a new cape and clothes, -and buckled into a glittering belt by a purple-caped man addressed -as "Reverence." No sooner was the belt in place than all, including -"Reverence," snapped to attention. - -"Devisement," said a man in an orange-and-black cape, "we need your -decision quickly. At home, men have usurped cloaks of devisement and -given orders contrary to the public good. They wore belts of power, but -did not die when their false orders were given. In the Central City, -they convened a council, seated themselves in the Hall of Truth, and on -the very first oath every single one of them present was thrown into -the life beyond. - -"Because the statue was already belted, men wearing cloaks of -devisement _had_ to give the orders. But now they were all gone. -Looters roamed the streets, breaking in doors. These men were -vacation-dodgers--out so long that they couldn't even make a -charge-light flicker--and the sweepers cleaned up some of them. _But -they killed the sweepers!_ Devisement, I tell you the truth!" - -"I believe you," said Dan. - -"Thank heaven. Devisement, something must be done. A young boy passed -and graduated to the devisement cape, but before he could take action, -he was shot from ambush. We found an old man of the right cape out -in the country, and when we finally convinced him, he rounded up one -hundred and fifty-seven vacation-dodgers and executed them. We had -things in order, but now a glut of lunatics in devisement capes and -belts of power have burst into the streets. Their orders are silly, yet -their belts don't kill them. They have no fear of the Truth. Business -is stopped and men are hungry. The people are going wild. Strange boats -have appeared offshore. Mataform transmitters of odd design are being -set up near the shore. This cannot go on without breaking the circle!" - -Dan's throat felt dry. - -"Sir," said the Porcyn desperately, "you _must_ devise something! What -shall we do?" - -A faint tingling at Dan's waist suggested to him that he choose his -words carefully. One lie or bad intention and the belt of power would -probably finish him. - -He thought carefully. The total power of the Porcyn planet must be at -least the equal of even the huge Trans-Space organization. And Porcys -had its power all in one place. The planet was organized to the last -ounce of energy, if only it could be brought to bear in time. - -Dan ordered his anxious companions to take him to Porcys. - - * * * * * - -Far under the Central City, which was the city he had seen, he found -a weary, powerful old man in a light-blue cape and glittering belt, -directing operations from a television command post. The console -showed street scenes of men in sky-blue capes and flashing belts, who -danced and jabbered, their faces aglow with lunacy as they rapped out -conflicting orders and the people jerked and dashed this way and that, -tears running down their faces. - -Near the statue, before the Hall of Truth, close ranks of Porcyn men in -orange-and-black capes stood massed on the steps, holding sleek-bored -guns. On the street below, gibbering lunatics in sky-blue danced and -shrieked orders, but the eyes of the men on the steps were tightly -shut. By a technicality, they avoided obedience to the lunacy, for -with their eyes shut, how could they be sure who gave the command? - -At the belted statue itself, a man in blue was clinging to one bronze -arm as he slammed down a hammer to knock loose the partly broken -circle. The statue obstinately refused to let go. At the base of -the statue, holding a microphone, stood an average-looking man in a -sky-blue cape, his lips drawn back in an amused smile. He gestured to -men with crowbars and they tried to jam them between the statue and its -base. This failing, they took up chisels and hammers. The man working -on the circle shrugged and jumped down. - -At the console, the old man looked up at Dan. He put his hand out and -felt Dan's belt. Apparently the tingle reassured him and he seemed to -accept Dan without further question. - -"This is about the end," he said. "When that statue goes, those men -will feel the jolt and open their eyes. They're the last formed body of -troops on the planet, and when they go, we'll have nothing to strike -with. There must be something I could devise for this, but I've been up -three nights and I can't think." - -"Can you delay it?" asked Dan, grappling with the beginning of his plan. - -"Oh, we'll delay it. I've got the last of the sweepers collected at -the holes opening into the square. Just when that statue begins to tip, -I'll let the sweepers out. That will stop things for a while. Then -they'll kill the sweepers and my bolt is shot." - -"Won't the men you've got here fire on those blue-caped fakes?" - -"Devisement," said the old man, shaking his head, "you know better." - -"Are there any fire hoses? Will your men squirt water on the blue-caped -ones?" - -"Yes," said the old man, leaning forward. "They'll get shot. But yes, -they will. What is it? What are you devising?" - - * * * * * - -Dan outlined his plan. The old man's eyes lighted. He nodded and Dan -went out and climbed with guides through a grim, dark tunnel where the -sweepers were kept. He peered out the hole, and as across the street -the statue began to tip, he burst outside and sprinted into the square. - -The Trans-Space leader raised his microphone. - -Dan ripped it out of his hand and knocked him off his feet, then knelt -and picked up the heavy shield that had been taken off the statue to -get at the ring. - -A bullet hummed over Dan's head. - -With a rush of air and a heavy smash, the statue landed full length on -the ground. Dan hauled himself up onto its base. Another bullet buzzed -past him. Then there was a yell, and Dan looked down in the street. - -The sweepers were horrible as they poured from their holes, but they -looked almost beautiful to Dan. He glanced at the Porcyns massed on the -steps, their faces white with near-hysteria. Their eyes were open and -watching him; the Trans-Space men were too busy to give orders. - -Dan raised the microphone and his voice boomed out: - -"_Close your eyes till you hear the roar of the lion! Then obey your -true leaders!_" - -He repeated the order three times before it dawned on the Trans-Space -technicians that this was not according to plan. The loudspeaker gave -a booming click and cut off. By then, the sweepers had been killed and -Dan became aware of bullets thrumming past him. Suddenly he felt weak -with panic that the rest of the plan had fallen apart. - -Up the street, Porcyn men were unscrewing a cap on the face of a -building. They connected a hose. A sky-blue-caped Trans-Space agent -ordered them away. The Porcyns turned, wads of wax in their ears, and -raised the hose. - -A stream of water knocked the agents backward. Shots rang out. Porcyns -fell, but other Porcyns took their places. The stream arched and fell -on the Trans-Space agents and abruptly a whirl of color tinged the -water. Blots and blobs of green, orange, pink and yellow spattered the -blue-caped agents. - -At the end of the street, someone ran up tugging a lion by the mane. - -"_Go_, dog! _Run!_" - -Somewhere a child cried out in terror. - -The lion roared. - -The troops on the steps opened their eyes. - -An old man's voice, amplified, spoke out with icy authority: - -"_Deploy for street-fighting! First rank, move out along Center Street -toward North Viaduct. Rifles at full charge. Wide intervals. Use every -scrap of cover. Shoot the false-belted usurpers on sight._ - -"_Second rank, move out along West Ocean Avenue toward the sea -wall...._" - -Shots rang out. - -There was a faint thrumming hum, like wires in the wind, and streaks of -cherry radiance criss-crossed in the air. - -The lion roared, unable to find the child. The roars of other lions -joined in. - -Dan was aware that he was lying atop the hard base of the statue, but -he didn't know how he had come to be there. He tried to stand up. - -He heard voices screaming orders, then falling still, and a scene swung -into his line of sight like something watched through the rear-view -mirror of a turning groundcar. - -Half a dozen men, guns in their hands, their bodies and blue capes -spattered and smeared till they could hardly be recognized, lay -motionless on the pavement - -Then the scene swung up and away, and Dan felt weightless. Something -hit him hard. His head bounced and he rolled over. Soft grass was in -his face. It smelled fresh. - -There was a dull boom that moved the ground under him. - -He twisted his head to look up. - -A massive arm was stretched out over him, its hand firmly gripping the -cut edges of a big metal ring. - -Somewhere a drum took up a steady monotonous beat. - -He fell into a deep black quiet and all the sights and sounds grew -smaller and fainter and disappeared entirely. - - * * * * * - -He awoke in a Porcyn hospital. Kielgaard was there, wearing a broad -grin and brilliant Porcyn clothes and promising Dan a huge bonus. But -it was all like a dream. - -Kielgaard said the Porcyns were as mad as hornets. They had raised a -battle fleet and it had taken a corps of diplomats and the Combined -Intergalactic Space Fleet to argue them out of personally chopping -Trans-Space into fine bits. No one knew what would finally happen, but -meanwhile Galactic had its contract and everyone was tentatively happy. - -His account finished, Kielgaard grinned more broadly yet and switched -on a bedside televiewer. - -Dan lifted his head off the pillow and looked at the screen. Then he -stared. - -It was the statue, solid once more on its base, the ring grasped -firmly in one hand and a big wrench in the other. But something seemed -different. - -Dan at last saw what it was. - -It was the face. It wasn't a bad face, if one expected to see strong -cheekbones, copper skin and a high-arched nose. - -"What a compliment!" he said, embarrassedly pleased. "I--hell, I feel -like blushing." - -"Make it a good one," said Kielgaard. "After tomorrow, you'll have to -blush with your own face again." - -"_Tomorrow?_" - -"Sure. You're still working for us, remember." - -Dan sank back on the pillow and gazed up speculatively at the ceiling. -"All right, but I want some time off. I have a fat bonus to spend." - -"You could use a holiday," Kielgaard agreed. "Why not try the -Andromedan cloud gardens? Pretty expensive, but with your bonus--" - -"I've got a place picked out," said Dan. "I'm going to take a vacation -on Porcys." - -Kielgaard started. "You're joking! Or you've gone twitchy!" - -"No. Before I have to give this face back to Surgery, I ought to get -a _little_ enjoyment out of it. And what could be more enjoyable than -hanging around the statue, letting people see the resemblance? Besides, -they can't make me take my vacation on the Vacation Planet--I've -already had it." - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Advance Agent, by Christopher Anvil - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ADVANCE AGENT *** - -***** This file should be named 51273.txt or 51273.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/2/7/51273/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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