Closed System

aboard, a very advanced one whichcreated more fuel than it burned. They had not, inthose days, perfected the techniques of drawingship's power from the blink generator.'

'But not all ships had nuclear reactors. Theyused solar power.'

'The reactor was more efficient, and had theadvantage of being transferable to a planet, if a planet was found.'

'You're telling me that the Zedeians built a re­actor which would last a thousand years?'

'Yes, with alterations and repairs, of course.The scientists, upon landing here, began immedi­ately to transcribe the scientific knowledge neces­sary to keep the reactor in operation, and tocontinue work on the weapon. With all other knowl­edge lost, or irrelevant to the main mission, andwith resources scant, all aspects of life except tech­nical skills were allowed to revert to a mode whichsuited the environment. You have a curious mix­ ture in the average Dorchlunt man. All those strongyoung men in the villages know how to chop woodand plant crops and harvest them by hand, butput a set of test instruments and tools in theirhands and they become superb technicians. Quitea few of them can recite the most complex

func­tions of physical law by heart, yet they can't write.'

'Who is furnishing them with modern food sup­plements and preventive-medicine tablets?'

'That's a new thing. It's merely a precaution.When my brother found this planet, they were ashealthy and sturdy as they are now. But just incase we had brought a few disease organismswith us, we began to distribute what they call theprayer tablets.'

'So your brother found the ship and the planet?'

'He had trouble organizing the expedition. We weren't rich. In fact, we were poor. Our father wasa hard- scrabble miner—'

'On Taratwo?'

'Yes. It was my brother's scholastic accomplish­ments which finally convinced the government thatthere was great potential gain in finding that old Zedeian ship.'

'I can't resist anticipating what happened,' Patsaid.

She smiled and held up one hand, asking forpatience. 'I'm almost finished.'

'Go on, then,' Pat said.

'When my brother arrived here the prieststhought that he was from Zede, and that he'dcome to deliver them from their long exile. He wastreated as a god, and he immediately saw thepotential of his status. He was shown the weapon,and saw that it was powerful, but that it hadweaknesses. The triggering mechanism for the mo­lecular reaction inside the weapon had come fromthe resonance of excited carbon molecules. The sci­entists here had used a form of pressed carbon,and it took a huge mass of it to do the job. Thatmade the mass of the weapon too large to bemounted on anything smaller than a battlecruiser. My brother grasped the theory and realized thatthe weapon could be made small and, moreover,more effective, by using—'

'A diamond, set to resonating by, maybe, a la­ser,' Pat said. 'Murphy's Stone.'

'A diamond,' Corinne said, 'but my brotherhad no way of smuggling out enough diamonds of the proper size to provide one exciter per weapon. A bit of experimentation proved that the larger thediamond, the greater the forces generated, andthat the excitation impulses could be broadcastfrom a central point. Murphy's Stone happened to be just the right size to be used on my brother's flagship to provide the triggering impulse for the entire fleet.'

'So the Zede worlds,' Pat said, 'have never forgotten the lost war, are going to conquer thegalaxy with a weapon better than a planet reducer?'

'No,' she said, shaking her head, 'not the ZedeWorlds.'

'Who, then?'

'The Brendens. Taratwo.'

He didn't catch that use of the name Brenden inthe plural at that moment. He was stunned by the ambition of the Man, of that tinpot dictator of apissant world far out in the periphery of the galaxy.

'But why all the cloak-and-dagger to get the bigdiamond off Taratwo?' he asked.

'The agents of Zede are everywhere on our planet,' she said. 'We have identified many ofthem, and allow them to continue to spy on us,being very careful not to allow them to learn any­thing important. It has been necessary for us tocooperate with the Zedeians in order to obtaincredit for the fleet we need. We had to hint atmany things to get their interest—a new and all-powerful weapon, for example. That secret wassafe, being known only here on this world. A spy,however, somehow learned that a sizable diamondhad been found on Taratwo. The Zedeians de­ manded it as part payment on our debt, and, as you recall, we just barely escaped with it.'

'Let's get back to the weapon. Tell me about it.'

'Not yet, not just now.' She rose and came tostand before him, reaching for his hands. 'Pat, I'vetold my brother that I'm in love with you. I'vepromised him that you'll choose to join us. We cancertainly use you. We're short of experienced space­men. I've misused you, and I've lied to you, butI'm not lying now. It will be wonderful when we'vefreed the entire populated galaxy, when we've elim­inated all need, and hunger, and government tyr­anny. Be with me, please, Pat?'

His mind was whirling. 'Corinne, there's no hun­ger in this galaxy. We draw on the resources and industry and agriculture of over five thousand plan­ets. No one goes hungry. There's more work than there are workers. Oh, you have those few whowon't work, under any circumstances, but eventhey are fed, and housed, and given good medicaltreatment.'

'There is hunger and need on Taratwo,' shesaid, her lips compressing.

'It is Taratwo that chooses to be independent.As a part of the UP—'

'We'd give up our freedom,' she said, her voiceno longer soft. 'We'd bow down to those who tellus what we can and cannot do, how we can liveand how we cannot live, where we can go andwhere we cannot go.'

'Honey, there have to be rules in any civilizedsociety. I don't find the UP repressive.'

'Fool,' she spat, whirling away. 'And I prom­ised the Brenden.'

It registered then. He rose, went to her. She didnot respond when he put his hands on her armsfrom behind. 'The Brenden is your brother?'

'Of course,' she said.

'And together you're going to wipe out the fleetsof the UP, the Zedeian worlds included?'

She jerked away and faced him, eyes blazing. 'Itwas the Zedeians who almost killed us when wewere leaving Taratwo,' she said.

'Why?'

'Because, dammit, we'd been infiltrated. There were traitors in the space service, too, enough toseize two cruisers and try to kill us, to seize thediamond before I could bring it here.'

Pat had to take time to think. He turned, pickedup his drink. 'Corinne, I take it that the time isnear. That fleet, the one that sent down the tug topick up theSkimmer, that's the Taratwo battlefleet, isn't it? And you're almost ready.'

'Yes.' Her mood changed, and she came to him,looked up into his eyes. 'Be with me, Pat. TheBrenden has said we can be married.' She put herarms around him and spoke with great intensity.'You can help make it a better galaxy, darling.You can be my prince, my king if my brother dies before you. We can wipe out all the wrongs, giveevery man his share, his due.'

It was Pat's turn to lie. Perhaps she and herbrother were both mad. It was difficult to believe that the people of the original colony ship haddeveloped a weapon which would allow Taratwo'stiny fleet to best the combined fleets of the UP. Before he made any decision, he had to see thatweapon, had to know its true potential.

'Honey,' he said, drawing her close, 'I'm half­way convinced. I don't think things are bad enoughin the UP to warrant such actions as you and yourbrother are contemplating, but I know this. I want to be with you, regardless.'

She kissed him, quickly. 'Wonderful. I'm so happy, Pat. So happy.'

Suddenly, she was all business again. 'My brotherwill be here within the week. In the meantime, Ithink you'll want to look over our plans, give meyour opinion on the readiness of the fleet. You canbe so much help, Pat, and we'll be together.'

He was almost convinced, and then he remem­bered his brief time on Taratwo. People there had been afraid to speak of the dictator, much less tospeak ill of him. The security police had had nocompunction in gunning down an old miner. Ifthat was a sample of the enlightened freedom whichCorinne and her brother planned to bring to the galaxy, he wanted no part of it.