Ronny Bronston was flabbergasted. He had never thought of himself as having more than average intelligence.
Metaxa said sourly, “But, even so, don’t play any battle chess with them. We can’t afford to show ourselves up.”
Doctor Horsten said mildly, “They don’t play battle chess. The chap I met on Firenze introduced me to their planetary intellectual game. I couldn’t make heads nor tails of the rules and gave up. It was too advanced for me. Evidently, on Einstein, even the children play it.”
Sid Jakes, characteristically, was chuckling. He said to Metaxa, “When they put into the computers the request for who had the highest intelligence in Section G, Chief, how did you rate?”
The Commissioner glared at him. “Shut up, you laughing hyena,” he growled. “You don’t need brains to get places in Section G. You’re the classic example.”
“I resemble that remark,” Sid Jakes said with mock dignity.
Metaxa said to Ronny and Dorn Horsten, “There it is. The sooner you get going, the better. The Director of the Commissariat isn’t too happy about this. I had to talk him into it. To him, it smacks of insincerity on our part. We should welcome them with open arms to our confederation of planets.”
Dorn Horsten had been straightening out the barrel of his Section G H-gun.
Sid Jakes laughed and said, “Forget about it. We’ll issue you another one. You’d never be able to hit a building with that shooter, after what you did to the barrel.”
“I hate guns,” Horsten said.
Metaxa said, “That reminds me. You two will take your communicators but not your H-guns, nor any other Section G equipment, no matter how hideable. They’d probably have metal detectors and so forth at the spaceport and it would look suspicious for you to arrive on your type of mission armed. Einstein is said to be one of the richest, one of the most scientifically advanced, planets settled by man. They undoubtedly have all sorts of ways to detect anything off-beat about you two.”
“Got it,” Ronny said, coming to his feet. “How do we get there? Do we have a Space Forces craft assigned to us?”
His superior shook his head. “No. You play it very unostentatiously. You travel by commercial carrier. First class, but not in one of the most expensive staterooms. On Einstein, if you are not offered accommodations by the authorities, you stay in a good hotel, but not a deluxe one. You play everything very earnest, very sincere.”
Chapter Five
They had a several-day wait before getting a spacecraft going through to Einstein, and spent it getting their stories straight. They were both to be from the Commissariat of Interplanetary Affairs, but not from the Bureau of Investigation and certainly not from Section G. Irene Kasansky had new papers done up for them. Metaza had the Director of the Commissariat write letters of introduction. Dorn Horsten’s wardrobe was already properly conservative for a plenipotentiary but Ronny Bronston ordered a complete new outfit.
They were even interviewed by a newsman.
Sid Jakes made arrangements for them to be assigned an office in the main section of the Commissariat so that the reporter wouldn’t smell a rat. There must be no indication that Section G was in any manner connected with the mission.
Properly seated and with a drink on the small table next to his chair, the reporter said, “I’m Nick Pond. Now, let’s see. You’re Doctor Dorn M. Horsten, eminent biologist, originally from the member planet Brobdingnag.”
“That is correct,” Dorn nodded politely.
The reporter turned to Ronny. “And you are Citizen Ronald Bronston, born here on Earth, and formerly employed by Population Statistics in New Copenhagen, but now a diplomat for the Commissariat of Interplanetary Affairs.”
Ronny pursed his lips judiously. “Diplomat is possibily not quite the word, Citizen Pond. Doctor Horsten and I are merely an advance party going to Einstein to make the preliminary arrangements for that world to join the United Planets.”
“What preliminary arrangements? I’ve never heard of such a mission before.”
Ronny nodded agreement. “You are quite correct. This is the first time it has ever been done. You see, although Einstein was one of the very early planets to be colonized by mankind, we know very little about it. We are to report upon their institutions such as their government, their socio-economic system, their… ”
“Just a minute,” Nick Pond said. “Wouldn’t that be interfering with their internal affairs, as prohibited by Articles One and Two of the United Planets Charter?”
“Of course not,” Ronny said. “The Charter applies only to members of the United Planets. Einstein is not as yet a member.”
The reporter scowled but looked at Dorn Horsten and said, “I looked up your career in our news morgue as an algae research specialist. Why would a biologist be sent on an expedition such as this?”
The doctor pushed his pince-nez glasses back further on the bridge of his nose and beamed at him. He said, “Einstein is known to be one of the most scientifically oriented worlds in the known galaxy. Surely, it is appropriate that a scientist be sent in to the preliminary negotiations. I look forward to making new friends, finding new colleagues.”
Nick Pond frowned and looked off into unseen distances. He muttered, “Something doesn’t ring true about this. It’s never been done before.”
Ronny stiffened. All this damned newshawk had to do was broadcast his suspicions and just as sure as the Holy Ultimate made little green apples it would get back to Einstein, and they’d be on their guard.
He said, “Citizen Pond, could I make some off the record comments?”
The other eyed him. “Wizard.”
“All right. It’s true that this is a new departure. And it’s time for it, too. There are now 2436 worlds that belong to our confederation. When United Planets was first conceived of and organized, it was even looser than it is now. We let in anybody without the slightest investigation whatsoever. And some of them were truly far-out. However, once in, there was no provision in the United Planets Charter for expelling a world that was a member, unless it violated Article Two. As a result, we allowed to join such planets as Stalin, whose socio-economic system was an early and vicious form of communism. On the other extreme was Phrygia, governed by an ambitious dictator and militarist. And New Delos, a theocracy, ruled by a supposed immortal God-King, who ground down the people unmercifully. Happily, the government was overthrown on Stalin and New Delos too, for that matter, after the God-King was assassinated by his subjects. And Phrygia was destroyed in a catastrophe still unexplained.”
The reporter said, “Your point being that United Planets wishes to be more selective in the future?”
“Yes. At the time she was destroyed, Phrygia, which was militarily far advanced, was making plans to dominate first her closer neighbors, then all of United Planets. We want no more such members in our ranks.”
“I see. But why Einstein? I understand, though we have practically nothing on her in our data banks, she’s composed of a citizenry of, ah, stutes, ah, eggheads they called them in the old days.”
“No particular reason for Einstein. You have to start somewhere. As you say, we know very little about her. That is why Doctor Hofsten and I are going to make a preliminary investigation.”
Ronny smiled wryly. “For all we know, perhaps all of these brains have gone to their head.”
The reporter laughed dutifully and came to his feet. “Well, thanks, gentlemen. And have a good trip. I’ll mention it in passing on my program but won’t play it up.”