Page 5 (2/2)

"This," said Ponyets, stepping back, "is a small device I have constructed myself"

"That is obvious, but it is not the inforic abominations of your world?"

"It is nuclear in nature, adravely, "but none of you need touch it, or have anything to do with it It is for myself alone, and if it contains abominations, I take the foulness of it upon myself"

The Grand Master had raised his iron cane at the esture and his lipsinvocation The thin-faced councilor at his right leaned towards hiled red mustache approached the Grand Master’s ear The ancient Askonian petulantly shrugged himself free

"And what is the connection of your instruold that may save your countryan Ponyets, as his hand dropped softly onto the central chamber and caressed its hard, round flanks, "I can turn the iron you discard into gold of the finest quality It is the only device known to ly iron, your Veneration, that props up the chair you sit in and the walls of this building and change it to shining, heavy, yellow gold"

Ponyets felt hi it His usual sales talk was smooth, facile and plausible; but this lion But it was the content, not the form, that interested the Grand Master

"So? Transmutation? Men have been fools who have claie"

"Had they succeeded?"

"No" The Grand Master seeold would have been a crime that carried its own antidote It is the attempt plus the failure that is fatal Here, what can you do with my staff?" He pounded the floor with it

"Your Veneration will excuse me My device is a s"

The Grand Master’s s eye wandered and stopped, "Randel, your buckles Come, man, they shall be replaced double if need be"

The buckles passed down the line, hand to hand The Grand Master weighed thehtfully

"Here," he said, and threw theed hard before the cylinder opened, and his eyes blinked and squinted with effort as he centered the buckles carefully on the anode screen Later, it would be easier but there must be no failures the first time

The homemade transmuter crackled malevolently for ten minutes while the odor of ozone beca, and again Pherl whispered urgently into his ruler’s ear The Grand Master’s expression was stony He did not budge

And the buckles were gold

Ponyets held them out to the Grand Master with a estured theered upon the transmuter

Ponyets said rapidly, "Gentleh You may subject it to every known physical and chemical test, if you wish to prove the point It cannot be identified froold in any way Any iron can be so treated Rust will not interfere, not will ametals"

But Ponyets spoke only to fill a vacuum He let the buckles reued for him

The Grand Master stretched out a slow hand at last, and the thin-faced Pherl was roused to open speech "Your Veneration, the gold is from a poisoned source"

And Ponyets countered, "A rose can grow frohbors, you buyas to where they get it, whether fron ancestors or froe Coold"

"Your Veneration," said Pherl, "you are not responsible for the sins of foreigners ork neither with your consent nor knowledge But to accept this strange pseudo-gold made sinfully from iron in your presence and with your consent is an affront to the living spirits of our holy ancestors"

"Yet gold is gold," said the Grand Master, doubtfully, "and is but an exchange for the heathen person of a convicted felon Pherl, you are too critical" But he withdrew his hand

Ponyets said, "You are wisdoive up a heathen is to lose nothing for your ancestors, whereas with the gold you get in exchange you can ornaold evil in itself, if such, a thing could be, the evil would depart of necessity once the metal were put to such pious use"

"Now by the bones ofveheh, "Pherl, what do you say of this young man? The statement is valid It is as valid as the words of loomily, "So it would seem Grant that the validity does not turn out to be a device of the Malignant Spirit"

"I’ll old in hostage Place it on the altars of your ancestors as an offering and hold me for thirty days If at the end of that time, there is no evidence of displeasure if no disasters occur surely, it would be proof that the offering was accepted What more can be offered?"

And when the Grand Master rose to his feet to search out disapproval, not a reeed end of his mustache and nodded curtly

Ponyets sious education

5

Another week rubbed away before the ed Ponyets felt the tension, but he was used to the feeling of physical helplessness now He had left city liuard There was nothing to do but accept it without even looking over his shoulder

Pherl was taller and younger outside the circle of Elders In nonformal costume, he seemed no Elder at all

He said abruptly, "You’re a peculiar man" His close-set eyes see this last week, and particularly these last two hours, but iold It seems useless labor, for who does not? Why not advance one step?"

"It is not siold Not old"

"Nohat can lie behind gold?" prodded Pherl, with a down-curved smile "Certainly this is not the preliminary of another clumsy dehtly

"Oh, definitely" Pherl folded his hands and nudged theently with his chin "I don’t criticize you The cluht have warned his Veneration of that, had I been certain of the old upon my ship, and offered it alone The show you offered us and the antagonism you aroused would have been dispensed with"

"True," Ponyets adonis your attention"

"Is that it? Simply that?" Pherl ine you suggested the thirty-day purification period that you ht assure yourself ti a bit old turns out to be impure?"

Ponyets allowed hiement of that i it pure?"

Pherl lifted his eyes and stared narrowly at the trader He seemed at once surprised and satisfied

"A sensible point Now tell me why you wished to attract me"

"This I will do In the short time I have been here, I have observed useful facts that concern you and interestfor afamily"

"You criticize reat and holy; all will admit that But there are those that say you are not a member of one of the Five Tribes"

Pherl leaned back, "With all respect to those involved," and he did not hide his venom, "the Five Tribes have impoverished loins and thin blood Not fifty members of the Tribes are alive"

"Yet there are those who say the nation would not be willing to see anyand newly-advanced a favorite of the Grand Master is bound to reat ones of the State it is said His Veneration is aging and his protection will not last past his death, when it is an enemy of yours ill undoubtedly be the one to interpret the words of his Spirit"

Pherl scowled, "For a foreigner you hear "

"That may be decided later"

"Let me anticipate" Pherl stirred i to offer me wealth and power in terms of those evil little machines you carry in your ship Well?"

"Suppose it so What would be your objection? Siood and evil?"

Pherl shook his head "Not at all Look, nosticism is what it is but I ah I may appear so I ahtened one The full depth of our religious customs, in the ritualistic rather than the ethical sense, is for the masses"

"Your objection, then?" pressed Ponyets, gently

"Just that Theto deal with you, but your little ht riches come to me, if I had to use what is it you sell? well, a razor, for instance, only in the strictest, tre secrecy Even if my chin were more simply and more cleanly shaven, hoould I becoas cha it?"

Ponyets shrugged, "You are correct I ht point out that the remedy would be to educate your own people into the use of nucleics for their convenience and your own substantial profit It would be a gigantic piece of work; I don’t deny it; but the returns would be still antic Still that is your concern, and, at the moment, not mine at all For I offer neither razor, knife, nor e disposer"

"What do you offer?"

"Gold itself Directly You may have the machine I demonstrated last week"

And now Pherl stiffened and the skin on his forehead moved jerkily "The transold will equal your supply of iron That, I iine, is sufficient for all needs Sufficient for the Grand Mastership itself, despite youth and enemies And it is safe"

"In ay?"

"In that secrecy is the essence of its use; that saard to nucleics You est fortress on your furthest estate, and it will still bring you instant wealth It is the gold you buy, not the old bears no trace of its manufacture, for it cannot be told from the natural creation"

"And who is to operate theis all you will require I’ll set it up for you wherever you wish"

"And in return?"

"Well," Ponyets grew cautious "I ask a price and a handso Let us say, for it its a valuable old in wrought iron"

Pherl laughed, and Ponyets grew red "I point out, sir," he added, stiffly, "that you can get your price back in two hours"

"True, and in one hour, you ht suddenly turn out to be useless I’ll need a guarantee"

"You have ood one," Pherl bowed sardonically, "but your presence would be an even better assurance I’ll give youorder"

"Impossible"

"Impossible? When you’ve already incurred the death penalty very handily by even offering to sell et the gas chamber tomorrow otherwise"

Ponyet’s face was expressionless, but his eyes e You will at least put your pro?"

"And also become liable for execution? No, sir!" Pherl smiled a broad satisfaction "No, sir! Only one of us is a fool"

The trader said in a sreed, then"

6

Gorov was released on the thirtieth day, and five hundred pounds of the yellowest gold took his place And with him was released the quarantined and untouched abomination that was his ship

Then, as on the journey into the Askonian system, so on the journey out, the cylinder of sleek little ships ushered them on their way

Ponyets watched the dimly sun-lit speck that was Gorov’s ship while Gorov’s voice pierced through to hiht, distortion-bounded ether-bea, "But it isn’t what’s wanted, Ponyets A transet one, anyway?"

"I didn’t," Ponyets ansas patient "I juiced it up out of a food irradiation chaood, really The power consue scale or the Foundation would use trans all over the Galaxy for heavy metals It’s one of the standard tricks every trader uses, except that I never saw an iron-to-gold one before But it’s impressive, and it works very teht But that particular trick is no good"

"It got you out of a nasty spot"

"That is very far froo back, once we shake our solicitous escort"

"Why?"

"You yourself explained it to this politician of yours," Gorov’s voice was on edge "Your entire sales-point rested on the fact that the transmuter was athe gold, not the y, since it worked, but"

"But?" Ponyets urged blandly and obtusely

The voice frorew shriller, "But ant to sell the they would want to use openly; so that would tend to force them out in favor of nuclear techniques as a matter of self-interest"

"I understand all that," said Ponyets, gently "You once explained it But look at what follows fro as that transh to buy him the next election The present Grand Master won’t last long"

"You count on gratitude?" asked Gorov, coldly

"No on intelligent self-interest The transets him an election; other mechanisms"

"No! No! Your premise is twisted It’s not the transood, old-fashioned gold That’s what I’rinned and shifted into a ht He’d baited the poor fellow sufficiently Gorov was beginning to sound wild

The trader said, "Not so fast, Gorov I haven’t finished There are other gadgets already involved"

There was a short silence Then, Gorov’s voice sounded cautiously, "What other gadgets?"

Ponyets gestured automatically and uselessly, "You see that escort?"

"I do," said Gorov shortly "Tell ets"

"I will, �if you’ll listen That’s Pherl’s private navy escorting us; a special honor to hied to squeeze that out"

"So?"

"And where do you think he’s taking us? To hisestates on the outskirts of Askone, that’s where Listen!" Ponyets was suddenly fiery, "I told you I was in this to ht I sold that transas chamber and that doesn’t count towards the quota"

"Get back to theestates, Ponyets Where do they co up on tin, Gorov Tin to fill every last cubic foot this old scow can scrape up, and then so doith Pherl to collect, oldto cover ot just in case Pherl isn’t as sporting about the matter as he lets on to be That tin’s my profit"

"For the transo of nucleics At double price, plus a bonus" He shrugged, alot to make quota, don’t I?"

Gorov was evidently lost He said, weakly, "Do you ’?"

"What’s there to explain? It’s obvious, Gorov Look, the clever dog thought he had me in a foolproof trap, because his orth more than mine to the Grand Master He took the transmuter That was a capital crime in Askone But at any time he could say that he had lured me on into a trap with the purest of patriotic s"

"That was obvious"

"Sure, but word against simple asn’t all there was to it You see, Pherl had never heard nor conceived of a hed suddenly

"That’s right," said Ponyets "He had the upper hand I was properly chastened But when I set up the trans fashion, I incorporated the recorder into the device and removed it in the next day’s overhaul I had a perfect record of his sanctum sanctoru the trans over his first piece of gold as if it were an egg he had just laid"

"You showed him the results?"

"Two days later The poor sap had never seen three-dies in his life He claims he isn’t superstitious, but if I ever saw an adult look as scared as he did then, call me rookie When I told hio off at midday with a million fanatical Askonians to watch, and to tear hi at my knees in half a second He was ready to make any deal I wanted"

"Did you?" Gorov’s voice was suppressing laughter "I mean, have one planted in the city square"

"No, but that didn’t et I had, and every one you had for as much tin as we could carry At that reeo doith him, just as another precaution"

"But you’ve daets?"

"Why not? It’s his only way of recouping his losses, and if he makes money out of it, he’ll salve his pride And he will be the next Grand Master and the best man we could have in our favor"

"Yes," said Gorov, "it was a good sale Yet you’ve certainly got an uncomfortable sales technique No wonder you were kicked out of a seminary Have you no sense of morals?"

"What are the odds?" said Ponyets, indifferently "You knohat Salvor Hardin said about a sense of morals"