The Mote In God's Eye

She nodded soberly. "I thought so-"

"I could lose you over this, couldn't I?"

"I don't know, Rod. I guess it would depend on why you rejected their offer. And what you agreed to ± in its place. But you aren't going to reject it, are you? What's wrong with what they propose?"

Rod stared at the drink in his hand. It was some kind of nonalcoholic cup Kelley had brought; the meeting was too important for Scotch. "Nothing wrong, maybe. It's the maybe, Sally. Look out there." He pointed to New Scotland's streets.

There were few people at this hour. Theater and di

"If we're wrong, the Navy takes it on the chin," Sally said slowly. "Rod, what if the Moties come out, and in twenty years they've settled a dozen planets. Built ships. Threaten the Empire? The Navy can still handle them-you won't have to, but it could be done."

"Sure about that? I'm not. I'm not sure we could defeat them now. Exterminate them, yeah, but whip them? And twenty years from now? What would the butcher's bill be? New Scotland for sure. It's in their way. What other worlds would go?"

"What have we got for choices?" she asked. "I- Rod, I worry about our kids too. But what can we do? You can't make war on the Moties because they might be a threat someday!"

"No, of course not~ Here's di

They were all laughing before the di

"How do you do it?" David Hardy asked between fits of laughter.

"We have been studying your humor," Charlie answered. "We subtly exaggerate certain characteristics. The cumulative effect should be amusing if our theory was correct; apparently it was."

Horvath said, "You can make a fortune as entertainers no matter what else you have to trade."

"That, at least, will have little effect on your economy. We will require your aid in scheduling release of our technology, however."

Horvath nodded gravely. "I'm glad you appreciate the problem. If we just dump everything you have on the market, it would make chaos out of the market-"

"Believe me, Doctor, we have no desire to make problems for you. If you see us as an opportunity, think of how we see you! To be free of the Mote system after all these centuries! Out of the bottle! Our gratitude is unbounded."

"Just how old are you?" David Hardy asked.

The Motie shrugged. "We have fragments of records that indicate times a hundred thousand years ago, Dr. Hardy. The asteroids were already in place then. Others may be older, but we can't read them. Our real history starts perhaps ten thousand years ago."

"And you've had collapses of civilization since then?" Hardy asked.

"Certainly. Entrapped in that system? How could it be otherwise?"

"Do you have records of the asteroid war?" Re

Jock frowned. Her face wasn't suited for it, but the gesture conveyed distaste. "Legends only. We have- They are much like your songs, or epic poems. Linguistic devices to make memorization easier. I do not think they are translatable, but-" The Motie paused for a moment. It was as if she were frozen into the position she'd happened to be in when she decided to think. Then:

"It is cold and the food is gone, the demons rove the land.

Our sisters die and the waters boil, for the demons make the skies fall,"

The alien paused grimly. "I'm afraid that's not very good, but it's all I can do."

"It's good enough," Hardy said. "We have such poetry too. Stories of lost civilizations, disasters in our prehistory. We can trace most of them to a volcanic explosion about forty-five hundred years ago. As a matter of fact, that seems to be when men got the idea that God might intervene in their affairs. Directly, as opposed to creating cycles and seasons and such."

"An interesting theory-but doesn't it upset your religious beliefs?"

"No, why should it? Can't God as easily arrange a natural event to produce a desirable effect as He could upset the laws of nature? In fact, which is the more miraculous, a tidal wave just when it is needed, or a super- ± natural once-only event? But I don't think you have time to discuss theology with me. Senator Fowler seems to have finished his di

Ben Fowler took Rod and Sally to a small office behind the conference room. "Well?" he demanded.

"I'm on record," Sally said.

"Yeah. Rod?"

"We've got to do something, Senator. The pressure's getting out of hand."

"Yeah," Ben said. "Damn it, I need a drink. Rod?"

"Thanks, I pass."

"Well, if I can't think straight with a good belt of Scotch in me the Empire's already collapsed." He fumbled through the desk until he found a bottle, sneered at the brand, and poured a stiff drink into a used coffee cup. "One thing puzzles me. Why isn't the ITA making more trouble? I expected them to give us the most pressure, and they're quiet. Thank God for what favors we have." He tossed off half the cup and sighed.

"What harm does it do to agree now?" Sally asked.

"We can change our minds if we find out anything new-"

"Like hell, kitten," Ben said. "Once something specific is in the works, the sharp boys'll think how to make a crown out of it, and after they've got money invested-I thought you learned more about elementary politics than that. What do they teach in the university nowadays? Rod, I'm still waiting for something out of you."

Rod fingered his bent nose. "Ben, we can't stall much longer. The Moties must know that-they may even cut theft offer once they see just how ± much pressure we're under. I say let's do it."

"You do, huh. You'll make your wife happy anyway."

"He's not doing it for me!" Sally insisted. "You stop teasing him."

"Yeah." The Senator scratched his bald spot for a moment. Then he drained his cup and set it down. "Got to check one or two things. Probably be okay. If they are- I guess the Modes have a deal. Let's go in."

Jock gestured rapture and excitement. "They are ready to agree! We are saved!"

Ivan eyed the Mediator coldly. "You will restrain yourself. There is much to do yet."

"I know. But we are saved. Charlie, is it not so?"

Charlie studied the humans. The faces, the postures-."Yes. But the Senator remains unconvinced, and Blaine is afraid, and-Jock, study Re

"You are so cold! Can you not rejoice with me? We are saved!"

"Study Re

"Yes... I know that look. He wears it playing poker, when his down card is an unexpected one. It does not help us. But he has no power, Charlie! A wanderer with no sense of responsibility!"

"Perhaps. We juggle priceless eggs in variable gravity. I am afraid. I will taste fear until I die."

55 Re

Senator Fowler sat heavily and looked around the table. The look was enough to still the chatter and get everyone's attention. "I guess we know what we are all after," he said. "Now comes haggling over the price. Let's get the principles set, uh? First and foremost. You agree not to arm your colonies and to let us inspect ‘em to be sure they aren't armed?"

"Yes," Jock said positively. She twittered to the Master. "The Ambassador agrees. Provided that the Empire will, for a price, protect our colonies from your enemies."

"We'll certainly do that. Next. You agree to restrict trade to companies chartered by the Imperium?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's the main points," Fowler a