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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cubs of the Wolf, by Raymond F. Jones
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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
+
+
+Title: Cubs of the Wolf
+
+Author: Raymond F. Jones
+
+Illustrator: Rogers
+
+Release Date: September 6, 2007 [EBook #22526]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CUBS OF THE WOLF ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: MARKOVIA]
+
+
+
+
+CUBS OF THE WOLF
+
+BY RAYMOND F. JONES
+
+ _It may be that there is a weapon that, from the
+ viewpoint of the one it's used on, is worse than
+ lethal. You might say that death multiplies you by
+ zero; what would multiplication by minus one do?_
+
+Illustrated by Rogers
+
+
+In the spring the cherry blossoms are heavy in the air over the campus
+of Solarian Institute of Science and Humanities. On a small slope that
+rims the park area, Cameron Wilder lay on his back squinting through the
+cloud of pink-white petals to the sky beyond. Beside him, Joyce Farquhar
+drew her jacket closer with an irritated gesture. It was still too cold
+to be sitting on the grass, but Cameron didn't seem to notice it--or
+anything else, Joyce thought.
+
+"If you don't submit a subject for your thesis now," she said, "you'll
+take another full six months getting your doctorate. Sometimes I think
+you don't really want it!"
+
+Cameron stirred. He shifted his squinting gaze from the sky to Joyce and
+finally sat up. But he was staring ahead through the trees again as he
+took his pipe from his pocket and began filling it slowly.
+
+"I _don't_ want it if it's not going to mean anything after I get it,"
+he said belligerently. "I'm not going to do an investigation of some
+silly subject like The Transience of Venusian Immigrants in Relation to
+the Martian Polar Ice Cap Cycle. Solarian sociologists are the butt of
+enough ridicule now. Do something like that and for the rest of your
+life you get knocking of the knees whenever anybody inquires about the
+specialty you worked in and threatens to read your thesis."
+
+"Nobody's asking you to do anything you don't want to. But _you_ picked
+the field of sociology to work in. Now I don't see why you have to act
+such a purist that it takes months to find a research project for your
+degree. Pick something--anything!--I don't care what it is. But if you
+don't get a degree and an appointment out of the next session I don't
+think we'll ever get married--not ever."
+
+Cameron removed his pipe from his mouth with a precise grip and
+considered it intently as it cupped in his hands. "I'm glad you
+mentioned marriage," he said. "I was just about to speak of it myself."
+
+"Well, don't!" said Joyce. "After three years--Three years!"
+
+He turned to face her and smiled for the first time. He liked to lead
+her along occasionally just to watch her explode, but he was not always
+sure when he had gone too far. Joyce had a mind like a snapping, random
+matching calculator while he operated more on a slow, carefully shaping
+analogue basis, knowing things were never quite what they seemed but
+trying to get as close an approximation of the true picture as possible.
+
+"Will you marry me now?" he said.
+
+The question did not seem to startle her. "No degree, no
+appointment--and no chance of getting one--we couldn't even get a
+license. I hope you aren't suggesting we try to get along without one,
+or on a forgery!"
+
+Cameron shook his head. "No, darling, this is a perfectly bona fide
+proposal, complete with license, appointment, the works--what do you
+say?"
+
+"I say this spring sun is too much for you." She touched the dark mass
+of his hair, warmed by the sun's rays, and put her head on his shoulder.
+She started to cry. "Don't tease me like that, Cameron. It seems like
+we've been waiting forever--and there's still forever ahead of us. You
+can't do anything you want to--"
+
+Cameron put his arms about her, not caring if the whole Institute
+faculty leaned out the windows to watch. "That's why you should
+appreciate being about to marry such a resourceful fellow," he said more
+gently. And now he dropped all banter. "I've been thinking about how
+long it's been, too. That's why I decided to try to kill a couple of
+sparrows with one pebble."
+
+Joyce sat up. "You aren't serious--?"
+
+Cameron sucked on his pipe once more. "Ever hear of the Markovian
+Nucleus?" he said thoughtfully.
+
+Joyce slowly nodded her head. "Oh, I think I've heard the name
+mentioned," she murmured, "but nothing more than that."
+
+"I've asked for that as my research project."
+
+"But that's clear out of the galaxy--in Transpace!"
+
+"Yes, and obviously out of bounds for the ordinary graduate researcher.
+But because of the scholarship record I've been able to rack up here I
+took a chance on applying to the Corning Foundation for a grant. And
+they decided to take a chance on me after considerable and not entirely
+painless investigation. That's why you were followed around like a
+suspected Disloyalist for a month. My application included a provision
+for you to go along as my wife. Professor Fothergill notified me this
+morning that the grant had been awarded."
+
+"Cam--" Joyce's voice was brittle now. "You aren't fooling me?"
+
+He gathered her in his arms again. "You think I would fool about
+something like that, darling? In a week you'll be Mrs. C. Wilder, and as
+soon as school is out, on your way to the Markovian Nucleus. And
+besides, it took me almost as much work preparing the research
+prospectus as the average guy spends on his whole project!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sometimes Joyce Farquhar wished Cameron were a good deal different than
+he was. But then he wouldn't have been Cameron, and she wouldn't want to
+marry him, she supposed. And somehow, while he fell behind on the
+mid-stretch, he always managed to come in at the end with the rest of
+the field. Or just a little bit ahead of it.
+
+Or a good deal ahead of it. As now. It took her a few moments to realize
+the magnitude of the coup he had actually pulled off. For weeks she had
+been depressed because he refused to use some trivial, breeze research
+to get his degree. He could have started it as much as a year ago, and
+they could have been married now if he'd set himself up a real cinch.
+
+But now they were getting married anyway--and Cameron was getting the
+kind of research deal that would satisfy his frantic desire for
+integrity in a world where it counted for little, and his wish to
+contribute something genuine to the sociological understanding of
+sentient creatures.
+
+Their marriage, as was customary, would be a cut and dried affair. A
+call to the license bureau, receipt of formal sanction in the mail--she
+supposed Cameron had already made application--and a little party with a
+few of their closest friends on the campus. She wished she had lived in
+the days when getting married was much easier to do, and something to
+make a fuss about.
+
+She stirred and sat up, loosening the jacket as the sun came from behind
+a puff of cloud. "You could have told me about this a long time ago,
+couldn't you?" she said accusingly.
+
+Cameron nodded. "I could have. But I didn't want to get false hopes
+aroused. I didn't have much hope the deal would actually go through,
+myself. I think Fothergill is pretty much responsible for it."
+
+"Transpace--" Joyce said dreamily. "Tell me about the Markovian Nucleus.
+Why is it important enough for a big research study, anyway?"
+
+"It's a case of a leopard who changed his spots," said Cameron. "And
+nobody knows how or why. The full title of the project is A Study of the
+Metamorphosis of the Markovian Nucleus."
+
+"What happened? How are they any different from the way they used to
+be?"
+
+"A hundred and fifty years ago the Markovians were the meanest,
+nastiest, orneriest specimens in the entire Council of Galactic
+Associates. The groups of worlds in one corner of their galaxy, which
+make up the Nucleus, controlled a military force that outweighed
+anything the Council could possibly bring to bear against them.
+
+"With complete disregard of any scheme of interplanetary rules or order
+they harassed and attacked peaceful shipping and inoffensive cultures
+throughout a wide territory. They were something demanding the Council's
+military action. But the Council lacked the strength.
+
+"For years the Council dragged on, debating and threatening
+ineffectively. But nothing was ever done. And then, so gradually it was
+hardly noticed, the harassments began to die down. The warlike posturing
+was abandoned by the Markovians. Within a period of about seventy or
+eighty years there was a complete about-face. They wound up as good
+Indians, peaceful, cooeperative and intelligent members of the Council."
+
+"Didn't anybody ever find out why?" asked Joyce.
+
+"No. Nobody _wanted_ to find out. In the early years the worlds of the
+Council were hiding behind their collective hands hoping with all their
+might that the threat might go away if they kept their eyes closed long
+enough. And by some miracle of all miracles, when they parted their
+fingers for a scared glimpse, the threat _had_ disappeared.
+
+"When they could breathe a little more easily it seemed a foolish thing
+to bring out this old skeleton from the closet again, so a perpetual
+state of hush was established. Finally, the whole thing was practically
+forgotten except for a short paragraph in an occasional history text.
+But no politician or historian has ever dared publicly to question the
+mysterious why of the Markovian's about-face."
+
+"Sociologists should have done it long ago," said Joyce.
+
+"There was always the political pressure, of course," said Cameron. "But
+the real reason was simply our preoccupation with making bibliographies
+of each others' papers. It's going to take a lot of leg work, something
+in which our formal courses don't give us any basic training. Fothergill
+understands that--it's why he pushed me so hard with the Foundation. And
+Riley up there is capable of seeing it, too.
+
+"I showed him that here was a complex of at least a hundred and ten
+major planets, inhabited by a fairly homogenous, civilized people,
+speaking from a technological point of view at least. And almost
+overnight some force changed the entire cultural posture. I made him see
+that identification of that force is of no small interest to us right
+now. If it operated once, it could operate again--and would its results
+be as happy a second time?
+
+"Riley got the Foundation to kick through enough for you and me to make
+a start. A preliminary survey is about all it will amount to, actually,
+but if we show evidence of something tangible I'll get my degree, you'll
+get your basic certification--and we'll both return in charge of a
+full-scale inquiry with a staff big enough to really dig into things
+next year.
+
+"Now--about this matter of marriage which you didn't want me to speak
+of--"
+
+"Keep talking, Cam--you're doing wonderfully!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They got married at once, even though there were several weeks of school
+which had to be finished before they could leave. Among their friends on
+the campus there were a good many whispered remarks about the insanity
+of Joyce and Cameron in planning such a fantastic excursion, but Joyce
+was certain there was as much envy as criticism in the eyes of her
+associates. It might be true when they asserted that every conceivable
+sociological factor or combination of factors could be found and
+analyzed right here in the Solar System, but a husband who could finagle
+a way to combine a honeymoon trip halfway across space with his graduate
+research thesis was a rare specimen. Joyce played her advantage for all
+it was worth.
+
+Two weeks before departure time, however, Cameron was called to the
+office of Professor Fothergill. As he entered he found a third man
+present, wearing a uniform he recognized at once as belonging to the
+Council Secretariat.
+
+"I'll wait outside," he said abruptly as Fothergill turned. "I got your
+message and came right over. I didn't know--"
+
+"Sit down," said Fothergill. "Cameron, this is Mr. Ebbing, whose
+position you no doubt recognize. Mr. Ebbing, Mr. Wilder."
+
+The men shook hands and took seats across from each other. Fothergill
+sat between them at the polished table. "The Council, it seems, has
+developed an interest in your proposed research among the Markovians,"
+he said. "I'll let Mr. Ebbing tell you about it."
+
+Cameron felt a sinking anticipation within him as he turned to the
+secretary. Surely the Council wasn't going to actively oppose the
+investigation after so long a time!
+
+The secretary coughed and shuffled the papers he drew from his case.
+"It's not actually the Council's interest," he said, and Cameron was
+immediately relieved. "But I have been asked by the Markovian Nucleus,
+through their representative, to suggest that they would like to save
+you the long and unnecessary trip. He offers to co-operate to the
+fullest degree by causing all necessary materials to be transferred to
+your site of study right here. He feels that this is the least they can
+do since so much interest appears to exist in the Nucleus."
+
+Cameron stared at the secretary, trying to discern what the man's own
+attitude might be, but Ebbing gave no sign of playing it any way but
+straight.
+
+"It sounds like a polite invitation to stay home and mind our own
+business," said Cameron finally. "They don't want company."
+
+The secretary's expression changed to acknowledgment of the correct
+appraisal. "They don't want any investigation into the Metamorphosis of
+the Markovian Nucleus. There is no such thing. It is entirely a myth."
+
+"Says the Markovians--!"
+
+Ebbing nodded. "Says the Markovians. Other worlds, both within and
+without the Council have persisted in spreading tales and rumors about
+the Markovians for a long time. They don't like it. They are willing to
+co-operate in having a correct analysis of their culture published, but
+they don't want any more of these infamous rumors circulated."
+
+"Then why aren't they willing to promote such an investigation? This
+would be their big chance--if their ridiculous position were true!"
+
+"They _are_ willing. I've told you the representative has offered to
+send you all needed material showing the status of their culture."
+
+Cameron looked at the secretary for a long time before speaking again.
+"What's your position?" he asked finally. "Are we being ordered off the
+investigation?"
+
+"The Markovian representative doesn't want to go to quite that extreme.
+He knows that, too, would react unfavorably towards his people. Here's
+his point: So far, he's blocked news of your proposed research getting
+to his home worlds. But he knows that if you do carry it out in the
+manner you propose it is going to make a lot of the home folks mighty
+unhappy and they'll demand to know why he didn't stop it. So he's trying
+to satisfy both sides at once."
+
+"Why will the people in the Nucleus be made unhappy by our coming?"
+
+"Because you'll go there trying to track down the basis for the rumors
+that defame the Markovian character. You'll bring forcibly to their
+attention the fact that the rest of the Universe believes the Markovians
+are basically a bunch of pirates."
+
+"And the Markovians don't like to hear these things?"
+
+"Definitely not."
+
+"So you tell me the research is not being forbidden, but that the
+Markovians won't like it. Suppose I tell you, then, I'm not going to
+give up short of an order from the Council itself. But I am willing to
+camouflage the investigation if necessary. I'll make no open mention of
+what outside opinion says of the Markovians. I'll simply make a study of
+their history and character as it becomes available to me."
+
+Ebbing nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on Cameron's face. "I would say
+that would be eminently satisfactory," he said. "I will inform the
+representative of your decision."
+
+Then his face became more severe. "The Council will be pleased to learn
+of your willingness to be discreet. I wonder if you understand that the
+Foundation came to us upon receipt of your application, for official
+clearance of the project. It coincided quite fortuitously with the plans
+of the Council itself. For a long time we have been concerned with the
+lack of information regarding the Markovian situation and have been at a
+loss as to how to improve our situation.
+
+"Your proposed investigation seemed the answer, but we anticipated the
+Markovian objection and had to make certain you would co-operate to his
+satisfaction. I believe this will do it."
+
+"Why is the Council concerned?" said Cameron. "Have the Markovians
+changed their attitude in any way?"
+
+"No--but the rest of us remember, even though we don't speak of it, that
+the Nucleus was never punished for its depredations, nor was it ever
+defeated. Its strength is as great as ever in proportion to the other
+Council worlds.
+
+"What are the chances and potentialities of the Nucleus worlds ever
+again becoming the marauders they once were? That is the question which
+we feel must be answered. Without knowing, we are sitting on a powder
+keg in which the fuse may or may not be lighted. Will you bring us back
+the answer we need?"
+
+Cameron felt a sudden grimness which had not been present before. "I'll
+do all I can," he said soberly. "If the information is there I'll bring
+it back."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+After the secretary had gone and Fothergill turned from the door to
+rejoin him Cameron sat in faintly shocked consideration of the Council's
+unexpected support. It took his research out of the realm of the purely
+sociological and projected it into politics and diplomacy. He was
+pleased by their confidence, but not cheered by the added
+responsibility.
+
+"That's a lucky break," said Fothergill enthusiastically, "and I'm
+beginning to suspect you may be rather badly in need of all the breaks
+you can get once you land among the Markovians. Don't forget for a
+single minute that you are dealing with the sons and grandsons of
+genuine pirates."
+
+The professor sat down again. "There's one other little item of interest
+I turned up the other day. You should know about it before you leave.
+The Markovian Nucleus is somewhat of a hotbed of Ids."
+
+"Ids--you mean the Idealists--?"
+
+Fothergill nodded. "Know anything about them?"
+
+"Not much, except that they are a sort of parasitic group, living
+usually in a servant relationship to other races on terran-type worlds.
+As I recall, even they claim that they do not know the planet or even
+the galaxy of their origin, because they have been wanderers for so many
+generations among alien races. Perhaps it would be a good idea to make a
+study of them, too--I don't know that a thorough one has ever been
+made."
+
+"That's what I wanted to warn you about," said Fothergill, smiling.
+"Stick to one subject at a time. The Ids _would_ make a nice research
+project in themselves, and maybe you can get around to it eventually.
+But leave them alone for the present and don't become distracted from
+your basic project among the Markovians. The policy of the Corning
+Foundation is to demand something very definite in return for the money
+they lay on the line. You won't get to go back next year unless you
+produce. That's why I don't want you to get sidetracked in any way."
+
+
+II
+
+Cameron admitted to himself that he was getting more edgy as the day of
+departure approached, but he tried to keep Joyce from seeing it. He was
+worried about the possible development of further opposition now that
+the Markovian had expressed his displeasure, and he was worried about
+their reception once they reached the Nucleus. He wondered why they had
+not seen in advance that it would be an obvious blunder to let the
+Markovians be aware of their real purpose. It didn't even require a
+pirate ancestry to make groups unappreciative about resurrection of
+their family skeletons.
+
+But no other hindrance appeared, and on the evening before their
+departure Fothergill called that word had been received from Ebbing
+stating the Markovian representative had approved the visit now that
+Cameron had expressed a change in his objectives. Their coming had been
+announced to the Markovian people and the way prepared for an official
+welcome.
+
+Cameron was pleased by the change of attitude. He was hit for the first
+time, however, by the full force of the fact that he was taking his
+bride to a pirate center which the Council had never overthrown and
+which was active only moments ago, culturally speaking.
+
+If any kind of trouble should develop the Council would be almost
+impotent in offering them assistance. On the face of it, there was no
+reason to expect trouble. But the peculiarly oblique opposition of the
+Markovian delegate in the Council continued to make him uneasy.
+
+His tentative suggestion that he would feel better if he knew she were
+safe on Earth brought a blistering response from Joyce, which left him
+with no doubts about carrying out his original plans.
+
+And then, as the last of their packing was completed and they were ready
+to call it a day, the phone buzzed. Cameron hesitated, determined to let
+it go unanswered, then punched the button irritably on audio only.
+
+Instead of the caller, he heard the voice of the operator. "One moment
+please. Interstellar, Transpace, printed. Please connect visio."
+
+It was like a shock, he thought afterwards. There was no one he knew who
+could be making such a call to him. But automatically he did as
+directed. Joyce had come up and was peering over his shoulder now. The
+screen fluttered for a moment with polychrome colors and cleared. The
+message, printed for English translation, stood out sharply. Joyce and
+Cameron exclaimed simultaneously at the titling. It was from Premier
+Jargla, Executive Head of the Markovian Government.
+
+"To Wilder, Cameron and Joyce," it read, "greetings and appreciation for
+your proposed visit to the Markovian Nucleus for study of our history
+and customs. We have not been before so honored. We feel, however, that
+it is an imposition on your Foundation and on you personally to require
+that you make the long journey to the Nucleus for this purpose alone.
+While we would be honored to entertain you--"
+
+It was the same proposition as Ebbing had reported the delegate offered.
+Only this time it was from the head of the Markovian government himself.
+
+They sat up nearly all the rest of the night considering this new
+development. "Maybe you shouldn't go, after all," said Joyce once.
+"Maybe this is something that needs bigger handling than we can possibly
+give it."
+
+Cameron shook his head. "_I've_ got to go. They haven't closed the door
+and said we can't come. If I backed out before they did, I'd be known
+the rest of my life as the guy who was _going_ to crack the Markovian
+problem. But I'd much rather you--"
+
+"No! If you're going, so am I."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They consulted again with Fothergill and finally drafted as polite a
+reply as possible, explaining they were newly married, desired to make
+the trip a honeymoon excursion primarily and conduct an investigation
+into Markovian culture to prevent the waste of the wonderful opportunity
+their visit would afford them.
+
+An hour before takeoff a polite acknowledgment came back from the
+Nucleus assuring them a warm welcome and congratulating them on their
+marriage. They went at once to the spaceport and took over their
+stateroom. "Before anything else happens to try to pull us off this
+investigation," Cameron said.
+
+The trip would be a long one, involving more than two months subjective
+time, because no express runs moved any distance at all in the direction
+of the Nucleus. It was necessary to transfer three times, with days of
+waiting between ships on planets whose surface conditions permitted
+exploration only in cumbersome suits that could not be worn for more
+than short periods. Most of the waiting time was spent in the visitors'
+chambers at the landing fields.
+
+These seemed to grow progressively worse. The last one could not
+maintain a gravity below 2G, and the minimum temperature available was
+104 degrees. There was a three-day wait here and Joyce spent most of it
+lying on the bed, under the breeze of a fan which seemed to have
+required a special dispensation of the governing body to obtain.
+
+[Illustration: CAMERON]
+
+Cameron, however, was unwilling to spend his time this way in spite of
+the discomfort imposed by any kind of activity. Humidity was a physical
+factor which seemed to have gone undiscovered by the inhabitants of the
+planet they were on. He was sure it was constantly maintained within a
+fractional per cent of one hundred as he donned a clean pair of trunks
+and staggered miserably along the corridor toward a window that gave a
+limited view of the city about them.
+
+That was when he discovered that they were to be accompanied on the
+remainder of the journey by a Markovian citizen and his Id servant.
+
+The visitors' chamber in which these semi-terran conditions were
+supplied consisted of only three suites. The other two had been empty
+when Cameron and Joyce arrived the night before. Now a Markovian Id
+occupied a seat by the window. He glanced up with warm friendliness and
+invited Cameron to join him.
+
+Cameron hesitated, undecided for a moment whether to return to his suite
+for the portable semantic translator used in his profession at times
+like this. He always felt there was something decidedly unprofessional
+about resorting to their use and had spent many hours trying to master
+Markovian before leaving. He understood the Id well enough and decided
+to see if he could get along without the translator.
+
+"Thanks," he said, taking a seat. "I don't suppose there's much else to
+do except look at the scenery here."
+
+The Id showed obvious surprise that Cameron spoke the language without
+use of an instrument. His look of pleasure increased. "It is not often
+we find one of your race who has taken the trouble to make himself
+communicable with us. You must be expecting to make a long stay?"
+
+Cameron's sense of caution returned as he remembered the previous
+results of indiscreet announcement of his purpose. He wiped the stream
+of sweat from his face and neck and took a good look at the Id.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The Idealists were of an anthropomorphic race, dark-skinned like the
+terran Indian. Very few of them had ever appeared on Earth, however, and
+this was actually Cameron's first view of one in the flesh. He knew
+something of their reputation and characteristics from very brief study
+at the Institute--but no one really knew very much of the Ids as far as
+Earthmen were concerned. The warning of Fothergill to keep to the main
+line of his research sank to the bottom of his mind as he leaned toward
+the stranger with a fresh sense of excitement inside him.
+
+"I have never felt you could understand another man unless you spoke his
+language," he said in his not too stumbling Markovian.
+
+The Id, like himself, was dressed in the briefest of garments and
+perspiration poured from the dark skin as he nodded. "You speak sounder
+wisdom than one usually meets in a stranger," he said. "May I introduce
+myself: Sal Karone, servant of the Master Dalls Ret Marthasa?"
+
+Cameron introduced himself and cautiously explained that he and Joyce
+were on their honeymoon, but had a side interest in the history and
+customs of the Markovian Nucleus. "My people know so little about you,"
+he said, "it would be a great privilege to be able to take back
+information that would increase our mutual understanding."
+
+"All that the Idealists have belongs to every man and every race," said
+Sal Karone solemnly. "What we can give you may be had for the asking.
+But I would give you a word of warning about my Masters."
+
+Cameron felt the flesh of his back tingle with sudden chill as the eyes
+of the Id turned full upon him.
+
+"Do not try to find out the hidden things of the Masters. That is what
+you have come for, is it not, Cameron Wilder? That is why you have taken
+so much trouble to learn the language which we speak. I say do not
+inquire of the things about which they do not wish to speak. My Masters
+are a people who cannot yet be understood by the men of other worlds. In
+time there will be understanding, but that time is not yet. You will
+only bring disaster and disappointment upon us and yourselves by
+attempting to hasten that time."
+
+"I assure you I have no intention of prying," said Cameron haltingly. He
+fumbled for the right Markovian words. "You have misunderstood--We come
+only in friendship and with no intention of disturbing--"
+
+The Id nodded sagely. "So many crises are originated by good intentions.
+But I am sure that now you understand the feelings of my Masters in
+these things that you will be concerned only with your own enjoyment
+while in the Nucleus. And do come to the centers of the Idealists, for
+there is much we can show you, and our willingness has no limits."
+
+For a moment it was impossible for Cameron to remember that he was
+dealing with a mere servant of the Markovians. The Id's words were so
+incisive and his manner so commanding that it seemed he must be speaking
+in his own right.
+
+And then his manner changed. His boldness vanished and he spoke
+obsequiously. "You will forgive me," he said, "but this is a matter
+concerning which there is much feeling."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Cameron Wilder was more than willing to agree with this sentiment. As he
+returned to his own quarters he debated telling Joyce of his encounter
+with the Id, deciding finally that he'd have to mention it since they'd
+all be traveling together, but omitting the Id's repetition of the
+previous warnings.
+
+He did not meet the Markovian, nor did he encounter the Id again in the
+waiting quarters. It was not until they had embarked on the last leg of
+the journey and had been aboard the vessel for half a day that they met
+a second time.
+
+The ship was not a Markovian or a terran-type vessel of any kind.
+Another week's wait would have been required for one of those. As it
+was, their quarters were not too uncomfortable although very limited.
+The bulk of the vessel was designed for crew and passengers very much
+unlike Terran or Markovian, and only a few suites were provided for
+accommodation of such races.
+
+This threw the travelers to the Nucleus in close association again.
+Their suites opened to a common lounge deck and when Cameron and Joyce
+went out they found Sal Karone and the Markovian, Marthasa, already
+there.
+
+The Id was on his feet instantly. With a sharp bow he introduced the
+newcomers to his Master. Dells Marthasa stood and extended a hand with a
+smile. "I believe that is your greeting on Earth, is it not?" he said.
+
+"You must be familiar with our home world," said Cameron, returning the
+handshake.
+
+"Only a little, through my studies," said the Markovian. "Enough to make
+me want to hear much more. Please join us. Since my _sargh_ told me we
+would be traveling together I have looked forward to your company."
+
+The term, _sargh_, as Cameron learned shortly was applied to all Ids
+attached to Markovians. It had a connotation somewhere between servant
+and companion. Sal Karone remained in the background, but there was no
+servility in his manner. His eyes remained respectfully--almost fondly;
+that was the right word, Cameron thought curiously--on Marthasa.
+
+While the Id was slender in build, the Markovian was taller and bulkier.
+His complexion was also dark, but not quite so much so as the Id's. He
+was dressed in loose, highly colored attire that gave Cameron an
+impression of an Oriental potentate of his own world.
+
+But somehow there was a quality in Marthasa's manner that was jarring.
+It would have been less so if the Markovian had been less
+anthropomorphic in form and feature, but Cameron found it difficult to
+think of him as anything but a fellow man.
+
+A man of arrogance and ill manners, and completely unaware that he was
+so.
+
+It was apparent in his gestures and in the negligence with which he
+leaned back and surveyed his companions. "You'll be surprised when you
+see the Nucleus," he said. "We sometimes hear of rumors circulated among
+Council worlds that Markovian culture is rather backward."
+
+"I've never heard anything of that kind," said Cameron. "In fact we've
+heard almost nothing at all of the Nucleus. That's why we decided to
+come."
+
+"I'm sure we can make you glad you did. Don't you think so, Karone?"
+
+The face of the Id was very sober as he nodded solemnly and said,
+"Indeed, Master." His burning eyes were boring directly into Cameron's
+own.
+
+"I want to hear about your people, about Earth," said Marthasa. "Tell me
+what you would like to see and do while you're in the Nucleus."
+
+While Joyce answered, explaining they hardly knew what there was to be
+seen, Cameron's attention was fixed by the problem of the strange
+relationship between the two men--the two races. In the face of the Id
+there seemed a serenity, a dignity that the Markovian would never know.
+Why had the Ids failed to lift themselves out of servility to a state of
+independence, he wondered?
+
+Joyce explained the story about their honeymoon trip and built their
+interest in Markovian culture as casual indeed. As she went on, Marthasa
+seemed to be struck by a sudden thought.
+
+"I insist that you make your headquarters with me during your stay," he
+said. "I can see that you learn everything possible about the Nucleus
+while you are here. My son is a Chief Historian at our largest research
+library and my daughter has the post of Assistant Curator at our Museum
+of Science and Culture. You will never have a better opportunity to
+examine the culture of the Nucleus!"
+
+Cameron winced inwardly at the thought of Marthasa's companionship
+during their whole stay, and yet the Markovian's statement might be
+perfectly true--there would be no better opportunity to make their
+study.
+
+"We have an official note of welcome from your Executive Head, Premier
+Jargla," he said. "While we would be very happy to accept your
+invitation, it may be that he has different plans for our reception."
+
+Marthasa waved a hand. "I shall arrange for my appointment as your
+official host. Consider it agreed upon!"
+
+It was agreed. But Joyce was not as optimistic as Cameron in regarding
+it an aid to their study. "If they have a general aversion to talking
+about their pirate ancestry, Marthasa is just the boy to put us off the
+track," she said. "If he gets a clue to what we really want to know,
+he'll keep us busy looking at everything else until we give up and go
+home."
+
+Cameron leaned back in the deep chair with his hands behind his head.
+"It's not too hard to imagine Marthasa's great-great-grandfather running
+down vessels in space and pillaging helpless cities on other planets.
+The veneer of civilization on him doesn't look very thick."
+
+"It's not hard to imagine Marthasa doing it," said Joyce. "A scimitar
+between his teeth would be completely in character!"
+
+"If all goes well, you will probably see just that--figuratively
+speaking, of course. Where a cultural shift has been so great as this
+one you are certain to see evidence of both levels in conflict with one
+another. It's like a geologic fault line. Once we learn enough about the
+current mores the anomalies will stand out in full view. That's what we
+want to watch for."
+
+"One thing that's out of character right now is his offer of assistance
+through his son, the Chief Historian," said Joyce. "That doesn't check
+with the previous invitations to stay home. Once they let us have access
+to their historical records we'll have them pegged."
+
+"We haven't got it yet," said Cameron. "We can't be sure just what
+they'll let us see. But for my money I'd just as soon tackle the
+question of the Ids. Sal Karone is twice the man Marthasa is, yet he
+acts like he has no will of his own when the Markovian is around."
+
+"The Roman-slave relationship," said Joyce. "The Markovians probably
+conquered a large community of the Ids in their pirate days and brought
+them here as slaves. And I'll bet they are very much aware that the Ids
+are the better men. Marthasa knows it. That's why he has to put on a
+show in front of Sal Karone. He's the old Roman merchant struggling to
+keep up his conviction of superiority before the Greek scholar slave."
+
+"The Ids aren't supposed to be slaves. According to the little that's
+known they are completely free. I'm going to get Marthasa's version of
+it, anyway. Fothergill and the Foundation can't object to that much
+investigation of the Ids."
+
+He found the Markovian completely willing to talk about his _sargh_. On
+the last day of the voyage they managed to be alone for a time without
+the presence of Sal Karone.
+
+Marthasa shook his head in answer to Cameron's question. "No, the
+_sargh_ is not a slave--not in the sense I believe you mean it. None of
+the Ids are. It's a matter of religion with them to be attached to us
+the way they are. They have some incomprehensible belief that their
+existence is of no value unless they are serving their fellow beings.
+Since that means _all_ of them they can't be satisfied by serving each
+other so they have to pick on some other race.
+
+"I don't recall when they first showed up in the Nucleus, but it's been
+many generations ago. There've been Ids in my family for a half dozen
+generations anyway."
+
+"They had space flight, so they came under their own power?" Cameron
+asked incredulously.
+
+"No. Nothing like that. You can't imagine _them_ building spaceships can
+you? They migrated at first as lowest-class passengers on the commercial
+lines. Nobody knows just where they came from. They don't even know
+their home worlds. At first we tried to persuade them to go somewhere
+else, but then we saw how useful they could be with their fanatic belief
+in servitude.
+
+"At present there is probably no family in the Nucleus that doesn't have
+at least one Id _sargh_. Many of us have one for every member of the
+family." Marthasa paused. The tone of his voice changed. "When you've
+had one almost all your life as I've had Sal Karone it--well, it does
+something to you."
+
+"What do you mean?" Cameron asked cautiously.
+
+"Consider the situation from Sal Karone's point of view. He has no life
+whatever that is his own. His whole purpose is to give me companionship
+and satisfy my requirements. And I don't have to force him in any way.
+It's all voluntary. He's free to leave, even, any time he wants to. But
+I'm certain he never will."
+
+"Why do you feel so sure of this?"
+
+"It's hard to explain. I feel as if I've become so much a part of him
+that he couldn't survive alone any more. He's the one who's made it that
+way, not me. I have become indispensable to his existence. That's the
+way I explain it to myself. Most of my friends agree that this is about
+right."
+
+"It's rather difficult to understand a relationship like that--unless
+you put it in terms I am familiar with on Earth."
+
+"Yes--? What would it be called among your people?"
+
+"When a man so devotes his life to another we say it is because of
+love."
+
+Marthasa considered the word. "You would be wrong," he said. "It is just
+that in some way we have become indispensable to the Ids. They're
+parasites, if you want to put it that way. But they provide us a
+relationship we can get nowhere else, and that does us a great deal of
+good. That's what I meant when I said it does something to us."
+
+"What about the Id's own culture? Haven't they any community ties among
+themselves, or do they ignore their own kind?"
+
+"We've never investigated very much. I suppose some of our scholars know
+the answer to that, but the rest of us don't. The Ids have communities,
+all right. Not all of them are in service as _sarghs_ at one time. They
+have little groups and communities on the outskirts of our cities, but
+they don't amount to much. As a race they are simply inferior. They
+don't have the capacity for a strong culture of their own, so they can't
+exist independently and build a social structure like other people. It's
+this religion of theirs that does it. They won't let go of it, and as
+long as they hang onto it they can't stand on their own feet. But you
+don't need to feel sorry for them. We treat them all right."
+
+"Of course--didn't mean to imply anything else," said Cameron. "Do you
+know if there are other Id groups serving in other galaxies?"
+
+"Must be thousands of them altogether. Out beyond the Nucleus, away from
+your galaxy, you can't find a planet anywhere that isn't using the Ids.
+It's a wonderful setup. The Ids get what they want, and we get _sarghs_
+with nothing like the slave relationship you had in mind. With slaves
+there's rebellion, constant need of watchfulness, and no genuine
+companionship. A _sargh_ is different. He can be a man's friend."
+
+
+III
+
+They came out of the darkness of Transpace that evening and the stars
+returned in the glory of a million closely gathered suns. The Markovian
+Nucleus lay in a galaxy of tightly packed stars that made bright the
+nights of all their planets. It was a spectacle for Cameron, who had
+traveled but little away from the Solar System, and for Joyce who had
+never traveled at all.
+
+Marthasa and Sal Karone were with them in the lounge watching the
+screens as the ship changed drives. The Markovian squinted a moment and
+pointed to a minor dot near the corner of the view. "That's our
+destination. Another six hours and you can set foot on the best planet
+in the whole Universe!"
+
+If it had been mere enthusiasm, Cameron could have taken it with
+tolerant understanding. But Marthasa's smugness and arrogance had not
+deserted him once since the beginning of this leg of the trip.
+Objectively, as a cultural facet to be examined, it was interesting, but
+Cameron agreed with Joyce that it was going to be difficult to live
+with.
+
+The unsolved puzzle, however, was Sal Karone. It was obvious that the Id
+was sensitive to the gauche ways of the Master, yet his equally obvious
+devotion was unwavering.
+
+Marthasa had sent word ahead to the government that he desired the
+Terrans to be his guests. Evidently he was a person of influence for
+assent was returned immediately.
+
+His planet was a colorful world, banded by huge, golden deserts and
+pinkish seas. The dense vegetation of the habitable areas was blue with
+only a scattered touch of green. Cameron wondered about the chemistry
+involved.
+
+The landing was made at a port that bordered a sea. The four of them
+were the only ones disembarking, and before the car that met them had
+reached the edge of the city the ship was gone again.
+
+A pirates' lair, Cameron thought, without the slightest touch of
+amusement. The field looked very old, and from it he could imagine
+raiders had once taken off to harass distant shipping and do wanton
+destruction of cities and peoples on innocent worlds.
+
+He watched the face of Marthasa as they rode through the city. There was
+a kind of Roman splendor in what they saw, and there was a crude Roman
+pride in the Markovian who was their host. The arrogance, that was not
+far from cruelty, could take such pride in the sweep of spaceships
+embarking on missions of murder and plunder.
+
+And yet all this barbarism had been put aside. Only the arrogance
+remained, expressed in Marthasa's tone as he called their attention to
+the features of the city and landscape through which they passed. It
+wasn't pleasing particularly to Terran tastes, but Cameron guessed that
+it represented a considerable accomplishment to the Markovians. Stone
+appeared to be the chief building material, and, while the craftsmanship
+was exact, the lines of the structures lacked the grace of the Greek and
+Roman monuments of which Cameron was reminded.
+
+They came at last to the house of Marthasa. There was no doubt now that
+he was a man of wealth or importance--probably both. He occupied a vast,
+villa-like structure set on a low hill overlooking the city. It was a
+place of obvious luxury in the economic scale of the Markovians.
+
+They were assigned spacious quarters overlooking a garden of incredible
+colors beyond the transparent wall facing it. Sal Karone was also
+assigned duties as their personal attendant, which Cameron grasped
+intuitively was a gesture of supreme honor among the Markovians. He
+thanked Marthasa profusely for this courtesy.
+
+After getting unpacked they were shown through the house and grounds and
+met Marthasa's family. His wife was a woman of considerable beauty even
+by Terran standards, but there was a sharpness in her manner and a sense
+of coldness in the small black eyes that repelled Cameron and Joyce even
+as the thoughtless actions of Marthasa had done.
+
+Cameron looked carefully for the same qualities in the three smaller
+children who were at home, and found them easily. In none of them was
+there the aura of serenity possessed by the Id servants.
+
+When they were finally alone that night Cameron sat down to make some
+notes on their observations up to date. "The fault line I mentioned is
+so obvious you can't miss it," he said to Joyce. "It's as if they're
+living one kind of life because they think it's the thing to do, but all
+their thoughts and feelings are being drawn invisibly in another
+direction--and they're half ashamed of it."
+
+"Maybe the Ids have something to do with it. Remember Marthasa's
+statement that the relationship of the _sarghs_ does something to the
+Markovians? If we found out exactly what that something is, we might
+have the answer."
+
+Cameron shook his head. "I've tried to fit it together that way, too,
+but it just doesn't add up. The basic premise of the Ids is asceticism
+and there never was any strength in that idea. Marthasa is probably
+right in his estimate of the Ids. They have achieved an internal
+serenity but only through compensating their basic weakness with the
+crude strength of the Markovians and other races to which they cling.
+They haven't the strength to build a civilization of their own.
+Certainly they haven't got the power to influence the whole Nucleus.
+No--we'll have to look a good deal farther than the Ids before we find
+the answer. I'm convinced of that, even though I'd like to find out
+exactly what makes _them_ tick. Maybe next trip--"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The following days were spent in almost profitless activity as far as
+their basic purpose in being in the Nucleus was concerned. Marthasa and
+his wife took them on long tours through the city and into the scenic
+areas of the continent. They promised trips over the whole planet and to
+other worlds of the Nucleus. There seemed no end to the sight-seeing
+that was proposed for them to do.
+
+Cameron improved his facility with the language, and Joyce was beginning
+to get along without the translator. They were introduced to a
+considerable number of other Markovians, including the official
+representative of Premier Jargla. This gave them added contact with the
+Markovian character, but Marthasa and his family seemed so typical of
+the race that scarcely anything new was learned from the others.
+
+At no time was anything hinted in reference to the original reluctance
+to have the Terrans visit the Nucleus. All possible courtesy was shown
+them now, and Cameron dared not mention the invitations to stay home. He
+felt the situation was as penetrable as a thick wall of sponge rubber
+backed by a ten-foot foundation of steel.
+
+After three weeks of this, however, he cautiously broached the subject
+of meeting the son and daughter of Marthasa in regard to visiting the
+library and museum. He had met each of them just once and found them
+rather cool to his presence. He had not dared express his interest in
+their specialties at that time.
+
+Marthasa was favorable and apologetic, however. "I have intended to
+arrange it," he said. "There have been so many other things to do that I
+have neglected your interest in these things. We won't neglect it any
+longer. Suppose we make an appointment for this afternoon? Zlenon will
+be able to give you his personal attention."
+
+[Illustration: JOYCE]
+
+Zlenon was Marthasa's son, who held the position of Chief Historian at
+the research library. He was more slender and darker than his father,
+and lacking in his volubility and glad-handedness.
+
+He greeted Cameron's request with a tolerant smile. "You have to be
+quite specific, Mr. Wilder, when you say you would like to know about
+the history of the Markovian Nucleus. You understand the Nucleus
+consists of over a hundred worlds and has a composite history extending
+back more than thirty thousand of your years in very minute detail."
+
+Cameron countered with a helpless shrug and smile. "I'm afraid I'll have
+to depend on your good nature to guide me through such a mass. I don't
+intend to become a student of Markovian history, of course, but perhaps
+you have adequate summaries with which a stranger could start. Going
+backward, let us say, for perhaps two or three hundred Terran years?"
+
+"Of course--some very excellent ones are available--" He moved toward
+the reading table nearby and began punching a selection of buttons.
+
+As Cameron and Joyce moved to follow, Marthasa waved a hand expansively
+and started out the other way. "I can see you're going to be set for a
+while. I'll just leave you here, and send the car back after I reach the
+house. Don't be late for dinner."
+
+They nodded and smiled and turned to Zlenon. The Markovian was watching
+them with pin-point eyes. "I wondered if there was any _particular_
+problem in which you might be interested," he said calmly. "If there
+is--?"
+
+Cameron shook his head hastily. "No--certainly not. Just general
+information--"
+
+The Historian turned his attention to the table and began explaining its
+use to the Terrans, showing how they could obtain recording of any
+specific material they wished to choose. It would appear in either
+printed or pictorial form or could be had on audio if they wanted it.
+Once he was certain they could make their own selections he left them to
+their study.
+
+"This is the best break we could possibly have hoped for," Joyce
+whispered as Zlenon disappeared from their sight. "We can get anything
+we want in the whole library if I understand the operation of this
+gadget the way I think I do."
+
+"That's the way it looks to me," Cameron answered. "But don't get your
+hopes too high. There must be a catch in it somewhere, the way they were
+trying to shoo us away from coming here."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They punched the buttons for the history of the planet they were on,
+scanning slowly from the present to earlier years. There were endless
+accountings of trading and commercial treaties between members of the
+Nucleus as shifts of economic balance occurred. There were stories of
+explorations and benevolent contacts with races on the outer worlds.
+Details of their most outstanding scientific discoveries, which seemed
+to come with profligate rapidity--
+
+Cameron whipped back through the pages of the histories, searching only
+for a single item, one clue to the swift evolution from barbarism to
+peaceful co-operation. After an hour he was in the middle of that
+critical period when the Council despaired of its inability to cope with
+the Markovian menace.
+
+But the stories of commerce and invention and far-flung exchange with
+other peoples continued. Nowhere was there any reference to the violence
+of the period. They went back two hundred--five hundred years--beyond
+the time when Council members first made contact with the Nucleus.
+
+There was nothing.
+
+Cameron sat back in complete puzzlement as it became apparent that it
+was useless to go back further. "The normal thing would be for them to
+brag all over the place about their great conquests. Even races who
+become comparatively civilized citizens ordinarily let themselves go
+when it comes to history. If they've had a long record of conquest and
+bloodshed, they say so with plenty of chest pounding. Of course, it's
+padded out to reflect their righteous conquest over tyranny, but it's
+always there in _some_ form.
+
+"But nothing up to now has been normal about the development of the
+Markovian problem and this really tops it off--the complete omission of
+any reference to their armed conquests."
+
+"Maybe this planet didn't participate very much. Perhaps only a small
+number of the Nucleus worlds were responsible for it," said Joyce.
+
+Cameron shook his head. "No. The Council records show that the Nucleus
+as a unit was responsible, and that virtually all the worlds are
+specifically mentioned. And even if this one had been out of it
+completely you could still expect references to it because there was
+constant interchange with most of the other planets. We can try another
+one, though--"
+
+They tried one more, then a half dozen in quick scanning. They swept
+through a summarization of the Nucleus as a whole during that critical
+period.
+
+There was nothing to show that the Markovians had ever been anything but
+peace-loving citizens intent on pursuit of science, commerce, and the
+arts.
+
+"This could have been rigged for our special benefit," said Joyce
+thoughtfully as they ended the day's futile search. "They didn't want to
+apply enough pressure to keep us from coming, but they did want to make
+sure we wouldn't find out anything about their past."
+
+Cameron shook his head slowly. "It couldn't have been done in the time
+they've had. Simply cutting out what they didn't want to show us
+wouldn't have done it. There's too much cross reference to all periods
+involved. It's a complete phony, but it's not something done on the spur
+of the moment just for our benefit. It's too good for that."
+
+"Maybe they've had it for a _long_ time--just in case somebody like us
+should come along."
+
+"It's possible, but I don't think that's right either," said Cameron. "I
+can't give you any reason for thinking so--except the phoniness goes
+deeper than merely deceiving an investigator. Somehow I have the feeling
+that the Markovians are even deceiving themselves!"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They left the building and took the car back to the house of Marthasa
+without seeing Zlenon again. Their Markovian host was waiting. Cameron
+thought he sensed a trace of tension in Marthasa that wasn't there
+before as he led them to seats in the garden.
+
+"We don't like to boast about the Nucleus," he said with his customary
+volubility, "but we have to admit we are proud of our science and
+technology. Few civilizations in the Universe can match it. That's not
+to disparage the fine accomplishments of the Terrans, you understand,
+but it's only _natural_ that out here on these older worlds--"
+
+They listened half attentively, trying in their imaginations to pierce
+the armor he used to defend so frantically the thing the Markovians did
+not want the outer worlds to know anything about.
+
+The talk went on during mealtime. Marthasa's wife caught the spirit of
+it and they both regaled the Terrans with accounts of the grandeur of
+Markovian exploits. Cameron grew more and more depressed by it, and as
+they retired to their rooms early he began to realize how absolutely
+complete was the impasse into which they had been driven.
+
+"They've let us in," he said to Joyce. "They've shown us the history
+they've written of themselves. There's no way in the Universe we can
+stand up and boldly challenge that history and call them the liars we
+know they are."
+
+"But they must know of the histories written on other Council worlds
+about their doings," said Joyce. "Maybe we could reach a point where we
+could at least ask about them. Ask how it is that other histories show
+that a hundred and twenty years ago a fleet of Markovian ships swept
+unexpectedly out of space and looted and decimated the planet Lakcaine
+VI. Ask why the Markovian history says only that the Nucleus concluded
+six new commercial treaties to the benefit of all worlds concerned in
+that period, without any mention of Lakcaine VI."
+
+"When you start asking questions like that you've got to be ready to
+run. And if it fizzles out you've lost all chance of coming back for a
+second try. That could fizzle out because they simply deny the validity
+of all history outside their own."
+
+"Then we might as well pack and go home if you're not going to challenge
+any of this stuff they hand out. We won't find the answer by standing
+around and taking _their_ word on everything."
+
+"I forgot to tell you one thing," Cameron said slowly. "We may not have
+to take their word for it. Someone else here knows the truth of the
+situation, also."
+
+"Who?"
+
+"The Ids." He told her then of the warning Sal Karone had given him
+aboard the ship on the way to the Nucleus, the statement that "My
+Masters are a people who cannot yet be understood by the men of other
+worlds."
+
+"The Ids know what the Markovians are and what they are trying to hide.
+I had almost overlooked that simple fact."
+
+"But you can't go out and challenge them to tell the truth any more than
+you can the Markovians!" Joyce protested. "Because Sal Karone went out
+of his way to warn you doesn't mean he's going to get real buddy-buddy
+and tell you everything you want to know."
+
+"No, of course not. But there's one little difference between him and
+the Markovians. He has admitted openly that he knows why we're here.
+None of the Markovians have done that yet. We don't have to challenge
+him because there already exists the tacit understanding that something
+is decidedly phony.
+
+"And besides, he invited us to come and visit the Id communities outside
+the city. I think that's an invitation we should accept just as soon as
+possible."
+
+
+IV
+
+Sal Karone had not repeated his invitation that the Terrans visit the Id
+communities, but he showed no adverse reaction when Cameron said they
+would like to take him up on his previous offer.
+
+"You will be very welcome," he said. A soft smile lightened his
+features. "I will notify my leaders you will come."
+
+With a start, Cameron realized that the existence of any kind of
+community probably implied leaders, but he had ignored this in view of
+Marthasa's insistence that the Ids had no culture of their own. He
+wondered just how untrue that assertion might be.
+
+For the first time, he sensed genuine disapproval in the attitude of
+Marthasa when he mentioned plans to go with Sal Karone to the Id
+centers. "There's nothing out there you'd want to see," the Markovian
+said. "Their village is only a group of crude huts in the forest. It'll
+be a waste of your time to go out there when there's so much else we
+could show you."
+
+"Sal Karone suggested the visit before we arrived," said Cameron. "He'd
+be hurt if we turned him down. Perhaps just to satisfy him--"
+
+Angry indecision hid behind Marthasa's eyes. "Well--maybe that makes it
+different," he said finally. "We try to do everything possible to make
+the Ids happy. It's up to you if you want to waste your time on the
+visit."
+
+"I think I do. Sal Karone has been very attentive and pleasant to us.
+It's a small favor in return."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Early in the morning, two days later, they left with Sal Karone
+directing them to the Idealist center. They discovered that the term, at
+the edge of the city, was a mere euphemism. It was a long two-hour trip
+at the high speed of which the Markovian cars were capable.
+
+The city itself vanished, and a thickly wooded area took its place
+during the last half of the journey, reminding them of the few remote,
+peaceful forests of Earth. Then, as the car slowed, they left the
+highway for a rough trail that led for a number of miles back into the
+forest. They came at last into a clearing circled by rough wooden
+dwellings possessing all the appearance of crude, primitive existence on
+little more than a subsistence level.
+
+"This is the village of our Chief," said Sal Karone. "He will be pleased
+to explain all you may wish to know about the Idealist Way."
+
+Cameron was shocked almost beyond speech by his first sight of the
+clearing. He had tried to prepare for the worst, but he had told himself
+that the Markovian's estimate of the Ids could not be true. Now he was
+forced to admit that it was. In contact with all the skills of their
+Masters, which they would certainly be permitted to learn if they wanted
+to, the Ids chose primitive squalor when they were on their own.
+
+Their serenity could be little more than the serenity of the savage who
+has no wants or goals and is content to merely serve those whose
+ambitions are greater. It was the serenity and peacefulness of death.
+The Ids had died--as a race--long ago. The Markovians were loud,
+boastful, and obnoxious, but that could be discounted as the awkwardness
+of youth in a race that would perhaps be very great in the Universe at a
+time when the Ids were wholly forgotten.
+
+Cameron felt depressed by the sight. He began to doubt the wisdom of his
+coming here in hope of finding an answer to the Markovian deception. The
+warning of Sal Karone on shipboard seemed now like nothing more than a
+half ignorant demonstration of loyalty toward the Markovian Masters.
+Possibly there had been some talk which the Id had overheard and he had
+taken it upon himself to warn the Terrans--knowing perhaps nothing of
+the matter which the Markovians were reluctant to expose.
+
+If he could have done so gracefully, Cameron felt he would have turned
+and gone back without bothering with the interview. His curiosity about
+the Ids themselves had all but vanished. The answer to their situation
+was obvious. And he had maintained such high hope that somehow his
+expectation in them would be fulfilled during this visit.
+
+There was a satisfying cleanliness apparent in everything as Sal Karone
+led them to the largest of the buildings. Joyce seemed to be enjoying
+herself as she surveyed the surroundings with an interest Cameron had
+lost.
+
+As they entered the doorway a thin, straight old man with a white beard
+arose from a chair and approached them in greeting. The ancient,
+conventional, patriarchal order, Cameron thought. He could see the whole
+setup in a nutshell right now. Squalid communities like this where the
+too-old and the too-young were nurtured on the calcified traditions to
+which nothing was ever added. The able serving in the homes of the
+Markovians, providing sustenance for themselves and those who depended
+on them. The Markovians were generous indeed in not referring to the Ids
+as slaves. There was little else they could ever be called.
+
+The Chief was addressed as Venor by Sal Karone, who introduced them. "It
+is kind of you to include our village in your visit to the Nucleus,"
+said Venor. "There are many more spectacular things to see."
+
+"There is often greatest wisdom in the least spectacular," said Cameron,
+trying to sound like a sage. "Sal Karone was kind enough to invite us to
+your center and said there was much you could show us."
+
+"The things of the soul are not possible to _show_," said Venor gently.
+"We wish there were time that we might teach you some of the great
+things our people have learned in their long wanderings. I am told that
+your profession and your purpose in being here is the study of races and
+their actions and the things they have learned."
+
+With a start, Cameron came to greater attention. He was certain he had
+never given any such information in the presence of Sal Karone or
+Marthasa. Yet even Venor knew he was a sociologist! Here was the first
+knowledge that must lie behind the evidence of the undercurrent of
+objections of the Markovian representative in the Council and Premier
+Jargla.
+
+And this primitive patriarch was in possession of it.
+
+Relations between the individuals of this planet were something far more
+complex than Cameron had assumed. He hesitated a moment before speaking.
+Just why had this bait been so innocently thrown to him? Marthasa had
+never mentioned it. Yet had the Markovians asked for an attempt to get
+an admission from him for their own purposes? And what purposes--?
+
+He abandoned caution, and nodded. "Yes, that is the thing I am
+interested in. I had hoped to study the history and ways of the
+Markovians. As Sal Karone has told me, they don't want strangers to make
+such a study. You are perhaps not so unwilling to be known--?"
+
+"We wish the entire Universe might know of us and be as we are."
+
+"You hardly make that possible, subjugating your identity so completely
+to that of another race. The worlds will never know of you unless you
+become strong and unified as a people and obtain a name of your own."
+
+"Our name is known," said Venor. "We are the Idealists. You will not
+find many worlds on which we are unknown, and they call us the ones who
+serve. Even on your world you have the saying of a philosopher who
+taught that any who would be master should become the servant of all.
+Your people once understood it."
+
+"Not as a literal undertaking," said Cameron. "You can't submerge your
+entire racial identity as you have done. That is not what the saying
+meant."
+
+"To us it does," said Venor solemnly. "We would master the Universe--and
+therefore we must serve it. That is the core of the law of the
+Idealists."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Cameron let his gaze scan through the window to the small clearing in
+the thick forest, to the circle of wooden houses. _We would master the
+Universe_--he restrained a smile.
+
+"You cannot believe this," said Venor, "because you have never
+understood the mark of the servant or the mark of the master. How often
+is there difficulty in distinguishing one from the other!"
+
+And how often do the illusions of the mind ease the privations of the
+body, Cameron thought. So that was the source of the Idealist serenity.
+Wherever they went they considered themselves the masters through
+service--and conversely, those they served became the slaves, he
+supposed. It was a pleasant, easy philosophy that hurt no one. Except
+the ones who believed it. They died the moment they accepted it, for all
+initiative and desire were gone.
+
+"The master is he who guides the destiny of a man or a race," said Venor
+almost in meditation. "He is not the man who gathers or disperses the
+wealth, or who builds the cities and the ships to the stars. The master
+is he who teaches what must be done with these things and how a people
+shall expend their lives."
+
+"And the Markovians do this, in obedience to you?" said Cameron
+whimsically.
+
+"Wherever my people are," answered Venor, "strife ceases and peace
+comes. Who can do this is master of worlds."
+
+There was a strange solemnity about the voice and figure of the old
+Idealist that checked the sense of ridiculousness in Cameron. It seemed
+somehow strangely moving.
+
+"You believe the worlds are better," he asked gently, "just because you
+are there?"
+
+"Yes," said Venor, "because we are there."
+
+There was a pathos about it that fired Cameron's anger. On scores of
+worlds there were primitive groups like this one, blinding themselves
+with a glory that didn't exist, in the grip of ancient, meaningless
+traditions. The younger ones--like Sal Karone--were intelligent, worth
+salvaging, but they could never be lifted out of this mire of false
+belief unless they could be shown how empty it was.
+
+"Nothing you have said explains the mystery of how this great thing is
+accomplished," said Cameron almost angrily. "Even if we wanted to
+believe it were true, it is still as utterly incomprehensible as before
+we came."
+
+"There is a saying among us," said Venor kindly. "Translated into your
+tongue it would be: How was the wild dog tamed, and a saddle put upon
+the fierce stallion?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Stubbornly, then, Venor would say no more about the philosophy of the
+Idealists. He spoke freely of the many other worlds upon which the
+Idealists lived and served, and he affirmed the tradition that they did
+not even know the place of their origin, the planet that might have been
+their home world.
+
+He was evasive, however, when Cameron asked when the first contact was
+made between his people and the Markovians. There was something that the
+Ids, too, were holding back, the sociologist thought, and there was no
+apparent reason for it.
+
+Recklessly, he decided nothing could be lost by attempting to blast for
+it. "Why have the Markovians consistently lied to us?" he said. "They've
+given us their history--and if your people know the feelings of other
+worlds they know this history is a lie. Only a few generations ago the
+Markovians pirated and plundered these worlds, and now they pose as
+little tin gods with a silver halo. Why?"
+
+Sal Karone stood by with a look of horror on his face, but Venor made no
+sign of alarm at this forbidden question. He merely inclined his held
+slowly and repeated, "How was the wild dog tamed, and a saddle put upon
+the fierce stallion?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+That was the end of the interview. The Ids insisted, however, that he
+inspect the rest of the village and they personally guided the Terrans
+on the tour. Cameron's trained eye took in at a glance, however, the
+evidence supporting his previous conclusion. The artifacts and buildings
+demonstrated a primitive forest culture. The other individuals he saw
+were almost entirely the old and very young--the ones unsuitable as
+servants to the Markovians. Venor explained that family life among them
+paralleled in general that of the Masters. Whole Idealist families lived
+and served as units in the Markovian household. Exceptions existed in
+the case of Sal Karone and others of his age who were separated from
+their families and had not yet begun their own.
+
+As they returned to the car Venor took their hands. He pressed Cameron's
+warmly and looked into his eyes with deep sincerity. "You have made us
+glad by your presence," he said. "And when the time comes for you to
+return, we shall repay all the pleasure you have given us."
+
+"I'm afraid we won't be able to do that," said Cameron. "We appreciate
+your hospitality, but I'm sure time will not permit us to visit you
+again, as much as we'd like to." In the past few minutes he had reached
+the conclusion that further research on this whole planet was futile.
+The best thing they could do was go somewhere else in the Nucleus and
+make a fresh start.
+
+Venor shook his head, smiling. "We will see each other again, Joyce and
+Cameron. I feel that the day will be very soon."
+
+It was senseless to let himself be irritated by the senile patriarch who
+spoke out of a world of illusion but Cameron could not help feeling
+nettled as he started back to the city. Somehow it seemed impossible to
+regard Venor as merely a specimen for sociological research. The Chief
+of the Idealists reached out of his unreal world and made his contact
+with the Terrans a personal thing--almost as if he had spent all his
+life waiting for their coming. There was a sense of intimacy against
+which Cameron rebelled, and yet it was not an unpleasant thing.
+
+Cameron's mind oscillated between the annoyance of Venor's calm
+assertion that they would be back shortly, and the nonsense of the Id
+belief that they controlled the civilizations in which they were
+servants. How was the wild dog tamed, and a saddle put upon the fierce
+stallion?
+
+He smiled faintly to himself, wondering if the Markovians were fully
+aware that the Ids regarded them as tamed dogs and saddled stallions.
+They couldn't help knowing, of course, but it was hard to imagine
+Marthasa and his wife being very much amused by such an estimate. The
+situation would be intolerable, however, if it were met by anything
+except amusement. It might be a mildly explosive subject, but he was
+going to find out about that one small item before moving on, anyway,
+Cameron decided.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sal Karone was strangely silent during the whole of the return trip. He
+offered no comments and made only brief, noncommittal replies to
+questions about the country through which they passed. He seemed
+depressed by the results of their visit. Probably because the violation
+of his warning to not question the lives of the Markovians. It was a
+curious evidence of their completely unreal, proprietary attitude in
+respect to their Masters. They'd have to investigate Marthasa's response
+as thoroughly as possible. There seemed to be no taboo on discussion of
+the Ids with him.
+
+His annoyance at their acceptance of the invitation to the Id village
+appeared to have vanished as he greeted them upon their return. "We
+delayed eating, thinking you'd be back in time. If you'll join us in the
+dining room as soon as you're ready--?"
+
+The villa of Marthasa seemed different after the day's experience with
+the Ids, although Cameron was certain nothing had changed either in a
+physical way or in their relations with the Markovians. It was as if his
+senses had been somehow sharpened to detect an undercurrent of feeling
+of which he had previously been unaware. Glancing at Joyce, he sensed
+she felt the same.
+
+"I have the feeling that we missed something," she said, as they changed
+clothes to join Marthasa and his wife. "There was something Venor wanted
+us to know and wouldn't say. I would almost like to go back there again
+before we go away."
+
+Cameron was surprised at his own annoyance with Joyce's statement. It
+reflected the impressions in his own mind which he was trying to ignore.
+"Nonsense," he said. "There's no use trying to read great profundity in
+the words of an old patriarch of the woods. He's nothing except what he
+appears to be."
+
+The Markovians talked easily of Venor and the rest of the Ids. "We have
+tried to get him to join us in the city," said Marthasa as the meal
+began, "but he won't hear of it. It seems to give him a sense of
+importance to live out there alone with his retinue and have the other
+Ids come to him with their problems. He's a kind of arbiter and
+patriarch to all of them for many miles around."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+While Marthasa talked Cameron tried to bring his awareness of all the
+varied facets of the problem together and see it whole, as he now
+understood it. The Markovians, a vast pirate community, had voluntarily
+abandoned freebooting for reasons yet to be discovered. They had turned
+their backs upon it so forcibly that they hid even the history of their
+depredations. And one of their last acts must have been the capture of a
+large colony of Idealists who were forced into servitude. Now the Ids
+compensated their enslavement by the religious belief that service made
+them masters over the ex-pirates, convincing themselves that _they_ had
+changed the Markovians, taming them like wild dogs, saddling them as
+fierce stallions--
+
+Cameron wondered if he dared, and then dismissed the thought that there
+could be any risk. It was too ridiculous!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There was even a half-malicious smile on his lips as he broke into
+Marthasa's conversation. "One of the things that made me very curious
+today," he said, "was the general reaction of your people to the
+Idealist illusion that they have _tamed_ you--as expressed in their
+aphorism about how was the wild dog--?"
+
+He never finished. Across the table the faces of the Markovians had
+frozen in sudden bitterness. The shield of friendliness vanished under
+the cold glare from their eyes.
+
+Marthasa's lips seemed to curl as he whispered, "So you came like all
+the rest! And we wanted so much to believe you were honest. A study! A
+chance to find material for lies about the Nucleus to spread among all
+the Council worlds."
+
+He continued almost sadly, "You will be confined to your quarters until
+transfer authorities can arrange for your return to Earth. And you may
+be sure that never again will such a scheme get one of your kind into
+the Nucleus again."
+
+But there was no hint of sadness in his wife's face. She glared coldly.
+"I said they should never had been permitted to come!"
+
+Cameron rose in sudden bewildered protest. "I assure you we have no
+intention--" he began.
+
+And then he stopped. In one moment of incredible clarity while they
+stood there, eyes locked in bitter stares, he understood. He knew the
+myth was not a myth. It was cold, unbelievable reality. The Ids _had_
+tamed the Markovians.
+
+In a moment of fear he wondered if it were anything more than a thin
+shell that could be shattered by a whisper from a stupid dabbler in
+cultures, who really knew nothing at all about the profession to which
+he pretended.
+
+
+V
+
+As if upon some secret signal Sal Karone appeared from the serving room
+at their left.
+
+"Our visitors are no longer our guests," Marthasa said sharply with
+accusing eyes still upon Cameron. "They will remain in their rooms until
+time for deportation.
+
+"I trust it will not be necessary to use force," he said directly to
+Cameron.
+
+"Of course not. But won't you let me explain--won't you even allow an
+apology for breaking a taboo we did not understand?"
+
+"Is it not taboo among all civilized peoples, including your own, to
+invent and spread lies about those who wish you only well?"
+
+It was useless to argue, Cameron saw. He turned, taking Joyce's arm, and
+allowed Sal Karone to lead them back to their rooms. As they paused at
+the doorway the Id spoke without expression on his dark face. "This is
+not a good thing, Cameron Wilder. It would have been best for you to
+have considered my warning."
+
+He turned and stepped away, locking the door behind him.
+
+Joyce slumped on the bed in dejection. "This is a fine fix we've got
+ourselves into, being declared _persona non grata_ before we even get a
+good start! They'll remember _that_ back home when A Study of the
+Metamorphosis of the Markovian Nucleus is mentioned in professional
+circles!"
+
+"Don't rub it in," Cameron said, half angrily. "How was I to know that
+was such a vicious taboo? It can't be any secret to the Markovians that
+the Ids look upon them as tamed. Why should they get their hackles up
+because _I_ mentioned it?"
+
+"All I know is we're washed up as of now. What do we do when we get back
+home?"
+
+Cameron stood with his back to her, looking through the windows to the
+garden beyond. "I'm not thinking of that," he said. "Can't you see we
+haven't failed? We've almost got it--the thing we came to find. We
+_knew_ why the Markovians suddenly became good Indians. The Ids actually
+did tame them. We've got to find out how such an apparently impossible
+thing could be done."
+
+"Do you really believe that's what happened?" asked Joyce.
+
+Cameron nodded. "It's the only thing there is to believe. If it weren't
+true, Marthasa and his wife would have laughed it off as nonsense.
+Getting all huffy and talking about deportation for cooking up lies is
+the best proof you could ask for that we hit pay dirt. Don't ask me how
+I think the Ids could do it. _That's_ what I'm going to find out."
+
+"How?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+But he did have an idea that if he could somehow get word to the old Id
+chieftain help could be had. He knew he was straining to believe things
+he wanted to believe, yet it seemed as if this were almost the very
+thing Venor had tried to convey the day before but had left unspoken.
+
+There was only one possibility of establishing contact, however, and
+that was through Sal Karone. A remote chance indeed, Cameron thought, in
+view of the relationship between the Markovian and his _sargh_. As a
+last resort it was worth trying, however.
+
+It looked as if they would not have even this chance as the evening grew
+darker. Cameron kept watch through the windows in the hope of signaling
+Sal Karone in case he should appear. They hoped he might come to the
+room for a final check of their needs for the night as he usually did.
+
+But he did not appear.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Cameron finally went to bed after Joyce was long asleep. He turned
+restlessly, beating his mind with increasing wonder as to how it could
+be so incredibly true that the Idealists were the actual masters of the
+Nucleus. That they had somehow tamed the murderous, piratical
+Markovians. He couldn't have known this was it!
+
+One thing he could understood, however, was the Markovians reluctance to
+have visitors--and their careful watch over them. Marthasa had been more
+than a host, he thought. He was a guard as well, trying to keep the
+Terrans from discovering the unpleasant reality concerning the influence
+of the Ids. He had slipped in allowing the visit to Venor.
+
+At dawn there was the sound of their door opening and Cameron whirled
+from his dressing, hopeful it might be Sal Karone. It was Marthasa,
+however, grim and distant. "I have obtained word that your deportation
+can be accomplished today. Premier Jargla has been informed and concurs.
+The Council has been notified and offers no protestations. You will
+ready yourselves before the evening hour."
+
+He slammed the door behind him. Joyce turned down the covers in the
+other room and sat up. "I wonder if he isn't even going to feed us
+today?"
+
+Cameron made no answer. He finished dressing hurriedly and kept a
+frantic watch for any sign of Sal Karone.
+
+At last there was a knock on the door and the Id appeared with breakfast
+on a cart. Cameron exhaled with relief that it was not one of the other
+_sarghs_ in the household.
+
+Sal Karone eyed them impassively as he wheeled in and arranged the food
+on the table by a window. Cameron watched, estimating his chances.
+
+"Your Chief, Venor, was very kind to us yesterday," he said quietly.
+"Our biggest regret in leaving is that our conversation with him must go
+unfinished."
+
+Sal Karone paused. "Were there things you had yet to say to him?" he
+asked.
+
+"No--there were things Venor wanted to tell us. You heard him. He wanted
+us to come back. It is completely impossible for us to see him again
+before we go?"
+
+Sal Karone straightened and set the utensils on the table. "No, it is
+not impossible. I have been instructed to bring you back to the village
+if it should be your request."
+
+Cameron felt a surge of eager excitement within him. "When? Our
+deportation is scheduled for today. How can we get there? How can we
+avoid Marthasa and the Markovians?"
+
+"Stand very quietly," said Sal Karone, that sense of power and command
+in his voice and bearing as Cameron had seen it once before aboard the
+spaceship. "Now," he said. "Close your eyes."
+
+There was a sudden wrenching twist as if two solid surfaces had slammed
+them from front and back, and a third force had thrust them sideways.
+
+They opened their eyes in the wooden house of Venor, in the village of
+the Idealists.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"We owe you apologies," said Venor. "We hope you are not harmed in any
+way."
+
+Cameron stared around uncertainly. Joyce clutched his hand. "How did
+we--?" Cameron stammered.
+
+"Teleportation is the descriptive term in your language, I believe,"
+said Venor. "It was rather urgent that you come without further delay so
+we resorted to it. Nothing else would do in the face of Marthasa's
+action. Sit down if you will, please. If you wish to rest or eat, your
+quarters are ready."
+
+"Our quarters--! Then you _did_ expect us back. You knew this was going
+to happen exactly as it has!"
+
+"Yes, I knew," said Venor quietly. "I planned it this way when word
+first came to us of your visit."
+
+"I think we are entitled to explanations," Cameron said at last. "We
+seem to have been pieces in a game we knew nothing about."
+
+And it had taken this long for the full impact of Venor's admission of
+teleportation to hit him. He closed his eyes in a moment's reaction of
+fright. He didn't want to believe it--and knew he must. These
+Idealists--who could master galaxies and tame the wild Markovians--was
+there anything they could not do?
+
+"Not a game," Venor protested. "We planned this because we wanted you to
+see what you have seen. We wanted a man of Earth to know what we have
+done."
+
+"But don't the Markovians realize the foolishness of deporting us
+because we stumbled onto the relationship between you and them? And if
+you are in control how can they issue such an order--unless you want
+it?"
+
+"Our relationship is more complex than that. There are different levels
+of control. We operate the one that brought you here--" He let Cameron
+consider the implication of the unfinished statement.
+
+Then he continued, "To understand the Markovians' reason for deporting
+you, consider that on Earth men have tamed wolves and made faithful,
+loyal dogs who can be trusted. Dogs who have forever lost the knowledge
+their ancestors were fierce marauders ready to rip and tear the flesh of
+any man or beast that came their way.
+
+"Consider the dogs only a generation or two from the vicious wolves who
+were their forebears. The old urges have not entirely died, yet they
+want to know man's affection and trust. Could you remind them of what
+their kind once was without stirring up torment within them?
+
+"So it is with the Markovians. They are peaceful and creative, but only
+a few generations behind them are pirates who were not fit to sit in the
+Councils of civilized beings. They have no tradition of culture to
+support them. It knocks the props out from under them, so to speak, to
+have it known what lies behind them. They cannot be friends with such a
+man. They cannot even endure the knowledge among themselves."
+
+"Then I was right!" Cameron exclaimed. "Their phony history _was_ set up
+to deceive their own people as well as others."
+
+"Yes. The dog would destroy all evidence of his wolf ancestry. It has
+been an enormous project, but the people of the Nucleus have been at it
+a long time. They have concocted a consistent history which leaves out
+all evidence of their predatory ancestry. The items of reality which
+were possible to leave have been retained. The gaps between have been
+bridged by fictionized accounts of glorious undertakings and
+discoveries. Most of the Markovian science has been taken from other
+cultures, but now their history boasts of heroes and discoverers who
+never lived and who were responsible for all the great science they
+enjoy."
+
+"But nothing stable can be built upon such an unhealthy foundation of
+self-deception!" Cameron protested.
+
+"It is not unhealthy--not at the present moment," said Venor. "The time
+will come when it, too, will be thrust aside and a tremendous effort of
+scholarship will extract the elements of truth and find that which was
+suppressed. But the Markovians themselves will do it--a generation of
+them who can afford to laugh at the fears and fantasies of their
+ancestors."
+
+"This tells us nothing of how you were able to make a creative people
+out of a race of pirate marauders," said Cameron.
+
+"I gave you the key," said Venor. "It was one used long ago by your own
+people before it was abandoned.
+
+"How was the savage wolf tamed to become the loyal, friendly dog? Did
+ancient man try to exterminate the wolves that came to his caves and
+carried off his young? Perhaps he tried. But he learned, perhaps
+accidentally, another way of conquest. He found the wolf's cubs, and
+learned to love them. He brought the cubs home and cared for them
+tenderly and his own children played with them and fed them and loved
+them.
+
+"It took time, but eventually there were no more wild wolves to trouble
+man, because he had discovered a great friend, the dog. And man plus dog
+could handle wolf with ease. Dog forgot in time what his forebears were
+and became willing to defend man against his own kind--because man loved
+him.
+
+"It happened again and again. Agricultural man hated the wild horse that
+ate his grain and trampled his fields. But he learned to love the horse,
+too, after a while. Again--no more wild horses."
+
+"But you can't take a predatory, savage pirate and love him into
+decency!" Cameron protested.
+
+"No," Venor agreed. "It is too difficult ordinarily at that level, and
+wasteful of time and resources. But I didn't say that is what happened.
+You don't tame a wolf by loving it, but the _cubs_--yes. And even
+pirates have cubs, who are susceptible to being loved.
+
+"The first weapon was hate. But after learning the futility of it,
+sentient creatures discovered another, the succeeding evolutionary
+emotion. It is pure savagery in its destructive power, a thousand times
+more effective in annihilating the enemy.
+
+"You've thought 'Love thy enemy' was a soft, gentle, futile doctrine!
+Actually, instead of merely killing the enemy it twists his personality,
+destroys his identity. He continues to live, but he has lost his
+integrity as an entity. The wolf cub never becomes an adult wolf. He
+becomes Dog.
+
+"It is not a doctrine of weakness, but the ultimate weapon of
+destruction. It can be used to induce any orientation desired in the
+mind of the enemy. He'll do everything you want him to--because he has
+your love."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"How did you apply that to the Markovians?" asked Joyce in almost a
+whisper.
+
+"It was one of the most difficult programs we have ever undertaken,"
+said Venor. "There were comparatively few of us and such a tremendous
+population of Markovians. We had predicted long ago, even before the
+organization of the Council, the situation would grow critical and
+dangerous. By the time the Council awoke to the fact and started its
+futile debates we had made a strong beginning.
+
+"We arranged to be in the path of a Markovian attack on one of the
+worlds where our work was completed. The Markovians were only too happy
+to take us into slavery and use us as victims in their brutal sports."
+
+"You didn't deliberately fall into a trap where you allowed yourselves
+to be killed and tortured by them?" exclaimed Cameron.
+
+Venor smiled. "The Markovians thought we did. We could hardly do that,
+of course. Our numbers were so small compared with theirs that we
+wouldn't have lasted very long. And, obviously, it would have been
+plain stupid. There is one key that must not be forgotten: An effective
+use of love requires an absolute superiority on the levels attainable by
+the individual to be tamed. So, in this case, we had to have power to
+keep the Markovians from slaughtering us or we would have been unable to
+accomplish our purpose.
+
+"Teleportation is of obvious use here. Likewise, psychosomatic controls
+that can handle any ordinary wound we might permit them to inflict. We
+gave them the illusion of slaughtering and torturing us, but our numbers
+did not dwindle."
+
+"Why did you give them such an illusion?" Joyce asked. "And you say you
+_permitted_ them to inflict wounds--?"
+
+Venor nodded. "We were in their households, you see, employed as slaves
+and assigned the care of their young. The cubs of the wolf were given
+into our hands to love--and to tame.
+
+"These Markovian children were witnesses to the supposed torture and
+killing of those who loved them. It was a tremendous psychic impact and
+served to drive their influence toward the side of the slaves. And even
+the adults slowly recognized the net loss to them of doing away with
+servants so skilled and useful in household tasks and caring for the
+young. The games and brutality vanished spontaneously within a short
+time. Markovians, young and old, simply didn't want them any longer.
+
+"During the maturity of that first generation of young on whom we
+expended our love our position became more secure. These were no longer
+wolves. They had become dogs, loyal to those who had loved them, and we
+could use them now against their own kind. Influences to abandon piracy
+against other peoples began to spread throughout the Nucleus.
+
+"Today the Markovians are no longer a threat capable of holding the
+Council worlds in helpless fear. They long ago ceased their
+depredations. Their internal stability is rising and is almost at the
+point where we shall be able to leave them. Our work here is about
+finished."
+
+"Surely all this was unnecessary!" Joyce said. "With your powers of
+teleportation and other psionic abilities you must possess it should
+have been easy for you to _control_ the Markovians directly, force them
+to cease their piracy--"
+
+"Of course," said Venor. "That would have been so much easier for us.
+And so futile. The Markovians would have learned nothing through being
+taken over by us and operated externally. They would have remained the
+same. But it was our desire to change them, teach them, accomplish
+genuine learning within them. It is always longer and more difficult
+this way. The results, however, are more lasting!"
+
+"_Who_ are you people--_what_ are you?" Cameron said with sudden
+intensity. "You have teleportation--and how many other unknown psychic
+powers? You have forced us to believe you can tame such a vicious world
+as the Markovian Nucleus once was.
+
+"But where is there a life of your own? With all your powers you must
+live at the whim of other cultures. Where is _your_ culture? Where is
+your own purpose? In spite of all you have, your life is a parasitical
+one."
+
+Venor smiled gently. "Is not the parent--or the teacher--the servant of
+the child?" he said. "Has it not always been so if a species is to rise
+very far in its conquest of the Universe?
+
+"But this does not mean that the parent or teacher has no life of his
+own. You ask where is our culture? The culture of _all_ worlds is ours.
+We don't have great cities and vast fleets. The wolf cubs build these
+for us. They carry us across space and shelter us in their cities.
+
+"Our own energies are expended in a thousand other and more profitable
+ways. We have sought and learned a few of the secrets of life and mind.
+With these we can move as you were moved, when we choose to do so. From
+where I sit I can speak with any of our kind on this planet or any world
+of the entire Nucleus. And a few of us, united in the effort, can touch
+those in distant galaxies.
+
+"What culture would you have us acquire, that we do not have?" Venor
+finished.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Without answer, Cameron arose and strode slowly to the window, his back
+to the room. He looked out upon the rude wooden huts and the towering
+forest beyond. He tried to tell himself it was all a lie. Such things
+couldn't be. But he could feel it now with increasing strength, as if
+all his senses were quickening--the benign aura, the indefinable wash of
+power that seemed to lap at the edge of his mind.
+
+Out of the corner of his eye he could see Joyce's face, almost radiant
+as she, too, sensed it here in the presence of the Ids.
+
+Love, as a genuine power, had been taught by every Terran philosopher of
+any social worth. But it had never really been tried. Not in the way the
+Ids understood it. Cameron felt he could only guess at the terrible
+discipline of mind it required to use it as they did. The analogy of the
+wolf cubs was all very well, and man had learned to go that far. But
+there is a difference when your own kind is involved, he thought.
+
+Perhaps it was out of sheer fear of each other that men continued to try
+to sway with hate, the most primitive of all their weapons.
+
+It's easy to hate, he thought. Love is hard, and because it is, the
+tough humans who can't achieve it and have the patience to manipulate it
+must scorn it. The truly weak ones, they're incapable of the stern and
+brutal self-discipline required of one who loves his enemy.
+
+But men had known how. Back in the caves they had known how to conquer
+the wolf and the wild horse. Where had they lost it?
+
+The vision of the buildings and the forest with its eternal peace was
+still in his eyes. What else could you want, with the whole Universe in
+the palm of your hand?
+
+He turned sharply. "You tricked us into betraying ourselves to Marthasa,
+and you said that you planned it this way when you first heard of our
+coming. But you have not yet said why. Why did you want us to see what
+you had done?"
+
+"You needed to have evidence from the Markovians themselves," said
+Venor. "That is why I led you to the point where the admission would be
+forced from them. The problem you came to solve is now answered, is it
+not? Is there anything to prevent you returning to Earth and writing a
+successful paper on the mystery of the Markovians?"
+
+"You know very well there is," said Cameron with the sudden sense that
+Venor was laughing gently at him. "Who on Earth would believe what you
+have told me--that a handful of meek, subservient Ids had conquered the
+mighty Markovian Nucleus?"
+
+He paused, looking at Joyce who returned his intense gaze.
+
+"Is that all?" said Venor finally.
+
+"No that is not all. After taking us to the heights and showing us
+everything that lies beyond, are you simply going to turn us away
+empty-handed?"
+
+"What would you have us give you?"
+
+"This," said Cameron, gesturing with his hand to include the circle of
+all of them, and the community beyond the window. "We want what you have
+discovered. Is your circle a closed one--or can you admit those who
+would learn of your ways but are not of your race?"
+
+Venor's smile broadened as he arose and stepped toward them, and they
+felt the warm wave of acceptance from his mind even before he spoke.
+"This is what we brought you here to receive," he said. "But you had to
+ask for yourselves. We wanted men of Earth in our ranks. There are many
+races and many worlds who make up the Idealists. That is why it is said
+that the Ids do not know the home world from which they originally came.
+It is true, they do not. We are citizens of the Universe.
+
+"But we have never been represented by a native of Earth, which needs us
+badly. Will you join us, Terrans?"
+
+
+THE END
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+This etext was produced from _Astounding Science Fiction_ November 1955.
+Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright
+on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors
+have been corrected without note.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cubs of the Wolf, by Raymond F. Jones
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