ee the
three-dimensional atmospheric projection that marked the Stardust Cafe,
and he could hear faintly the mournful sound of a Venusian lament being
played by the askarins. He was glad they hadn't banned Venusian music,
anyway, although he wouldn't be surprised if they did, some day.

That was one of the things these Supremists were trying to do. Rysland
and Chief Larkin had given him a long and careful briefing on the outfit
so that he could start work tomorrow with his partner, Steve Kronski.
Steve, of course, would shrug phlegmatically, swing his big shoulders
toward the computer rooms and say, "Let's go to work." It would be just
another assignment to him.

As a matter of fact, the job would be not without a certain amount of
interest. There were a couple of puzzling things about these Supremists
that Rysland had pointed out. First of all, they didn't seem to be at
all organized or incorporated. No headquarters, no officers that anybody
knew about. They just _were_. It was a complete mystery how a man became
a Supremist, how they kept getting new members all the time. Yet you
couldn't miss a Supremist whenever you met one. Before the conversation
was half over he'd start spouting about the destiny of Earthmen and the
general inferiority of all other creatures and so on. It sounded like
hogwash to Pell. He wondered how such an attitude could survive in a
scientific age.

Nor would a Supremist be essentially a moron or a neurotic; they were
found in all walks of life, at all educational and emotional levels.
Rysland told how he had questioned a few, trying to discover when, where
and how they joined the movement: Apparently there was nothing to join,
at least to hear them tell it. They just knew one day that they were
Supremists, and that was the word. Rysland had shaken his head sadly and
said, "Their belief is completely without logic--and maybe that's what
makes it so strong. Maybe that's what frightens me about it."

* * * * *

Okay, tomorrow then Pell would tackle it. Tomorrow he'd think about it.
Right now he had a date with his best girl.

He entered the cafe and the music of the askarins swirled more loudly
about his head and he looked through the smoke and colored light until
he spotted Ciel sitting in a rear booth. The place was crowded. On the
small dance floor before the orchestra nearly nude Venusian girls were
going through the writhing motions of a serpentine dance