i.

They kept watching. Oh, for the life of a C.I.B. man. Cards began to
drop into one of the slots. The main heading was _Physical_ and the
sub-heading _Medical History_. Pell frowned and said, "Certainly didn't
expect to find a constant in this department." He picked up a few of the
first cards and looked at them, hoping to catch the constant by eye. He
caught it. "What's 445 under this heading?"

* * * * *

Kronski said, "I'll find out," and stepped over to the Operational Data
board. He worked it, took the printed slip that came out and called
back: "Record of inoculation."

"That's a funny one."

"Yup. Sure is." Kronski stared at the slip and scratched his neck. "It
must be just any old kind inoculation. If it was special--like typhoid
or tetanus or something--it'd have another digit."

"There must be some other boil-downs, if we could think of them." Pell
was frowning heavily. Some of the other men, used to the machines, could
grab a boil-down out of thin air, run the cards again and get another
significant constant. The machine, however, inhibited Pell. It made him
feel uneasy and stupid whenever he was around it.

"How about location?" suggested Kronski.

Pell shook his head. "I checked a few by eye. All different numbers
under location. Some of 'em come from World City, some from Mars
Landing, some from way out in the sticks. Nothing significant there."

"Maybe what we need is a cup of coffee."

Pell grinned. "Best idea all morning. Come on."

Some minutes later they sat across from each other at a table in the big
cafeteria on the seventy-third level. It was beginning to be crowded now
with personnel from other departments and bureaus. The coffee urge came
for nearly everybody in the government offices at about the same time.
Pell was studying by eye a handful of spare data cards he'd brought
along and Kronski was reading faxpaper clippings from a large manila
envelope marked _Supremist Party_. Just on a vague hunch Pell had
viewplated Central Public Relations and had them send the envelope down
by tube.

"_Prominent Educator Addresses Supremist Rally_," Kronski muttered.
"_Three Spaceport Cargomen Arrested at Supremist Riot. Young Supremists
Form Rocket Club._ Looks like anybody and everybody can be a Supremist.
And his grandmother. Wonder how they do it?"

"Don't know." Pell wasn't really listening.

"And here's a whole town went over to the Supremists. On the