er the necessity had
passed. But the slim, towering buildings could only have been reared
by a people who had banished nationalism and, with it, the threat of
total war. He contrasted them with the ground-hugging dome cities of
the Khiftan civilization, only a few thousand parayears distant.

Three men came out of the lounge behind him and joined him. One was,
like himself, a disguised paratimer from the First Level--the Outtime
Export and Import man, Zortan Brend, here known as Brarnend of Zorda.
The other two were Akor-Neb people, and both wore the black tunics and
the winged-bullet badges of the Society of Assassins. Unlike Verkan
Vall and Zortan Brend, who wore shoulder holsters under their short
tunics, the Assassins openly displayed pistols and knives on their
belts.

"We heard that you were coming two days ago, Lord Virzal," Zortan
Brend said. "We delayed the take-off of this ship, so that you could
travel to Darsh as inconspicuously as possible. I also booked a suite
for you at the Solar Hotel, at Darsh. And these are your
Assassins--Olirzon, and Marnik."

Verkan Vall hooked fingers and clapped shoulders with them.

"Virzal of Verkan," he identified himself. "I am satisfied to intrust
myself to you."

"We'll do our best for you, Lord Virzal," the older of the pair,
Olirzon, said. He hesitated for a moment, then continued: "Understand,
Lord Virzal, I only ask for information useful in serving and
protecting you. But is this of the Lady Dallona a political matter?"

"Not from our side," Verkan Vall told him. "The Lady Dallona is a
scientist, entirely nonpolitical. The Honorable Brarnend is a business
man; he doesn't meddle with politics as long as the politicians leave
him alone. And I'm a planter on Venus; I have enough troubles, with
the natives, and the weather, and blue-rot in the _zerfa_ plants, and
poison roaches, and javelin bugs, without getting into politics. But
psychic science is inextricably mixed with politics, and the Lady
Dallona's work had evidently tended to discredit the theory of
Statistical Reincarnation."

"Do you often make understatements like that, Lord Virzal?" Olirzon
grinned. "In the last six months, she's knocked Statistical
Reincarnation to splinters."

"Well, I'm not a psychic scientist, and as I said, I don't know much
about Terran politics," Verkan Vall replied. "I know that the
Statisticalists favor complete socialization and political control of
the whole economy, becau