rrency, wampum-type shells, rolled
out of the cave and landed at his feet.

"Here is some money from paradise, because you have been a good boy."
Not really from paradise--I had lifted it from the treasury the night
before. "Come back tomorrow and we will talk some more," I called after
the fleeing figure. I was pleased to notice that he took the cash before
taking off.

After that, Grandpa in paradise had many heart-to-heart talks with
Grandson, who found the heavenly loot more than he could resist. Grandpa
had been out of touch with things since his death and Goat-boy happily
filled him in.

I learned all I needed to know of the history, past and recent, and it
wasn't nice.

In addition to the pyramid being around the beacon, there was a nice
little religious war going on around the pyramid.

It all began with the land bridge. Apparently the local lizards had been
living in the swamps when the beacon was built, but the builders didn't
think much of them. They were a low type and confined to a distant
continent. The idea that the race would develop and might reach _this_
continent never occurred to the beacon mechanics. Which is, of course,
what happened.

A little geological turnover, a swampy land bridge formed in the right
spot, and the lizards began to wander up beacon valley. And found
religion. A shiny metal temple out of which poured a constant stream of
magic water--the reactor-cooling water pumped down from the atmosphere
condenser on the roof. The radioactivity in the water didn't hurt the
natives. It caused mutations that bred true.

A city was built around the temple and, through the centuries, the
pyramid was put up around the beacon. A special branch of the priesthood
served the temple. All went well until one of the priests violated the
temple and destroyed the holy waters. There had been revolt, strife,
murder and destruction since then. But still the holy waters would not
flow. Now armed mobs fought around the temple each day and a new band of
priests guarded the sacred fount.

And I had to walk into the middle of that mess and repair the thing.

It would have been easy enough if we were allowed a little mayhem. I
could have had a lizard fry, fixed the beacon and taken off. Only
"native life-forms" were quite well protected. There were spy cells on
my ship, all of which I hadn't found, that would cheerfully rat on me
when I got back.

Diplomacy was called for. I sighed and dragged out the