e had
commodities they didn't. She needs a nearby planet more backward than
herself, a planet like Catalina."

"Well, that brings us to the more fantastic question. Why in the world
doesn't Catalina accept? It sounds to me like pure philanthropy on the
part of Avalon."

Bulchand was wagging his pipe stem in a negative gesture. "Bronston,
governments are never motivated by idealistic reasons. Individuals might
be, and even small groups, but governments never. Governments, including
that of Avalon, exist for the benefit of the class or classes that control
them. The only things that motivate them are the interests of that class."

"Well, this sounds like an exception," Ronny said argumentatively. "How
can Catalina lose if the Avalonians grant them railroads, factories and
all the rest of it?"

Tog said, "Don't you see, Ronny? It gives Avalon a foothold in the
Catalina economy. When the locomotives wear out on the railroad, new
engines, new parts, must be purchased. They won't be available on Catalina
because there will be no railroad industry because none will have ever
grown up. Catalina manufacturers couldn't compete with that initial free
gift. They'll be dependent on Avalon for future equipment. In the
factories, when machines wear out, they will be replaceable only with the
products of Avalon's industry."

Bulchand said, "There's an analogy in the early history of the United
States. When its fledgling steel industry began, they set up a high tariff
to protect it against British competition. The British were amazed and
indignant, pointing out that they could sell American steel products at
one third the local prices, if only allowed to do so. The United States
said no thanks, it didn't want to be tied, industrially, to Great
Britain's apron strings. And in a couple of decades American steel
production passed England's. In a couple of more decades American steel
production was many times that of England's and she was taking British
markets away from her all over the globe."

"At any rate," Ronny said, "it's not a Tommy Paine matter."

Just for luck, though, Ronny and Tog double checked all over again on
Bulchand's efforts. They interviewed all six of the Section G agents. Each
of them carried a silver badge that gleamed only for the individual who
possessed it. All of which eliminated the possibility that Paine had
assumed the identity of a Section G operative. So that was out.

They checked the four crew memb