on G, believe me, gets them all. Which brings us
to your first assignment."

-------------------------------------

Ronny inched forward in his chair. "It takes me into space?"

"It takes you into space all right," Metaxa snorted. "At least it will
after a few months of indoctrination. I'm sending you out after a legend,
Ronny. You're fresh, possibly you'll get some ideas older men in the game
haven't thought of."

"A legend?"

"I'm sending you to look for Tommy Paine. Some members of the department
don't think he exists. I do."

"Tommy Paine?"

"A pseudonym that somebody hung on him way back before even my memory in
this Section. Did you ever hear of Thomas Paine in American history?"

"He wrote a pamphlet during the Revolutionary War, didn't he?"

" 'Common Sense,' " Metaxa nodded. "But he was more than that. He was born
in England but went to America as a young man and his writings probably
did as much as anything to put over the revolt against the British. But
that wasn't enough. When that revolution was successful he went back to
England and tried to start one there. The government almost caught him,
but he escaped and got to France where he participated in the French
Revolution."

"He seemed to get around," Ronny Bronston said.

"And so does this namesake of his. We've been trying to catch up with him
for some twenty years. How long before that he was active, we have no way
of knowing. It was some time before we became aware of the fact that half
the revolts, rebellions, revolutions and such that occur in the United
Planets have his dirty finger stirring around in them."

"But you said some department members don't believe in his existence."

Metaxa grunted. "They're working on the theory that no one man could do
all that Tommy Paine has laid to him. Possibly it's true that he sometimes
gets the blame for accomplishments not his. Or, for that matter, possibly
he's more than one person. I don't know."

"Well," Ronny said hesitantly, "what's an example of his activity?"

Metaxa picked up another report from the confusion of his desk. "Here's
one only a month old. Dictator on the planet Megas. Kidnapped and forced
to resign. There's still confusion but it looks as though a new type of
government will be formed now."

"But how do they know it wasn't just some dissatisfied citizens of Megas?"

"It seems as though the kidnap vehicle was an old fashioned Earth-type
helicopter. There