Chessman growled over his shoulder, "The same it was last month, and the
same it'll be next month." It wasn't much of a joke but it was the only
one they had between themselves.

In the ship's combination lounge and mess he drew a cup of coffee. Joe
Chessman, among whose specialties were propaganda and primitive
politics, was third in line in the expedition's hierarchy. As such he
participated in the endless controversy dealing with overall strategy
but only as a junior member of the firm. Amschel Mayer and Leonid
Plekhanov were the center of the fracas and right now were at it hot and
heavy.

Joe Chessman listened with only half interest. He settled into a chair
on the opposite side of the lounge and sipped at his coffee. They were
going over their old battlefields, assaulting ramparts they'd stormed a
thousand times over.

Plekhanov was saying doggedly, "Any planned economy is more efficient
than any unplanned one. What could be more elementary than that? How
could anyone in his right mind deny that?"

And Mayer snapped, "_I_ deny it. That term _planned economy_ covers a
multitude of sins. My dear Leonid, don't be an idiot ..."

"I beg your pardon, sir!"

"Oh, don't get into one of your huffs, Plekhanov."

They were at that stage again.

* * * * *

Technician Natt Roberts entered, a book in hand, and sent the trend of
conversation in a new direction. He said, worriedly, "I've been studying
up on this and what we're confronted with is two different ethnic
periods, barbarism and feudalism. Handling them both at once doubles our
problems."

One of the junior specialists who'd been sitting to one side said, "I've
been thinking about that and I believe I've got an answer. Why not all
of us concentrate on Texcoco? When we've brought them to the Genoa
level, which shouldn't take more than a decade or two, then we can start
working on the Genoese, too."

Mayer snapped, "And by that time we'll have hardly more than half our
fifty years left to raise the two of them to an industrial technology.
Don't be an idiot, Stevens."

Stevens flushed his resentment.

Plekhanov said slowly, "Besides, I'm not sure that, given the correct
method, we cannot raise Texcoco to an industrialized society in
approximately the same time it will take to bring Genoa there."

Mayer bleated a sarcastic laugh at that opinion.

Natt Roberts tossed his book to the table and sank into a chair. "If
only o