d obdurately, "Your paternalistic
guidance, given an uncontrolled competitive system, doesn't always work
out. Take India after she gained independence from England. She tried to
industrialize and had the support of the free nations. But what
happened?"

Plekhanov leaned forward to take the ball. "Yes! There's your classic
example. Compare India and China. China had a planned industrial
development. None of this free competition nonsense. In ten years time
they had startled the world with their advances. In twenty years--"

"Yes," Stevens said softly, "but at what price?"

Plekhanov turned on him. "At any price!" he roared. "In one generation
they left behind the China of famine, flood, illiteracy, war lords and
all the misery that had been China's throughout history."

Stevens said mildly, "Whether in their admitted advances they left
behind all the misery that had been China's is debatable, sir."

Plekhanov began to bellow an angry retort but Amschel Mayer popped
suddenly to his feet and lifted a hand to quiet the others. "Our
solution has just come to me!"

Plekhanov glowered at him.

Mayer said excitedly, "Remember what the Co-ordinator told us? This
expedition of ours is the first of its type. Even though we fail, the
very mistakes we make will be invaluable. Our task is to learn how to
bring backward peoples into an industrialized culture in roughly half a
century."

The messroom's occupants scowled at him. Thus far he'd said nothing new.

Mayer went on enthusiastically. "Thus far in our debates we've had two
basic suggestions on procedure. I have advocated a system of free
competition; my learned colleague has been of the opinion that a strong
state and a planned, not to say totalitarian, economy would be the
quicker." He paused dramatically. "Very well, I am in favor of trying
them both."

They regarded him blankly.

He said with impatience, "There are two planets, at different ethnic
periods it is true, but not so far apart as all that. Fine, eight of us
will take Genoa and eight Texcoco."

Plekhanov rumbled, "Fine, indeed. But which group will have the use of
the _Pedagogue_ with its library, its laboratories, its shops, its
weapons?"

For a moment, Mayer was stopped but Joe Chessman growled, "That's no
problem. Leave her in orbit around Rigel. We've got two small boats with
which to ferry back and forth. Each group could have the use of her
facilities any time they wished."

"I suppose we c