walked out of the transportation terminal and hailed an air cab which
took him over the city and left him at the edge of a less reputable
section.

It was not an old slum--Venicity hadn't endured long enough to have
inherited slums; it built them quickly out of shoddy material and then
tore them down again as the need for living space expanded outward.

He checked in at a hotel neither more nor less disreputable than the
rest. The structure made up in number of rooms what it lacked in size
and appearance.

This was the test period and he had to wait it out. If he passed, he was
on an equal footing with any other person wanted by the police. He'd
take his chances on that, his wits against their organization; he could
disappear if he didn't carry a beacon around with him. This was the best
place to spend the interim period, crowded together with people coming
and going to and from the wild lands of Venus.

But if he didn't pass the test--

He refused to think about it.

He walked aimlessly in the grayness of the Venusian day. Different
people from those in the bright new sections of Venicity, quieter,
grimmer, more bewildered. Tough, but not the hardness of the criminal
element. These people had no interest in either making or breaking the
law.

After nightfall, he loitered on the streets for a few hours, watching
faces. When policemen began appearing in greater numbers, he checked
into his room.

It was a grimy, unpleasant place. Considering the comfort it offered,
the rate was exorbitant. Safety, however, if it did afford, and that was
beyond price. He lay down, but couldn't sleep. The room, apparently, was
designed on the acoustical principle of an echo chamber or a drum.

The adjacent room on one side was occupied by a man and woman. The
woman, though, was not a woman. There was a certain pitch to the
laughter that could come only from a robot. The management obviously
offered attractions other than sleep.

The room on the other side was quieter. Somebody coughed twice, somebody
sniffled once. Two of them, decided Jadiver, a man and a woman, both
human. They weren't talking loud or much. He couldn't hear the words,
but the sounds weren't gay.

In the hall, other voices intruded. Jadiver lay still. He could
recognize the way of walking, the tone of voice. Cops. His test period
wasn't lasting as long as he'd hoped.

"What good is it?" grumbled one, down the hall, but Jadiver could hear
distinctly. "We ha