in the economic scale of the Markovians.

They were assigned spacious quarters overlooking a garden of incredible
colors beyond the transparent wall facing it. Sal Karone was also
assigned duties as their personal attendant, which Cameron grasped
intuitively was a gesture of supreme honor among the Markovians. He
thanked Marthasa profusely for this courtesy.

After getting unpacked they were shown through the house and grounds and
met Marthasa's family. His wife was a woman of considerable beauty even
by Terran standards, but there was a sharpness in her manner and a sense
of coldness in the small black eyes that repelled Cameron and Joyce even
as the thoughtless actions of Marthasa had done.

Cameron looked carefully for the same qualities in the three smaller
children who were at home, and found them easily. In none of them was
there the aura of serenity possessed by the Id servants.

When they were finally alone that night Cameron sat down to make some
notes on their observations up to date. "The fault line I mentioned is
so obvious you can't miss it," he said to Joyce. "It's as if they're
living one kind of life because they think it's the thing to do, but all
their thoughts and feelings are being drawn invisibly in another
direction--and they're half ashamed of it."

"Maybe the Ids have something to do with it. Remember Marthasa's
statement that the relationship of the _sarghs_ does something to the
Markovians? If we found out exactly what that something is, we might
have the answer."

Cameron shook his head. "I've tried to fit it together that way, too,
but it just doesn't add up. The basic premise of the Ids is asceticism
and there never was any strength in that idea. Marthasa is probably
right in his estimate of the Ids. They have achieved an internal
serenity but only through compensating their basic weakness with the
crude strength of the Markovians and other races to which they cling.
They haven't the strength to build a civilization of their own.
Certainly they haven't got the power to influence the whole Nucleus.
No--we'll have to look a good deal farther than the Ids before we find
the answer. I'm convinced of that, even though I'd like to find out
exactly what makes _them_ tick. Maybe next trip--"

* * * * *

The following days were spent in almost profitless activity as far as
their basic purpose in being in the Nucleus was concerned. Marthasa and
his wife took th