"Maynard, I am beginning to assume that there is truth in your drunken story. Your developments--your inventions--were so startling and so brilliant. Memorized details of a civilization's best efforts. The barrier-screen. Used, no doubt, to keep Ertene hidden as it passes from start to finish through the universe. A brilliant bit of adaptation, Maynard." "That's a little harsh, Mantley," said Kane. "Are you in this with him?" asked Mantley sharply. "If I were you, Kane, I'd look to my own past and see if there are any loose ends. We may decide that you know about this, too." "You're being overharsh to a man that should have the entire world at his feet." "Maynard, will you swear upon your honor that no such planet exists?" demanded Mantley. Maynard remained silent, convicting himself. "Ha! Then it was not drunkenness entirely. Look, Maynard. Your high position as sector marshal will not help you in the face of this. The entire situation will be overlooked if you do your duty and lead us to Ertene now." Maynard made a soundless "No". "You are a valuable man," insisted Mantley. "Copies though the originals may have been, your work at adaptation is nothing short of genius. To take an alien concept and reduce it to practice is no small feat, Guy. Do not fling your future into the drink. Lead us to Ertene, and we will consider your job well done." "They saved my life," said Guy. "They gave me knowledge. I strived and worked enthusiastically in an effort to convince Ertene that Terra and Sol would ever be friendly, and offered her a place near Sol. I assured Ertene of our undying alliance and protection. They preferred eternal loneliness to joining a militant system such as ours. Since they felt that entering Sol's system would bring about the death of Ertinian integrity, they offered me life in exchange for silence." "A fine bargain," sneered Mantley. "I swore to keep their secret. I shall." "Your honor is rooted in dishonor--" "That I deny. I had no other alternative. I could bring their secrets to you only by swearing silence. If I had not sworn silence, I would have been executed. Alive, but silent, I brought to Terra the science by which she will gain mastery over the Solar System. Dead, I would have been able to do nothing, and Terra would not have the benefit of the things I brought. Give me that credit, at least!" "You should have sworn silence," said Mantley coldly. "And then taken us to them." "You would prefer an officer whose word means nothing?" "False oaths. The only oath that is worth the breath of life is your oath to the Patrol." "I see. Dishonesty extends in only one direction? Be rotten to the core--for the Terran Space Patrol! Even a Martian spy has more honor than that!"