"Not at all. I can pick the _Loki_ up there. Right at the present time
you'd get nowhere if you stay on Terra; your face is known to every
man, woman, and child on the planet."
"But--"
"Go to Pluto, Guy. Out there they will not demand ten years of
references before you apply for a job."
Guy faced Kane once more. "Was I right?" he asked.
"As far as I am concerned, you were. And as far as I have the
ability to make people believe--and I've made quite a pile doing
just that--they'll believe, too. We'll campaign you right back into
the service. But meantime you must play this my way. Disappear, Guy,
because when you return, we can claim another M-12 for you, and
tell the world that your dismissal was all a part of a grand plot.
Understand?"
Guy nodded. Kane's argument was very sound. Remaining in the light
would destroy any chances of squashing the charge later.
"I'll do it!"
Kane handed Maynard the key to the _Loki's_ shelter. "Keep an eye on
the newsprint," he said. "You'll know when to return!"
* * * * *
High in the Solar System; up near the orbit of Jupiter, Guy became
lonely. Killing time, he'd started at a 1-G drive, and in spite of the
terrific velocities that can be achieved at a single G, it took a long
time to make the run to Pluto at 1-G. He'd watched and listened daily
to the Press Broadcasts and gratified to know that Kane's campaign was
off to a successful start.
Other headline stories bothered him. The Patrol had started a search
for the hidden planet. It worried Guy. Supposing that they did manage
to find it? The recurring worry caused cold sweat and shakes, and it
was only by main force that Guy willed himself into a semblance of
nervous stability.
Again and again he analyzed his actions. He viewed them as Guy
Maynard. He tried to see them from the standpoint of the Patrol. He
tried to visualize the thoughts of the people, and knew that they were
being swayed by both Kane's publicity and the Patrol's adverse reports.
Would they ever know the real truth? How could they ever really realize
the facts when the facts were cloaked in suave words and shaded tones?
The Mephistan was right. True democracy would occur only when the
thought-beam instruments became universal and fancy words no longer
prevailed. But all evidence of the mental instruments was destroyed on
Mephisto; Guy had seen to that. He'd been afraid that their use would
disclose his secret.
It would have uncovered his secret, without a doubt.
And yet he was responsible for destroying an instrument that would have
been the salvation of mankind. Wars and strife and graft and lies were
the rewards of power; and power went to the man who was wealthy and
dishonest enough to buy it. An honest man did not have a real chance to
gain power; others bought it easily, and by trying their tactics and
buying their power, they themselves became dishonest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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