Better than being out of work? You bet your last credit, you bet your very last ounce of bounce on that, friends. And better than a lot of other things, too. They were safe and warm and happy, and they felt fine. And then a lot of busybodies came along and liberated them. Well, friends, some of them went right back and asked to be servants again--they did so. It's a historical fact. But that was no good: the machines had taken over and there was no room for them. They were liberated for good. And the lesson you learn from that, friends, is just this: don't go around liberating people until you know what they want. Maybe they're happier the way they are. Now, out on a far planet there's a strange race. Maybe you've heard about them, because they work for us, they help get us the metals we need to keep going. They're part of the big line of supply that keeps us all alive, you and me both. And there are some people talking about liberating those creatures, too, which aren't even human beings. They're green and they got one eye apiece, and they don't talk English except a little, or any Confederation tongue. Yet even so there are people who want to liberate those creatures. Now, you sit back and think a minute. Do those creatures want to be liberated? Is it like liberating you and me, who know what's what and can think and make decisions? Because being free and equal means voting and everything else. Do you want these green creatures voting in the same assemblies as yours? If it were cruel to keep them the way they are, working on their own world and being fed and kept warm and safe, why, I'd say go ahead and liberate them. But what's cruel about it, friends? They're safe--safer than they would be on their own. They're fed well and kept warm. And remember those servants, friends. Maybe the greenies like their life, too. It's their world and their metal--they have a right to help send it along. You don't want to act hastily, friends, now do you? My advice to you is this: just let the greenies alone. Just let them be, the way they want to be, and don't go messing around where there's no need to mess around. Because if anybody starts to do that, why, it can lead to trouble, friends, to a whole lot of unnecessary bother and trouble. Am I right? 5 "I don't mind parties, Norma, not ordinary parties. But that one didn't look like an ordinary party." Norma stood her ground in front of the desk. This, after all, was important "But, Dr. Haenlingen, we--" "Don't try to persuade me," the little old woman said sharply. "Don't try to cozen me into something: I know all the tricks, Norma. I invented a good third of them, and it's been a long time since I had to use a textbook to remember the rest."