I received my call from Srtes then. He and the council had decided that the alien had reached the proper depth of misery and hopelessness. I was to contact him--and set him for the Big Run. * * * * * I found him still leaning against the same wooden building. He looked up at me from under his heavy brows as I neared him. I kept a safe distance between us. I remembered Ctvar. "Will you allow me to buy you something to eat?" I asked, deciding to use a direct approach. I liked the way he did not ask any questions. He merely regarded me for a moment longer, then made his nodding motion. All through the meal in the public eating place he remained silent. He ate hungrily but without haste and only when he'd finished did he speak again. "Why?" he asked. "I do not understand what you mean," I evaded. "I haven't learned much about you Zades since I've been here," he said, "but I have learned that you do nothing out of kindness. What do you want from me?" I forced myself to smile. "You are right, of course," I said. "I do want something from you. Information about your world. In return for your cooperation I will see that you continue to be well fed." "I thought Srtes was through with me," he said. "My interest is strictly personal," I answered. "I am what you would call a reporter. We give out our news on disseminators similar to your television." I had caught his interest. I suppose he was eager to learn anything that he might use to make his way. "I've seen no signs of television," he said. "This is one of our smaller cities," I improvised quickly. "There are only a few receiving sets here. Most of them are in the main halls of the various clans." The explanation satisfied him. "Just what do you want to know?" he asked. "Anything about your Earth that you think might be of interest to my listeners." "Couldn't you get that from Srtes and his staff?" "Their supply of information is limited. You should be able to give me much more." He was actually eager to talk. It probably relieved his homesickness. We returned to his room, and our conversation took up most of the rest of the night. Toward morning he began questioning me. "I've given you all the information you asked for," he said. "Now I'd like some in return. Can you suggest any way I can make a living on this world of yours?" I thought for a moment. "You might be able to introduce some product of your civilization's technology that would be useful here. Not knowing your world, I couldn't suggest just what." "I should be able to come up with something," he said thoughtfully. "Would I be allowed to manufacture and sell it if I did?" "If you can demonstrate that you can do it better than anyone else, you will be given an exclusive right to control both its construction and distribution." "Does that apply to every function of your society?" he asked. "This world belongs to those who can prove their strength," I answered.