The dueling machines succeeded. They worked as well, and often better, than Leoh had anticipated. But he knew that they were only a stopgap, only a temporary shoring of a constantly-eroding dam. What was needed, really needed, was some method of exploding the status quo, some means of convincing people to reach out for those unoccupied, unexplored stars that filled the galaxy, some way of convincing men that they should leave the comforts of civilization for the excitement of colonization. Leoh had been searching for that method when the news of Dulaq’s duel against Odal reached him. Now he was speeding across parsecs of space, praying to himself that the dueling machine had not failed. The two-week flight ended. The starship took up a parking orbit around the capital planet of the Acquataine Cluster. The passengers transhipped to the surface. Dr. Leoh was met at the landing disk by an official delegation, headed by Massan, the acting prime minister. They exchanged formal greetings there at the base of the ship, while the other passengers hurried by. As Leoh and Massan, surrounded by the other members of the delegation, rode the slideway to the port’s administration building, Leoh commented: “As you probably know, I have checked through your dueling machine quite thoroughly via tri-di for the past two weeks. I can find nothing wrong with it.” Massan shrugged. “Perhaps you should have checked then, the machine on Szarno.” “The Szarno Confederation? Their dueling machine?” “Yes. This morning Kanus’ hired assassin killed a man in it.” “He won another duel,” Leoh said. “You do not understand,” Massan said grimly. “Major Odal’s opponent—an industrialist who had spoken out against Kanus—was actually killed in the dueling machine. The man is dead!” V One of the advantages of being Commander-in-Chief of the Star Watch, the old man thought to himself, is that you can visit any planet in the Commonwealth. He stood at the top of the hill and looked out over the green tableland of Kenya. This was the land of his birth, Earth was his homeworld. The Star Watch’s official headquarters may be in the heart of a globular cluster of stars near the center of the galaxy, but Earth was the place the commander wanted most to see as he grew older and wearier. An aide, who had been following the commander at a respectful distance, suddenly intruded himself in the old man’s reverie. “Sir, a message for you.” The commander scowled at the young officer. “I gave orders that I was not to be disturbed.” The officer, slim and stiff in his black-and-silver uniform, replied, “Your chief of staff has passed the message on to you, sir. It’s from Dr. Leoh, of Carinae University. Personal and urgent, sir.” The old man grumbled to himself, but nodded. The aide placed a small crystalline sphere on the grass before him. The air above the sphere started to vibrate and glow. “Sir Harold Spencer here,” the commander said.