"It's O.K.," said Hellion. "But have the gang build us three larger tubes to be mounted turretwise. Then we can cope with society." "What do you hope to gain by that? Surely piracy and grand larceny are not profitable in the light of what we have and know." "I intend to institute a reign of terror." "You mean to go through with your plan?" "I am a man of my word. I shall levy a tax against each and every ship leaving any spaceport. We shall demand one dollar solarian for every gross ton that lifts from any planet and reaches the planetary limit." "How do you establish that limit?" asked Kingman interestedly. "Ironically, we'll use the Channing Layer," said Murdoch with dark humor. "Since the Channing Layer describes the boundary below which our solar beam will not work. Our reign of terror will be identified with Channing because of that; it will take some of the praise out of people's minds when they think of Channing and Interplanetary Communications." "That's pretty deep psychology," said Kingman. "You should recognize it," smiled Murdoch. "That's the kind of stuff you legal lights pull. Mention the accused in the same sentence with one of the honored people; mention the defendant in the same breath with one of the hated people--it's the same stunt. Build them up or tear them down by reference." "You're pretty shrewd." "I am," agreed Murdoch placidly. * * * * * "Mind telling me how you found yourself in the fix you're in?" "Not at all. I've been interested for years in neuro-surgery. My researches passed beyond the realm of rabbits and monkeys, and I found it necessary to investigate the more delicate, more organized, the higher-strung. That means human beings--though some of them are less sensitive than a rabbit and less delicate than a monkey." Murdoch's eyes took on a cynical expression at this. Then it passed and he continued: "I became famous, as you know. Or do you?" Kingman shook his head. "I suppose not. I became famous in my own circle. Lesser neuro-surgeons sent their complex cases to me; unless you were complex, you would never hear of Allison Murdoch. Well anyway, some of them offered exciting opportunities. I--frankly, experimented. Some of them died. It was quite a bit of cut and try because not too much has been written on the finer points of the nervous system. But there were too few people who were complex enough to require my services, and I turned to clinical work, and experimented freely." "And there you made your mistake?" "Do you know how?" "No. I imagine that with many patients you exceeded your rights once too often."