"Look," said Kingman sharply. "You didn't come here to steal by your own admission and your excellent logic. You never saw me before, and I do not know of you save what I've heard. Revenge for something real or fancied is obviously no reason for this visit. I was charged with several kinds of larceny, which charges fell through and I was acquitted of them--which means that I did not commit them. I, therefore, am no criminal. On the other hand, you have a record. You were in jail, convicted, and you escaped by some means that may have included the act of first-degree murder. You came here for some reason, Murdoch. But let me tell you this: I am in no way required to explain the workings of my mind. If you expect me to reveal some legal machination by which I gained my freedom, you are mistaken. As far as the solar system is concerned, everything was legal and above board." "I get it," smiled Murdoch. "You're untouchable." "Precisely. And rightfully so." "You're the man I want, then." "It isn't mutual. I have no desire to be identified with a criminal of your caliber." "What's wrong with it?" asked Murdoch. "It is fundamentally futile. You are not a brilliant criminal. You've been caught." "I didn't have the proper assistance. I shall not be caught again. Look," he said suddenly, "how is your relationship with Venus Equilateral?" Kingman gritted his teeth and made an animal noise. "I thought so. I have a score of my own to settle. But I need your help. Do I get it?" "I can't see how one of your caliber is capable--" "Are you or aren't you? Your answer may decide the duration of your life." "You needn't threaten. I'm willing to go to any lengths to get even with Channing and his crowd. But it must be good." "I was beaten by a technical error," explained Murdoch. "The coating on my ship did it." "How?" "They fired at me with a super electron-gun. A betatron. It hit me and disrupted the ship's apparatus. The thing couldn't have happened if the standard space-finish hadn't been applied to the _Hippocrates_." "I'm not a technical man," said Kingman. "Explain, please." * * * * * "The average ship is coated with a complex metallic oxide which among other things inhibits secondary emission. Had we been running a ship without this coating, the secondary emission would have left the _Hippocrates_ in fair condition electronically, but the Relay Station would have received several times the electronic charge. But the coating accepted the terrific charge and prevented the normal urge of electrons to leave by secondary emission--" "What is secondary emission?"