"Exactly. Then Ophiuchus IX, like the other Forgotten Worlds, was all but forgotten. As you know, Mayhem, the first flux of colonization receded like a wave, inertia set in, and the so-called Forgotten Worlds became isolated from the rest of the galaxy for generations. Only in the past fifty years are we finding them again, one by one. Ophiuchus IX is typical, isolated from the galaxy at large by a dust cloud that--" "I know. I came through it." "It was colonized originally with Indians from southern and eastern India, on Earth. That's why the Galactic League appointed me Observer. I'm an Indian. These people--well, they're what my people might have developed into if they'd lived for hundreds of years in perfect isolation." "What's the trouble?" Kovandaswamy answered with a question of his own. "You are aware of the Galactic League's chief aim?" "Sure. To see that no outworld, however small or distant, is left in isolation. Is that what you mean?" "Yes," agreed Kovandaswamy. "Their reason is obvious. For almost a thousand years now the human race has outpaced its social and moral development with development in the physical sciences. For almost a thousand years mankind has had the power to destroy itself. In isolation this is possible. With mutual interchange of ideas, it is extremely unlikely. Thus, in the interests of human survival, the Galactic League tries to thwart isolated development. So far, the Forgotten Worlds have cooperated. But Ophiuchus IX is an exception." "And the League wants me to find out why?" "Precisely." "How are they thwarting--" Kovandaswamy was sweating despite the air-conditioning, despite his almost-naked state. "You have the right to turn this mission down, of course. The League told me that." "I'm here," Mayhem said simply. "Very well, sir. Sooner or later, every outworlder who ventures out among the Ophiuchans kills himself." "I guess I didn't hear you. Did you say kills himself?" "Suicide, Mayhem. Exactly." "But how can you blame--" "Like their ancestors from the Earthian sub-continent of India, Mayhem, the Ophiuchans are mystics. The trance, the holy man who sits in contemplation of his navel, the World Spirit--these are the things of their culture most important to them. Mayhem, did you ever see a hundred holy men of India working together?" "Usually they don't work together." "Precisely, sir. Precisely. Here on Ophiuchus, they do. And not merely a hundred. All of them. Virtually all of them. Working together, their minds in trance, unified, seeking their World Spirit, they can do amazing things." "Like mentally forcing the outworlders to kill themselves?" "Yes, sir. Legally, they are innocent. Morally, they do not recognize the outworlders as equals of themselves. The League wants to know what they are trying to hide. It could be a threat to peace and--existence." "You have a body for me?" Johnny would be ready with that provided. * * * * *