Ross said, "You don't seem very happy." "Stewart--Please, Stewart...." Veta broke off, lips aquiver. And then, in a shaky, uneven voice: "Can't we forget about them, Stewart--all of them--the catalyst, the formula, Mawson?" "Oh?" "Don't you understand? There's death in that catalyst, Stewart--death in it, and everything about it. It's cursed. Anyone who even comes close to it goes.--Like Sanford--" "I know," Ross said. But the words held no sympathy, no understanding. "Now that your brother's dead, the catalyst's cursed. We should forget about it." Veta's face came up. She stared at Ross. "Stewart, please--" Ross kept on as if she hadn't spoken. "The only question is," he clipped, "will some other people forget about it just as easily?" "Other people--?" "Yes. People like Commandant Padora of Security, for instance; he's hunting for me, you know. And Cheng--when do you suppose he'll quit? Mawson, too. That man who followed me on Japetus. Astrell. All the others who've got a finger in this pie--" Ross broke off; laughed harshly. "I don't think quitting's going to be as easy as you think, Veta; not by half-a-million light-years." "But we could run for it, Stewart!" Of a sudden Veta's words came quick and eager. "Even Security doesn't reach everywhere, nor Cheng either. The satellites off the beaten track--even an asteroid with an out-size orbit like Hidalgo's--we could go there. It might be years before they found us, if they ever did." "True enough," Ross nodded. There was a faint edge of contempt in his voice. "Only I'm not going." * * * * * The light in Veta's eyes died. She stared at him in numb silence. Ross said, "Your brother's dead, Veta. That seems to be all you care about. "The trouble with me, though, is that I keep thinking about all the other brothers, and the mothers and fathers and sisters and wives and husbands and children too--all the people in this solar system who don't want to die, but who will, just so long as Tornelescu's life catalyst formula stays in the wrong hands." "Stewart--" "Whoever's got that catalyst isn't thinking about life, Veta, or people either. He's thinking about power, the same way Cheng and Burrage think about it. He knows that as long as people love life, that catalyst formula can buy the universe for him. "That's why I'm not going to run, Veta. And that's why I'm going to finish this job, bring in that formula, even if it turns out you're the one who stole it and I have to cut your throat in order to make recovery." A visible tremor ran through Veta Hall. Stumbling, face averted, she cowered against Ross. "Stewart ..." she whispered. "Please, Stewart, forgive me. Let me go with you. That's all I ask--" And then: "Hold me, Stewart. Just hold me." Slowly, Ross brought his arms about her. His face was lined, his eyes somber. After a moment, he said, "We've got to go, Veta. Now. Every minute's precious."