Part 10 (1/2)

Enough to hold the solar system in the palm of his hand, if he chose.

He who rules s.p.a.ce, rules the planets. It was the first time he had ever mentioned his goal to anyone.

Roy Pierce asked, ”What do I do about this 'friend' of yours who lays traps?”

The last attack had settled the question of who was behind the other attacks, and who had told Beldman, but Orillo would still be a useful p.a.w.n. All that was necessary was to evade his attempts at murder for a month or so until partners.h.i.+p tied them too close for murder.

Bryce explained some of that to Pierce, setting up a chess board to pa.s.s away the time until they arrived back at Moonbase City.

”What's my next a.s.signment?” Pierce asked, when they were several moves into the game.

Bryce recalled a danger he had made no move to guard against. ”The Board hired a psychologist, a mind hunter, to find out who's doing the undermining. He's one of the Man.o.ba group. Remember the name, look it up and find out what their methods are, how to recognize them, and report back what to do about it.”

”I'll take care of him,” Roy Pierce said absently, moving his knight to threaten Bryce's bishop.

”No unnecessary trouble. Remember I have to keep my name clean.” Bryce moved a p.a.w.n one step to cover the bishop and leave room for his other bishop to menace the knight.

”I'll be careful. There'll be no publicity. He won't get hurt,”

Pierce said, moving the knight into Bryce's second line where it threatened the king and a cornered castle. ”Check.” And he added, as if apologizing for having delayed his move, ”I don't like to move until I'm sure what's going on.”

The remark didn't seem to be suited to the game, as if he had referred to something else.

It was during dinner on the Moon that he and Pierce loosened up for the first time since the ambush. Pierce had been comparatively silent since the chess game on the trip back and Bryce too, whether in sympathy with him or in a naturally parallel mood, had little to say.

But now the tension had diffused and, with the stimulus of aromatic food, they climbed out of their depression of emotional solemnity.

The decorations of the dining room were lush. While they ate, the materialism of their lives was reinforced. From silvered-and-tapestried wall to wall there was life here, low-keyed with excitement in the blend of subdued talk and the s.h.i.+fting artistry of lights and music. Their table was almost in the center of the islands of tables and potted trees, and around them were the diners, their voices was.h.i.+ng up at them both, inviting them with gentle tugs to surrender their resistance, beckoning them into the sea of simple pleasures.

”We owe ourselves some fun, Bryce.”

At Pierce's words, Bryce sharpened his eyes on the face across the table. There was a touch of seriousness in those words; more like a statement than a suggestion.

Pierce smiled wryly and took a vial out of his pocket and poured it into his drink. He spun the empty bottle between thumb and fingers.

”We owe ourselves some fun,” Pierce repeated. ”We've nothing on the fire tonight, nothing to do that's crucial. It's a good night to experiment.”

The warm voice waves lapping at Bryce's mind suddenly receded and left a chill. With instinctive wariness he thought of hypnotics and single-shot addictors.

Pierce couldn't have missed the emotionless freeze on the other's face. Still twirling the vial casually, he began to explain. It was a new drug, he said, found being used by a tribe in Central Africa.

”I've heard of it for some time and what you mentioned a little while back reminded me of it.”

Bryce caught the hidden reference. Central Africa--and the Man.o.ba group. So Pierce had not dismissed the mind hunter from his thoughts as a problem to be easily dealt with.

”It's still in the testing stage,” Pierce added. ”But some of it is circulating among medical students. The tests have interesting effects. And, as I say, tonight's a good night to experiment, it's called B'nyab i'io.”

The chill in Bryce's head and spine was thawing out. ”You're not conning me?” He said it with a grin, but there was an edge to the question which demanded an answer.

Pierce gave it to him, for a brief moment deadly serious. ”You couldn't get addicted if you swam in it.”