der
carrying you!"

In a nightmarish daze, Gibson obeyed the cold directions, and walked
slowly along the underground corridors of the Centaurian research
laboratories. He prayed desperately that someone--anyone--might come
along. _Anybody_ who could possibly be used to create a diversion, or to
be pushed into Korman and his deadly blaster.

The halls remained deserted, possibly by arrangement.

_Maybe I'd better wait till we reach his ship_, Gibson thought. _I ought
to be able to figure a way before we reach Nessus. I had the brains to
fool Haas and ..._

He winced, recalling Chairman Diamond's theory of the difference between
intelligence and wisdom.

_The obscene swine!_ he screamed silently.

Colonel Korman grunted warningly, and Gibson took the indicated turn.

They entered the spaceship from an underground chamber, and Gibson
learned the reason for his executioner's assurance when the latter
chained him to one of the pneumatic acceleration seats. The chain was
fragile in appearance, but he knew he would not be free to move until
Korman so desired.

_More of their insane brand of cleverness!_ he reflected. _That's the
sort of thing they do succeed in thinking of. They're all crazy! Why did
I ever ..._

But he shrank from the question he feared to answer. To drag out into
the open his petty, selfish reasons, shorn of the tinsel glamor of
so-called "service" and "progress," would be too painful.

* * * * *

After the first series of accelerations, he roused himself from his
beaten stupor enough to note that Korman was taking a strange course for
reaching Nessus. Then, entirely too close to the planet and its
satellites to ensure accuracy, the colonel put the ship into subspace
drive.

Korman leaned back at the conclusion of the brief activity on his
control board, and met Gibson's pop-eyed stare.

"Interesting, the things worth knowing," he commented. "How to make a
weapon, for instance, or whether your enemy has it yet."

He almost smiled at his prisoner's expression.

"Or even better: knowing exactly how far your enemy has progressed and
how fast he can continue, whether to stop him immediately or whether you
can remain a step ahead."

"B-but--if both sides are irresistible ..." Gibson stammered.

Korman examined him contemptuously.

"No irresistible weapon exists, or ever will!" he declared. "Only an
irresistible _process_--the transmission of secrets! You are