to the proposition I made you
way back then. Remember when Aggie told you about it? Say, I wonder
what's become of her, anyway. Do you know? What? What'd you say?"

Jason cleared his throat. Hard.

"Well?"

Jason swallowed. Blood pounded in his temples.

"Jasey, you're stupid."

Jason made his eyes close. Let them re-open slowly.

"You were born stupid and you've stayed stupid."

Still Jason held back an answer.

"You're nothing but a stupid, go-where-you're-sent, do-what-you're-told
cop! What do you say to that! If you want to keep on being one, answer
me! Answer me!"

Deliberately, Jason jerked his chin at the statue. "That's another
example of what I mean."

"_What?!!_" screamed Lonnie.

"Reflectivity. The silver in the gold. Two different metals and where
they're not well fused. That sword blade, too. Just the misalignment of
molecules in the surface of the steel makes it look wavy, and ripple
when the light changes or you move. Different even in two parts of the
same material. That's why you can't get the stereo cube to reproduce
color-feel exactly." Breathing heavily, Jason had to let his voice fade
out.

"Gaaa ..." Lonnie convulsed. "Who cares!" Laugh sounds rolled out of his
throat. "You'll never change."

He flicked his hand at Jason, brushing him away.

But, as Jason, white-faced, herded his men out through the costly
grandeurs of the vestibule, Lonnie called from the inner hall:
"Copper ..."

Jason turned, waited.

"You amused me, so it's all right this time. You can keep your
penny-ante job. But don't try for me again. You cross my path again,
I'll smear you. And what's more, I'll use whatever you're trying, to
smear you with. Get that! Get it good! Now get out!"

Back in Jason's office, the desk sergeant reported as Jason came in.
"Funny thing. That there tracer started to hum again soon after you was
out for a while. Quit again 'bout five minutes ago, though."

Jason gritted his teeth, banished the sergeant, and spent five minutes
alone gripping the edge of his desk. Then he yanked Lab Nine's silent
genius down to his office. That didn't help for the tracer stayed
asleep. Not even a hiccup rewarded Moglaut's most active efforts on
Lonnie's wave length. On others, fine. Through the night and on into the
next day, Jason kept Moglaut at work.

Late in the morning, Authority at Peiping televised publicly that the
Mace of Alexander was gone from its satin pillow in the proof-glass cas