"Sit down and relax," Costa told him. "Everything is in the green so
far. The ship wasn't spotted on the way down. Now all we have to do is
wait for transportation."

In theory at least, Adao Costa was Neel's assistant. In practice he took
complete charge of moving their equipment and getting it under cover in
the capital city of Kitezh. Men and trucks appeared to help them, and
vanished as soon as their work was done. Within twenty hours they were
installed in a large loft, all of the machines uncrated and plugged in.
Neel took a no-sleep and began tuning checks on all the circuits, glad
of something to do. Costa locked the heavy door behind their last silent
helper, then dropped gratefully onto one of the bedding rolls.

"How did the gadgets hold up?" he asked.

"I'm finding out now. They're built to take punishment--but being
dropped twelve feet into mud soup, then getting baked by rockets isn't
in the original specs."

"They crate things well these days," Costa said unworriedly, sucking on
a bottle of the famous Himmelian beer. "When do you go to work?"

"We're working right now," Neel told him, pulling a folder of papers out
of the file. "Before we left I drew up a list of current magazines and
newspapers I would need. You can start on these. I'll have a sampling
program planned by the time you get back."

Costa groaned hollowly and reached for the papers.

* * * * *

Once the survey was in operation it went ahead of its own momentum. Both
men grabbed what food and sleep they could. The computers gulped down
Neel's figures and spat out tape-reels of answers that demanded even
more facts. Costa and his unseen helpers were kept busy supplying the
material.

Only one thing broke the ordered labors of the week. Neel blinked twice
at Costa before his equation-fogged brain assimilated an immediate and
personal factor.

"You've a bandage on your head," he said. "A _blood-stained_ bandage!"

"A little trouble in the streets. Mobs. And that's an incredible feat of
observation," Costa marveled. "I had the feeling that if I came in here
stark naked, you wouldn't notice it."

"I ... I get involved," Neel said. Dropping the papers on a table and
kneading the tired furrow between his eyes. "Get wrapped up in the
computation. Sorry. I tend to forget about people."

"Don't feel sorry to me," Costa said. "You're right. Doing the job. I'm
supposed to help you, not pose for the _before_