to low-gravity or null-gravity conditions, but he talked
like an Earthman, not a Belt man. The identification card in his belt
explained that; he was a pilot on the Earth-Moon shuttle service. In the
eyes of anyone from the Belt cities, he was still an Earthman, not a
true spaceman. He was looked upon in the same way that the captain of a
transatlantic liner might have looked upon the skipper of the Staten
Island ferry two centuries before. The very fact that he was seated in a
chair gave away his Earth habits.

The third man was standing, leaning at a slight angle, so that his back
touched the wall behind him. He was not tall--five nine--and his face
and body were thin. His tanned skin seemed to be stretched tightly over
this scanty padding, and in places the bones appeared to be trying to
poke their way through to the surface. His ears were small and lay
nearly flat against his head, and the hair on his skull was so sparse
that the tanned scalp could be easily seen beneath it, although there
was no actual bald spot anywhere. Only his large, luminous brown eyes
showed that Nature had not skimped on everything when he was formed. His
name was lettered neatly on the outside of the door to the office:
Georges Alhamid. In spite of the French spelling, he pronounced the name
"George," in the English manner.

He had welcomed the two Earthmen into his office, smiling the automatic
smile of the diplomat as he welcomed them to Pallas. As soon as they
were comfortably seated--though perhaps that word did not exactly apply
to Edway Tarnhorst--Georges Alhamid said:

"Now, gentlemen, what can I do for you?"

He asked it as though he were completely unaware of what had brought the
two men to Pallas.

Tarnhorst looked as though he were privately astonished that his host
could speak grammatically. "Mr. Alhamid," he began, "I don't know
whether you're aware that the industrial death rate here in the Belt has
been the subject of a great deal of discussion in both industrial and
governmental circles on Earth." It was a half question, and he let it
hang in the air, waiting to see whether he got an answer.

"Certainly my office has received a great deal of correspondence on the
subject," Alhamid said. His voice sounded as though Tarnhorst had
mentioned nothing more serious than a commercial deal. Important, but
nothing to get into a heavy sweat over.

Tarnhorst nodded and then held his head very still. His actions betrayed
the fac