e administration building there was little of order, but eventually
they managed to arrange for their transportation. Luckily, they were
supplied with a chauffeur driven helio-car.

Luckily, because without the chauffeur to help them run the gauntlet they
would have been held up by parades, demonstrations and monstrous street
meetings a dozen times before they ever reached their destination. Twice,
Ronny stopped short of drawing his gun only by a fraction when half
drunken demonstrators stopped them.

The driver, a wispy, sad looking type, shook his head. "There's no going
back now," he told them over his shoulder. "No going back. Last week I was
all with the rest, I never did believe David the One was really Immortal.
But you was just used to the idea, see? It'd always been that way, with
the priests running everything and we was used to it. Now I wish we was
still that way. At least you knew how you stood, see? Now, what's going to
happen?"

"That's an interesting question," Tog said politely.

Ronny said, "Possibly you'll have the chance to build a better world,
now."

The driver shot a contemptuous look over his shoulder. "Better world? What
do I want with a better world? I just don't want to be bothered. I've been
getting my three squares a day, got a nice little flat for my family. How
do I know it's not going to be a worse world?"

"That's always a possibility," Tog told him. "Do most people seem to feel
the same?"

"Practically everybody I know does," he said glumly. "But the fat's in the
fire now. The priests are trying to hold on but their government is
falling apart all over the place."

"Well," Ronny said, "at least you can figure just about anything in the
way of a new government will be better than one based on superstition and
inquisition. It couldn't get worse."

"Things can always get worse," the other contradicted him sadly.

-------------------------------------

They left the cab before an impressively tall, many windowed building in
city center. As they mounted the steps, Ronny frowned at her. "You seemed
to be encouraging that man in his pessimism. So far as I can see, the best
thing that ever happened to this planet was toppling that phony
priesthood."

"Perhaps," she said agreeably. "However, the man's mind was an ossified
one. A surprisingly large percentage of people have them, especially when
it comes to institutions such as religion and government. We weren't g