violence. If I get back all right you won't see this
note. Otherwise--good-by, Ihjel. Try to do a better job
than I did._
_Aston Mervv_

_P.S. There is a problem with the staff. They are
supposed to be saviors, but without exception they all
loathe the Disans. I'm afraid I do too._

Brion ticked off the relevant points in the letter. He had to find
some way of discovering what Pareto Extrapolations were--without
uncovering his own lack of knowledge. The staff would vanish in five
minutes if they knew how new he was at the job. Poisson Distribution
made more sense. It was used in physics as the unchanging
probability of an event that would be true at all times. Such as
the numbers of particles that would be given off by a lump of
radioactive matter during a short period. From the way Mervv used
it in his letter it looked as if the societics people had found
measurable applications in societies and groups. At least on other
planets. None of the rules seemed to be working on Dis. Ihjel had
admitted that, and Mervv's death had proven it. Brion wondered who
this Lig-magte was who appeared to have killed Mervv.

A forged cough broke through Brion's concentration, and he realized
that Faussel had been standing in front of his desk for some
minutes. Brion looked up and mopped perspiration from his face.

"Your air conditioner seems to be out of order," Faussel said.
"Should I have the mechanic look at it?"

"There's nothing wrong with the machine; I'm just adapting to Dis's
climate. What else do you want, Faussel?"

The assistant had a doubting look that he didn't succeed in hiding.
He also had trouble believing the literal truth. He placed the small
stack of file folders on the desk.

"These are the reports to date, everything we have uncovered about
the Disans. It's not very much; but considering the anti-social
attitudes on this lousy world it is the best we could do." A sudden
thought hit him, and his eyes narrowed slyly. "It can't be helped,
but some of the staff have been wondering out loud about that native
that contacted us. How did you get him to help you? We've never
gotten to first base with these people, and as soon as you land you
have one working for you. You can't stop people from thinking about
it, you being a newcomer and a stranger. After all, it looks a
little odd--" He broke off in midsentence as Brion looked at him
in cold fury.