"Sounds as if you're quoting," Brion told him. "No one could
possibly make up something that sounds like that on the spur of
the moment."

"I _was_ quoting, from our charter of organization. Which is all
very fine in a general sense, but I'm talking specifically now.
About you. You are the product of a tightly knit and very advanced
society. Your individuality has been encouraged by your growing up
in a society so small in population that a mild form of government
control is necessary. The normal Anvharian education is an excellent
one, and participation in the Twenties has given you a general and
advanced education second to none in the galaxy. It would be a
complete waste of your entire life if you now took all this training
and wasted it on some rustic farm."

"You give me very little credit. I plan to teach--"

"Forget Anvhar!" Ihjel cut him off with a chop of his hand. "This
world will roll on quite successfully whether you are here or not.
You must forget it, think of its relative unimportance on a galactic
scale, and consider instead the existing, suffering hordes of
mankind. You must think what you can do to help them."

"But what can I do--as an individual? The day is long past when
a single man, like Caesar or Alexander, could bring about
world-shaking changes."

"True--but not true," Ihjel said. "There are key men in every
conflict of forces, men who act like catalysts applied at the right
instant to start a chemical reaction. You might be one of these men,
but I must be honest and say that I can't prove it yet. So in order
to save time and endless discussion, I think I will have to spark
your personal sense of obligation."

"Obligation to whom?"

"To mankind, of course, to the countless billions of dead who kept
the whole machine rolling along that allows you the full, long and
happy life you enjoy today. What they gave to you, you must pass on
to others. This is the keystone of humanistic morals."

"Agreed. And a very good argument in the long run. But not one that
is going to tempt me out of this bed within the next three hours."

"A point of success," Ihjel said. "You agree with the general
argument. Now I apply it specifically to you. Here is the statement
I intend to prove. There exists a planet with a population of seven
million people. Unless I can prevent it, this planet will be
completely destroyed. It is my job to stop that destruction, so that
is where I am going now. I won't be abl