s voice was pleasant
again. "I was simply afraid that someone might have come who--but it
is nothing. I am weary from all this vigilance against the vagabonds.
It is hard to think realistically."

"I was surprised to see so much lawlessness on Vinin."

"Then you're very naive, my friend. There's an element like that among
all people, although I must admit ours here have suddenly become
excessively active. Their attacks are so systematic and so
well-organized! Hardly a night passes without trouble at a work camp
or a transmitter station.

"Your transmitters are different from ours. Have you developed an
improvement in technique?"

"They are, curious, aren't they? You must ask the Chief to tell you
all about them." The Vininese chuckled with delight. "I wouldn't want
to spoil his surprise by letting you in on the secret first."

VII

The Vininese drove Dirrul to the city in a heavily armed surface car.
Two of the infantrymen sat behind them, their rocket guns ready on
their knees. It was testimony to the efficiency and organization of
Vinin that such a finished reception could be prepared on such short
notice. Dirrul's first intimation of the scope of the ceremony came
when they stopped at a school to be cheered by the pupils.

Rank upon rank of boys and girls lined up smartly behind the high wire
fence. They ranged in ages from tots, barely able to stand, to young
people in late adolescence. Except for the round metal disks, which
all of them wore, they were completely naked.

"Clothing breeds such false modesty and so many foolish frustrations,"
Dirrul's host explained. "On Vinin every child is reared in completely
objective equality. As soon as we take them from their parents--about
the time when they're first learning to walk--we give them
identification disks. Before that, when they're in the instinct
period, the disks aren't necessary.

"After their basic education we classify them. The leader-class is
issued permanent disks and the others give theirs up. The adjustment
is something very severe but on the whole the casualties are light."
Suddenly the Vininese seized Dirrul's hand and looked into his eyes.
"I trust you follow me, my friend?"

"Yes," Dirrul answered. Reason led him to a conclusion as he looked at
the massed children, a conclusion he could not bring himself to face.
He felt a new kind of fear, as cold as the depths of space and as
devoid of emotion. Instead of trusting to his own logic D