e are some distance from
the solar system, yours is the first ship that has landed here since
colonization."

"You seem to have been lucky, though," said Peo. He was navigator of the
Council ship, and had asked to accompany Tardo on the brief inspection
trip. "You could have landed on a barren planet."

"Well, no, the colonizers knew it was liveable, from the first
exploration expedition," said Saranta. "There were difficulties, of
course. Luxuriant vegetation, but no animal life, so we had no animals
to domesticate. Pulling a plow is hard work for a man."

"But you were able to solve this situation in a humanitarian way?" asked
Tardo, peering at him keenly. "That is to say, you didn't resort to
slavery?"

Saranta smiled and spread his hands slightly.

"Does this look like a slave society to you?" he countered. "The
colonists were anxious to co-operate to make the planet liveable. No one
objected to work."

"It's true we've seen no slaves, that we know about," said Tardo. "But
two days is a short time for inspection. I must draw most of my
conclusions from the attitudes of you and the others who are our hosts.
How about the servants here?"

"They are paid," answered Saranta, and added ruefully: "There are those
of us who think they are paid too well. They have a union, you know."

Tardo laughed.

"A carry-over from Earth, no doubt," he commented. "An unusual one, too,
for a culture without technology."

When the meal was over, the two men from the ship were conducted on a
tour of the area. It was a neat agricultural community, with broad
fields, well-constructed buildings and, a short distance from Saranta's
castle-like home, a village in which artisans and craftsmen plied their
peaceful trades.

Peo tried to notice what he thought Tardo would look for on such a short
inspection. The Council agent, he knew, had had intensive training and
many years of experience. It was hard for Peo to judge what factors
Tardo would consider significant--probably very minor ones that the
average man would not notice, he thought.

Tardo had seemed most intent on the question of slavery, and Peo looked
for signs of it. He could see none. The people of the planet had had
time to conceal some things, of course. But the people they saw in the
village wore a proud air of independence no slave could assume.

Saranta apologized for their having to walk, explaining that there was
no other means of transportation on the planet.