ere reviewing this sudden, strange turn of events,
and all it presaged. He tried in vain to thrust out of his mind the
astonished consternation of his classmates, the sneers of the marines
and the jeers of the civilians there at the gate, who had seen his
disgrace. Almost in tears now, he realized at last this was but a
prelude to years of being scorned and vilified as a despised outcast.

Finally he calmed a bit, then got up to pace the room, wondering what
the next move would be. The answer came almost at once. A rap on the
door disclosed a messenger with a package for him. On opening it, after
the man had gone, Hanlon found the sleep-instructor and reels. On top
was a smaller reel marked, "No. 1. Listen to this awake."

He plugged in the machine, and put on the reel. It was his father's
voice.

"You've got this far, now begins your real work. You should be able to
memorize the contents of these reels in two weeks. Briefly, here is what
they contain. Simonides Four was colonized under the direction of a
Greek merchant who gave it his name. Four is the only habitable planet.
Most of the original inhabitants under him were of his nationality, and
the present language is an outgrowth of modern Greek, which you know
somewhat. There are now, of course, many variations and new words, terms
peculiar to their growing and evolving culture. The reels give all this
more fully.

"The last reel tells their history, geography and economic situation as
of today. Also, details about their various large cities, especially New
Athens, their capitol. We believe you will find that city the best place
to start your investigations. When you have these reels memorized, go to
the bank, get your final instructions from the box, and your money for
the trip.

"As to the problem, again briefly this is it: In the past year or so
Federation agents have sensed a movement there, but have not been able
to interpret it. Whatever it is, it is very, very secret--the agents
can't even tell if it is political, religious, or merely social. Also,
they have discovered that many important men, as well as dozens--maybe
hundreds--of less important men, have mysteriously disappeared. All this
has the smell of trouble for the Federation.

"At last the Secret Service was called in. We sent first one man, then a
second. They tried to 'bore from within' by joining whatever the
movement was. But they haven't been able to get even a start--they've
hit it and bo