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give-away clause which had prevented its use on Utopia. It had been signed by ultraphone-the possession of that tight-beam device alone "placed" the Hruntans as to century-and the work the city was to do was left unspecified. Amalfi hoped devoutly that the Hruntans would in turn give themselves away when it came to being specific on that count. The buzzer sounded once more, and Amalfi pushed the button that released the door. The next instant he was not sure it had been a wise move. The Hruntan delegation bore an unmistakable resemblance to a boarding party. First of all, there were an even dozen soldiers, clad in tight-fitting red leather breeches, gleaming breastplates, and scarlet-plumed casques; the breastplates, too, were emblazoned with a huge scarlet sun. The men snapped to attention in two files of six on each side of the door, bringing to "present arms" weapons which might have been copies of Kammerman's original mesotron rifle. Between the files, flanked by two lesser lights as gor- geously and unfunctionally clad as macaws, came a giant carved out of'gold. His clothing was interwoven with golden threads; his breastplate and helmet were gilded; even his complexion was tanned to a deep golden tone; and he sported a luxuriant golden-blond beard and flowing mustache. He was altogether a most unlikely-looking figure. He spoke two harsh-sounding words, and boot heels and weapons slammed against the floor. Amalfi winced and stood up. "We," the golden giant said, "are the Margraf Hazca, Vice Regent of the Duchy of Gort under his Eternal Eminence, Arpad Hrunta. Emperor of Space." "Oh," Amalfi said, blinking. "My name's Amalfi; I'm the mayor here. Do you sit down?" The Margraf said he sat down, and did. The soldiers remained stiffly "at ease," and the two subsidiary nobles posed themselves behind the Margraf s chair. Amalfi subsided behind his desk with a muffled sigh of relief. "I presume you're here to discuss the contract." "We are. We are told that you have been among the rabble of the second planet." "An emergency landing only," Amalfi said. "No doubt," the Margraf said dryly. "We do not concern ourselves with the doings of the Hamiltonians; we will add them to our serfs in due time, after we have driven off these upstarts from decadent Earth. In the meantime, we have use for you; any enemy of Earth must be friends with us." "That's logical," Amalfi said. "Just what can we do for you? We have quite a variety of equipment here--" "The matter of payment comes first," said the Margraf. He got up and began pacing slowly up and down with enormous strides, his golden cloak streaming out behind him. "We are not prepared to make any payment in germanium; we need all we have for transistors. The contract speaks of equivalents. What counts as equivalent?" It was remarkable how the regal manner was snuffed out when it got down to honest haggling. Amalfi said cautiously, "Well, you could allow us to mine for germanium ourselves--" "Do you think this planet's resources will last forever? Give us the equivalent, not some roundabout scheme for being paid in the metal itself!" "Equipment, then," Amalfi said, "or skills, at a mutually agreed valuation. For instance, what are you using for lubrication?" The big count's eyes glittered. "Ah," he said softly. "You have the secret of the friction-fields, then. That we have long sought, but the generators of the rabble melt when we touch them. Does Earth know this process?" "No." "You got it from the Hamiltonians? Excellent." The two minor nobles were beginning to grin wickedly. "We need babble no further of 'mutually agreed valuations,' then." He gestured. Amalfi found himself looking down a dozen rifle barrels. "What's the idea?" "You are within our defensive envelope," Hazca said with wolfish gusto. "And you are not likely to survive long among the Earthmen, should you by some miracle break free of us. You may call your technicians and tell them to prepare a demonstration of the friction-field generator; also, prepare to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |