Pebble in the Sky by Isaac Asimov (best novels of all time .txt) 📗

minds of our scientists, already improved by Synapsification, be overtaken. Eh? This means that the Empire has at least a faint suspicion of what is going on upon Earth. Is that minor, Your Excellency?”

There was a scattered dew on the High Minister’s forehead. “Do you really think so?”

“The facts are a jigsaw puzzle that can fit only one way. The Outsider so treated was a man of undistinguished, even contemptible, appearance. A good stroke, too, since a bald and fat old man can still be the Empire’s most skilled espionage agent. Oh yes. Yes. Who else could be trusted on a mission such as this? . . . But we have followed this stranger, whose alias, by the way, is Schwartz, as far as we can. Let us take this second file of reports.”

The High Minister cast an eye upon them. “The ones concerning Bel Arvardan?”

“Dr. Bel Arvardan,” assented Balkis, “eminent archaeologist of the gallant Sirian Sector, those worlds of brave and chivalrous bigots.” He spat the last out. Then, “Well, never mind. In any case, we have here a queer mirror image to Schwartz, an almost poetic contrast. He is not unknown, but, instead, a famous figure. He is not a secret intruder, but one who comes floating on a tidal wave of publicity. We are warned of him not by an obscure technician, but by the Procurator of Earth himself.”

“Do you think there is a connection, Balkis?”

“Your Excellency may suppose it possible that one may be designed to distract our attention from the other. Or else, since the ruling classes of the Empire are skilled enough in intrigue, we have an example of two methods of camouflage. In the case of Schwartz, the lights are put out. In the case of Arvardan, the lights are flashed in our eyes. In neither case are we intended to see anything? . . . Come, of what did Ennius warn us concerning Arvardan?”

The High Minister rubbed his nose thoughtfully. “Arvardan, he said, was on an archaeological expedition under Imperial sponsorship and wished to enter the Forbidden Areas for scientific purposes. No sacrilege, he said, was intended, and if we could stop him in gentle fashion, he would back our action to the Imperial Council. Something like that.”

“So then we will watch Arvardan closely, but for what purpose? Why, to see that he makes no unauthorized entry into the Forbidden Areas. Here’s the head of an archaeological expedition without men, ships, or equipment. Here’s an Outsider who does not remain at Everest, where he belongs, but wanders about Earth, for some reason—and goes to Chica first. And how is our attention distracted from all these most curious and suspicious circumstances? Why, by urging us to watch carefully something that is of no importance.

“But notice, Your Excellency, that Schwartz was kept hidden in the Institute for Nuclear Research for six days. And then he escaped. Isn’t that strange? The door, suddenly, wasn’t locked. The corridor, suddenly, wasn’t guarded. What queer negligence. And on what day was it that he escaped? Why, on the same day that Arvardan arrived at Chica. A second peculiar coincidence.”

“You think, then . . .” said the High Minister tensely.

“I think that Schwartz is the Outsider agent on Earth, that Shekt is the contact man with the Assimilationist traitors among us, and that Arvardan is the contact man with the Empire. Observe the skill with which the meeting between Schwartz and Arvardan was arranged. Schwartz is allowed to escape, and after an appropriate interval his nurse—Shekt’s daughter, by a not-too-surprising additional coincidence—is out after him. If anything were to go wrong with their split-second timetable, it is obvious that she would have found him suddenly; that he would have become a poor, sick patient for the benefit of anyone’s curiosity; that he would have been brought back to safety for another attempt later. In fact, two overcurious cabbies were told that he was a sick man, and that, ironically enough, backfired upon them.

“Follow it closely, now. Schwartz and Arvardan meet first in a Foodomat. They are, apparently, unaware of each other’s existence. It is a preliminary meeting, designed, simply, to indicate that all has gone well so far and that the next step may be taken. . . . At least they don’t underestimate us, which is gratifying.

“Then Schwartz leaves; a few minutes later Arvardan leaves and the Shekt girl meets him. It is stop-watch timing. Together, after playing a little part for the benefit of the aforementioned cabbies, they head for the Dunham department store, and now all three are together. Where else but a department store? It is an ideal meeting place. It has a secrecy no cave in the mountains could duplicate. Too open to be suspected. Too crowded to be stalked. Wonderful—wonderful—I give credit to my opponent.”

The High Minister writhed in his chair. “If our opponent deserves too much credit, he will win.”

“Impossible. He is already defeated. And in that respect we must give credit to the excellent Natter.”

“And who is Natter?”

“An insignificant agent who must be used to the limit after this. His actions yesterday could not have been improved upon. His long-range assignment has been to watch Shekt. For the purpose, he keeps a fruit stand across the street from the Institute. For the last week he has been specifically instructed to watch the development of the Schwartz affair.

“He was on hand when the man, known to him through photographs and through a glimpse at the time he was first brought to the Institute, escaped. He observed every action, himself unobserved, and it is his report that details yesterday’s events. With incredible intuition, he decided that the entire purpose of the ‘escape’ was to arrange a meeting with Arvardan. He felt himself to be not in a position, single-handed, to exploit that meeting, so he decided to prevent it. The cabbies, to whom the Shekt girl had described Schwartz as being sick, speculated on Radiation Fever. Natter seized on that with the swiftness of genius. As soon as he observed the