"Rod, I'm so embarrassed...how am I ever going to apologize to Kevin?"

"To Kevin? You're kidding. Have you ever seen Renner apologize to anyone? Just forget it. Talk as if it had never happened next time you see him."

"But he was right-you knew, didn't you? You knew it then!"

He started her walking again. Their footsteps echoed through the corridors. Even in the dim lights the rock walls flashed iridescent colors as they moved. Then a wall blocked the smoldering gaze of the Hooded Man, and they were at the stairs.

"I suspected it then. Just from the reports and the brief relationship I had with my Motie. After you left this afternoon I did some checking. They lied to you."

"But why, Rod? I can't understand it-" They climbed another flight in silence.

"You aren't going to like the answer," Rod said as they reached their floor. "She was a Mediator. Mediators represent Masters. She was ordered to lie to you."

"But why? What possible reason could they have for concealing that they were mules?"

"I wish I knew." Or that I didn't know, he thought. But there was no point in telling Sally until he was sure. "Don't take it so hard, sweetheart. We lied to them, too."

They reached his door and he put his hand on the identiplate. The door swung open to reveal Kelley, tunic unfastened, sprawled in an easy chair. The Marine leaped to his feet.

"Good God, Kelley. I've told you not to wait up for me. Go to bed."

"Important message, my lord. Senator Fowler will be here later. He asks you to wait for him. Wanted to be sure you got the message, my lord."

"Yeah." Rod's voice was lemon-sour. "OK. I got the message. Thanks."

"I'll stay to serve you."

"No, you won't. No sense in everybody staying up all night. Get out of here." Rod watched the Marine vanish into the corridor. When he was gone Sally giggled loudly. "I don't see what's so damned funny," Rod snapped.

"He was protecting my reputation," Sally laughed. "What if you hadn't got the message and Uncle Ben came chargin' in here and we-"

"Yeah. Want a drink?"

"With Uncle Ben coming in a few minutes? Waste of good liquor. I'm going to bed." She smiled sweetly. "Don't stay up too late."

"Wench." He took her shoulders and kissed her. Then again. "I could set the door so he can't get in-"

"Good night, Rod."

He watched until she was inside her own suite across the hall from his, then went back inside to the bar. It had been a long dull evening, with only the thought of leaving the party early to look forward to,

"Damn!" he said aloud. He tossed off a brimming glass of New Aberdeen Highland Cream. "God damn it to hell!"

Senator Fowler and a preoccupied Kevin Renner came in after Rod had poured his second drink. "Sorry about the hour, Rod," Fowler said perfunctorily. "Kevin tells me something interesting happened today-"

"He did, uh? And he suggested this conference, right?" When Benjamin Fowler nodded, Rod turned to his former sailing master. "I'll fix you for this, you-"

"We haven't got time for games," Fowler said. "Got any more of that Scotch?"

"Yeah." Rod poured for both of them, tossed off his drink, and poured himself another. "Have a seat, Ben. You too, Mr. Renner. I won't apologize for letting the servants go to bed-"

"Oh, that's all right," Renner said. He lapsed back into whatever reverie was consuming him, sank into a chair, then grinned in astonishment. He'd never been in a massage chair before, and obviously enjoyed it

"OK," Senator Fowler said. "Tell me what you think happened this afternoon"

"I'll show it to you." Rod manipulated his pocket computer and the wall screen came on. The picture was not good; it had been recorded by a small camera built into a decoration on Rod's tunic, and the viewpoint was limited. The sound was excellent, though.

Fowler watched in silence. "Let's see that again," he said. Rod obligingly ran the conference once more. While Fowler and Renner watched he went to the bar, decided against another Scotch, and poured himself coffee.

"Now just why do you think this was so all-fired important?" Fowler demanded.

Kevin Renner shrugged. "It's the first proof we have that they lie to us. What else haven't they told us?"

"Hell, they haven't told us much of anything;' Fowler said. "And was that a lie?"

"Yeah," Rod said quietly. "By implication, anyway. It wasn't misunderstanding. I've checked on that. We've got too many records of conversations where the Moties implied something false, realized they'd done it from watching our reactions, and corrected themselves. No. That Motie deliberately encouraged Sally to believe something that isn't true."

"But what the hell does it do for us to know Mediators don't have kids?" Fowler demanded.

"It tells us two Browns and a White had four children," Renner said slowly. "On a small ship. In space. Under dangerous conditions. Not to mention crowded."

"Yeah." Ben Fowler stood and removed his dress tunic. The shirt underneath was old, very soft, and carefully patched in three places. "Rod, just what do Moties think of their kids?" Fowler asked. "Maybe they think they're nothing much until they can talk. Expendable."

"Wrong," said Renner.

"The tactful way," Rod said quietly, "the polite way to disagree with the Senator would be to say, ‘That turns out not to be the case.'"

Renner's face lit up. "Hey. I like that. Anyway, the Senator's wrong. The Moties think everything of their children. The only religion they ever told me about teaches that theft souls divide to enter their children. They practically worship the little darlings."

"Uh." Fowler held out his glass for a refill. He scowled impatiently. "Could it be they like ‘em so much they have kids whenever they get the chance?"

"Possible," Rod said. "And from that the threat is obvious. But-"

"But exactly," Fowler said. "Then that planet's got to be crowded. Which it was. Which means the Moties have got population pressure problems like we've never had..."

"Presumably they can control them," Rod said carefully. "Because if they can't- They've been cooped up in that system a long time."

"With what results?" Fowler demanded. "What do we know of Motie history?"

"Not a lot," Renner said. "They've been civilized a long time. Really long. They were moving asteroids in bunches at least ten thousand years ago. I'm almost afraid to think how much history they've had." Kevin wriggled in the chair to get the full effects of the massage. "So they've had plenty of time to solve their population problems. Just from the time they launched that Crazy Eddie probe to now they could have filled up the planet. They didn't, so they can control population..."

"But they don't want to," Ben announced. "And what does that mean? If they get out here into the Empire, how long before they outnumber us?" Senator Fowler toyed thoughtfully with a worn spot on his shirt. "Maybe that's what they're trying to bide. High birth rate and a lack of desire to do anything about it." He stood in sudden decision, no longer pensive. "Rod, get your people looking into this. I want, everything we've got about Motie history"

"Yes, sir," Rod said unhappily And what is this going to do to Sally when we get it? Because-

"You sound like the prosecutor in a murder trial," Renner said. "Good Lord, Senator, they've got a long history. Of course they've solved the population pressure problem."

"Fine. How?" Fowler snapped.

"I don't know. Ask ‘em," said Renner.

"I intend to. But since we know they can and do lie to us- Now just why would that surprise a politician?" Ben wondered. "Anyway. Now that we know that, I want to have my ducks in a row before I go in there and confront the Moties."

"The opportunities for trade are fabulous," Jock announced. The arms indicated excitement. "These humans are indescribably inefficient in the use of their resources. They have no instinct for complex tools."