Strong smiled. "Evidently, Major, you haven't noticed the size of Cadet Astro. I'll take him along with me for protection." He looked at Astro, who flushed in quick embarrassment.
"Very well, Strong," said Savage. "I'll have a jet car brought around. You can go right down to his hut."
"Er—may I ask a question, sir?" asked Tom.
The major smiled. "Go right ahead, Corbett."
"It's about this whole setup," explained Tom. "I was expecting fences and prisoners and—well, most anything but green grass and small white buildings!"
"The little huts you saw," replied the major, "are as much of a prison as we have. Each hut holds one prisoner. He has all the necessary furniture, in addition to audioceivers and story spools which he can change once a week. He also has basic garden equipment. All prisoners grow everything they eat. Each man is dependent on himself and is restricted to the hut and the area around it. If he comes within two miles of the tower, the guards will pick him up on radar and order him back. If he comes within one mile, they fire without further warning. Only one man has ever escaped. Coxine. And that was because we had a sick man on guard duty, or he never would have made it. He overpowered the guard, took his uniform, and stowed away on a supply ship. We caught him a year later."
"Didn't your radar pick up the disk he was wearing, sir?" asked Roger.
"That method of protection was only installed a few months ago," said the major.
"And the prisoners just sit there—in those little huts?" asked Astro.
"Yes, Astro!" said the major with a tone of finality in his voice. "They just sit. This is the end of the line."