"You—" I said, then paused. His insouciance was not in keeping with his situation. Therefore, the situation was not the one which I thought it was. "You're pretty chipper," I said, "for a man held at collapser-point."
"Oh? Am I being chipper?" he said, all raised eyebrows and facetious wonder. "I hadn't noticed."
"You fool," I said softly.
Baxter's amiable smile vanished and a hard light came into his eyes. "What do you mean?" he said, through clenched teeth.
"I mean," I said gently, but with deadly earnest, "that the Brain back on Earth selected me because of my mental abilities. I mean, Baxter, that I can figure things out faster than you can dream them up."
"The Brain picked you," he said coldly, "because it was rigged by the Ancients. And for no other reason."
I nodded. "And the Ancients rigged it to pick the man most likely to succeed in your destruction."
Baxter was suddenly silent. He watched me intently.
I lounged against the wall, waving the muzzle of the collapser up and down slowly. "Let me clue you in to my reasoning, Baxter old man," I grinned. "This is a collapser. It is in working order. You do not fear it. Ergo, you have some protection from it. I would deduce that you are at present wearing a shield of some sort. A shield which you have kept secret from everyone but yourself and the inventor, who is probably long since dead, if I know your approach to things."
Charlie and Foster turned and looked at him, their eyes bugging out in surprise. Till that moment, they'd thought their weapon invincible against anything.