"What are you thinking about, Del?"
"Battle—and death! War like we had in Alpha Centauri. A blaze of conquest like the Fall of Kackijakaala. What else is there to live for?"
"There are many things!"
"Not any more, Frederix. The years have been too cruel." The dark eyes were staring out into the night, thrusting aside the enfolding curtain of a dozen decades and many trillion miles of outer space. "Oh, why did I stay here fooling around with robots when I could have gone out to Sirius with the Legion—to battle, to glory?"
"Because you're needed here. Hear those voices! Of what are they singing? Revolt, of course. And why? Because they think earthmen are wholly to blame for the loss of control of their industry and commerce!"
"Aren't they?" blazed Andres. "We think we're always right, we of Earth. Because we were the first to conquer space we think we should rule its farthest bounds, cosmic policeman, arbitrator of all internal strife from here to the ultimate!
"We went out to Centauri over a century ago, brought the Vrons out of subjugation beneath the Dwares, gave them freedom after tying up all kinds of trade agreements for our benefit; and then skipped over to Lalande and fixed everything according to our scale of values. And now Sirius!
"Here in our own system what goes on? I need not mention the names of the men who are undermining and usurping the greatest Martian institutions. Earthmen all!
"Mars has as much a right to freedom and monopoly on its own civilization as Earth on hers. Because a few greedy men spread tyranny through Certagarni, the Thyles, Botrodus, Zabirnza and other regions, they blame all of Earth. Neither you nor I can say they're wrong!"
"It's deeper than that, Del. The Vrons of Centauri have as great a hand in it as Wilcox, Onupari and the other earthmen here. You'll find—"