The young man sat down. His eyes told of bewilderment and horror, and Erol guessed that he had been in the cities.
"My name is Florin Brite," the man said after a long silence. "I was a student of Tomlin, the biochemist, who was, I believe, your friend. I left over a year ago to study at the Institute of Klynos. I heard of trouble here and grabbed the first ship home.
"I never dreamed I'd find such violence.
"When I tried to find out what happened, I only found that all the great men that I knew were murdered, or in hiding."
"How did you find where I was?" Erol asked.
"I talked to one of Tomlin's servants, an old fellow—scared silly—but he remembered me and he told me."
Erol seemed to accept this. "What do you want to know?"
"Sir, I just want to know what happened. Why do the people feel they have been deceived, and by whom? Why are all the incorporated men in danger of their lives?"
"It is the corporation-men who have deceived the public." It was a flat statement by Erol, without rancor or sympathy. "They are, in consequence, subject to the wrath of the people who relied upon them."
The bewilderment in the young man's eyes deepened. "How could they deceive the public? Why? They had everything to gain from earning luxury pay for their stockholders. Why did they stop?"