He felt himself grabbed by the shoulder and jerked backward. He faced the raging, frightened eyes of his son. "What the hell's going on here?"
"This is the test," he explained. "You have to go through this test before you can sell minerals to the people of Sudal."
"But what's he going to do?" The younger man gestured toward Malovar who stood erect.
"I do not know. His action is his choice."
"But he is acting and you are acting as if he may chop off your head!"
"That is exactly what he may do, if he so chooses."
"But that's crazy!" Roy Larkin exploded.
"To us, yes. To the Martians, no. This is the way they have of testing the loyalty of individuals to the group. At the time of the annual testing all the inhabitants of this city pass one by one before Malovar."
"And he cuts off the heads of the ones he don't like!" Horror sounded in Roy Larkin's voice.
"I do not think his liking or not liking has anything to do with it," the trader explained. "He is working for the good of his whole people, not his personal good. And he cuts off heads if he chooses. I have seen him lop off a dozen heads in a single hour."