After Loong had gone Savage cursed himself for a fool, yet he thanked the gods that he was still alive. Something could still be made of this. A vague, uncrystallized thought was gnawing at his mind. He jumped out of bed and dressed quickly. He was not surprised to find that Loong had left him the needle gun. Without bothering with food he went to the State Library.
His rank carried him into the innermost recesses of the great library, to the guarded tape banks where the most accurate information was to be found. After a quick search of the index he selected two tapes and then took one of the many unoccupied reading booths.
He slipped the first tape, an ancient history of Trygon II to fill the blanks in Choon's education, into the projector, and all thought of time left him as he slumped down in the soft chair before the screen. It wasn't long before he realized that a rough parallel could be drawn between the early histories of Trygon and Terra.
There had been wars and famines and great empires, but Trygon had progressed more rapidly, without the great recessions Terra had known. Three-quarters of a century before the beginning of Atomics on Terra, Trygonian scientists had already harnessed solar energy. At that point the parallel ended.
It was already late when he turned to the history of the Kalnor family. He found that they had ruled for almost a century—first Czur, then Trygon II and finally the System and the Empire. There had been periods when usurpers had gained control, but always the Kalnors had returned, until finally Klar, determined to put an end to the family, had destroyed them. The tape hinted vaguely that there had been a survivor and then immediately discredited the thought.
Then the tape came to an end and Savage put them both away. Things were somewhat cleared now.
Loong, in a full dress uniform hung heavily with decorations, was again waiting when Savage returned to the hotel.
"What were you doing at the State Library?" Loong asked after they had exchanged guardedly friendly salutations.
"Doing a little checking," Savage said calmly. "I have a theory that I'm working on. By the way, I haven't eaten all day. Will you order something for me while I change?"
"I have already done so. You'll find a fresh full dress in the bedroom. You can tell me about your theory when you're finished."