Read Balance Point for Free Online Page B

change was perceptible only because Rand, and even the planet around which Rand orbited, vanished, replaced by blackness salted with cold starpoints. Undistorted by atmosphere, the stars didn’t even twinkle.
    The outworld children whined at the suddenly monotonous experience of floating in the fishbowl, and the family disappeared aft, first among many.
    Thirty minutes later Polian pushed back from the rail and let himself turn slowly through three hundred sixty degrees. The vast chamber had emptied, save for a single figure floating at the rail on the hemisphere’s opposite side, fifty feet away. No longer shielded by the discretion of the Rand, Polian and Cutler had boarded separately, and would limit their overt contact during the voyage now underway which would end at the Mousetrap. At the Mousetrap hub, each man would board a ship bound respectively for Earth and Yavet.
    Polian regrasped his railing and pulled himself along until he and Cutler drifted side-by-side at the rail, staring out at the flat lit stars.
    Cutler didn’t turn his head. “Well? Are you in, Max?”
    Polian glanced around the empty space again, more from instinct than any real concern about eavesdroppers.
    The Trueborns were a conflicted paradox. They continued to maintain themselves as individual nations on their own planet, and even now fought among themselves. Yet those charged with maintaining order handcuffed themselves with absurd rules. On an Earth ship, as on Earth, “privacy,” like being born, was a “right.” Nonetheless, Polian scrolled his wrist ‘puter display to sweep, then waited in silence until the display winked green. This fishbowl was clean of listening devices.
    He said to Cutler, “You’re sure your information is reliable?”
    “If I can buy a presidential pardon, I can buy a junior officer’s personnel records. It’s all there for you, right down to his psych profiles.”
    Polian nodded. “I don’t doubt that you’ve learned what the man did. But whatever the psychologists claim, predicting what a man will do is less simple.”
    “You forget, I know this man. He’s as predictable as water flowing downhill. I’ve given you the concept, and all the information that can be developed from my end. From here on out, it’s your operation.”
    “And if Yavet succeeds, what do you get out of this?”
    “When Yavet’s got its own starships, you’ll establish a sphere of influence within the Union. I want the exclusive communication franchise within the Yavet sphere. And a free hand over commercial development on Downgraded Earthlike 476.”
    “Dead End? It’s worthless. Jungle and bloodthirsty monsters. Why?”
    “It’s the place where my troubles started. Call it unfinished business.”
    Polian shook his head. “I can try to get you your price, but I can’t promise it. The Director General of Internal Security is just a local cop.”
    Cutler rolled his eyes. “A cabinet-level local cop, Max.”
    “Your concept would require cooperation from the Directorate of External Security. That’s not my jurisdiction. And only the Central Committee could approve the rewards you want.”
    Cutler’s fingers whitened as he gripped the rail. “Independent directors! They’ll knife an innovator through his heart before it beats twice. Then steal his birthright. Max, you get starships for Yavet and you won’t be a cabinet-level cop anymore. You’ll be on the Central Committee.”
    Polian stared straight ahead, face as blank as he could manage. If anything, Cutler was understating Polian’s potential reward. Max wouldn’t be on the Central Committee, he would be running it. “General Secretary Polian.” The astropolitical upside for Yavet and the career potential for Max Polian almost outweighed his thirst for revenge. Almost.
    He said to Cutler, “It’s not a simple plan.”
    “It’s simple enough, Max! To catch the biggest fish, use a smaller fish for bait. And to catch the bait, use a smaller fish still.