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guarding jealously their genetic traits. Carso was rare; it was but infrequently that an Earthwoman could be persuaded to mate with an alien. Yet Carso regarded himself as an Earthman, and never spoke of his father.
    Where was Earth? No one could name the sector of space, but Earth was in the hearts of the men who lived among the stars. Earthmen were sought out by kings; the bald-heads could not rule themselves, but they could advise those less fitted than they to command.
    Then would come a fool like Joroiran, who held his throne because his father seven times removed had hewed an empire for him—and Joroiran would succumb to a Lyrellan’s wiles and order his Earthman off on a madman’s quest.
    Navarre’s fists stiffened. Send me for the Chalice? Aye, I’ll find something for him !
    The Chalice was an idiot’s dream; immortal life was a filmy bubble. But Earth was real; Earth merely awaited finding. Somewhere it bobbed in the heavens, forgotten symbol of an empire that had been.
    Smiling coldly, Navarre thought, I’ll find Earth for him .
    Unlimited funds were at his disposal. He would bring Joroiran a potion too powerful to swallow at a gulp.
    Later that day he and Carso were aboard a liner of the Royal Fleet, bearing tickets paid for by Royal frank, and feeling against their thighs the thick bulge of Imperial scrip received with glee from the Royal Treasury.
    â€œReady for blasting,” came the stewardess’s voice. “We depart for Kariad in fifteen seconds. I hope you’ll relax and enjoy your trip.”
    Navarre slumped back in the acceleration cradle and closed his eyes. In a few seconds the liner would spring into space. The two hunters for the Chalice would have begun their quest.
    His heart ticked the seconds off impatiently. Twelve. Eleven .
    Nine. Six .
    Two. One .
    Acceleration took him, thrust him sharply downward as the liner left ground. Within seconds, they were high above the afternoon sky, plunging outward into the brightly dotted blackness speckled with the hard points of a billion suns.
    One of those suns was Sol, Navarre thought. And one of the planets of Sol was Earth.
    Chalice of Life , he thought scornfully. As Jorus dwindled behind him, Navarre wondered how long it would be before he would again see the simpering face of the Overlord Joroiran VII.
    Kariad, the planet nearest to the Joran Empire in their cluster, was the lone world of a double sun. This arrangement, economical as it was in terms of cosmic engineering, provided some spectacular views and made the planet a much-visited pleasure place.
    As Navarre and Carso alighted from the liner they could see that Primus, the massive red giant that was the heart of the system, hung high overhead, intersecting a huge arc of the sky, while Secundus, the smaller main-sequence yellow sun, flickered palely near the horizon. Kariad was moving between the two stars in its complex and eccentric hour-glass orbit, and, in the light of the two suns, all objects acquired a strange purple shimmer.
    Those who had disembarked from the liner were standing in a tight knot on the field while Kariadi customs officials moved among them. Navarre stood with arms folded, waiting for his turn to come.
    The official wore a gilt-encrusted surplice and a bright red sash that seemed almost brown in the light of the double suns. He yanked forth a metal-bound notebook and began to scribble things.
    â€œName and planet of origin?”
    â€œHallam Navarre. Planet of origin, Earth.”
    The customs man glared impatiently at Navarre’s shaven scalp and snapped, “You know what I mean. What planet are you from?”
    â€œJorus,” Navarre said.
    â€œPurpose of visiting Kariad?”
    â€œI’m a special emissary from Overlord Joroiran VII; intent peaceful, mission confidential.”
    â€œAre you the Earthman to the Court?”
    Navarre nodded.
    â€œAnd this man?”
    â€œDomrik Carso,” the half-breed