George Haven was the most powerful man in
the galaxy; now he had returned to Centauri and
he was afraid—for his past was staring at him!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
October 1956
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Haven began to realize it was a mistake returning to Centauri with hiswife even before they reached their hotel. For Louise Haven said, assoon as the Centaurian porters had taken their baggage at the starportwith cold, aloof correctness:
"Why, George! They don't seem to like you. I thought you would be ahero to them, from what you told me."
George Haven said nothing. He was a big, powerful-looking man in hislate thirties. He was expensively dressed and he had taken the mostexpensive suite in Alpha City's best hotel and he had an expensive,young, and beautiful wife.
He thought: Today I'm one of the most powerful men in the stellarconfederacy. What does she expect, that I'll win a popularity contesttoo? Well, I guess she'll learn eventually what makes an important mantruly important. Could you sum it up in a word, in a single clearlyunderstood word? he wondered. He decided that you could. The word wasruthless.
They swept into the hotel with their train of attendants and werereceived with the same aloof correctness. Haven watched withsatisfaction while Louise removed her Sirian furs. Louise was somethingto look at, all right, but so were the furs. They'd cost Haven plentyand there was probably a trail of blood and tears behind them on SiriusIII, for the animals whose coats they were, Haven knew, were ferocious.
It was very cold outside, as it always was on Centauri VII. The small,blue-skinned hotel manager said, in crisp, perfect English:
"The others are already here, Mr. Haven. They are waiting."
Of course the others had already arrived, Haven thought. You had tokeep people waiting. Let them know their own importance didn't add upto a hill of beans.
"It's a beautiful suite, George," Louise Haven said after they hadtaken the pneumotube to their floor and entered their suite through theirising door. "At least the Centaurians saved the best for us."
"I'll always get the best for you, baby," Haven said, and tookthis beautiful young woman who had been his wife for exactly twomonths—long enough to reach Centauri—into his arms and kissed her.
Was there something unexpectedly stiff and cold about Louise'sresponse? Haven did not know; he wondered if he had imagined it. Wasthe coldly correct behavior of the Centaurians getting on his nerves?
"You know," Louise said breathlessly, "it's still a little hardto realize I'm married to a legend. Mrs. George Haven. Mrs.Most-Important-Man-in-the-Galaxy. And it's even harder to believe yougot your start right here on Centauri VII. Tell me about it, George."
"Man's got to get his start somewhere," Haven said, surprised that itsounded defensive. "Besides, that's why we've come to Centauri."
It was—and it wasn't. Haven's first big success, almost fifteen yearsago, had been here on cold, bleak Centauri VII. Haven and a man namedDrexell Tolliver—who had died here in Centauri—had discovered auranium mine which had dwarfed all the remaining lodes on Earth. Withthat discovery as a stepping-off point, Haven now owned some fiftypercent of all the producing uranium mines in the stellar confederacy.And since stellar civilization was an atomic civilization, Haven couldbuy and sell politicians across the length and breadth of the inhabitedgalaxy.
But, he thought now as Lo