And as the muscles of his arm were on the point of contracting in the proper manner to do so, the door opened, not hastily, behind him – and he turned.
There are perhaps men in the Galaxy who can be confused for one another even by men at their peaceful leisure. Correspondingly, there may be conditions of mind when even unlikely pairs may be mis-recognized. But the Mule rises above any combination of the two factors.
Not all Pritcher’s agony of mind prevented the instantaneous mental flood of cool vigor that engulfed him.
Physically, the Mule could not dominate any situation. Nor did he dominate this one.
He was rather a ridiculous figure in his layers of clothing that thickened him past his normality without allowing him to reach normal dimensions even so. His face was muffled and the usually dominant beak covered what was left in a cold-red prominence.
Probably as a vision of rescue, no greater incongruity could exist.
He said: “Keep your blaster, Pritcher.”
Then he turned to Channis, who had shrugged and seated himself: “The emotional context here seems rather confusing and considerably in conflict. What’s this about someone other than myself following you?”
Pritcher intervened sharply: “Was a hypertracer placed upon our ship by your orders, sir?”
The Mule turned cool eyes upon him, “Certainly. Is it very likely that any organization in the Galaxy other than the Union of Worlds would have access to it?’
“He said–”
“Well, he’s here, general. Indirect quotation is not necessary. Have you been saying anything, Channis?”
“Yes. But mistakes apparently, sir. It has been my opinion that the tracer was put there by someone in the pay of the Second Foundation and that we had been led here for some purpose of theirs, which I was prepared to counter. I was under the further impression that the general was more or less in their hands.”
“You sound as if you think so no longer.”
“I’m afraid not. Or it would not have been you at the door.”
“Well, then, let us thresh this out.” The Mule peeled off the outer layers of padded, and electrically heated clothing. “Do you mind if I sit down as well? Now – we are safe here and perfectly free of any danger of intrusion. No native of this lump of ice will have any desire to approach this place. I assure you of that,” and there was a grim earnestness about his insistence upon his powers.
Channis showed his disgust. “Why privacy? Is someone going to serve tea and bring out the dancing girls?”
“Scarcely. What was this theory of yours, young man? A Second Foundationer was tracing you with a device which no one but I have and – how did you say you found this place?”
“Apparently, sir, it seems obvious, in order to account for known facts, that certain notions have been put into my head–”
“By these same Second Foundationers?”
“No one else, I imagine.”
“Then it did not occur to you that if a Second Foundationer could force, or entice, or inveigle you into going to the Second Foundation for purposes of his own – and I assume you imagined he used methods similar to mine, though, mind you, I can implant only emotions, not ideas – it did not occur to you that if he could do that there was little necessity to put a hypertracer on you.
And Channis looked up sharply and met his sovereign’s large eyes with sudden startle. Pritcher grunted and a visible relaxation showed itself in his shoulders.
“No,” said Channis, “that hadn’t occurred to me.”
“Or that if they were obliged to trace you, they couldn’t feel capable of directing you, and that, undirected, you could have precious little chance of finding your way here as you did. Did that occur to you?”
“That, neither.”
“Why not? Has your intellectual level receded to a so-much-greater-than-probable degree?”
“The only answer is a question, sir. Are you joining General Pritcher in accusing me of being a traitor?”
“You have a defense in case I am?”
“Only the one I presented to the general. If I were a traitor and knew the whereabouts of the Second Foundation, you could Convert me and learn the knowledge directly. If you felt it necessary to trace me, then I hadn’t the knowledge beforehand and wasn’t a traitor. So I answer your paradox with another.”