The name on the desk identified him as "Mr. Folan" and he was a tall,
affable man.
"I think we can suit you, Commander--er--Mr. Channing," he said,
"though what we have in mind mightn't be quite as large as you wish.
Earth-type planets come rather high, you know. Now if you were to
choose a Sirius- or a Vega-type--"
"Thank you, no," Jim said firmly. He had heard too much about the
hazards of alien-type planets.
"In that case," Mr. Folan said busily, "let's see what we have
available."
* * * * *
A month later the doors of the automatic shuttle slid across and
admitted Jim Channing to the third planet of Phylox Beta. It also
disgorged one spaceboat, a clutter of machinery, a thousand tons of
strawberry plants and a fully equipped house. While he was still taking
in the first glimpse of his future home, the massive doors slammed shut
and the giant ship took off smoothly and silently. A moment later it
winked into sub-space. He was in business.
The planet possessed only one sizable island--it could hardly be
dignified by the name of continent.
The rest was covered by a vast ocean. Still, as Folan had explained,
he couldn't really expect anything more--not in the line of an
Earth-type, anyway--for the money.
He spent a week figuring out the remote controls that operated the
planting machinery. Once it clanked into operation, it worked entirely
on its own. He had only to push a few buttons to send it lumbering in
new directions and the big island steadily took on a resemblance to a
huge strawberry patch while Channing fished and lounged in the sun.
When the galactic trade agent came, the strawberries were waiting for
him, neatly piled into a mountain of gleaming cans. He was a friendly,
talkative little man, glad to exercise his tongue again after the
lonely months in space.
"What are you growing here?" he asked Channing.
"Strawberries."
The friendly smile disappeared. "Every planet in the Galaxy seems to be
growing strawberries this year. I can't even give them away."
"But I thought the Ursa Major colonies--"
The little man shook his head. "So does everyone else. There's a
million tons of strawberries the colonies can't use headed there
already. Now if it was upklin seeds--"
"Upklin seeds?"
The agent looked at him in surprise. "You mean you haven't heard about
upklin seeds?"
"No. Not a thing."
"Well, of course, you are a newcomer. It's this new race that's been
discovered somewhere in The Sack. They are as rich as all get-out
and they have a passion for upklin seeds. Trouble is they can't grow
them on local planets and they are offering fancy prices to anybody
that can supply them. I paid a thousand credits a bushel for them to
your next-door neighbor on the fourth planet last week. Got a hundred
bushels."
Channing did a bit of mental arithmetic. A hundred thousand credits for
one crop. Whew!
"Could I grow them here?"
The agent shook his head. "You need plenty of soft marsh and a
Jupiter-type atmosphere."
Then he had a sudden idea and he spoke long and seriously to Channing,
explaining quite a few things that were new to him. Channing was still
considering them, staring thoughtfully at the ground, after the little
man left.
* * * * *
Next day Channing took off for the nearest sub-space center and a
few hours later he was in Mr. Folan's office at Planet Enterprises,
gingerly balancing his cap on his knee. Mr. Folan's sleek head nodded
as Channing made his points and when he was finished the executive
pressed a buzzer and called for the file.
"You realize, Mr. Channing," he said conversationally, as he turned
over the pages, "that what you are asking will be a most expensive
undertaking."
"I know that," Channing said eagerly, "but upklin seeds are such a
sure-fire proposition that I thought Planet Enterprises might be
willing to do the job on a percentage basis."
Mr. Folan wrote some figures on the margin of the folder and considered
deeply. "Yes," he said at last, "I think it would work out on a
seventy-thirty split."
"Seventy-thirty?"
Mr. Folan inclined his head graciously. "Seventy per cent for Planet
Enterprises and thirty for yourself."