2. He was to procure transportation to Xxla, a major city, equivalent
to London or Tokyo. It was the headquarters for the Party.
3. He was to establish residence in the slum area surrounding the
University of Xxla.
4. Working through student contacts, he was to ingratiate himself with
such rebel intellectuals as could be found.
5. Once his contacts were secure, he was to assist in the preparation
of propaganda and establish a clandestine press for its production.
6. As quickly as the operation was self-sufficient, he was to move on
to another major city ... and begin all over.
The ship descended into the atmosphere. The bell rang. Shamar the
Worker seated himself, put on his oxygen mask and signaled his
readiness. He breathed oxygen. The ship quivered, the door fell away
beneath him and he was battered unconscious by the slipstream.
Five minutes later, pinwheeling lazily in free fall, he opened
his eyes. For an instant's panic he could not read the altimeter.
Then seeing that he was safe, he noted his physical sensations. He
was extremely cold. Gyrating wildly, he beat his chest to restore
circulation.
He stabilized his fall by stretching out his hands. He floated with no
sensation of movement. Itra was overhead, falling up at him slowly. He
turned his back to the planet and checked the time. Twelve minutes yet
to go.
He spent, in all, seventeen minutes in free fall. At 2000 feet, he
opened his parachute. The sound was like an explosion.
He floated quietly, recovering from the shock. He removed his oxygen
mask and tasted the alien air. He sniffed several times. It was not
unpleasant.
Below was darkness. Then suddenly the ground came floating up and hit
him.
The terrain was irregular. He fought the chute to collapse it, tripped,
and twisted his ankle painfully.
The chute lay quiet and he sat on the ground and cursed in English.
At length he bundled up the chute and removed all of the packages of
money but the one disguised as a field pack. He used the shovel to
dig a shallow grave at the base of a tree. He interred the chute, the
oxygen cylinder, the mask, the shovel and scooped dirt over them with
his hands.
He sat down and unlaced his shoe and found his ankle badly swollen.
Distant, unfamiliar odors filled him with apprehension and he started
at the slightest sound.
Dawn was breaking.