"Darned if I know," Hodgson said. "I forget. I think I was bounced up
to Upper-Middle about ten years ago, for some reason or other, but I
was busy at the time and didn't pay much attention. Every once in a
while one of the Uppers I work with gets all excited about it and
wants to jump me to Upper, but somehow or other we've never got around
to it. What difference does it make?"
Joe Mauser was not the type to let his mouth fall agape, but he stared
at the other, unbelievingly.
"What's the matter?" Hodgson said.
"Nothing," Joe said.
Philip Holland said briskly, "Let's get on with it. Nadine"--his voice
had a dry quality--"is one of our most efficient talent scouts. It was
no mistake I met you at her home, a few weeks back, Joe. She thought
you were potentially one of us. I admit to having formed the same
opinion, upon our brief meeting. I now put the question to you direct.
Do you wish to join our organization, the purpose of which is
admittedly, to change our present socio-economic system and, as Nadine
put it, get back on the road to progress?"
"Yes," Joe said. "I do."
"Very well, welcome aboard, as Frank said. Your first assignment will
take you to Budapest."
* * * * *
They were throwing these curves too fast for Joe. Noted among his
senior officers as a quick man, thinking on his feet, he still wasn't
up to this sort of thing. "Budapest!" he ejaculated. "The capital of
the Sov-world? But ... but _why_--?"
Philip Holland looked at him patiently. "There are many ramifications
to revolution, Joe. Particularly in this present day with its Frigid
Fracas which has gone on for generations between the West-world and
the Sov-world and with the Neut-world standing at the sidelines
glaring at us both. You see, really efficient revolutions may simply
not look like revolutions at all--just unusual results of historic
accidents. And if we're going to make this one peacefully, we've got
to take every measure to assure efficiency. One of these measures
involves a thorough knowledge of where the Sov-world stands, and what
it might do if there were any signs of a changing in the _status quo_
here in the West-world."