50 in 50

"Happily." Bron looked around and spotted a bowl of fruit on the table. He took out two round red pieces and held them up. "This piece of fruit is a sphere of influence. If Earth is at the center of the fruit, spaceships can fly out in any direction to the skin of the fruit, and all of the fruit inside this sphere must be watched by Earth. All right, let's say that another planet is opened up. The spacer flies in a straight line away from Earth, this far." He held his fingers up to show a distance as long as the diameter of one of the pieces of fruit. "That is a linear distance, in a line; but the Patrol doesn't just patrol in straight lines." He put the second fruit next to the first so that they touched. "The Patrol now has to be responsible for the entire area inside this second fruit, a three-dimensional distance, because spacers do not always follow the same routes, and they go to different destinations. The job is a big one and getting bigger all the time."

"I see what you mean," the Governor said, studying the fruit for a moment, then putting it back into the bowl.

"That's the core of our problem. The Patrol must operate between all the planets, and the volume of space that this comprises is beyond imagining. Someday, it is hoped, there will be enough Patrol vessels to fill this volume so that a cruiser can answer any call for help. But as it stands now, other means of assistance must be found. A number of projects are being instigated, and P.I.G. is one of the first to go operational. You've seen my unit. We can travel by any form of commercial transportation, so we can operate without Patrol assistance. We carry rations, but if need be are self-supporting. We are equipped to handle almost any tactical situation."

Haydin was trying to understand, but it was still all too much for him. "I hear what you're saying. Still" — he faltered—"still, all you have is a herd of pigs."

Bron grabbed his temper hard, and his eyes narrowed to slits with the effort. "Would you have felt better if I had landed with a pack of wolves? Would that have given you some sense of security?"

"Well, I do admit that it would look a good deal different. I could see some sense in that."

"Can you? In spite of the fact that a wolf — or wolves — in their natural state will run from a full-grown wild boar without ever considering attacking him? And I have a mutated boar out there that will take on any six wolves and produce six torn wolfskins in about as many minutes. Do you doubt that?"

"It's not a matter of doubt. But you have to admit that there is something… I don't know. . ludicrous, maybe, about a herd of pigs."

"That observation is not exactly original," Bron said in a toneless, arctic voice. "In fact, that is the reason I take the whole herd rather than just boars, and why I do the dumb-farmer bit. People take no notice and it helps my investigation. Which is also why I am seeing you at night like this. I don't want to blow my cover until I have to."

"That's one thing you won't have to worry about. Our problem doesn't involve any of the settlers."

"What exactly is your problem? Your message wasn't exactly clear on that point."

Governor Haydin looked uncomfortable. He wriggled a bit, then examined Bron's identification again. "I'll have to check this before I can tell you anything."

"Please do."

There was a fluoroscope on the end table, and Haydin made a thorough job of comparing the normally invisible pattern with the code book he took from his safe. Finally, almost reluctantly, he handed back the card. "It's authentic," he said.

Bron slipped the card back into his pocket. "Now, what is the trouble?" he asked.

Haydin looked at the small pig that was curled up on the rug, snoring happily. "It's ghosts," he said in a barely audible voice.

"And you're the one who laughs at pigs?"

"There's no need to get offensive," the Governor answered hotly. "I know it sounds strange, but there it is. We call them — or the phenomenon—'ghosts' because we don't know anything about it. Whether it's supernatural or not is anyone's guess, but it's sure not physical." He turned to the map on the wall and tapped a yellowish-tan area that stood out from the surrounding green. "Right here, the Ghost Plateau — that's where the trouble is."

"What sort of trouble?"

"It's hard to say — just a feeling mostly. Ever since this planet was settled, going on fifteen years now, people haven't liked to go near the plateau, even though it lies almost directly outside the city. It doesn't feel right up there, somehow. Even the animals stay away. And people have disappeared there and no trace has ever been found of them."

Bron looked at the map, following the yellow gradient outline with his finger. "Hasn't it been explored?" he asked.