Watchers of the Dark by Lloyd Biggle jr. Page B

voice somehow rang with authority when he spoke of them.
    At the first opening, Darzek came directly to the point. The lamented Biag-n had been a dealer in textiles and had thought to take Darzek into the business with him as a cover for his activities. Supreme would be asked to assign another of its agents to assist Darzek, but the new agent might not be so advantageously situated. Darzek liked the idea of an occupation that would give him an excuse to travel freely.
    “I know nothing about this Biag-n,” TWO said. “If he traveled freely, he must have been a mere peddler. What impression do you wish to make?”
    “I don’t know,” Darzek said. “What do you suggest?”
    “A peddler can go anywhere, but he is respected by no one. A factor commands very little respect, and a peddler none at all. A trader, on the other hand, whatever his volume of business, is respected according to his merit.”
    “I don’t understand the difference.”
    “The trader works for himself. He buys, and then sells what he has bought. The peddler and the factor work for others. Both sell merchandise or products that others control.”
    “Can all of them move about freely?”
    “The trader travels wherever business takes him, but he has a headquarters, a place of business. The factor has a headquarters, but he does not travel. His activities are restricted to one world, or even to part of a world. The peddler travels at will, but has no headquarters. Peddlers are wanderers. They remain on a world only until they achieve sufficient solvency to take them elsewhere. They normally specialize in cheap varieties of a single product, and they deal in small quantities—usually with native tradesmen. No one takes much notice of a peddler.”
    Darzek nodded politely. He could understand why an agent of Supreme would choose to be a peddler; but it was also obvious that someone had taken considerable notice of the peddler Biag-n. In the future any peddler would be suspect, and that was reason enough for not becoming one. And Darzek did not care to restrict his movements by becoming a factor.
    “How does one get to be a trader?” he asked.
    TWO’s antennae twitched nervously. Or perhaps mischievously. “One trades.”
    “Trades what?” Darzek persisted. “What products would one start with? Remember that I know nothing. I don’t know the value of anything, I don’t know where or whom to buy from, or how to go about selling. Where would I begin?”
    TWO gave his antennae a meditative flip. “Perhaps it would be better if you became a peddler. A peddler needs to know very little.”
    “I’ll consider it. Right now I want to know how to be a trader.”
    “It would be very difficult. I’d suggest that you begin as an undertrader, learn a few specialties—”
    “Trader,” Darzek said firmly. “There isn’t time for me to work my way up from the ranks. It doesn’t matter whether I actually do any trading, as long as I act like a trader. How would I begin?”
    “You would first have to choose a world for your headquarters.”
    “A world close to the Dark,” Darzek suggested.
    “You should consult THREE about that. The perimeter worlds are his concern.”
    “I’ll pick the world later. First let’s talk in general terms. Buying and selling, transferring solvency, that sort of thing. I should be taking notes. One moment, please. I have a notebook in my suitcase.”
    He hurried back to his own quarters, fumbled for his key, opened his suitcase. He stared for a moment. Then, notebook forgotten, he relocked the suitcase.
    EIGHT appeared in the doorway as he turned away. “I heard you enter,” he said. “Have you finished with the others?”
    “Come in here, please,” Darzek said. He waved EIGHT into the room and went to close the door. “You were wondering how the agents of the Dark could have learned I was coming. Would it surprise you if I said there was an agent of the Dark on the Council?”
    It shocked him into