Stewards of the Flame by Sylvia Engdahl Page B

grounds of his arrest, but had no strong reason to distrust medics in general. Not having seen the logical conclusion of their policies, he might have remained under the impression that maximum medical care is a good thing.”
    “The recapture, days of brutal therapy . . . was all that really warranted?”
    “It was harsh,” Peter admitted. “I would not, of course, have let it go far enough for a tracking chip to be implanted; that’s a handicap the Group can’t cope with. But I did have to know how he’d react to stress, Carla.”
    “How do we know he’ll want to come in? He hasn’t any of the special talents we usually look for. Even with those who do have, it takes weeks of observation, weeks of interaction with us, before you’re ready to recruit—” She broke off, frowning, “Is that why you used truth serum? To find out if our powers are latent in him?”
    “And to judge whether he’s susceptible to the dangers they involve.”
    “You don’t drug other trainees. It’s against all our principles—”
    “There are rare cases where it’s justified, just as there are in medical situations. I need to be absolutely sure of him.” Reluctantly he added, “Not only for his safety, but for another reason I can’t explain to you right now.”
    On the verge of asking why not, Carla stopped. Something strange was going on here. Peter’s mind had been closed to her for days; it still was, despite his admissions about past tactics. Within the Group that was not normal.
    “Jesse won’t even begin to suspect what we are,” she protested. “You can’t be candid when you talk him into the initial testing. Will keeping him in the dark about us be justified, too?”
    “You know why I can’t reveal all he stands to gain.”
    “I didn’t mean everything. Not the bonus that would attract the wrong people, for the wrong reasons. But recruits from our front group have at least some idea of what they’re getting into. Jesse may not even want all our skills.”
    “Not at first,” Peter agreed. “He’ll find them frightening, unconsciously if not consciously. With our help he can overcome that. The rewards are very great, after all, even apart from the potential bonus.”
    “He won’t know that when he’s asked to endure pain,” she said unhappily. “It will seem arbitrary, as if we were just testing his commitment.”
    Peter rose from his desk and came to her. “Carla, here is a strong, capable man who’s been nearly ruined by years of insufficient challenge. Was he happy in Fleet? Will he be less happy after undergoing an ordeal that will open doors for him? Have any of us been sorry we went through it?”
    No, of course not. But while it was happening, inherent benefits were inconceivable. “What if he won’t consent?” she asked. “If you tell him it’s for his own good, it will sound just like what the Meds say.”
    “Which is precisely why I can’t tell him. He must have better grounds for submitting to it than that—he must sense that it’s been good for us . That accepting it will promote what he values in us. That’s why we present it as scientific research, so that the decision won’t be based on the wrong sort of trust.”
    “Calling it research isn’t quite accurate.”
    “A half-truth, the first of many. But still truth. If we hope to spread our ways to more people—perhaps someday to more worlds—we need data from a wide variety of subjects.” Peter went on, a bit hesitantly, “There’ll be some new data in this case. Jesse’s background isn’t typical. He’ll have more than one kind of conditioning to overcome.”
    “You’re troubled,” she observed. “Peter, I want this. I know he would want it—to control his body and mind fully, to live free of the stress that wears people down in the world outside! But if there’s risk—”
    “There’s none for a person whose mind is stable.”
    “That’s not what Ian says when he prepares trainees for the