The Major flinched as though he had been struck, and Nicole noted the almost instant flush of anger, but when he spoke, his voice betrayed nothing. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Dr. Cameron. I’m confident that as time goes on, your feelings will change. You expect some kind of chamber of horrors out there, but you’ll quickly see that just the opposite is true.”

He took a deep breath and turned to Eric. “But enough of this. I didn’t come to try and convert you. Shalev will convert you soon enough. We’ve come to make Eric a special offer.”

Only Eric’s eyes betrayed the fact that he had heard the Major.

“It’s obvious,” the Major went on smoothly, “that you detest the idea of implantation. I’m offering you an opportunity to avoid it.”

That broke through the mask momentarily, and Nicole smiled inwardly at the sudden start of surprise that flashed across Eric’s face. The Major was a master at this, using the bait and the prod simultaneously.

“Why?” Eric finally asked.

“We have an organization called the Guardians. Within the cities, they function only to help and protect people. They serve as our firemen, traffic officers, paramedics, and so on. They have no crime to fight, no riots to suppress, no disorders to worry about. So they’re not police, merely guardians. But that’s not our real challenge. We have an outer perimeter of over a thousand miles, much of it forest wilderness. Eighty percent of the total Guardian forces patrol that perimeter and keep out intruders—roving bands of savages who prey on the labor of others. I believe Travis said you called them the Marauders.”

Cliff nodded.

“An appropriate name. But anyway, we need someone of Eric’s experience in the mountains in that perimeter watch force.”

“You still haven’t answered the real why,” Cliff spoke up. “I can see why you’d have use for a man like Eric. But why not implant him too?”

“Good point,” the Major conceded. “The answer is that the nature of the work may sometimes require him to do things, such as engage in combat with the Marauders. The implantation would never allow him to do that. He must be free to act quickly and without fear of pain in such cases.”

“You are still begging the question, Dr. Denison. Why not simply take someone who has grown up in Shalev and make him a Guardian by removing his implantation?”

“A very perceptive question,” the Major responded with grudging approval. “I must admit that once someone has grown up under implantation, he becomes thoroughly conditioned to it. Simply removing it makes little difference. He continues to act as though implanted.”

“Yes, I understand that perfectly,” Cliff answered with disgust edging his voice again. “It says mountains about the effectiveness of your system.”

Eric broke in before the Major could respond. “Why should I be interested in joining you?”