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“You merely wanted to steal my discovery,” Dennison said.

“Not at all,” Mr. Bennet told him. “The secret of immortality has been in our possession for quite some time.”

“I see. Then you want to keep immortality from the public in order to safeguard your damned undertaking business!”

“Isn’t that rather a naive view?” Mr. Bennet asked, smiling. “As it happens, my associates and I are not undertakers. We took on the disguise in order to present an understandable motive if our plan to capture you had misfired. In that event, others would have believed exactly–and only–what you thought: that our purpose was to safeguard our business.”

Dennison frowned and watchfully waited.

“Disguises come easily to us,” Mr. Bennet said, still smiling. “Perhaps you have heard rumors about a new carburetor suppressed by the gasoline companies, or a new food source concealed by the great food suppliers, or a new synthetic hastily destroyed by the cotton-owning interests. That was us. And the inventions ended up here.”

“You’re trying to impress me,” Dennison said.

“Certainly.”

“Why did you stop me from patenting my immortality serum?”

“The world is not ready for it yet,” said Mr. Bennet.

“It isn’t ready for a lot of things,” Dennison said. “Why didn’t you block the atom bomb?”

“We tried, disguised as mercenary coal and oil interests. But we failed. However, we have succeeded with a surprising number of things.”

“But what’s the purpose behind it all?”

“Earth’s welfare,” Mr. Bennet said promptly. “Consider what would happen if the people were given your veritable immortality serum. The problems of birth rate, food production, living space all would be aggravated. Tensions would mount, war would be imminent–“

“So what?” Dennison challenged. “That’s how things are right now, without immortality. Besides, there have been cries of doom about every new invention or discovery. Gunpowder, the printing press, nitroglycerin, the atom bomb, they were all supposed to destroy the race. But mankind has learned how to handle them. It had to! You can’t turn back the clock, and you can’t un-discover something. If it’s there, mankind must deal with it!”

“Yes, in a bumbling, bloody, inefficient fashion,” said Mr. Bennet, with an expression of distaste.

“Well, that’s how Man is.”

“Not if he’s properly led,” Mr. Bennet said.

“No?”

* * * * *

“Certainly not,” said Mr. Bennet. “You see, the immortality serum provides a solution to the problem of political power. Rule by a permanent and enlightened elite is by far the best form of government; infinitely better than the blundering inefficiencies of democratic rule. But throughout history, this elite, whether monarchy, oligarchy, dictatorship or junta, has been unable to perpetuate itself. Leaders die, the followers squabble for power, and chaos is close behind. With immortality, this last flaw would be corrected. There would be no discontinuity of leadership, for the leaders would always be there.”

“A permanent dictatorship,” Dennison said.

“Yes. A permanent, benevolent rule by small, carefully chosen elite corps, based upon the sole and exclusive possession of immortality. It’s historically inevitable. The only question is, who is going to get control first?”

“And you think you are?” Dennison demanded.

“Of course. Our organization is still small, but absolutely solid. It is bolstered by every new invention that comes into our hands and by every scientist who joins our ranks. Our time will come, Dennison! We’d like to have you with us, among the elite.”

“You want me to join you?” Dennison asked, bewildered.

“We do. Our organization needs creative scientific minds to help us in our work, to help us save mankind from itself.”

“Count me out,” Dennison said, his heart beating fast.

“You won’t join us?”

“I’d like to see you all hanged.”

Mr. Bennet nodded thoughtfully and pursed his small lips. “You have taken your own serum, have you not?”

Dennison nodded. “I suppose that means you kill me now?”

“We don’t kill,” Mr. Bennet said. “We merely wait. I think you are a reasonable man, and I think you’ll come to see things our way. We’ll be around a long time. So will you. Take him away.”