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The United States Federal Government knew–or, at least, the most responsible officers of that government knew–that Ch’ien’s equations led to interstellar travel, just as Einstein’s equations had led to atomic energy. Normally, the United States would never have allowed Dr. Ch’ien to attend the International Physicists Conference in Peiping. But diplomacy has its rules, too.

Ch’ien had published his preliminary work–a series of highly abstruse and very controversial equations–back in ’80. The paper had appeared in a journal that was circulated only in the United States and was not read by the majority of mathematical physicists. Like the work of Dr. Fred Hoyle, thirty years before, it had been laughed at by the majority of the men in the field. Unlike Hoyle’s work, it had never received any publicity. Ch’ien’s paper had remained buried.

In ’81, Ch’ien had realized the importance of his work, having carried it further. He had reported his findings to the proper authorities of the United States Government, and had convinced that particular branch of the government that his work had useful validity. But it was too late to cover up the hints that he had already published.

Dr. James Ch’ien was a friendly, gregarious man. He liked to go to conventions and discuss his work with his colleagues. He was, in addition, a man who would never let anything go once he had got hold of it, unless he was convinced that he was up a blind alley. And, as far as Dr. Ch’ien was concerned, that took a devil of a lot of convincing.

The United States government was, therefore, faced with a dilemma. If they let Ch’ien go to the International Conferences, there was the chance that he would be forced, in some way, to divulge secrets that were vital to the national defense of the United States. On the other hand, if they forbade him to go, the Communist governments would suspect that Ch’ien knew something important, and they would check back on his previous work and find his publications of 1980. If they did, and realized the importance of that paper, they might be able to solve the secret of the interstellar drive.

The United States government had figuratively flipped a coin, and the result was that Ch’ien was allowed to come and go as he pleased, as though he were nothing more than just another government physicist.

And now he was in the hands of China.

How much did the Chinese know? Not much, evidently; otherwise they would never have bothered to go to the trouble of kidnaping Dr. James Ch’ien and covering the kidnaping so elaborately. They suspected, yes: but they couldn’t know. They knew that the earlier papers meant something, but they didn’t know what–so they had abducted Ch’ien in the hope that he would tell them.

James Ch’ien had been in their hands now for two months. How much information had they extracted by now? Personally, Spencer Candron felt that they had got nothing. You can force a man to work; you can force him to tell the truth. But you can not force a man to create against his will.

Still, even a man’s will can be broken, given enough time. If Dr. Ch’ien weren’t rescued soon….

Tonight, Candron thought with determination. I’ll get Ch’ien tonight. That was what the S.M.M.R. had sent him to do. And that’s what he would–must–do.

Ahead of him loomed the walls of the Palace of the Great Chinese People’s Government. Getting past them and into the inner court was an act that was discouraged as much as possible by the Special Police guard which had charge of those walls. They were brilliantly lighted and heavily guarded. If Candron tried to levitate himself over, he’d most likely be shot down in midair. They might be baffled afterwards, when they tried to figure out how he had come to be flying around up there, but that wouldn’t help Candron any.

Candron had a better method.