THE COSMIC COMPUTER

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    XX

Klem Zareff's guardsmen were mercenaries. A little over a year ago they
had, at best, been homeless drifters, and not a few had been outlaws.
Now they were soldiers, well fed, clothed, quartered and equipped, and
well and regularly paid. They had a good thing; they were willing to
fight to keep it, Merlin or no Merlin. Conn left them to their
commander. He did gather the workmen for a short harangue, but that
wasn't really necessary. They had a good thing, too, and most of them
realized that they were working toward a better thing. They could be
depended upon, too.

They came crowding out and manned lifters; they got the heavy
collapsium-cutter maneuvered into place and the shielding down around
the cutting-head. After that, there were only four men who could work,
each in his own heavily shielded cabin. In spite of the shielding that
covered the actual work, there was an awesome display of multicolored