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Breaker. This is my job: to comprehend the full nature of my subject."
"Ah. So you must comprehend the type of person who balks the animal, by whatever freak of circumstance," Brother
Paul said. He had had the impression that her interest was in him personally, but this was really more realistic. What
real interest would a girl of her attractions have in a sedate stranger? "Yet I remain confused," he went on.
"That's all right," she said brightly.
The Swami mellowed enough to put in an explanation. "Survival is a narrow thing here," he said. "We must labor
diligently to gather wood for the arduous winter, and anything that interferes with this acquisition of fuel is a
community concern. The Breaker interferes, forcing us to travel from the village in armed parties a ruinously
wasteful expenditure of manpower. Therefore we study the Breaker, hoping to neutralize it."
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"Wouldn't it be simpler to kill it?" Brother Paul asked.
"Kill it?" the Swami echoed, as if baffled.
Now it was the girl's turn to make the explanation. "Many of our sects object to taking the lives of natural creatures.
It is a moral matter, and a practical one. It is impossible to know what the ramifications of unnecessary killing may
be. If we killed this local Breaker, another might merely move into its place. A smarter or more vicious one. If we
killed them all, we could wreak ecological havoc that would in turn destroy us. Back on Earth the environment was
ravaged by the unthinking war against pests, and we don't want to make that mistake here. Also, we need beasts of
burden, and the Breaker, if it could be tamed and harnessed, might be an excellent one. So we protect ourselves with
the tridents, not trying to kill the Breaker or any other predator. We are studying our problems before acting."
"That is what I am here to do with the problem of Animation," Brother Paul pointed out.
"Which is why you must be apprised of the danger first," the Swami said. "The Breaker is a minor menace;
Animation is a major one."
"I am willing to listen," Brother Paul reminded him.
The Swami was silent, so Brother Paul addressed Amaranth. "How is it you have this dangerous job of observation?
You do not carry any trident."
"Not a tangible one," the Swami muttered. "She has barbs enough."
"He sees his late wife in all young women," Amaranth said to Brother Paul. "She had a savage wit. But about me: it
was the lot. No one volunteered, so we drew cards from the Tarot, and I was low. As a matter of fact, I was the
Empress, Key Three; you were right about that. So they built me a protective box shaped like the throne and
appropriately marked we propitiate the God of Tarot in any little way we can and I set out to study the Breaker.
And watch the amaranth, since the Breaker associates most frequently with this area. He sure keeps the grain-eaters
off the field! I keep track of the temperature extremes, rainfall, and such, and measure the growth of the plants. And
when an MT shipment comes, I notify the village, although the noise of arrival usually makes that superfluous. Sorry
I lost my head yesterday; I had forgotten they were sending a man this time."
"But the danger a mere girl "
The Swami snorted. "Let the Breaker beware!"
"I had some concern myself," she admitted, again successfully ignoring the jibe. "I wanted to indulge my artistic
proclivities, carving pseudo-icons and totems from Tree of Life wood and igneous stone. But that slot was filled by
another, so I had to accept assignment elsewhere. When the lot put me in this dangerous and unsuitable position, I
rebelled."
"She is good at that," the Swami said.
"Which is one reason I remain unmarried," she continued. "I had a prospect, but he rejected me because of my lack of
community spirit. Of course, he didn't have to face the Breaker. Finally I had to come around, because on this planet
you contribute or you don't eat; that's one of the few things our scattered cults agree on."
"An excellent policy," the Swami said.
"But do you know," she continued without even a poisonous glance at him, "I discovered that there really is a lot
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