"Mack Reynolds - Planetary Agent X" - читать интересную книгу автора (Reynolds Mack)

finger stirring around in them.”
“But you said some department members don’t believe in his
existence.”
Metaxa grunted. “They’re working on the theory that no one
man could do all that Tommy Paine has laid to him. Possibly it’s
true that he sometimes gets the blame for accomplishments not
his. Or, for that matter, possibly he’s more than one person. I don’t
know.”
“Well,” Ronny said hesitantly, “what’s an example of his
activity?”
Metaxa picked up another report from the confusion of his
desk. “Here’s one only a month old. Dictator on the planet Megas.
Kidnapped and forced to resign. There’s still confusion, but it
looks as though a new type of government will be formed now.”
“But how do they know it wasn’t just some dissatisfied
citizens of Megas?”
“It seems as though the kidnap vehicle was an old fashioned
Earth-type helicopter. There were no such on Megas. So Section G
suspects it’s a possible Tommy Paine case. We could be wrong, of
course. That’s why I say the man’s in the way of being a legend.
Perhaps the others are right and he doesn’t even exist. I think he
does—and if so, it’s our job to get him and put him out of
circulation.”
Ronny said slowly, “But why would that come under our
jurisdiction? It seems to me that it would be up to the police of
whatever planet he was on.”
Ross Metaxa looked thoughfully at his brown bottle, shook
his head and returned it to its drawer. He looked at a desk watch.
“Don’t read into the United Planets organization more than there
is. It’s a fragile institution with practically no independent powers
to wield. Every member planet is jealous of its prerogatives, which
is understandable. It’s no mistake that Articles One and Two are
the basic foundations of the Charter. No member planet wants to
be interfered with by any other or by United Planets as an
organization. They want to be left alone.
“Within our ranks we have planets with every religion known
to man throughout the ages. Everything ranging from primitive
animism to the most advanced philosophic ethic. We have every
political system ever dreamed of, and every socio-economic
system. It can all be blamed on the crackpot manner in which we’re
colonizing. Any minority, no matter how small—religious, political,
racial, or whatever—if it can collect the funds to buy or rent a
spacecraft, can dash off on its own, find a new Earth-type planet
and set up in business.
“Fine. One of the prime jobs of Section G is to carry out, to
enforce, Articles One and Two of the Charter. A planet with
Buddhism as its state religion doesn’t want some diehard Baptist
missionary stirring up controversy. A planet with a feudalistic
socio-economic system doesn’t want some hotshot interplanetary
businessman coming in with some big deal that would eventually