They removed themselves from the temporal sequence;

and regarded the history of the world.

Then Dust dropped into the Paleolithic and raised and uncovered metal deposits across the south of Europe.

"Move one completed."

Blood considered for a timeless time then moved to the second century B.C. and induced extensive lesions in

254.

255.

the carotids of Marcus Porcius Cato where he stood in the Roman Senate, moments away from another "Carth- ago delenda est."

"Move one completed."

Dust entered the fourth century A.D. and injected an air bubble into the bloodstream of the sleeping Julius Ambrosius, the Lion of Mithra.

"Move two completed."

Blood moved to eighth-century Damascus and did the same to Abou Iskafar, in the room where he carved curl- ing alphabets from small, hard blocks of wood,

"Move two completed."

Dust contemplated the play.

"Subtle move, that."

**Thank you."

"But not good enough, I feel. Observe."

Dust moved to seventeenth-century England and, on the morning before the search, removed from his labora- tory all traces of the forbidden chemical experiments which had cost Isaac Newton his life.

"Move three completed."

"Good move. But I think I've got you."

Blood dropped to early nineteenth-century England and disposed of Charles Babbage.

"Move three completed."

Both rested, studying the positions.

"Ready?" said Blood.

"Yes."

They reentered the sequence of temporality at the point they had departed.

It took but an instant. It moved like the cracking of a whip below them. ...

They departed the sequence once more, to study the separate effects of their moves now that the general result was known. They observed;

The south of Europe flourished. Rome was founded and grew in power several centuries sooner than had pre- viously been the case. Greece was conquered before the flame of Athens burned with its greatest intensity. With the death of Cato the Elder the final Punic War was postponed. Carthage also continued to grow, extend- ing her empire far to the east and the south. The death of Julius Ambrosius aborted the Mithraist revival and Christianity became the state religion in Rome. The

256 .

Carthaginians spread their power throughout the middle east Mithraism was acknowledged as their state religion.

The clash did not occur until the fifth century. Carthage itself was destroyed, the westward limits of its empire pushed back to Alexandria. Fifty years later, the Pope called for a crusade. These occurred with some regularity for the next century and a quarter, further fragmenting the Carthaginian empire while sapping the enormous bureaucracy which had grown up in Italy. The fighting fell off, ceased, the lines were drawn, an economic, de- pression swept the Mediterranean area. Outlying dis- tricts grumbled over taxes and conscription, revolted.

The general anarchy which followed the war of seces- sion settled down into a dark age reminiscent of that in the initial undisturbed sequence. Off in Asia Minor, the printing press was not developed.

"Stalemate till then, anyway," said Blood.

"Yes, but look what Newton did."

"How could you have known?"

"That is the difference between a good player and an inspired player. I saw his potential even when he was fooling around with alchemy. Look what he did for their science, single-handed-everything! Your next move was too late and too weak."

"Yes. I thought I might still kill their computers by destroying the founder of International Difference Ma- chines, Ltd."

Dust chuckled.

"That was indeed ironic. Instead of an IDM 120, the Beagle took along a young naturalist named Darwin."

Blood glanced along to the end of the sequence where the radioactive dust was scattered across a lifeless globe.

"But it was not the science that did it, or the religion."

"Of course not," said Dust. "It is all a matter of em- phasis."

"You were lucky. I want a rematch."

"All right. I will even give you your choice: Blood or Dust?"

"I'll stick with Blood."

"Very well. Winner elects to go first Excuse me."

Dust moved to second century Rome and healed the carotid lesions which bad produced Cato's cerebral hem- orrhage.

257.

"Move one completed."

Blood entered eastern Germany in the sixteenth cen- tury and induced identical lesions in the Vatican assassin who had slain Martin Luther.