| Synopsis
| - Princess Mari practices riding Prince Argon's horse Oberon on an antigravity track. Her brother, Argon, talks to his father, the king, while they watch. Baron Karza arrives and spooks Oberon. Microtron rescues Mari before she can fall. After trading a few insults with the family, Karza leaves.
Later that day, the king, the queen, Argon, Mari, and Microtron ride to the games at the Colosseum. Bug, among the prisoners, gives Mari a rebel signal, but she does not realize its significance. When they reach their gate, a Shadow Priest tells them, "Leave your steeds with someone you trust! I can say no more!" They take his advice and have Microtron watch the horses.
Once seated in their box with Baron Karza, they meet Prince Shaitan of the Acroyears. Shaitan says, "Why toy with them, Karza? Let us finish them now!" Karza replies, "Patience, Shaitan! A coup is something one should never rush!" The king draws his sword. Karza blasts him and the queen. Argon and Mari grab lasersonic rifles, escape to their horses, and head for Shelter, a rebel hideout .
- Acroyear and Bug, along with other political prisoners, are herded into the Yard of the Gladiators. There they must practice for the gladiatorial games. Maccabee, a large humanoid, attacks Acroyear. Bug says, "C'mon, big buddy >tik< show 'em your stuff! " Acroyear wins.
A Shadow Priest appears, ostensibly to give final absolution to those will perish in the games. He gives Acroyear his energy blade and Bug his rocket-lance. "Fear not, brothers! The underground is with you!" he says. The guards take the prisoners into the arena. Shaitan watches his brother march in and asks Karza why he hasn't already been executed. "Surely you knew your brother's fate when you betrayed him into my hands?" answers Karza. "I expected him to die, Karza, but not before my eyes—as a spectacle for the mob!" says Shaitan. "Scruples, Shaitan? At this late date?" asks Karza.
In the arena, Bug kills a repto with his rocket-lance, and Acroyear throws a huge terraphant into the stands. Karza gives the thumbs down sign. A hornetdroid grabs Acroyear; Bug blinds it with his lance, and Acroyear kills it. Tradition now demands that they be freed, but Karza orders them held over for the next day's games. Mari gives Bug a thumbs up sign, which he takes to mean that she belongs to the underground.
- The HMS Endeavor has almost finished its 1000-year voyage through the Microverse. Tomorrow Arcturus Rann and Biotron will return to Homeworld . Today, though, they have encountered a Force Nexus, a strange area of space. The ship's sensors indicated life inside it, but according to Biotron, "the rules of physics seemed not to apply." The ship is drawn into the Force Nexus and lands on a planet. Biotron rouses Rann from his hibernation couch.
Out on the surface, Biotron is hit by a lasersonic beam. A figure calling himself Galactic Defender tells them to leave his world. Paradise III has kept out "infectious influences" for a million years, and Galactic Defender's mission is to keep it that way. Biotron reports that he appears to be the only life form on the planet. Galactic Defender fires a stun carbine at Rann, who dodges. Rann fires a lasersonic on stun, which cracks Galactic Defender's helmet. He flees. Biotron and Rann follow him to a city.
They find him sprawled across an altar in the Church of Science temple. The catacombs hold rows of bodies in capsules. Galactic Defender is dying because of the puncture in his aerobionic helmet. He tells them that, one million years ago, the people of Paradise III created "the best of all possible worlds." To preserve its perfection, they created the Force Nexus to protect them from "impurities." "The ugly, the crippled, all who were imperfect, were liquidated!" They then realized that aging brought imperfection, so everyone went into aerobionic capsules to keep themselves perfect. Only Galactic Defender remained active. The Force Nexus, however, became unstable occasionally, causing earthquakes that cracked the capsules. All of the perfect people of Paradise died long ago, and Galactic Defender joins them.
Rann and Biotron return to the Endeavor. "Tomorrow we land on Homeworld!" Rann says. "It'll be good to return to a planet eternally at peace with the rest of the Microverse!"
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![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)