On the alien world of Thriddar, Jorgenson runs a trading post in a society where a ruler's word becomes truth the instant it is spoken. When the Grand Panjandrum issues a "never mistaken" decree claiming the Rim Stars Trading Corporation has eagerly surrendered its property and profits, Jorgenson's business sense tells him to wait it out. But outrage, sympathy for the doomed Thrid Ganti, and disgust at a civilization that criminalizes contradiction drive him to defy the order openly, blaster in hand. That act of rebellion costs him everything: he is declared mad or criminal, erased from society, and exiled to a barren island prison with Ganti. There, under a brutal routine of dropped food and water, the two men learn the full horror of Thrid obedience, yet also begin to adapt. Jorgenson's practical ingenuity turns survival into strategy, and the island becomes a workshop for escape. Together they devise a daring deception using rope, cloth, seaweed, and stones to fake a helicopter landing, forcing their captors into confusion and proving that even in a world built on infallible authority, clever resistance can still strike back. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.