Planetary Agent X
Reviewed date: 2025 Sep 15
Rating: 3
133 pages
Ronnie Bronston is a newly-minted agent of Section G of the United Planets (UP) Bureau of Investigations. As a member of Section G, it's his duty to enforce articles 1 and 2 of the UP charter:
Article One: The United Planets organization shall take no steps to interfere with the internal political, socio-economic, or religious institutions of its member planets.
Article Two: No member planet of United Planets shall interfere with the internal political, socio-economic or religious institutions of any other member planet.
Bronston's first assignment is to uncover the identity of Tommy Paine, an elusive individual who has been traveling to various planets and meddling in their internal affairs by starting revolutions, assassinating politicians, undermining confidence in local gods, and so forth. If it becomes known that someone is meddling in other planets' internal affairs—and that the UP hasn't been able to stop it—it could undermine confidence in the UP itself.
Bronston tracks Tommy Paine across several worlds before he realizes that no one person could possibly do everything Tommy Paine gets credit for. The real Tommy Paine is an organization. The real Tommy Paine is Section G. And now that he knows the big secret, he can begin his real job: to violate the UP charter and meddle in the internal affairs of member planets to prevent stagnation and force technological advancement. Section G knows something that the member worlds don't: there are at least two hostile alien races in the galaxy which mankind has not yet made contact with, and Section G's job is to ensure that when contact is made, mankind is ready to defend itself.
In the second half of the book, Bronston hunts a mafia hitman and manipulates him into going back to kill his old mafia boss.