 What motivates people like Zeckler to commit such crimes as he committed?
"You've committed the most heinous crime these creatures can imagine, and they're going to get you for it if it's the last thing they do. Trading brought scalpers; it was almost inevitable that where rich and unexploited trading ground was uncovered, it would first fall prey to the fast-trading boys. The first men in were the richest out, and through some curious quirk of the Terrestrial mind, they knew they could count on Terran protection, however crooked and underhand their methods. But occasionally a situation arose where the civilization and social practices of the alien victims made it unwise to tamper with them. You'd have realized that they have to start fighting for individual rights almost as soon as they're born.
 New interplanetary laws created more incentive to commit crimes in vulnerable areas than they offered protection from such crimes.
 New interplanetary laws created more incentive to commit crimes in vulnerable areas than they offered protection from such crimes.  Representatives from the Trading Commission set up an operation to hire and arrest con men in order to secure resources without being indicted.  The interplanetary laws made it easy for wealthy corporations and entities to prey upon those they considered less civilized and intelligent.  The Trading Commission offered monetary compensation for whoever was willing to secure unexploited trading ground on neighboring planets.