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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Genius, by Con Pederson and Paul Orban
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Genius
+
+Author: Con Pederson
+        Paul Orban
+
+Release Date: June 17, 2010 [EBook #32861]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GENIUS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                              THE GENIUS
+
+                            By Con Pederson
+
+                       Illustrated by Paul Orban
+
+[Transcriber Note: This etext was produced from IF Worlds of Science
+Fiction May 1954. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
+the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
+
+
+[Sidenote: _Sethos was a great artist, a talented man, quite possibly
+the most famous man of his time and world. But, alas!--there were other
+worlds. And is not the grass always greener...?_]
+
+
+Sethos entered the park. Brown autumn leaves crumpled sharply beneath
+his feet, the green grass sank. The sun was nearly gone, and the last of
+the children passed him, chattering as they faded into the twilight.
+Only one other person remained in the park, and she was waiting for
+Sethos.
+
+"Ela," he said. "Have you been here long?"
+
+She touched his cheek with hers in greeting.
+
+"Not at all. I'm in no hurry." She handed him a cigarette as they walked
+together, then lit her own and breathed deeply of the scented fumes.
+"Nothing special about Matya's parties--unless she has that intriguing
+man there again. What's his name? You know--"
+
+"You must mean Andian, the sculptor. The man who built North Square, to
+hear him talk. What about him?"
+
+Ela laughed. "He'd never heard of my fluid porcelain. Isn't that silly?
+After everyone in West has been overwhelmed with the color effects, he
+turns up, a perfect innocent. I showed him pliables."
+
+Smiling, Sethos recalled it was Ela's enthusiasm that had first
+attracted him, as it had most of the males in their clique. Then too,
+she was beautiful, with startling gold hair and a delicate round face
+that always aroused flattery. Tonight he felt especially aware of her
+beside him, and the quick beat of her sandals on the pavement.
+
+The lights of Matya's hillhouse gleamed before them, enticing all who
+wandered through West Park this evening. The party had started, as
+parties always did, at that unknown instant shortly before the first
+guest's arrival. It was thriving now, for the colors behind the
+contoured glass facade throbbed as though underwater, and people sat
+along the terraced hillside, talking and inhaling the elegant smoke from
+smoldering chalices that stood around the entrance.
+
+They climbed the flagstone path toward the low, pale yellow building.
+Luxuriant plants grew thick along the walls, creating a jungle that
+extended even to the inner rooms of the house.
+
+"Sethos, my friend!" said an unsteady voice.
+
+The old man was seated in shadow by the house, a glass of sparkling
+liquor on the arm of his chair. Against the green background of giant
+plants, his frail, pink face resembled a huge bud that would open when
+daylight came.
+
+"How are you, Paton?" Sethos asked warmly. "I remember you from
+somewhere in East. It must be years.... Weren't you gardening with Ana?
+Of course--developing a perfect Lyocanthia. What a welcome sight you are
+among these woodcutters!"
+
+"You're a fellow greensman now, they say," beamed Paton happily, seizing
+his glass and leaning forward. "Such an honor to us. You work with
+succulents--right?"
+
+Sethos smiled. He watched Ela disappear into the interior of the
+sprawling hillhouse, heard her distant laugh become part of the
+machinery of voices. People drifted to and fro across the broad lawns.
+
+"Yes," answered Sethos, drawing up a chair. "Succulents are my latest
+joy. One must specialize. I like to work with growing things, yet I'd
+feel like a mechanoid if I got involved in crystal sculpture, like my
+charming Ela there."
+
+"Perhaps--but who else gets such _color_, starts so many new directions
+as she? My flowers blush before her crystals." Paton's glass was empty,
+and with an automatic gesture, Sethos refilled it from a tall flask
+standing nearby, and poured one for himself.
+
+"Speaking of mechanoids," Paton continued genially, "I had a most
+stimulating conversation with Mr. First himself a few days ago. He came
+to see me."
+
+Sethos blinked. That was unusual--mechanoids seldom mingled with humans,
+especially those of the primary levels.
+
+"He's very intelligent about flowers," Paton went on, waving his glass
+in animation. "We talked about common hedge roses. Did you know he
+raises them?"
+
+"Amazing!" Sethos drank deeply of the fiery liquor. Now the drifting
+plumes of smoke from the chalices performed fantasies with his vision,
+and his body felt light again, as it had so often in the evenings of the
+past few years.
+
+"Of course I was flattered, having a visit from the _most_ prime
+mechanoid. He could have called me, but they are somewhat conscious of
+being mechanical as it is, and try to be cordial as possible."
+
+Sethos leaned forward eagerly. "Did he say anything about--their
+activities?"
+
+"Well, that's not too interesting to me, because it's always just one
+change after another outside. He did say there is a new earth-bridge
+between the continents. Doesn't it seem incredible that they should want
+to go to all that trouble? But then, that's a mechanoid for you. Always
+making things bigger. That's why I enjoy seeing Mr. First take up
+flowers. Maybe he sees things our way himself."
+
+"I don't suppose you've ever been out there, have you?"
+
+"Out there? You mean, where the mechanoids live? Why, now that you
+mention it, I believe I was, once. But a long time ago--I must have been
+still living with my elders. It's not very enjoyable. Too big to call
+home, after all." With a short laugh, Paton emptied his glass again.
+
+Sethos frowned. The idea that the world was so large fascinated him. As
+his contemporaries and their ancestors for unknown generations, Sethos
+had passed from dreamy childhood directly into the dream of adult life.
+He could barely recall the days of education, when drugged smoke and
+liquor were withheld, and life consisted of a different fairy world. How
+he had loved the gay mechanoid nurses, with their tinkling arms and
+bright colors! But of their world, the vast reaches of the planet
+outside the tiny circle of men, he knew very little. One fact was plain
+to him: it was unthinkably huge.
+
+Sudden music poured from the house, gay and fast.
+
+"Ha! The dancers!" exclaimed Paton, seeing the rows of gyrating figures
+beyond a pink translucent wall. "You must excuse me. I promised Matya I
+would watch her dance tonight."
+
+Paton hurried away, leaving Sethos to wander along the dimly lighted
+terrace. The party had lightened his senses as expected, yet his
+thoughts were heavy. He remembered the library, and the strange legends
+in the books. Legends of ancient cities of men, over all the earth, and
+of the prehistoric machines used by men to travel great distances. And
+always in the old legends men were very much like the industrious
+mechanoids--ever building, ever moving....
+
+How he wished he might live in those days! He knew the pleasure of
+creating, for he had been acclaimed a genius in music before he was
+twenty, and his mastery of painting and architecture had won the
+admiration of all the human zone. Still, he was not satisfied, and often
+lay awake in the early hours of morning after a stirring party, dreaming
+of those long-gone days of empire, when he could have ridden with the
+ancients through the sky on their winged craft, see their cities rise
+toward the clouds, experience the exciting pace of that life. What
+remarkable ambitions they must have had!
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+As Sethos reached the end of the terrace, he was hailed by a garmenter
+named Brin, standing with a group of men around a light projector. The
+colors sprayed up about their faces, matching the gaudy orange of Brin's
+trousers and the blue of his little plumed hat.
+
+"Greetings, Sethos! How are the crops up North? Still live with Ela?"
+
+"They're fine, Brin. Live with Ela? No more than anyone else these
+days."
+
+Brin chuckled. "A neat remark, Seth--I must remember it to your true
+love the next time I have reason to see her."
+
+The men laughed appreciatively, the colors wheeling in rhythm across
+their grinning faces.
+
+Suddenly three young women converged on the group, having spied Sethos
+from inside.
+
+"Oh, Sethos!" one cried. "How wonderful you're here!"
+
+"Are you still composing that _magnificent_ diphonic music?" asked
+another breathlessly.
+
+Grimly, he realized he was trapped again. Every party brought on
+something like this. How could he explain to these well-meaning girls
+that he was trying to forget the past, that it bored him, that his music
+was trite and his painting insipid? Still they would clamor for it.
+
+"Excuse me," muttered Sethos, walking away. His ears rang with their
+adulation, but it always sickened him. Efforts he considered nothing at
+all were worshiped by the others. It was demoralizing.
+
+Following the path around the corner, he descended from the noise of the
+house, opening his mouth and inhaling the cool night air as though to
+cleanse his lungs. He was growing extremely weary of the people at
+parties.
+
+From here he could see the town laid out below, the four directions of
+it, and he tried to guess how many times he had walked each street one
+end to the other, then turned around and walked back, simply because no
+one ever considered going straight on.
+
+At that moment a tall, lean man approached him. He was a stranger, with
+a bearing Sethos did not recognize.
+
+"How do you do, Sethos," he said softly. "I understand you are the most
+accomplished of your group. May I ask a few questions?"
+
+Someone from across town, obviously. He knew the type--they traveled
+between the cliques, learning of new trends and ideas to pirate. He had
+done it once himself.
+
+"I'm sorry. I don't have any new goodies for your side of town. Why
+don't you go in and pester Brin? He's always easy to tap."
+
+"You misjudge me. I'm not interested in stealing ideas."
+
+"I know, I know. But I'm not for sale anyway."
+
+Angered, Sethos turned and strode down the hill. The nerve of these
+apprentices, he thought. Some day they'll ask for autographed samples.
+
+He stopped. A small autocar had caught his attention. On a wild impulse,
+he opened the door. "Good evening, little servant," he said gently.
+
+The desire to move came on him more strongly now. Stooping, he got in,
+the seat cushions adjusting automatically to his posture, and a voice
+somewhere in the drive panel said, "Direction, please."
+
+_Yes--where to?_ He didn't know. But he had to get away.
+
+"Straight ahead," he ordered, hoping the machine would make the best of
+it.
+
+As he rode, he wondered desperately what was wrong with him. He was
+easily the most talented of men, yet he was unhappy. Perhaps it was
+because they all treated him so adoringly that he was tired of them. He
+saw nowhere that drive which was so strong in him, the urge to go on to
+bigger things. He had sought it in his friends many times before, but
+gave up when no one knew what he meant. Even as a child his elders said
+he should have been born a mechanoid. It was a jest that was deathly
+true.
+
+Trees flashed by, but as Sethos watched, they slowed in their flight,
+and he realized the car was stopping.
+
+"I'm sorry, this is zone," said the car. "I can go no further.
+Redirection, or shall I cruise at random?"
+
+He started to affirm, but something stopped him.
+
+Barely visible ahead were the first low, dark buildings of the mechanoid
+world.
+
+"No," he answered. "I'm getting out here."
+
+He left the car, walking forward rapidly until the headlights no longer
+lighted his path. The trees began to thin out, and his feet struck
+concrete. He knew he was beyond the general limits of human activity.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Fear came, now that he was in that land where men never walked. The
+buildings loomed around him, forbidding and dark. Further down the
+street the lights began, spaced at intervals on the walls.
+
+"Your attention, please," said a voice at his shoulder. He recoiled,
+noticing for the first time a small yellow mechanoid rolling silently
+beside him. Its face screen watched him steadily.
+
+"May I remind you that this is no longer the human zone? I can whistle
+an autocar for you, if you wish."
+
+Sethos felt a twinge of terror as he said, "No, thank you," and
+continued to walk.
+
+_Now it will begin_, he thought. _They'll be on me every block. Turn
+back. No, don't give up now. What can I lose? They won't hurt me--it's
+just a matter of regulation. They can't do anything to me for
+disobedience._
+
+Looking up, he saw stars between the clouds. For a moment he could
+imagine that perhaps, once upon a time, men must have longed to reach
+out in some way across the tremendous distance to the stars. It was a
+strange sensation, this longing for something obviously unattainable.
+
+"Hello," said another voice. "Are you lost?"
+
+Sethos glanced at the new figure that accompanied him. It was human in
+shape, but the fact that it skated on rollers betrayed its nature.
+
+"No. I'm ... just walking." His voice sounded small and guilty in the
+strange city.
+
+"I see. For exercise?"
+
+"No--I mean, not exactly. Well, I wanted to see what things were like
+outside our zone."
+
+"Our course."
+
+_He won't stop me_, Sethos thought with determination.
+
+"Are you someone I should know?" he asked.
+
+"Tenth level," the mechanoid replied, whirring sedately along beside
+him. "I was notified five minutes ago by a circuit walker. He said he
+offered to radio for a vehicle, but you did not wish to return."
+
+"That's right." Sethos was nervous now, but maintained his even step.
+They had gone three blocks together, and still he would not slow down.
+
+"Tell me, Mr. Tenth," Sethos said, trying to appear calm, "do
+people--often walk as I'm doing?"
+
+"No, not often." Mr. Tenth took a step across a small puddle, then
+resumed skating.
+
+"What happens if I get tired of walking?"
+
+"I can direct you to Mr. Third's office, if you won't mind. He handles
+such things."
+
+"And suppose I keep going?"
+
+"You'll be followed by an autocar that will pick you up whenever you get
+tired."
+
+"I intend to keep going," Sethos said, his teeth clenched.
+
+"Very well." The mechanoid rolled away.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Sethos was entering the heart of the city. As far as he could see, the
+streets led off into the distance, with the gleaming lights that lined
+the buildings on either side diminishing until they merged at a far
+vanishing point.
+
+_How far does it go?_ he wondered, overwhelmed. _Maybe if I go far
+enough, I'll find another community like our own, with men living in it!
+What a discovery that would be!_
+
+The low hanging clouds threw back the city's glow as far as he could
+see.
+
+In the streets there were now several mechanoids, and their number
+increased as he went. Some were prime mechanoids, and resembled humans,
+rolling along the slower traffic lanes. Others were specialized workers,
+with longer arms or a number of arms, or with a truck body instead of
+legs. In fact, he saw every gradation between prime mechanoid and
+service vehicle. A bizarre parade!
+
+A strange little apparatus with three wheels stopped before Sethos.
+"Your attention, please," it said. "You are now one-half mile from zone.
+The time is eleven-twenty p.m."
+
+It occurred to him to watch for more tenth level mechanoids, and he saw
+three immediately, moving with him several yards away. An autocar
+cruised patiently.
+
+"You are heading due west, on Street 751 West, at a speed of three and
+eight tenths miles per hour."
+
+He saw the mechanoid with three wheels again, clocking him helpfully.
+
+"Go away," he said.
+
+His breath came hard; he was not used to walking such a distance.
+
+_How long can I last? If I keep going, I'll get hungry, and there won't
+be any food. They don't serve food out here. I can go until I drop from
+exhaustion. Then they'll take me back ... ask me if I want therapy._
+
+He would refuse, then try it again later. He would try it day after day,
+probably, maybe getting a little further each time, and each time the
+mechanoids would patiently bring him back. On and on ... until he
+requested therapy....
+
+"You are now one mile from zone," said his clocker. "The time is
+eleven-twenty-eight p.m."
+
+The lights burned on into the distance. His legs were beginning to ache,
+but still the urge to cross the city was intense.
+
+_Maybe I'll go till I come to the ocean_, he thought, sucking his
+breath. He had seen pictures of the ocean, that featureless blue with
+its concrete wall stretching away for thousands of miles.
+
+A mechanoid stood on a corner, pointing back. So that was the next
+trick! Helpful, hinting.... He saw another, showing the way home.
+
+He grew angry. _It'll be a battle of nerves. They'll get nicer and nicer
+to me, until I can't stand it any more._
+
+He concentrated on the lights, watching them pass one by one. That
+helped.
+
+"Please note your return route."
+
+He wondered if they had missed him at the party.
+
+"There is an autocar at your service."
+
+They would be preparing to eat the midnight meal, now, he remembered.
+The foodmakers would emerge from the kitchens and steal the show in
+their performance of taste appeal, warm odors, rare dishes....
+
+"You are heading due west, on Street 751 West, at a speed of three and
+six tenths miles per hour."
+
+It seemed cold. The mechanoids did not have thermostat stations, for
+they did not need them. He shivered slightly.
+
+"You are now two miles from zone. The time is eleven-forty-five p.m."
+
+_The lights. Watch the lights._
+
+"Please submit any request for information here."
+
+He was panting, and his legs felt weak.
+
+"There is an autocar...."
+
+It was useless. Shutting his eyes tight, he stopped.
+
+"All right. Let's go."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Good evening," said Mr. Third.
+
+Sethos seated himself in a contour chair in the center of the softly
+lighted office. From behind a curving desk, the brain of a slender metal
+cylinder observed the young man before it, checked by radio with five
+Mr. Tenths in the space of three and one fifth seconds as to the
+incident's details. Then Mr. Third folded his plastic arms and studied
+the short brown hair and dark eyes, the lean face and straight nose.
+Human features always fascinated him.
+
+"I'm the human coordinator, Sethos. You know why you're here, don't
+you?"
+
+Sethos nodded.
+
+"Everyone learns that sometime," Mr. Third remarked. "In a certain
+number of births there is a percentage who are of higher intelligence.
+These are the restless ones whom we cannot discourage developmentally as
+easily as the others. They usually have to request therapy to adjust. So
+your case is not new."
+
+Sethos lit a cigarette. He knew the story, but coming from a third level
+prime mechanoid it was all the more impressive.
+
+"All right, I'm inquisitive. Why must we have therapy? Why do we have to
+stay in our zone?"
+
+Mr. Third paused. He recognized challenge in the young man before him,
+and tried to estimate his will power.
+
+"Did you know that there was on the earth, long ago, lower forms of life
+called animals? And that man once specified these and contained them in
+cages, from which they were denied exit?"
+
+"I have read of their place in our biological evolution, but of course
+they are before the time of records."
+
+"Well, we know very little about this practice or its use, but it's
+similar to what we have here, I believe. We mechanoids are not concerned
+with history, having only one structural law which was built into us by
+your ancestors, and it cannot be superseded. We must preserve man in the
+state he existed when we were created. We cannot impede his
+activities--unless they peril his stability, which we maintain
+precisely, as you know. It is impossible, you see, for us to allow man
+to change or expand. We have fulfilled that obligation, and continue to
+fulfill it. There are no alternatives whatever."
+
+"I can't see what they had in mind when they made you that way. It
+sounds insane."
+
+"Don't ask why--that is no longer important. We cannot question what is
+fundamental to all our operations, the factor present in every formula
+we must work. Our mechanoid civilization is gigantic, by your standards,
+but it is flawless. Once set in motion, such a system is impenetrable.
+All individuals are their allotted part of the entirety, no more, no
+less. It is beautiful concept, you'll agree?"
+
+"You must get terribly bored," Sethos said humorlessly.
+
+"That word has no meaning for us. Now--do you request therapy?"
+
+Sethos was startled. He had expected the question, and knew there was
+little point in refusing. Yet he hesitated. The desire to learn was
+strong.
+
+Before he could reply, a door opened and another mechanoid rolled in.
+
+"You didn't whistle, Mr. First," said Mr. Third to the newcomer.
+"Something on your mind?"
+
+Sethos noted that they spoke aloud for his benefit. He inhaled
+reflectively of his cigarette.
+
+"A mutual friend of ours is here," said the first level prime.
+
+"The one we've been expecting?" asked Mr. Third.
+
+"That's right. I see you have a young fellow here--out walking?"
+
+Sethos nodded, wondering what visitor they could have. Perhaps a
+mechanoid from another continent--but still such a mechanoid would be in
+perpetual contact anyway.
+
+"Good--come along. It'll save the gentleman some time. He's looking for
+this sort of thing."
+
+"Save him some time! He's in a hurry?" interrupted Sethos.
+
+"For this man, time is very important," said Mr. First gravely.
+
+"Where is he now?" asked Third.
+
+"In my office, studying the vocabulary. Shall we go over?"
+
+More curious than ever, Sethos followed the mechanoids down the corridor
+to a slide. Holding the rail, he felt the car surge through its shaft at
+a tremendous speed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They emerged into the first level office. Two other first level
+mechanoids sat reading formulated material, while near the center stood
+a tall man, his eyes on a page of printed matter in his hands. He had no
+hair, and wore only a simple gray cloak over a white, loose-fitting
+one-piece suit. Sethos regarded his graceful appearance and
+sophisticated demeanor.
+
+"Hello," he said, looking up. "I am Hol."
+
+Sethos nodded cautiously. "My name is Sethos."
+
+For a moment, Hol looked at the two Mr. Firsts reading, then at the one
+standing. There seemed to be some sort of communication between them.
+Then he spoke again.
+
+"Are you discontented with your culture?"
+
+"Of course. I don't believe man's curiosity should be restricted."
+
+"I see. What do you propose in this case?"
+
+Sethos was perplexed. He had not dreamed of a possible solution. But
+perhaps there was one!
+
+"I don't know. If mechanoid control could be removed, I think humans
+would expand over all the planet. Then they could progress by
+themselves."
+
+"Do you think they can?"
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Do you think humans can progress further--without mechanoids?"
+
+_Further_--so that was it. The creation of mechanoids must represent the
+height of human development. Which meant they were necessary to going
+on, reaching the stars....
+
+"You mean, if humans could work _with_ mechanoids, we could even travel
+to other worlds and spread throughout the universe?"
+
+"He's getting close to the 'matter masters matter' principle," mused Mr.
+Third. "It's growth through extension, Sethos, a universal. Not just
+'human'--man isn't alone in the universe."
+
+Sethos did not understand. But another thought struck him.
+
+"Just a moment, Hol. I've never seen you before. Where are you from?"
+
+"From Antares System. I am an ethnographer, making a survey of the
+planets of man's early history."
+
+Sethos was stunned.
+
+"You--you are from out in _space_? From the _stars_?"
+
+"That is correct. Man lives everywhere in the universe. But as Mr. Third
+said, that may be misleading."
+
+Sethos disregarded the comment. It didn't matter if he were alone or
+not, at least he was _there_--man in the universe!
+
+"I have completed a section of my work here. It is necessary to speak
+with the first level alone, if possible," said Hol.
+
+"Of course," said Mr. Third. "Sethos, there is a vehicle in the hall.
+Will you return home until you wish to contact us about therapy? You
+have clearance to come in directly when you decide."
+
+"Yes--yes, certainly."
+
+In his shock he was barely conscious of an autocar hurtling through the
+dark streets, the familiar trees of West Park looming above him. Then,
+once more he saw the lights at Matya's, heard the noise and laughter.
+
+Stepping from the autocar, Sethos felt the night breeze on his face. He
+looked upward at the sky, saw the stars like fierce eyes that had been
+watching all along. The revelation was too much to take, he thought.
+Suddenly Earth itself, so vastly greater than the small reservation of
+men, and short hours ago a veritable infinity, seemed tiny and
+insignificant.
+
+"Why, Sethos! Where have you been?"
+
+It was Paton's voice. The old man stood alone on the path.
+
+"Paton, you couldn't guess what has happened. It's incredible!"
+
+"Come up and get a drink, boy. You look exhausted. I was alarmed when I
+found you'd left."
+
+Sethos took his arm and faced him squarely.
+
+"Paton--I left the zone, and was taken to Mr. First's office. And do you
+know who I met? I met a man from the stars! Think of it! A man from
+other worlds, Paton. Do you realize that human beings have _already_
+traveled those fantastic distances, long ago? They must have forgotten
+about us on Earth!"
+
+"Why, that is amazing. It just goes to show you, there's nothing new
+under the sun. Come along, and get that drink. I found some _exquisite_
+wine."
+
+Sethos stopped. His hand slipped from Paton's arm.
+
+"Paton.... Did you hear what I said? Didn't it penetrate? I said man has
+_reached_ the stars! We already own the universe...."
+
+"Of course. But I must say I don't know what we want with it all. Won't
+you join us now? Say, Ela has been looking for you."
+
+"Ela? Yes, Ela. I want to see Ela...."
+
+She came down the walk, and took him by the hands.
+
+"_There_ you are, you elusive boy! I want to go home now. I simply have
+to adjust my crystals or they'll overflow the bedroom. Oh, Matya! Thank
+you for a splendid time. I'll be having you over next week, don't
+forget."
+
+Then they were down from the hill and in the park, and the party flowed
+on behind them, forgetting.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+They were home again, and Ela hurried off to add nutrients to the huge
+crystal sculpture that was growing in the bedroom. It glowed and
+vibrated in every color of the spectrum, and strange textures developed
+at those edges where Ela hovered with a glass dropper and her chemicals,
+touching, wiping, smoothing....
+
+"Oh, it nearly got away from me over here. I _must_ get these reds to
+balance, or the whole thing will never refract properly at all. Did you
+know, Seth--they want to erect it in Central Plaza when I'm finished!
+Isn't that wonderful?" Her pleased face sparkled as she worked.
+
+Sethos sat on the bed, folding his hands in his lap. Still stunned by
+Paton's reaction, he gazed absently at the floor.
+
+"Ela, I met a man tonight. He is a very important man."
+
+"Yes, there were _so_ many dolls there. I only wish I had met Andian
+again. He'd be so jealous if he knew I was acclaimed for exhibition in
+the Plaza."
+
+"I don't mean at the party."
+
+Ela turned. "Really, dear? Where was he?"
+
+"In the office of Mr. First. He wanted to talk to me."
+
+"You went outside zone? Whatever for?"
+
+Sethos rose and took her shoulders firmly in his hands.
+
+"This man is from another planet, Ela. He told me that people live all
+over the universe!"
+
+"You don't say!"
+
+"They left the earth a long time ago. They've traveled between the stars
+for centuries and centuries!"
+
+"That's wonderful, dear. Help me with this pot of dye, will you, Seth?"
+
+Sethos drew back, unbelieving.
+
+"Ela.... The stars are trillions of miles apart. Men have learned to fly
+between them somehow!"
+
+"It's breathtaking. The dye?"
+
+"Quintillions, some of them! Think of it, Ela!" Sethos was shaking with
+agitation.
+
+"Dearest," said Ela, moving away from him, "do you think we might move
+closer to Center after my Plaza crystal is finished? I'd like to be able
+to look out and see it every morning in the sun...."
+
+She wasn't listening! _She didn't care!_
+
+"Ela. Ela, love--listen to me! What's wrong with you? Can't you _see_?"
+His voice shrank to a whisper.
+
+She smiled tolerantly. "Of course, dear."
+
+"I'm telling you something no one has dreamed of before and you fuss
+about your crystals! Don't you ever get sick of this little cage? Don't
+you ever feel like getting out and running away?"
+
+"Cage?"
+
+"I'm telling you the earth can be ours! People can live like mechanoids
+if they'll only wake up and stop their childish play!"
+
+"But why, dear?"
+
+"_Why?_ We were _meant_ to, that's why. Because we've already _done_ it,
+or someone has. But _we're_ still here, left behind. We've got to catch
+up!"
+
+"How silly." She returned to her chemicals.
+
+Sethos felt a burning rage seize him. This woman he had loved--she was
+only a shell, a stick of wood, with no ideas of her own--no curiosity.
+Nothing! And she didn't have the faintest notion what he was talking
+about. She didn't _care_!
+
+Furious, he grasped a heavy bronze ash tray and hurled it, hard as he
+could, into the mass of shining crystal that filled the room. With an
+explosive rainbow of color and a reverberating crash, it collapsed under
+the heavy blow into a million tiny fragments.
+
+He stood, glaring at the scattered shards, waiting for Ela to leap at
+him, screaming and clawing him for the ruin he had made of her
+masterpiece.
+
+But she only smiled weakly, and shrugged.
+
+"Dear, that was very irrational. I think you had better request therapy
+one of these days. Now I shall have to start all over again. But don't
+fret, sweet. I had a much better idea anyway. I can get sensational
+results using fluorides."
+
+She wouldn't fight him--she couldn't think of such an act, raised in a
+world where coercion and violence did not exist. She didn't care about
+_anything_!
+
+Calm now, he knew what to do. Striding swiftly from the house, he went
+straight to the vehicle space. He got into an autocar and slammed the
+door.
+
+"Direction, please."
+
+"Contact Dispatching. Ask for permission to go directly to first level
+primary. Tell them it's Sethos."
+
+Pause. "Permission granted."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"Come in, Sethos. What can I do for you?"
+
+Sethos looked around the room anxiously.
+
+"I want to make a request, Mr. First, if it isn't too late."
+
+"Too late?"
+
+"I would like to see Hol before he leaves. Is he still here?"
+
+"Perhaps I can arrange it. His time is budgeted, you understand."
+
+"I _must_ see him."
+
+Mr. First was silent for a moment, and Sethos realized he was contacting
+someone. Then, he announced, "Yes, he's willing to see you. Go through
+this door. His compartment is the second down the corridor."
+
+Sethos thanked him and hurried out. Finding the door, he hesitated an
+instant, then went in.
+
+"Good morning," said Hol.
+
+There was a second man standing beside him, dressed in the same manner
+and of the same stature as Hol.
+
+"I had to see you," Sethos began hastily, not expecting to encounter two
+men.
+
+"I see. This is Bek, a field observer. He was at your party last night."
+
+Sethos remembered the stranger he had taken for a spying apprentice on
+the hillside. He felt embarrassed, but brushed it aside.
+
+"I ... want you to take me with you."
+
+Hol looked at his companion.
+
+"I don't fit here," Sethos went on. "Mr. Third himself said I'm more
+intelligent than the others--I'm the only one who knows what your visit
+means. I want to go where people are interested in learning and
+progress. If I stay here I'll have to fool around with a hobby the rest
+of my life. There's no work, no expansion. You can see why I have to
+leave, can't you? I'm the _curious_ type."
+
+"You don't know what you're asking."
+
+"Why? Can't you take me with you? What harm would it do?"
+
+"Well, there are rules."
+
+"But--I'm not just anybody. I'm an exception to the rule. I qualify as a
+genius--you mean there isn't a place for me _somewhere_ in the universe?
+Surely you can use a smart man!"
+
+"You are a genius, that's true," said Bek, in a deep, serious voice. "As
+long as you remain here. Hundreds of centuries ago, your ancestors
+discovered principles that are not even expressible in your language,
+and learned to apply them to matter. Soon they knew no boundaries. The
+earth was not forgotten, but it was no longer important. It still is
+only a statistic. And we are here to examine it briefly. We have many
+others to visit.
+
+"You see, Sethos, man changed out in space. He is a long way from your
+ancestors who started all this. But before those ancient men left, they
+established Earth as a control planet, to maintain forever a specimen of
+the original stock. It may have been done out of his egocentric ideas at
+the time, but it proved wise, for such a specimen is valuable in our
+research."
+
+"Sethos," said Hol, seeing the bewilderment on the young man's face,
+"the mechanoids who attend your little community are more than one
+hundred thousand years old. That is how long your little culture has
+been faithfully preserved, just as it was then. You would not be capable
+of living elsewhere in the universe now. You could survive, perhaps,
+bright as you are, for a century or so, and then die, unhappy,
+maladjusted, never finding another of your own level. You are, after
+all, a savage."
+
+Sethos was dazed.
+
+He--an atavism, a prehistoric man! No wonder his people behaved as they
+did--they were merely a docile herd of caged animals, kept complacent
+and well-fed by the keepers outside. An extinct beast, left to be tended
+until the earth reached the end of its course as a flaming speck in the
+infinite cavern of space!
+
+"You--you _must_ take me! I couldn't stand it now. How can I go back,
+knowing we're just a miserable experiment? Please--I'll go crazy!"
+
+"Even now you exhibit one of your primitive traits--pride of being a
+man. But you will adjust to life. It is as it should be."
+
+"But--"
+
+"I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do."
+
+"No, wait--I...."
+
+The two men were gone.
+
+Sethos stared. He was alone in the room. A constriction grew in his
+throat, and he felt weak. Indeed, man had changed.
+
+"Sethos?"
+
+Mr. First stood in the door.
+
+"Yes...."
+
+Now the pattern was clear. Sethos--the curious man, the genius--was
+doomed. He had lost a battle in which he never had a chance. Still, he
+had fought.
+
+But walking down the corridor with the mechanoid, he knew that no one
+lost completely. He knew that Sethos, the human, the adjusted hobbyist,
+would soon look back on this night as though it were an ordinary phase
+of life.
+
+Then, on the table, with the gently humming mechanism lowered to his
+head, the knot in his throat softened.
+
+"All yours," said Mr. First to Mr. Third.
+
+"A remarkable case," said Mr. Third. "Sometimes I wish we kept a record
+of his kind. It might be very interesting."
+
+"Someday, perhaps. When our work grows dull."
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Genius, by Con Pederson and Paul Orban
+
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