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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59243 ***
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+                             THE PACIFISTS
+
+                         BY CHARLES E. FRITCH
+
+               _Parker was a trouble maker wherever they
+               landed. But here was the planet ideal, a
+            chance he had awaited a long, long time--easy,
+                  like taking candy from a baby...._
+
+           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
+                Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1955.
+         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
+         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
+
+
+Like a lone sentinel, the house stood apart at the edge of the village,
+a white cube with no windows. The door stood open, a dark hole against
+the white brick. The house was silent. The village beyond was silent.
+
+"They must have seen us land," Compton said, a little wildly. "You
+can't set down a rocket ship a hundred yards from somebody and not have
+them notice. They must have seen us!"
+
+"Unless no one lives here," Parker amended. "This may be a ghost city."
+
+"He's right," Hinckley agreed. "There might not be anyone living here,
+or anyplace on the planet for that matter. We've found very little life
+in these alien star-systems, and it's varied from primitive to ancient.
+Perhaps this society became old and died before any of us were born."
+
+The three Earthmen stood at the base of the spaceship, their spacesuit
+headpieces thrown back so they could breathe in the cool thin air. They
+stood there peering into the deathly stillness.
+
+"I hope there are people living here," Parker said. "It's been more
+than a month now--"
+
+"Well," Hinckley said, "let's find out." He waved them forward.
+
+They were fifty feet from the house when a woman appeared in the
+doorway with a silver vase. She was dressed in a grey flowing robe that
+covered her from neck to ankles.
+
+"A young woman," Hinckley breathed, staring. "A woman just like any on
+Earth!"
+
+His voice was loud in the silence, but the woman took no notice. She
+stooped and began filling the vase with sand. The two men with Hinckley
+shifted anxiously, settling the sand beneath their boots. Behind them
+the great spaceship pointed its nose at the sky.
+
+Parker was staring intently at the girl. "I'm going to like this
+place," he said slowly.
+
+They walked forward, crunching sand. But the girl took no notice of
+their approach. She was kneeling beside the house, scooping tiny
+handfuls of sand into the silver vase. When they were within five feet
+of her, Hinckley cleared his throat. She did not look up. He coughed.
+
+"Maybe she's deaf," Parker suggested vaguely. His eyes wandered
+appraisingly over her youthful body; he licked dry lips.
+
+Hinckley moved forward and stood before the girl. Her small white hands
+dug into the sand, scooping around his boots as though not aware of
+them.
+
+"And blind, too?" Compton wanted to know. "And without the sense of
+touch?" There was a strange quality to his voice, as though some
+primitive part of his unconsciousness was telling him to run.
+
+Hinckley bent to tap the girl lightly upon the shoulder. "Pardon me,
+Miss. We're visitors from Earth," he told her.
+
+But she paid no attention to the sound of his voice, and he stepped
+back, puzzled.
+
+"Now what?" Compton wanted to know. He looked around him nervously, at
+the house, the speckled sand, the rocket squatting behind them. "I hope
+all the natives aren't like this."
+
+"I do," Parker said, licking his lips thoughtfully and keeping his gaze
+on the girl. "I'd just as soon have them all like this. It might be
+interesting."
+
+Compton flushed. "What I meant--"
+
+"He knows what you meant," Hinckley said harshly. "And there won't
+be any of that going on here. You caused enough trouble on the other
+planets, and it's not going to happen again, not while I'm in charge of
+this expedition. We didn't come all the way out here just so you could
+satisfy your romantic inclinations."
+
+"And how about my off hours, _Captain_," Parker said, emphasizing the
+word as though it were obscene; "then may I fraternize?"
+
+"You have no off hours," Hinckley said sternly.
+
+"Here comes another one," Compton warned in a whisper.
+
+A man, dressed in robes similar to the woman's, came from the door of
+the house and walked into the yard. After helping the woman to rise,
+he picked up the vase, and the two of them went back inside the house.
+He hadn't even looked at the Earthmen.
+
+After awhile, Parker said, "Do you suppose they're both mirages?"
+
+"Maybe that's it," Compton said. "Maybe it's all a mirage, the woman,
+the vase, the man, the house, maybe even the planet itself." His voice
+had risen in his excitement.
+
+"Take it easy," Hinckley advised.
+
+"Let's get back to the ship before the whole planet evaporates,"
+Compton said.
+
+"Go back if you like," Hinckley said. "I'm going to investigate this.
+How about you, Parker?"
+
+"Okay with me. Always wanted to see what makes a mirage tick." He
+glanced contemptuously at Compton.
+
+"Okay," Compton said, gripping his rifle, "we'll all make fools of
+ourselves."
+
+"C'mon, then."
+
+Hinckley led the way into the house, hesitating only briefly at the
+doorway. Inside, a blue light flickered as the man bent over a flaming
+trough and poured sand into it from the silver vase. The flames leaped
+high, filling the room with a sweet fragrance. The man emptied the
+vase, rose and took it to one corner of the room. He sat down on the
+couch by the woman. He did not look at the Earthlings.
+
+"He doesn't see us either," Compton said hoarsely. He cried, "Hey, you!
+You! Listen! We're Earthmen. Visitors from space."
+
+His voice was explosive in the silence. The man didn't look up. The
+Earthmen became aware of music seeping from the walls, music strange
+and hauntingly beautiful, played on incredible invisible instruments.
+
+"I don't like this," Compton said. "I don't like it at all. Why are
+they ignoring us? Why?"
+
+"Maybe they can't help it," Hinckley suggested. "Perhaps they actually
+can't see us or hear us. It's fantastic, but it's possible."
+
+"I wonder," Parker mused. And before anyone could stop him, he struck
+the man across the face with a doubled fist.
+
+"Parker!" Hinckley cried. "You fool!"
+
+"That's a matter of opinion," Parker said steadily, rubbing his
+knuckles. "I found out what I wanted to."
+
+The man had fallen beneath the blow, but recovered seconds later. There
+was a large red welt on his forehead, but neither he nor the woman took
+any notice of it.
+
+"It's incredible," Compton said.
+
+"Evidently we can affect them physically, even if not mentally,"
+Hinckley said. "You do something like that again, Parker, and I'll
+shoot you. I've got the authority to do it, you know, and sometimes the
+urge."
+
+"I know," Parker said, "but you haven't got the guts. Besides, I'll
+behave myself." He looked intently at the young woman. "I just wanted
+to make certain they're real, that's all."
+
+"Let's get out of here," Compton suggested. "There must be some way
+we can get a message through to these people. Perhaps someone in the
+village--"
+
+Hinckley nodded and motioned them from the house. Compton went eagerly,
+but Parker lingered. The air outside seemed cooler now, and its
+freshness seemed strange after the pleasant fragrance inside the house.
+
+"Go back to the ship," Hinckley told Parker. "Compton and I'll go into
+the village."
+
+"I like it right here," Parker said.
+
+"We might need someone at the ship," Hinckley said. "That's an order."
+His hand caressed his rifle, as though daring Parker to refuse.
+
+Parker grinned contemptuously. "Anything you say, _Captain_. If you
+need any help, just yell." He turned away and walked toward the rocket.
+
+"Someday I'm going to kill him," Hinckley promised. He turned to
+Compton. "C'mon, let's see what the village looks like."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The village was a replica of the first hut, multiplied. Some of the
+huts seemed to have specialized purposes as stores or warehouses, but
+otherwise it was the same. People sat in the houses, listening to
+music or watching moving pictures swarm over their hut walls. Some
+occasionally ventured into the street. All of them ignored the Earthmen.
+
+"I don't know what to make of it," Hinckley said finally. "We can touch
+them and hear them; they appear normal in all respects, but they seem
+to be operating on a different level of existence."
+
+"I don't pretend to understand it," Compton said, "but I have a feeling
+I don't like, whenever I think about it. I'd rather meet bug-eyed
+monsters than this."
+
+"I know what you mean," Hinckley said. "These people even though
+they're humanoid, are out of contact with reality--at least with
+reality as we know it. It's like some kind of mass hypnosis, with
+everyone in a trance except us."
+
+"Think of how helpless these people would be," Compton said. "When we
+turn in our report, those who come out here with unhealthy designs
+won't have any opposition."
+
+"We have a prime example of that on board," Hinckley said disgustedly.
+"We'd better get back to the ship; I don't like to leave Parker alone;
+there's no telling what he'll do."
+
+When they got back Parker wasn't there.
+
+"I was afraid of this," Hinckley said between clenched teeth.
+
+"Maybe they've done something to him," Compton suggested nervously.
+
+"That's too much to hope for. Chances are, it's the other way around.
+If I know Parker, there's only one place he'll be. C'mon."
+
+Clutching his rifle, Hinckley ran from the rocket. Compton followed, a
+bit more cautiously.
+
+Hinckley reached the lone house and peered into the bluelit gloom. He
+entered, gun ready, Compton at his heels.
+
+"He's not here," Hinckley said, surprised.
+
+The man and the young woman sat on the couch and casually watched
+pictures move across the far wall. Hinckley, looking at the pictures,
+was not at all certain they weren't the reality and the natives of this
+place merely ghost images that might fade at any moment.
+
+On the wall an empire was being formed. Tall buildings were raised
+by machinery that was unfamiliar to the Earthmen. Aircraft flitted
+across the sky like strange black birds. The buildings towered, the
+flying machines dove, spitting needles that exploded into blossoms
+of fire, and the buildings toppled into dust. People ran, screaming
+soundless screams. Columns of smoke rose to replace the buildings. The
+scene shifted. Great weapons were assembled and heaped carelessly. To
+the heap were added the skycraft and other weapons of war. The pile
+exploded, and the people rejoiced, clasping hands, dancing. The walls
+darkened.
+
+Actual or symbolic? Hinckley wondered.
+
+"What does it mean?" Compton asked him.
+
+"I think," Hinckley said, "we've just been given a short history of
+their race. They built up a great society here, but a warring one.
+Finally, they outlawed all weapons in order to save themselves from
+total destruction. We could probably take a lesson from that."
+
+"They'll probably be worse off when the Earthmen come here," Compton
+said. "Even if they could see and hear us, they wouldn't have any
+weapons left to defend themselves. We could loot and rape and--"
+
+"I think we'd better forget this planet exists," Hinckley said slowly.
+"If we don't report it, no one'll ever know. It's one planet in a
+million planets. If we say it's empty, they'll believe it and never
+bother to check."
+
+"But what about Parker?"
+
+"Yes," Hinckley said in a disturbed tone. "Parker. We've got to find
+him before he does anything he shouldn't. He must be in one of the
+huts. C'mon. You take one side of the village, I'll take the other.
+When we find him, we'll blast off."
+
+But they didn't find him. They searched through all the buildings,
+peered into all the faces.
+
+"I don't like it," Compton said when they met. "The people may be
+helpless, but that doesn't mean everything on the planet is. We've got
+to get out of here while we've got the chance."
+
+"Take it easy," Hinckley advised. "We can't leave without Parker. He's
+probably hiding someplace."
+
+"Hiding?"
+
+"Hoping we'll take off and leave him alone here. He'd be perfectly
+safe. He could take anything he wanted--food, drink, anything--and
+these people couldn't raise a finger to stop him; they wouldn't even
+know he was here, most likely. If I know Parker that's what he'd want.
+He wouldn't care about the people as long as he satisfied himself."
+
+"We'll never find him," Compton said. "There's a forest beyond the
+village. If he got into that, we could search for months and not find
+him."
+
+Hinckley shrugged. "We've got to try."
+
+Night came before they returned to the rocket.
+
+Hinckley shook his head in the gathering darkness. "He could be
+anyplace out there, damn him."
+
+"Let's get out of here," Compton suggested again. "Leave him here, if
+that's what he wants. Let him do what he wants here; what difference
+does it make if the natives don't know what's happening?"
+
+Hinckley's look was cold. "We'll wait until morning," he said. "If he
+isn't back by then, we'll leave."
+
+But the next morning, the rays of the alien sun found the white
+squatting houses silent; Parker had not returned.
+
+Hinckley turned on the outer loudspeaker. "Parker," he said. The words
+crashed across the still village. "Parker, this is Hinckley. We're
+blasting off in five minutes. If you're not aboard, we're leaving
+without you."
+
+After a few minutes, Compton said, "He's not coming. He's probably
+dead, and so will we be if we wait long enough."
+
+"More likely, he's ignoring us," Hinckley said, consulting his watch.
+"He's got two minutes more."
+
+Two minutes later, Compton said, "Time's up."
+
+Hinckley nodded. He switched on the rocket motors. Deep within the
+spaceship a turbine growled; the growl rose to a whine.
+
+"I still don't like to leave him there. Even though they don't know
+what's happening to them, I feel sorry for those people out there." He
+switched on the loudspeaker again. "Parker," he said over it. "Last
+chance. We're blasting off."
+
+"He's not coming," Compton said shrilly, "he's not coming."
+
+Hinckley touched a button. Flaming rockets drove their fire in to the
+ground. The great spaceship shuddered, rose on a column of flame.
+
+"At last," Compton sighed. "At last."
+
+"We'll have to come back, though," Hinckley said. "I knew we'd have to
+turn in a report, and now I know we'll have to come back here to find
+Parker, to jail him as a deserter, and perhaps worse. I hate to think
+of what'll happen to those people down there when the Earthmen come."
+
+They looked into a viewscreen. Below them, the planet dwindled and
+became nothing.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+From the edge of the forest, Parker watched the spaceship rise into
+the sky and disappear. He chuckled contentedly. He had won the game of
+hide-and-seek, and the planet was his prize. Earthmen always took what
+they could from newly discovered planets, only this time _he_ would
+have first choice well ahead of any others. It would be months before
+an Earth ship would arrive. But he could last that long easily. Longer
+if necessary. During that time he could make up some story to account
+for his absence. They'd have to prove him a liar, and that would be
+difficult. Any story he made up would certainly be no less fantastic
+than this planet certainly was.
+
+Meanwhile, there were things to do.
+
+He took off his cumbersome spacesuit and left it in a clearing in the
+forest; he wouldn't need that for awhile, and it would only hamper
+him. He was in no mood to be delayed. There were a great many things
+to do, but first there was one special thing to do. There was a girl,
+he remembered, a young woman in a small hut at the other end of the
+village. He licked his lips in anticipation. There was a man with her,
+but there was nothing he could do--nothing at all. Parker laughed
+loudly into the silence and trotted down the street.
+
+When he reached the other end of the village, he walked eagerly into
+the house. The girl sat on the couch. The man stood nearby. The walls
+were unmoving and the blue fire cast a cold light about the room.
+The Earthman sat down beside the girl, and his hands reached out,
+unhesitating.
+
+But suddenly the man said something in an alien tongue, a sound that
+was like a whiplash, angry and bitter.
+
+Parker felt his throat tighten. "What?" he said. "What?"
+
+He looked up into eyes alive with hate. No, that was impossible. It
+was only imagination. Only imagination, yet for a moment--he laughed
+guiltily--he'd thought the man was looking directly at him.
+
+Furiously, angry at himself, Parker forced the thought from his mind.
+He reached once more for the girl, but she shrank from his touch and
+leaped up. The Earthman followed her movement with startled, puzzled
+eyes, and then his bewilderment changed to a fear that held him with
+cold fingers.
+
+The man had taken a long silver knife from beneath his robe, and he
+held it in his hands so that its blade reflected the cold blue fire.
+His face was a mask, not pleasant to see. And he was looking at the
+Earthman, seeing him, watching him, hating him.
+
+A sudden flash of understanding came. These people had known all the
+time. They stayed indoors in dim light to enhance the illusion and
+watch with greater secrecy, so that the movement of eyes would not
+betray them--and they had waited. For what?
+
+Parker leaped up with a hoarse cry and ran, not waiting to find out.
+He was in the doorway when the silver knife caught him and slid easily
+between his ribs and released the breath of life that lay hidden there.
+Before he struck the ground, he was a shell, with neither fear nor
+desire to trouble him.
+
+For a long moment afterward, the man stood over the still body, looking
+down at it with a mixture of hate and disgust. The girl joined him. He
+looked at her and then at the sky.
+
+"We must learn to make weapons again," he told her. "These creatures
+will be back, unsuspecting, thinking us helpless. Next time, we must be
+ready!"
+
+Without ceremony, they buried the Earthman's body and then met others
+of their kind coming into the village streets. There was work to do.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Pacifists, by Charles E. Fritch
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59243 ***
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Pacifists, by Charles E. Fritch
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+<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59243 ***</div>
 
 
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@@ -556,377 +519,7 @@ of their kind coming into the village streets. There was work to do.</p>
 
 
 
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+<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59243 ***</div>
 
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Pacifists, by Charles E. Fritch
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world 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.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll
-have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using
-this ebook.
-
-
-
-Title: The Pacifists
-
-Author: Charles E. Fritch
-
-Release Date: April 10, 2019 [EBook #59243]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ASCII
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PACIFISTS ***
-
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-
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-Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
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-
-                             THE PACIFISTS
-
-                         BY CHARLES E. FRITCH
-
-               _Parker was a trouble maker wherever they
-               landed. But here was the planet ideal, a
-            chance he had awaited a long, long time--easy,
-                  like taking candy from a baby...._
-
-           [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
-                Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1955.
-         Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
-         the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
-
-
-Like a lone sentinel, the house stood apart at the edge of the village,
-a white cube with no windows. The door stood open, a dark hole against
-the white brick. The house was silent. The village beyond was silent.
-
-"They must have seen us land," Compton said, a little wildly. "You
-can't set down a rocket ship a hundred yards from somebody and not have
-them notice. They must have seen us!"
-
-"Unless no one lives here," Parker amended. "This may be a ghost city."
-
-"He's right," Hinckley agreed. "There might not be anyone living here,
-or anyplace on the planet for that matter. We've found very little life
-in these alien star-systems, and it's varied from primitive to ancient.
-Perhaps this society became old and died before any of us were born."
-
-The three Earthmen stood at the base of the spaceship, their spacesuit
-headpieces thrown back so they could breathe in the cool thin air. They
-stood there peering into the deathly stillness.
-
-"I hope there are people living here," Parker said. "It's been more
-than a month now--"
-
-"Well," Hinckley said, "let's find out." He waved them forward.
-
-They were fifty feet from the house when a woman appeared in the
-doorway with a silver vase. She was dressed in a grey flowing robe that
-covered her from neck to ankles.
-
-"A young woman," Hinckley breathed, staring. "A woman just like any on
-Earth!"
-
-His voice was loud in the silence, but the woman took no notice. She
-stooped and began filling the vase with sand. The two men with Hinckley
-shifted anxiously, settling the sand beneath their boots. Behind them
-the great spaceship pointed its nose at the sky.
-
-Parker was staring intently at the girl. "I'm going to like this
-place," he said slowly.
-
-They walked forward, crunching sand. But the girl took no notice of
-their approach. She was kneeling beside the house, scooping tiny
-handfuls of sand into the silver vase. When they were within five feet
-of her, Hinckley cleared his throat. She did not look up. He coughed.
-
-"Maybe she's deaf," Parker suggested vaguely. His eyes wandered
-appraisingly over her youthful body; he licked dry lips.
-
-Hinckley moved forward and stood before the girl. Her small white hands
-dug into the sand, scooping around his boots as though not aware of
-them.
-
-"And blind, too?" Compton wanted to know. "And without the sense of
-touch?" There was a strange quality to his voice, as though some
-primitive part of his unconsciousness was telling him to run.
-
-Hinckley bent to tap the girl lightly upon the shoulder. "Pardon me,
-Miss. We're visitors from Earth," he told her.
-
-But she paid no attention to the sound of his voice, and he stepped
-back, puzzled.
-
-"Now what?" Compton wanted to know. He looked around him nervously, at
-the house, the speckled sand, the rocket squatting behind them. "I hope
-all the natives aren't like this."
-
-"I do," Parker said, licking his lips thoughtfully and keeping his gaze
-on the girl. "I'd just as soon have them all like this. It might be
-interesting."
-
-Compton flushed. "What I meant--"
-
-"He knows what you meant," Hinckley said harshly. "And there won't
-be any of that going on here. You caused enough trouble on the other
-planets, and it's not going to happen again, not while I'm in charge of
-this expedition. We didn't come all the way out here just so you could
-satisfy your romantic inclinations."
-
-"And how about my off hours, _Captain_," Parker said, emphasizing the
-word as though it were obscene; "then may I fraternize?"
-
-"You have no off hours," Hinckley said sternly.
-
-"Here comes another one," Compton warned in a whisper.
-
-A man, dressed in robes similar to the woman's, came from the door of
-the house and walked into the yard. After helping the woman to rise,
-he picked up the vase, and the two of them went back inside the house.
-He hadn't even looked at the Earthmen.
-
-After awhile, Parker said, "Do you suppose they're both mirages?"
-
-"Maybe that's it," Compton said. "Maybe it's all a mirage, the woman,
-the vase, the man, the house, maybe even the planet itself." His voice
-had risen in his excitement.
-
-"Take it easy," Hinckley advised.
-
-"Let's get back to the ship before the whole planet evaporates,"
-Compton said.
-
-"Go back if you like," Hinckley said. "I'm going to investigate this.
-How about you, Parker?"
-
-"Okay with me. Always wanted to see what makes a mirage tick." He
-glanced contemptuously at Compton.
-
-"Okay," Compton said, gripping his rifle, "we'll all make fools of
-ourselves."
-
-"C'mon, then."
-
-Hinckley led the way into the house, hesitating only briefly at the
-doorway. Inside, a blue light flickered as the man bent over a flaming
-trough and poured sand into it from the silver vase. The flames leaped
-high, filling the room with a sweet fragrance. The man emptied the
-vase, rose and took it to one corner of the room. He sat down on the
-couch by the woman. He did not look at the Earthlings.
-
-"He doesn't see us either," Compton said hoarsely. He cried, "Hey, you!
-You! Listen! We're Earthmen. Visitors from space."
-
-His voice was explosive in the silence. The man didn't look up. The
-Earthmen became aware of music seeping from the walls, music strange
-and hauntingly beautiful, played on incredible invisible instruments.
-
-"I don't like this," Compton said. "I don't like it at all. Why are
-they ignoring us? Why?"
-
-"Maybe they can't help it," Hinckley suggested. "Perhaps they actually
-can't see us or hear us. It's fantastic, but it's possible."
-
-"I wonder," Parker mused. And before anyone could stop him, he struck
-the man across the face with a doubled fist.
-
-"Parker!" Hinckley cried. "You fool!"
-
-"That's a matter of opinion," Parker said steadily, rubbing his
-knuckles. "I found out what I wanted to."
-
-The man had fallen beneath the blow, but recovered seconds later. There
-was a large red welt on his forehead, but neither he nor the woman took
-any notice of it.
-
-"It's incredible," Compton said.
-
-"Evidently we can affect them physically, even if not mentally,"
-Hinckley said. "You do something like that again, Parker, and I'll
-shoot you. I've got the authority to do it, you know, and sometimes the
-urge."
-
-"I know," Parker said, "but you haven't got the guts. Besides, I'll
-behave myself." He looked intently at the young woman. "I just wanted
-to make certain they're real, that's all."
-
-"Let's get out of here," Compton suggested. "There must be some way
-we can get a message through to these people. Perhaps someone in the
-village--"
-
-Hinckley nodded and motioned them from the house. Compton went eagerly,
-but Parker lingered. The air outside seemed cooler now, and its
-freshness seemed strange after the pleasant fragrance inside the house.
-
-"Go back to the ship," Hinckley told Parker. "Compton and I'll go into
-the village."
-
-"I like it right here," Parker said.
-
-"We might need someone at the ship," Hinckley said. "That's an order."
-His hand caressed his rifle, as though daring Parker to refuse.
-
-Parker grinned contemptuously. "Anything you say, _Captain_. If you
-need any help, just yell." He turned away and walked toward the rocket.
-
-"Someday I'm going to kill him," Hinckley promised. He turned to
-Compton. "C'mon, let's see what the village looks like."
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The village was a replica of the first hut, multiplied. Some of the
-huts seemed to have specialized purposes as stores or warehouses, but
-otherwise it was the same. People sat in the houses, listening to
-music or watching moving pictures swarm over their hut walls. Some
-occasionally ventured into the street. All of them ignored the Earthmen.
-
-"I don't know what to make of it," Hinckley said finally. "We can touch
-them and hear them; they appear normal in all respects, but they seem
-to be operating on a different level of existence."
-
-"I don't pretend to understand it," Compton said, "but I have a feeling
-I don't like, whenever I think about it. I'd rather meet bug-eyed
-monsters than this."
-
-"I know what you mean," Hinckley said. "These people even though
-they're humanoid, are out of contact with reality--at least with
-reality as we know it. It's like some kind of mass hypnosis, with
-everyone in a trance except us."
-
-"Think of how helpless these people would be," Compton said. "When we
-turn in our report, those who come out here with unhealthy designs
-won't have any opposition."
-
-"We have a prime example of that on board," Hinckley said disgustedly.
-"We'd better get back to the ship; I don't like to leave Parker alone;
-there's no telling what he'll do."
-
-When they got back Parker wasn't there.
-
-"I was afraid of this," Hinckley said between clenched teeth.
-
-"Maybe they've done something to him," Compton suggested nervously.
-
-"That's too much to hope for. Chances are, it's the other way around.
-If I know Parker, there's only one place he'll be. C'mon."
-
-Clutching his rifle, Hinckley ran from the rocket. Compton followed, a
-bit more cautiously.
-
-Hinckley reached the lone house and peered into the bluelit gloom. He
-entered, gun ready, Compton at his heels.
-
-"He's not here," Hinckley said, surprised.
-
-The man and the young woman sat on the couch and casually watched
-pictures move across the far wall. Hinckley, looking at the pictures,
-was not at all certain they weren't the reality and the natives of this
-place merely ghost images that might fade at any moment.
-
-On the wall an empire was being formed. Tall buildings were raised
-by machinery that was unfamiliar to the Earthmen. Aircraft flitted
-across the sky like strange black birds. The buildings towered, the
-flying machines dove, spitting needles that exploded into blossoms
-of fire, and the buildings toppled into dust. People ran, screaming
-soundless screams. Columns of smoke rose to replace the buildings. The
-scene shifted. Great weapons were assembled and heaped carelessly. To
-the heap were added the skycraft and other weapons of war. The pile
-exploded, and the people rejoiced, clasping hands, dancing. The walls
-darkened.
-
-Actual or symbolic? Hinckley wondered.
-
-"What does it mean?" Compton asked him.
-
-"I think," Hinckley said, "we've just been given a short history of
-their race. They built up a great society here, but a warring one.
-Finally, they outlawed all weapons in order to save themselves from
-total destruction. We could probably take a lesson from that."
-
-"They'll probably be worse off when the Earthmen come here," Compton
-said. "Even if they could see and hear us, they wouldn't have any
-weapons left to defend themselves. We could loot and rape and--"
-
-"I think we'd better forget this planet exists," Hinckley said slowly.
-"If we don't report it, no one'll ever know. It's one planet in a
-million planets. If we say it's empty, they'll believe it and never
-bother to check."
-
-"But what about Parker?"
-
-"Yes," Hinckley said in a disturbed tone. "Parker. We've got to find
-him before he does anything he shouldn't. He must be in one of the
-huts. C'mon. You take one side of the village, I'll take the other.
-When we find him, we'll blast off."
-
-But they didn't find him. They searched through all the buildings,
-peered into all the faces.
-
-"I don't like it," Compton said when they met. "The people may be
-helpless, but that doesn't mean everything on the planet is. We've got
-to get out of here while we've got the chance."
-
-"Take it easy," Hinckley advised. "We can't leave without Parker. He's
-probably hiding someplace."
-
-"Hiding?"
-
-"Hoping we'll take off and leave him alone here. He'd be perfectly
-safe. He could take anything he wanted--food, drink, anything--and
-these people couldn't raise a finger to stop him; they wouldn't even
-know he was here, most likely. If I know Parker that's what he'd want.
-He wouldn't care about the people as long as he satisfied himself."
-
-"We'll never find him," Compton said. "There's a forest beyond the
-village. If he got into that, we could search for months and not find
-him."
-
-Hinckley shrugged. "We've got to try."
-
-Night came before they returned to the rocket.
-
-Hinckley shook his head in the gathering darkness. "He could be
-anyplace out there, damn him."
-
-"Let's get out of here," Compton suggested again. "Leave him here, if
-that's what he wants. Let him do what he wants here; what difference
-does it make if the natives don't know what's happening?"
-
-Hinckley's look was cold. "We'll wait until morning," he said. "If he
-isn't back by then, we'll leave."
-
-But the next morning, the rays of the alien sun found the white
-squatting houses silent; Parker had not returned.
-
-Hinckley turned on the outer loudspeaker. "Parker," he said. The words
-crashed across the still village. "Parker, this is Hinckley. We're
-blasting off in five minutes. If you're not aboard, we're leaving
-without you."
-
-After a few minutes, Compton said, "He's not coming. He's probably
-dead, and so will we be if we wait long enough."
-
-"More likely, he's ignoring us," Hinckley said, consulting his watch.
-"He's got two minutes more."
-
-Two minutes later, Compton said, "Time's up."
-
-Hinckley nodded. He switched on the rocket motors. Deep within the
-spaceship a turbine growled; the growl rose to a whine.
-
-"I still don't like to leave him there. Even though they don't know
-what's happening to them, I feel sorry for those people out there." He
-switched on the loudspeaker again. "Parker," he said over it. "Last
-chance. We're blasting off."
-
-"He's not coming," Compton said shrilly, "he's not coming."
-
-Hinckley touched a button. Flaming rockets drove their fire in to the
-ground. The great spaceship shuddered, rose on a column of flame.
-
-"At last," Compton sighed. "At last."
-
-"We'll have to come back, though," Hinckley said. "I knew we'd have to
-turn in a report, and now I know we'll have to come back here to find
-Parker, to jail him as a deserter, and perhaps worse. I hate to think
-of what'll happen to those people down there when the Earthmen come."
-
-They looked into a viewscreen. Below them, the planet dwindled and
-became nothing.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-From the edge of the forest, Parker watched the spaceship rise into
-the sky and disappear. He chuckled contentedly. He had won the game of
-hide-and-seek, and the planet was his prize. Earthmen always took what
-they could from newly discovered planets, only this time _he_ would
-have first choice well ahead of any others. It would be months before
-an Earth ship would arrive. But he could last that long easily. Longer
-if necessary. During that time he could make up some story to account
-for his absence. They'd have to prove him a liar, and that would be
-difficult. Any story he made up would certainly be no less fantastic
-than this planet certainly was.
-
-Meanwhile, there were things to do.
-
-He took off his cumbersome spacesuit and left it in a clearing in the
-forest; he wouldn't need that for awhile, and it would only hamper
-him. He was in no mood to be delayed. There were a great many things
-to do, but first there was one special thing to do. There was a girl,
-he remembered, a young woman in a small hut at the other end of the
-village. He licked his lips in anticipation. There was a man with her,
-but there was nothing he could do--nothing at all. Parker laughed
-loudly into the silence and trotted down the street.
-
-When he reached the other end of the village, he walked eagerly into
-the house. The girl sat on the couch. The man stood nearby. The walls
-were unmoving and the blue fire cast a cold light about the room.
-The Earthman sat down beside the girl, and his hands reached out,
-unhesitating.
-
-But suddenly the man said something in an alien tongue, a sound that
-was like a whiplash, angry and bitter.
-
-Parker felt his throat tighten. "What?" he said. "What?"
-
-He looked up into eyes alive with hate. No, that was impossible. It
-was only imagination. Only imagination, yet for a moment--he laughed
-guiltily--he'd thought the man was looking directly at him.
-
-Furiously, angry at himself, Parker forced the thought from his mind.
-He reached once more for the girl, but she shrank from his touch and
-leaped up. The Earthman followed her movement with startled, puzzled
-eyes, and then his bewilderment changed to a fear that held him with
-cold fingers.
-
-The man had taken a long silver knife from beneath his robe, and he
-held it in his hands so that its blade reflected the cold blue fire.
-His face was a mask, not pleasant to see. And he was looking at the
-Earthman, seeing him, watching him, hating him.
-
-A sudden flash of understanding came. These people had known all the
-time. They stayed indoors in dim light to enhance the illusion and
-watch with greater secrecy, so that the movement of eyes would not
-betray them--and they had waited. For what?
-
-Parker leaped up with a hoarse cry and ran, not waiting to find out.
-He was in the doorway when the silver knife caught him and slid easily
-between his ribs and released the breath of life that lay hidden there.
-Before he struck the ground, he was a shell, with neither fear nor
-desire to trouble him.
-
-For a long moment afterward, the man stood over the still body, looking
-down at it with a mixture of hate and disgust. The girl joined him. He
-looked at her and then at the sky.
-
-"We must learn to make weapons again," he told her. "These creatures
-will be back, unsuspecting, thinking us helpless. Next time, we must be
-ready!"
-
-Without ceremony, they buried the Earthman's body and then met others
-of their kind coming into the village streets. There was work to do.
-
-
-
-
-
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