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diff --git a/59438-0.txt b/59438-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..de1dcb8 --- /dev/null +++ b/59438-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1816 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59438 *** + + + + + + + + + + + + + AVOIDANCE SITUATION + + BY JAMES MC CONNELL + + _What can a man do when he alone + must decide the fate of Earth and all + its people--and when the choices + offered him are slavery and death...._ + + [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from + Worlds of If Science Fiction, February 1956. + Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that + the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] + + +Captain Allen Hawkins stood quietly in the observation room of the +_Sunward_ looking out at subspace. He was a medium-sized man with a +trim squareness to him that suggested he had been in the military most +of his life. He had a good deal of gold on his sleeve and a good deal +of silver in his hair, and he had discovered in his many years in the +Space Navy that the two usually went hand in hand. In the background he +could hear the noise and ordered confusion of the ship's bridge. But +at the moment he paid it little attention, concentrating instead on the +observation window. + +It was not the first time that he had stood thus, gazing at whatever +lay beyond the shell of the ship. Almost every time he had put the +_Sunward_ through the dark shadow of subspace, he had deserted the +bridge for at least a few moments to come and stare out the window. + +"God," he said out loud, repressing a shiver that wanted to crawl down +his spine. + +"Perhaps 'God forsaken' would be a better description," came a voice +from behind him. + +The voice belonged to Dr. J. L. Broussard, the _Sunward's_ senior +psychologist. And although the two men were on more than casually +friendly terms, Hawkins didn't turn to greet him. The fascination of +the observation port seemed to obviate the normal requirements of +courtesy. "At times like this I think you're right. 'God forsaken.' +That's just what it is," Hawkins said. "Completely black, completely +empty. You know, it frightens me every time we make the jump through +it." + +A voice from the bridge called out, "Twelve minutes until zero. No +noticeable deviations, Captain." + +"Very well," Hawkins said loudly enough to be heard on the bridge. + +"Perhaps it frightens all of us just a little," said Broussard. He +leaned his oversized body against the observation room wall. His big, +mild face had a relaxed look to it. "I wonder why it affects us that +way," he added almost as if it were a casual afterthought, but his eyes +had a too-shrewd look to them. + +"You're the psychologist. You tell me why," Hawkins said. He paused for +just a moment, expecting Broussard to reply. But after a few seconds +when the man gave him no conversational support, Hawkins continued. +"For my part, I guess it frightens me because--well, because a man +seems to get lost out there. In normal space there are always stars +around, no matter how distant they may be, and you feel that you've got +direction and location. In subspace, all you've got is nothing--and +one hell of a lot of that." He pushed his cap back until it perched +comfortably on the rear of his head. "It's incredible when you stop +to think about it. An area--an opening as big as the whole of our +universe, big enough to pack every galaxy we've ever seen in it and +still have lots of room left over. All that space--and not a single +atom of matter in it anywhere." Captain Hawkins shook his grayed head +in wonder. "At least," he went on. "Not a single atom in it until we +came barging in to use it as a short cut across our own universe." + +The man on the bridge called out, "Ten minutes until zero. No +noticeable deviations, Captain." + +"Very well," Hawkins answered. + +Broussard shifted his considerable weight into a more comfortable +position. "You feel rather strongly about this, don't you?" + +"That I do," said Hawkins. As much as he enjoyed an occasional +conversation with the psychologist, Broussard's questions often got on +his nerves. + +"Don't you think it's better we discovered subspace than if we were +still back trying to beat the speed of light in our own universe?" +Broussard asked him. + +"Oh, stop looking for a dangling neurosis somewhere, Broussard," +Hawkins said, managing a smile. "You know quite well that I've got +absolutely nothing at all against the use of subspace for 'rapid +transportation,' so to speak. It's just that I'm the sort of man who +likes to know where he's going _all_ the time. And out here, in this +stuff, you lose your sense of direction. There's no up, no down, no in +between. It took spacemen a long time to get accustomed to the wild +freedom they found out in the middle of normal space. But at least +there you could always head for a star if you got lost. Out here ..." +He gestured futilely towards the blackness staring in at them from the +window. They stood silently contemplating it for several moments. + +"Eight minutes until zero. No noticeable deviations, Captain," came the +voice from the bridge again. + +"Very well," Captain Hawkins replied, breaking the brief silence +between the two men. Then he went on, "Broussard, have you ever been +out there in that stuff? Oh, I don't mean like now, in a ship or a +rescue craft. I mean in a spacesuit, all by yourself." + +The psychologist shook his head. "No, I never have." He paused for just +a second, then added, "What's it really like?" + +There were times, Hawkins thought, when even the phrasing of a simple +question on Broussard's part carried a slight sting. But like the +brief pain that accompanies the probing point of a hypodermic needle, +the tiny barbs contained in the man's questions were soon forgotten. +Hawkins smiled. "It's my own private guess of what hell will turn out +to be. 'God forsaken,' did we say? That's just about it. We stopped to +repair a ship once, and some of us had to go outside to work on it. I +guess I was out there for less than three hours--no more than that. And +yet I was almost a madman by the time they hauled me back inside. I +can't explain why." His voice trailed off into nothingness. "I guess it +was just the blackness that did it." + +"Six minutes until zero. No noticeable deviations, Captain." + +"Very well." For the first time Hawkins turned to face the +psychologist. "During my training at the Academy they locked me up in a +closet once, just as a joke. I was without light for hours, but it was +nothing like that out there. You should know, Broussard. Why does it +look so much blacker in that window now than any other black I've ever +seen?" + +Broussard looked the man over carefully before answering, wondering +just exactly what sort of reply might be called for. "I think the +reason is that you've got close to optimum conditions for it here in +the observatory," he said momentarily. "You always get the blackest +shade of black inside a ring of white light. Look at the window." +Hawkins turned to do as directed. "There you've got a white frame +surrounding the complete absence of light. That's just about as good as +you can get. No wonder it looks so black to you." + +Hawkins shook his head, not so much in disbelief as in wonder. + +"As a matter of fact," the psychologist continued almost in a hurry. +"If you stayed out in subspace all by yourself, with no ship near you +and no light of your own, after a while it wouldn't seem black to you +at all. You'd get cortical adaptation, and things would just look gray. +And not too long after that, you'd stop 'seeing' entirely, as we think +of seeing. Or, as a friend of mine once said, under those conditions +you'd 'see' as much with your elbows as you would with your eyes. +Funny, isn't it? We usually think of black as being the absence of +light. And yet, in order to 'see' black, we've got to have at least a +little light around every once in a while." + +The watchman on the bridge droned out the time again. "Four minutes +until zero. No noticeable deviations, Captain." + +Allen Hawkins gave a large sigh, then readjusted the cap on his head. +He had the feeling that Broussard's little lecture on science, while +factually accurate, was delivered more to obscure the facts than to +illuminate. "I'd better get to the bridge now, Broussard. Not that they +really need me, but ..." He left the sentence dangling, then turned and +walked briskly out of the observation room. + + * * * * * + +Once in the control room, he gave the dials and the illuminated screens +a rapid, practiced glance and then sat down in his chair to one side +of the operations panel. There was actually no known danger to this +shifting back and forth from one space to another. No ship had ever +encountered any difficulties whatsoever in doing so; there had never +been an accident of any kind during transition. The whole thing was +as completely automatic as man could make it, and apparently entirely +safe. But still Hawkins had never made the shift one way or another +without feeling a telltale tightening of muscles deep inside him, and +without wondering just what would happen if they got _stuck_ in all +that darkness. + +"One minute, Captain," the watch officer reminded him. Hawkins nodded +in reply, his face illuminated by the flashing lights on the control +panel in front of him. He watched their changing signals calmly with +knowing eyes. + +"Thirty seconds ... all drives off," sang out a voice. The hands on the +clock crept slowly around the dial. + +"Zero...." + +There was no sound, no feeling, no jerk nor jar, no noise to mark the +transition--nothing at all different from the moment before except a +slight increase in the total light flux in the room. + +_Stars._ + +Captain Allen Hawkins smiled softly to himself. Stars ... something to +cling to, he whispered under his breath. + +"Bridge from Navigation," came a voice close to his ear. + +"Go ahead, Navigation," he said after pressing the communications +button. + +"Looks like we hit it right on the nose, Captain," the Navigator told +him. "Can't tell just yet, of course, until I feed the positions of the +nearest stars into Betsy and she decides where we are. But it looks +good from here, and if I'm right, the one we're hunting for is about +eight o'clock high from the nose of the ship as she sits now. I'll +plot a course there right now. Do you want to wait until Betsy decides +that's the one, or shall we take a chance and head for it first?" + +The Navigator always asked the question, but he knew what the answer +would be. "We'll start just as soon as you can give us the course," +Hawkins replied. + +"Aye, aye, Captain," the Navigator replied. + +Hawkins turned to the officer on duty. "Mr. Smith, you will remain as +you are until you receive the course from the Navigator. Once you have +it, you will get underway immediately." + +"Aye, aye, Captain," Smith replied. + +"I'll be in my cabin if you want me," Hawkins said as he left the +bridge. He was rather tired and he meant to go straight to bed, but +somehow he found himself stopping by the observation room en route. +Broussard was still there, looking out of the window at the stars. + +"Lovely, aren't they, Broussard?" Hawkins said. + +"So you feel the stars are lovely?" the psychologist answered slowly. + +"Yes, I do. They give us light, and hope for the future, and more than +that, a frame of reference when we fly through the dark reaches of our +universe. They're more than beautiful--they're necessary." As he turned +to leave, Hawkins chuckled to himself. Just let the head-shrinker try +to read a neurosis into that! + + * * * * * + +It took them three weeks from the day they arrived back in normal space +to make sure that they had found a sun with planets, and another three +weeks from then to make landfall on the second of the four satellites +this particular solar system had to offer. Almost from the very +beginning they were elated with their luck, for the planet seemed to be +a first class find. The _Sunward_ and her crew had been exploring this +section of space for more than six years, and out of the thirty-eight +systems they had investigated, this was the first that offered any +promise of eventual human habitation. + +Man had been in space less then one hundred years. At first he had +thrown himself towards the stars with crude rocket-driven craft. A +few years later he had invented a type of atomic drive which allowed +him to approach the speed of light. But it was the discovery of the +subspace technique of travel which had theoretically given him the +whole universe to live in. There were drawbacks, however, and they +were important ones. To tear himself from the matrix of normal space +he still needed huge machines, and probably always would. This meant +the building of exceedingly large space vessels, like the _Sunward_, +which could contain not only the equipment necessary to propel him into +the blackness of subspace, but which also could be equipped with the +mammoth control mechanisms necessary to regulate the change-over. The +switch to subspace could never be made near the surface of a planet, +for the field forces generated during the change had far-flung effects +and were quite capable, even under tightest control, of tearing loose a +huge chunk of a planet and dropping it into subspace with the ship. Big +ships meant big money, and even now there were fewer than a thousand +of the large exploration craft in operation. Each ship could average +fewer than ten new worlds a year. So while man had taken a lease on the +universe, it seemed that at his present rate of exploration a great +many centuries would pass before he finished the charting of even the +stars in his own back yard. + +But if at times he became discouraged at the immensity of the task, +there were always moments of great joy which helped to spur a man on. + +The men of the _Sunward_ named the new star Clarion, and the habitable +planet they called Trellis. It was the second of three large and one +very small planets which circled Clarion. The _Sunward_ spent more +than two weeks circling over Trellis, making maps and checking the +atmosphere. Then the council of scientists on board picked a landing +site and Captain Hawkins brought the ship down on the spot they had +chosen. Exactly twenty-seven days from the hour they landed, the +council voted unanimously that Trellis was safe for human habitation, +and Allen Hawkins gave the orders to have the hatches opened to the +Trellian air. + +The Captain, as was customary, was the first man to set foot on the +soil. He led the brief ceremonies that claimed the world as Earth's own +and then planted the Terran flag. He also took the customary measure of +declaring it a ship's holiday, and even threw out the first baseball +when the inevitable game started up later in the afternoon. But he +didn't stay to watch, preferring to stroll around the landscape by +himself for a little while. + +He had been walking for a little more than an hour, traveling in a +wide circle around the ship, when he came upon Dr. Broussard, sitting +quietly under a shady tree, a book in one hand and a container of beer +in the other. The beer looked good and cold, and the shade looked +comfortable. "Mind if I join you?" Hawkins asked, and since he was +Captain of the ship, scarcely waited for an invitation before he sat +down and opened himself a beer. It tasted as good as it had looked, and +Hawkins soon found himself in an expansive mood. "Tell me, Broussard," +he said good-naturedly. "How come you aren't out snooping around, +making sure that the crew's libidos aren't acting up or something." + +Cocking an ear towards the distant ball field, rife with the excited +noise that always accompanies such a game, Broussard replied, "It +sounds to me as if the crew is getting about as much libidinal +discharge as I could hope for under the circumstances. That being the +case, I saw no reason why the ship's alienist shouldn't have a little +time off." + +Hawkins leaned back comfortably against the tree. "Alienist. That's a +pretty strange word these days, Broussard. Used to be what they called +psychiatrists in England back in the old days, right?" Hawkins was of +vaguely English descent and felt it behooved him to know such things. + +"That's right. They revived the term briefly a hundred years ago when +we first got out into space, because they thought that psychologists +might be needed for the first contacts with alien cultures." A slight +frown came over the man's face. "The word's fallen into disuse again of +late, however," he continued. + +Captain Hawkins grunted in assent. "No aliens, eh?" + +"That's right. No aliens. Thousands of new worlds, thousands upon +thousands of new species, but not one of them intelligent enough +to hold a candle to our earthside chimpanzee. But still they go on +outfitting each of the exploration vessels with psychologists, and +outfitting all of the psychologists for the double task of soothing the +crew's _psyches_ and making contact with mythical intelligent races +that so far we've only dreamed about." Broussard emptied his container +of beer and with a single vicious movement threw it as far away from +him as he could. "I must say, however, that of late they've been +spending more time training us to be mind doctors than to be official +greeters to unknown cultures." + +Suddenly Broussard straightened up. "But why should you twit me about +deserting my work today. I saw you throw out the first baseball. How +come you didn't stay for the game? Surely that falls under the province +of a Captain's job." + +Allen Hawkins smiled. "I learned long ago, Broussard, that there are +times when the presence of the Commanding Officer has an undesired +influence on the spirits of the crew. After all, as Captain of the +_Sunward_, I can't very well take part in the game itself. Who'd dare +to strike me out when I came to bat?" He stopped to think about that +for a moment. "Or, maybe I should have said, I don't _think_ anybody +would dare to strike me out." + +"Ah, yes, the Father Figure," Broussard said laughing. + +"That's right. So I can't play. Nor can I umpire, for half the fun of +baseball is arguing with the umpire and I couldn't allow any of that. +And if I just watched without playing the game itself, a lot of the +crew might think that I felt myself too high and mighty to take part in +their proletarian type of recreation. So I'm damned if I do and damned +if I don't. So what did I do...?" + +"You left the field," Broussard answered, lighting up a cigarette after +offering the other man one. + +"That's right, I left the baseball field and went walking." + +"That's not quite what I meant when I said 'you left the field,'" +Broussard went on. "It's a psychological term, first used by Lewin many +centuries ago. Any time a man is in a conflict situation, faced with +two or more alternatives that he finds it difficult to choose among, he +may solve his problem by choosing none of them." + +Hawkins stretched his legs out restfully on the grass in front of him. +As he thought about it, there had been few times in the past when he +had given the psychologist his head and let the man talk. Probably, +Hawkins thought to himself, Broussard spends most of his time listening +to the petty confessions of all of us and never gets the opportunity +to unload a bit himself. He caught himself wondering just who on Earth +confesses the Pope.... + +And so he uttered the magical words, "I don't think I quite +understand...." + +Broussard scarcely needed the encouragement to continue. "Lewin +liked to think of psychological situations as approximating physical +situations. He spoke in terms of valences and attractions, of vectors +and forces operating through psychological distances. For example, +let's consider the case of a child put into a long hallway. At one end +of the hall is a large, fierce dog. At the other end is an ugly man +with a big switch. We tell the child that he has to go to one end of +the hall or the other. This becomes an 'avoidance-avoidance' situation +in the Lewinian terminology. Both the man with the switch and the +fierce dog carry negative valences--that means that the child actually +doesn't want to approach either of them--and the closer the child +comes to one of them, the more powerfully it repels him. Just as with +magnets--the closer you bring one negative charge to another negative +charge, the more powerful is the force of repulsion." + +Captain Hawkins smiled. It wasn't going to be as bad as he had feared. +"What does all this have to do with baseball?" + +"We'll get back to home plate in just a moment. But first, let's +continue with the child. We put him in the hallway, tell him to go to +one end or the other, and then we just sit back and watch. At first he +stands about as close to the center of the hall as he can, assuming +that the two negative valences are about of equal strength. He's +undecided--can't make up his mind which is worse, the man or the dog. +So we prompt him to action--shock him or tell him that he has to keep +moving. Then he begins to move back and forth, vacillating between the +two undesirable objects. So we apply more and more pressure to try +to force him to a decision. But the closer he moves to the dog, for +example, the more distasteful _it_ becomes, and the less dangerous does +the _man_ seem to be. So the child turns around and starts towards the +man. But here the situation is repeated. It's a beautiful example of a +conflict situation." + +Giving vent to a well-disciplined snort, Captain Hawkins said, "And +eventually the child either gets well switched or badly bitten, eh?" + +"No, that's where you're wrong. Eventually the child tries to escape +from the hallway altogether. Sometimes he'll try to climb the walls, or +break down a door, or anything like that which will release him from +what has become an impossible psychological environment." + +"So," said Hawkins. "I think you left me stranded on first base." + +Broussard laughed. "Pardon the sermon, Captain. What I was trying to +point out was that the baseball game represented just about the same +sort of thing to you as the hallway did to the child. Any time a human +being is faced with two impossible decisions like that, he usually +ends up by 'leaving the field' of conflict altogether. Nowadays we can +even predict the exact field forces necessary to bring on this type of +behavior." + +"And what do you predict I'm going to do right now?" Hawkins asked with +a bit of a laugh in his voice. + +"That's an easy one. I predict you're going to ask for another +beer--and that I'll give it to you. No conflict there." He opened a +container that chilled itself automatically as he handed it to his +superior officer. + +Hawkins blew the foam from it and then took a long, satisfying swallow. +"There are times when I'm glad I'm just an uncomplicated space +officer," he said presently. + +Broussard grinned. "Sorry if I seemed to be giving you a lecture, +Captain. I'm afraid you would have enjoyed a good, healthy discussion +of Freud much more. My own particular problem is that I'm much +more interested in thinking about the remote possibilities of +man's encountering new types of intelligences than I am in playing +father confessor to a bunch of space rats. Back on Earth the social +psychologists felt that Lewin's work offered a fruitful means of +analyzing the motivational components in any alien society we might +encounter. I guess my trotting out the vector charts was just a neat +example of wishful thinking." + +Captain Allen Hawkins didn't bother to answer the remark for some time. +He was too busy watching something move slowly towards them across the +grassy plain. Finally he half-whispered to his companion, "Don't put +those charts away too soon, Broussard. You finally may have a chance to +use them." + + * * * * * + +Bells clanged loudly. Red and yellow lights flashed insistently in +front of the man, demanding his attention. The clattering noise of a +computer working at high speed added to the unholy din of the small +spaceship's control room. + +Surveyor Lan Sur ran his deft fingers rapidly over the studs on the +control panel in front of him. He scarcely looked at the controls +as he manipulated them, concentrating instead on the screens before +him--screens which showed the attack patterns of the seven large +warships that surrounded him. + +One of the attacking enemy ships loomed incredibly large directly ahead +of him. Lan Sur's fingers hesitated, and then, at precisely the proper +second, pressed the firing studs. The scout ship seemed to dance +lightly upward as it passed high above the larger, slower enemy craft. +Lan Sur whirled his ship around just in time to witness the total +disintegration of the enemy. + +"One down," he thought, but took no particular pride in his +accomplishment. There were still six left. + +The enemy regrouped, spreading out into a cone-like formation. He knew +the trick well, and aimed his ship to make its next pass high above +the open mouth of this formation. But the enemy opened up the top of +the cone as fast as Lan Sur tried to avoid it. He fired a warning +salvo and tucked his defensive screens in tight around him. But the +uppermost enemy ship incredibly picked up more speed, sliding off into +an extremely intricate maneuver. Lan Sur knew that if it could hold to +this path, it would pass several miles above him, neatly sandwiching +him between the enemy vessels below. He could have turned aside at +once, but that would have been an admission of possible defeat, and +he could never admit defeat. If he could beat the other ship to the +topping maneuver, he would destroy not only it, but the ships at the +small end of the cone as well when he came crashing down on them from +above. For just a moment he felt certain that he could succeed. + +The scout ship vibrated tensely as it hurled itself forward. The red +lights on the control panel doubled in number, then tripled. The +computer roared instructions so rapidly that he could hardly keep up +with them. The warning bells went mad with ringing. + +"I think I can make it," he told himself. But he refused to become +excited. He had come this close to victory before, and had still +failed. Now he saw he was gaining on the enemy ship, but it was a thin +margin of safety indeed. The computer screamed with danger signals as +the huge craft came closer and closer. + +Lan Sur leaned forward slightly in his seat, a little strain showing +on his usually relaxed face. To his surprise, he found himself saying +aloud, "Yes, I think I can." + +But he did not. Suddenly the enemy craft shot by above him and belched +forth a thick burst of light. The huge black warships immediately +beneath him echoed the call, catching his smaller, fleeter ship in a +double barrage. + +And it was all over. + +The red lights on the control panel blinked out quickly, one by one. +The warning bells ceased their claxons, the computer settled down to a +quiet hum. The screens went blank. A thin piece of tape spewed forth +from the computer. It read, "This scout ship utterly annihilated. End +of problem." + + * * * * * + +Lan Sur looked the tape over sourly. "Damn," he said, leaning back +in his seat. He tore the tape into little pieces and deposited them +angrily in the reclaim box. Reluctantly he pressed the "Analysis" +button on the computer. The machine would issue him a complete +dissection of the whole mock war game, pointing out with deadly +accuracy the mistakes he had made. + +"Damn," he said again, thinking over the past battle. He got up from +the control panel and walked over to his relaxation chair. Sitting +down, he took a small bit of food from a container and began chewing on +it viciously. + +It wasn't really so bad that he lost the engagement, he told himself. +The pre-battle odds were greatly against him. And as often as he had +tried it, he had never been able to take on seven enemy ships and still +survive. Sometimes it seemed an almost impossible task to him. However, +he had a deep desire to solve the problem, because the computer told +him it might be solvable if he took the proper course of action. +Evidently, it would take a lot more work, a great deal more study on +his part before he found the solution. + +"But time is something I have plenty of," he said aloud, stretching out +comfortably in the chair. For several hours he puzzled over the thing, +taking time out to digest the taped analysis of his mistakes, and then +attacked the problem afresh. Eventually, out of sheer exhaustion, he +slipped off into a deep, restful sleep, quite confident that the next +time he tried the seven-ship problem, or at most the time following +that.... + + * * * * * + +Lan Sur awoke to quietness. He stretched his lean, lithe legs, slowly, +returning to normal awareness as he did so. Once he was completely +awake, he sat down in front of the control panel again. A single amber +light beamed from the board. While he had been asleep, the scout +ship had come out of its C^{2} drive and had slowed to a stop. They +had reached their immediate destination, and since he was asleep, the +computer had simply turned on the protective screens around the ship +and had begun a survey of the sun system they had arrived at. + +He pressed a button on the computer and then leaned back to digest the +information that the machine began feeding him at once. The sun was of +the A/34.79Lu type, just as had been forecast before his voyage. It had +three large inner planets and a tiny fourth much too far away from the +solar furnace and much too small to be of any practical value. Lan Sur +read the report carefully, noting with pleasure certain of the facts +presented him. He was in the midst of an interesting section concerning +the chemical composition of the atmosphere on the second of the planets +when a small bell on the computer rang and the machine became silent +for just a second or two, then began pouring out material at a furious +rate. + +Lan Sur, who had been yards of tape behind in his reading, dropped +the atmosphere discussion and began to read the new information being +spewed forth. A frown crossed his face as he read the first few words, +"Alien contact established...." He hoped this new development would not +take him away from his games for too long a time. + +The computer had detected the emanation of modulated energy waves +coming from the second planet. Immediately it had withdrawn its +wide-flung detector beams and had concentrated fully upon the source of +the waves. Lan Sur reset the computer so that only a very small part of +the huge machine would carry on the routine work of new investigation, +while the greater part would be put to work in an attempt to decode +what was obviously a language being broadcast in some obsolete manner. +He noted with pride that the aliens, whoever they might be, had not at +the moment reached the point of development where C^{2} communication +was available to them, but were still limited to the raw speed of +light for the transmission of messages, and hence, he felt sure, for +the transmission of space ships too. This meant, he knew, that he had +probably stumbled onto a race of beings still new to the reaches of +space who would be helpless in the face of even his own lightly armed +scout ship. However, according to patrol instructions, he activated +a switch that relayed all pertinent information by means of a sealed +C^{2} beam back to the nearest Dakn Patrol base, and put in a formal +call for the presence of Patrol battleships. One way or another, they +would be needed.... + + * * * * * + +It took the computer less than a day and a half, as Lan Sur figured +time, to break the language of the aliens discovered on the second +planet. The Surveyor spent this time working feverishly on a new idea +he had for the solution of the seven-ship problem, and was quite +upset when the computer finished its problem of decoding the new +tongue before Lan Sur had worked out all the details of his latest +attack on the mock war games. Reluctantly he put himself into a light +trance, during which the machine taught him the new language. He did +not actually learn to think in the new tongue, for that would have +imposed limiting strictures on his mental processes. Rather, his mind +was turned into a kind of translating factory. He had the freedom to +think in the terms and in the concepts that he was accustomed to, +and his mind simply expressed these thoughts as best it could in +the newly-learned way of speaking. The computer had also arrived at +an incredibly clear knowledge of the socio-politico-psychological +structure of the new civilization, but aside from a brief glance at +some of the more intriguing points, Lan Sur ignored this information +and simply relayed it along to the Galactic base where social +scientists could pore over it in their own bemused leisure. For his +tasks Lan Sur hardly felt that he needed it. + +Once Lan Sur had memorized the language, he put his scout ship under +a screen of complete invisibility and landed it some few miles away +from the space ship the aliens were using as their permanent base. +He let the computer drink up what additional information it required +to make sure both that the planetary conditions were suitable to his +own particular chemical make-up, and that the aliens were indeed +as impotent as his previous estimates had seemed to indicate. Once +the computer gave him its blessing, he walked out into the bright +planetary sunlight. + + * * * * * + +Psychologist J. L. Broussard sat up puzzled. "What do you mean, don't +put away my Lewinian vector charts too soon? I may have a chance to use +them on _whom_?" + +Captain Allen Hawkins simply stared straight ahead of him, his lips +forming unanswerable questions. Broussard took his cue from the man's +head and stared too. And then he understood. + +The alien, for from its dress alone it obviously _was_ an alien, was +still quite a distance away from them. It came walking towards them +with a kind of protective sparkle about it--and even from that distance +they could sense a feeling of power about the man. + +"Man?" Broussard caught himself thinking. Yes, it did seem very much +like a man--not only like a human, but like a masculine human. But +immediately Broussard told himself that this might not be the case. +True, humanoid it was, but because it displayed a certain lack of the +more obvious female sexual characteristics it did not follow that it +was _male_. "Why, they could even have _ten_ different sexes for all we +know," Broussard thought to himself. + +"I think it's coming towards _us_," Hawkins said quietly. + +Broussard watched the alien move a few more yards and then agreed. + +Hawkins activated a small radio that he carried in one of his shirt +pockets. "Hello, Communications," he spoke rapidly into the microphone. +"This is Hawkins. Put me through to the Bridge at once. And make sure +you record every word that I say." + +The words "Aye, aye, Captain," were forthcoming immediately from the +tiny loudspeaker. The Captain rated a special communications channel +that was guarded by the radio shack at all times, and it came as no +surprise to Hawkins that the reply was prompt. He had expected it to be. + +"Bridge here, go ahead." + +"This is Captain Hawkins, Bridge. Who's the Duty Officer?" Hawkins knew +who the man was, but asked to give the man a chance to realize fully +that the Captain was aware with whom he was speaking. + +"Lieutenant Medboe, Captain, ready for instructions." + +Hawkins thought for just a moment and then answered. "Mr. Medboe, the +information that I am about to pass along to you is not to leave the +Bridge under any circumstances. As soon as I finish, you will contact +the radio shack and make certain that what I have said, if it has been +monitored, is not passed along from that particular point either. Do +you understand me." + +Medboe's voice sounded a little puzzled, "Of course, Captain. Your +instructions will be followed to the letter." + +"Now then," Hawkins continued. "You might as well know at once that I +think we've made contact with an alien race. I don't know what this +means to you personally, but to the human race it means a great deal +and we can under no circumstances risk the occurrence of any incident. +You will therefore send someone to find Commander Petri and inform him +that as Executive Officer, he will be in charge of the ship until I +return to it. And while you are doing that, you will summon all the +men to return to the ship at once. You may not give them the real +reason--tell them that there is a bad storm coming and that I have +ordered them all inside. It is imperative that none of them realizes +the true reason. Do you understand?" + +Medboe's voice sounded almost hurt. "Aye, aye, Captain," he said. + +"Good. Once everyone is back inside the ship, have Petri summon all +officers not on watch and all scientists to the large meeting hall. +They will be given a chance to observe and listen to the contact as it +is made. Which reminds me--have the communications department set up +a long range television camera on me at once, and pipe the image down +into the hall. You will have them record both sight and sound for later +use. You will also inform Petri that a state of emergency exists as of +this moment by my personal order, and that if necessary he is to blast +off from the planet without making any attempt either to protect or +rescue me. And once it has been established that we are in fact dealing +with an alien culture, Navy Headquarters must be informed immediately +via subspace radio." Hawkins wanted to make sure that in the event the +entire ship was captured, Earth would know that an alien contact had +been made and could take steps to protect itself. He only wished, now +that he thought of it, that he could have taken more adequate steps to +protect the men and the ship. But for the moment the _Sunward_ and her +crew would have to remain where they were and as they were. And if the +alien had not attacked them up to that point, perhaps no attack would +be made at all. + +Hawkins wanted to tell Medboe a thousand other things--simple, obvious +things that surely both Medboe and Petri would be cognizant of. But, as +always, the man who had to delegate responsibility simply had to depend +on the perspicacity of the men to whom he gave the power. + +"Any questions?" Hawkins asked after a brief pause. + +"I don't believe so, Captain," Medboe answered. Hawkins could tell from +the sound of the man's voice that he had hundreds of things he would +have liked to ask, but none of them were of the type that he could have +expected his superior officer to answer. + +"Good," Hawkins replied formally. "One more thing. You will under no +circumstances attempt to contact me on this radio set--there's no need +in letting the alien know any more about us or our abilities than we +absolutely have to." + +"Right, Captain," came the obedient answer. + +Hawkins turned the switch to the "Sustained Talk" position and informed +the Officer of the Deck of his actions. Then he turned to Broussard. +"Anything you have to add to all that?" he asked. + +The psychologist indicated a negative by a shake of his head. + +"Very well, Mr. Medboe. You may carry out your orders," Hawkins said +with a sigh. Then he turned to Broussard again. "Well, Louie. I guess +it's up to you from here on out. You're the alienist." And with that, +Hawkins reluctantly relinquished completely his normal command of the +situation. + + * * * * * + +During the time that Captain Hawkins had been giving his orders, +Broussard had been deep in thought, paying only scant attention to the +instructions that the other man had passed along. The psychologist's +mind had been racing over the possibilities of this first contact, and +more than once during the brief period of time, it had dwelt on his own +particular fears that he would not be up to the encounter. + +"I think you had better give the radio to me," Broussard said. "I'll +probably be closer to the alien during the first stages of contact at +least, and certainly I should be doing most of the talking." + +The statement made sense to Hawkins, and he passed the device over +without comment. Broussard tucked it away in one of his pockets. + +"I don't think we should bother walking towards him," Broussard said a +moment later, answering an unspoken question. "He's obviously coming +toward us and it would seem better if we weren't too eager." Broussard +felt no need to describe the alien over the radio since by this time +the communications division back on board the _Sunward_ would have set +up their long range television cameras. Captain Hawkins shifted about +on his feet a bit like a boxer doing warm-up footwork prior to a battle. + +"I wonder where he's put his space ship," Broussard said. + +Hawkins looked puzzled. "How do you know he's got one?" he asked. + +"Well, it's just a hunch. But unless I miss my guess, that shining air +the--the--" Broussard groped for the right noun, then fell back again +on a sheer perceptual analysis. "The shining air the _man_ coming +towards us has is a defensive screen of some sort. And we've certainly +found no evidence on Trellis of any civilization at all, much less one +so advanced that it could dream up gadgets like that. I figure he must +be from somewhere else. Maybe he's just a visitor here too, like us." +Hawkins inwardly admitted the logic of the reasoning. + +As the alien came closer, they could both see why they had +instinctively felt from the first that it was of the male gender. The +creature's hair was cut a little longer than men wore theirs back on +Earth, but this was almost the only difference. The alien was a bit +taller than either of them, but not beyond the limits produceable by +the human race. His shoulders were the widest part of his body, and +formed the broad top of the inverted triangular shape that most human +men admired. His clothes were of some peculiar, clinging material, but +the bottom half of his body was fitted out in a close approximation of +Earthside trousers. The man was handsome even by their own standards of +masculine beauty. + +"Well," said Hawkins. "This is it. Man is no longer 'alone.'" + +Broussard realized suddenly that the other man was just as nervous as +he himself was. "No, man is no longer alone," Broussard replied. And +then he added, "But neither is _he_." + +The alien was less than one hundred yards away when Broussard said +quietly, "I don't think we'd better talk any more. Let's just stand +here and wait for him to make the first move." + + * * * * * + +Lan Sur walked towards the two aliens at a comfortable rate of speed. +When he was still some distance off the computer back on his scout +ship informed him of the first of the messages going back and forth +from one of the men to the ship, and then of the gradual withdrawal of +the rest of the ship's crew to the sanctuary of the _Sunward_. It was +with no surprise at all that he listened to the computer, as it did a +remote physical and chemical analysis of the aliens. Eons ago the Dakn +people had come to the conclusion, first in theory and then in fact, +that intelligent life capable of reaching the stars had to fall within +the humanoid pattern. The aliens confronting him were well within the +theoretical tolerance limits on every count. But still it amused him to +see the slight obesity of one of the men and the thick body hair of +the other. These were two minor points of difference between the races. + +At exactly the right psychological distance from the two aliens, Lan +Sur stopped. He was quite close enough to be heard and understood, but +not so close that his physical presence suggested too much of a threat. +He waited just long enough before speaking. + +"It is customary in your culture to begin with introductions," he said +in a strong voice. "I am Lan Sur, possessed of the rank of Senior +Surveyor in the Galactic Patrol of the Dakn Empire. I welcome you +officially to the communion of the stars." + +Lan Sur could almost feel the sinking sensation inside the larger of +the two aliens when he began to speak to them in their own tongue. It +amused him to think that these two had probably expected to begin by +drawing pictures in the dirt. Well, they would learn. + +"You should know at once that the Dakn Empire comprises some 700 +quadrillion people of the same general humanoid characteristics as +obtain in your race. We populate planets on some hundred thousand suns, +most of which lie much further toward the opposite end of the galaxy +than does the system in which we find ourselves at the moment. We have +explored great reaches of the universe, but this is the first time we +have penetrated as far into this particular district as this star you +call Clarion. That explains why our races have never before come into +contact." + +The two aliens leaned forward a little on their feet, as caught up in +his words as children might be when told a new and fascinating story. + +"The Dakn Empire is the only other political system that exists in +this entire galaxy, as far as we know." Lan Sur paused for a moment, +to let the significance of his words sink in. "There have been others, +of course, but they soon passed under our control. Just as your +civilization will now pass under our control." + +He read the sudden, stark fear that appeared in their eyes correctly +without needing the affirming echo from the computer. + +"The Dakn Empire has learned that whenever it discovers a new +civilization, it must absorb this new culture immediately. There is no +other choice. And your race must follow the pattern of the thousands we +have encountered in the past. There is no choice. As of this moment, +you and your people are, from our point of view, just as much a part +of our Empire as our own home planets. This does not appeal to you, I +know. But there is no other way." + +The computer informed him that the _Sunward_ had brought all of its +gun turrets to bear on him, but Lan Sur ignored the fact as being +irrelevant. + +He continued. "No, you do not have a choice about becoming a part of +our system. But you do have a choice about the method by which this +action will be taken." The involuntary sigh that one of the aliens +gave briefly amused him. The alien would find that the sigh of relief +was a short one. "The choice is this--either you will join with us +peacefully, in which case the whole period of transition will take less +than one of your years. Or...." He let the word dangle momentarily +before his booming voice continued. "Or, if you choose to oppose us, +the transition time will take even less than that. We will simply +destroy you and all of your worlds. + +"You have no alternatives." + +The alien's voice grew louder. "You will want to know what absorption +into our system will mean to you. By now you will surely have realized +how far superior we are to you in every way, and I include specifically +the factor of intelligence in this statement. My analysis of your +potential intellectual and rational powers shows me that you are not +capable of contesting on an equal basis with any of the other races +that comprise our Empire. You are the lowest of the low, and as such, +your race will be put into a slave category. We always have room for +more slaves." + +The two aliens in front of him seemed in a state of shock. Lan Sur felt +he might as well finish the thing off and get it over with. + +"If you choose to come with us peacefully, what will happen is this: +We will take over all of your worlds at once, evacuating your people +from them in less than a month. Your race will be spread out over our +Empire, sent to the places where they are needed the most. + +"Of course you will not be allowed to retain either your own +personalities or your memories. As slaves you would scarcely need them. +So they will be stripped from you en route to your new homes, and +suitable new slave personalities will be implanted in your minds. You +find this thought distasteful I know, but it is the only logical action +we can take. You will be born again, so to speak, knowing our language, +feeling at home in our way of life and not retaining even a shred of +your old patterns of culture. This is the simplest, most efficient +way in which your race can become a part of our much larger scheme of +things. + +"If you do _not_ choose to come peacefully ..." again Lan Sur stopped +for dramatic effect, "the warships I have already summoned, coming at +the square of the speed of light, will search out every planet, every +world in this whole sector, and will utterly annihilate every solar +system you have contaminated. We have, in the past, met obstinate races +who tried to resist our rule. The results were rather spectacular from +an astronomical point of view. Perhaps your scientists have wondered +what caused the nova of stars, or even the explosions of whole regions +of space. Now you have the answer. We would hate to destroy your race, +but if you resist us, we have no choice." + +A strange, intense smile came over Lan Sur's face. "Our history relates +of one race that tried to avoid its destiny. These peoples scattered to +the four winds in millions of ships in their attempt to hide from us." +Fire lighted the alien's eyes. "It took more than a thousand of your +years to track them all down, and we covered more than half the galaxy +in doing so. It was a glorious thing. Now they are dead. All of them." + +Slowly the smile died away. Lan Sur looked back at the two Earthlings +before him. "You will see the necessity for all of this when you have +exhausted your emotional reactions to this information and are capable +of thinking logically again. In the long run it matters little to any +of us which action we are forced to take. But because I realize that +a race as untutored as yours is, cannot be expected to control its +emotions in such a situation, I will not demand an immediate answer +from you. I will give you more than ample time in which to think the +problem through. + +"You have exactly twenty-four hours in which to make up your minds." + + * * * * * + +In his younger days at the Academy, Captain Allen Hawkins had been +a boxer, and a good one. Most of his fights he had won easily and +decisively. The few that he lost had been close matches and split +decisions. Then had come the day when he had persuaded himself to +fight outside his own weight and experience classifications, and he +had matched himself against a classmate much larger than himself. +Hawkins still remembered that fight at times. After the first round he +had been completely dazed, scarcely conscious of his surroundings. +Again and again he found himself lying stretched out on the canvas and +had to force himself back to his feet to re-enter the fray. The fight +terminated rather suddenly in the third round when Hawkins went down to +the canvas for a full count. + +All of this had happened years before, but the emotions that gripped +the man now, as he stood facing the incredible alien from the center +of the galaxy--these emotions reminded him of that fight. He felt now +as he had felt when he regained consciousness in the dressing room--a +little out of his senses, the wind still knocked out of him, and +emotionally completely stunned. + +The fact that Lan Sur had spoken perfect English had been the first +blow. Every sentence that the alien had spoken was like a sharp jab, a +sudden punch to a vital area. As in his boxing days, after a few brief +moments of listening, Hawkins had stopped thinking with his brain--and +had begun thinking with his stomach. But he was completely open and +unguarded for the Sunday punch. + +"You have exactly twenty-four hours in which to make up your minds." + + * * * * * + +The three men stood facing each other for at least a full minute, none +of them speaking. Broussard recovered his voice before Hawkins could +and said feebly, "You can't mean it." + +Lan Sur's face gave no expression of emotion. "I realized that you +would be incapable of comprehending what I have said so soon after I +had said it. This is why I am giving you a length of time in which +to make your decision. But you might as well realize that this high +emotional index rating of your race is one of the main reasons you rate +so low. It is a trait that we will have to breed out of your race." + +Hawkins came to life suddenly, reacting violently, his emotional +control shattered. He almost shouted at the alien, "If we're in such +bad shape, why can't you just go off and leave us alone? You've got +all the rest of the universe. Why can't you just leave us alone in our +little corner of it?" + +"If you were not so emotionally aroused at the moment, you would +understand why we cannot 'leave you alone,' as you put it," the alien +told him calmly. "It is completely impossible for two differing +cultures to exist in this galaxy, as large as it is. Eventually the +two cultures would have to come into contact, and this would cause +friction. We do not care for friction, and we always seek to avoid it. +By forcing you to join us now--or by destroying you if you refuse--we +make absolutely sure that your race will never be the cause of any +friction to us in the future." + +"Friction?" asked Broussard slowly. + +"If we allowed you to go your own way, your population would expand +and you would be forced to take over more and more of this area of the +universe. We have our own plans for this part of the galaxy which do +not include fighting constant wars with you for the possession of each +new planetary system that one of us sees fit to colonize." The alien +spoke to them as he might have spoken to children. + +Hawkins refused to abandon the train of thought. "But we could promise +to give up all our worlds except our own home planet. You could have +all the rest." + +Lan Sur shook his head. "At the present moment, you will promise +anything to rid yourself of the painful necessity of making the +decision that I have demanded of you. You might even be quite willing +to live up to your promise of retiring to your home planet, never to +voyage forth again. But your children and their children would grow +discontent and restless. Eventually, either a hundred or a thousand or +a hundred thousand years from now, you would come forth to challenge +us again." Lan Sur's face grew a trifle grim. "And next time you would +be better equipped and stronger. You would be able to put up a better +fight than you can at the moment." Then he smiled. "Oh, of course, the +Dakn Empire would win eventually. We always do. But we would be back +at exactly the same point that we are at right now. We would be forced +to absorb you into our Empire, or to destroy you utterly. And, in the +meantime, we would, of necessity, be forced to keep a careful watch on +everything you did." + +He shook his head. "No, you must realize that we cannot tolerate +anything but absolute surrender. You have my terms. You must make your +decision. There is nothing more to say." + +Hawkins felt the numbing hand of deep fear within him. Like a losing +boxer, he fought for any advantage that he might be able to take. "But, +good Lord, man," he said quickly. "You don't understand the situation +at all. Twenty-four hours isn't nearly enough time to make a decision +that will affect our entire population. We can't even inform our home +base of what's going on in that length of time, much less get a message +_back_ from them. And this is the sort of thing that would have to be +submitted to our population as a whole, for them to decide. We're just +a very, very small part of our race. Why, we ... we don't have the +authority to make a decision that would affect the people back home. +You _must_ give us more time." + +"Your complete lack of insight amazes me, even though I expected it," +the alien said. "Surely you must understand that the more time I +give you, the more time you have to prepare your physical defenses. +I am just as aware as you are that, lacking the C^{2} communications +methods, it is impossible for you to contact your home planet in the +time that I have allowed you. But the war ships that I have already +summoned will be here shortly, and even before they arrive, there is +much that I must do to ready you and your people for the change if +you decide to come with us. If you do not decide to come with us, +then I must begin the search for your home planet, so that it may be +destroyed. In either event, the sooner your choice is made, the better +it is for me. Already I have allowed you more time than is actually +necessary for you to overcome your emotion and to think the problem +through logically." + +"But I simply haven't got the _authority_ to make such a choice!" +Hawkins found himself shouting. "Can't you understand that?" + +Lan Sur paused a moment to let the other man regain some of his +composure. Then he said simply but firmly, "I am in control here now. +I have the authority, and I delegate it to you. _You_ must decide for +everyone." + +Broussard's reactions were perhaps a little less emotionally tinged +than might have been thought from his facial reactions. He had held +back what he felt to be a highly pertinent question until he felt that +the alien was preparing to conclude the interview. He asked it now. +"You seem to know a great many things about us, Lan Sur. And we seem to +know very little about you. In a sense, this is strong evidence of your +race's superiority. And yet you cannot really expect us to capitulate +our entire culture to yours without giving us very conclusive proof +that you are able to carry out your threats. After all, we are a large +ship full of fighting men, and you seem to be one man all by yourself. +What is to keep us from...." Deliberately the psychologist let the +question hang uncompleted. + +Lan Sur smiled. "At least you respond in a semi-logical fashion. The +point is well taken, and if you had not brought it up now, I would +have had to do so myself at a later time. I am therefore prepared to +demonstrate to you the strength of our technology. You two will return +to your ship, and I will remain here. You will then, for the next two +hours, have the opportunity to attack me by any means you see fit. I +will simply defend myself, without endangering you or your ship in any +fashion. When you have discovered that even as undefended as I appear +to be at the moment, all of your weapons are powerless to harm me, +perhaps you will understand that I can carry out my threats if I so +choose to." + +The alien gestured with his hand. "And now, you must return to your +ship. During the two hours at which I place myself at your mercy, you +may naturally maneuver your vessel as you desire. But at the end of the +two hours, you must have returned to your landing place here--or to +whatever other spot on this planet that I may choose to indicate to you +by radio. Any attempt on your part to escape either now, or during the +period following, or any attack you attempt on me except during these +first two hours, or any effort to summon additional help, will mean the +instant destruction of your ship--and of your race. I hope that you +will both understand what I have said and will believe that I have the +power to achieve my ends." + +Surveyor Lan Sur crossed his arms. "This interview is at an end." + +After a few seconds of stunned silence, the two men turned and walked +the long and lonesome way back to the _Sunward_. + + * * * * * + +All of the scientists aboard the _Sunward_ and most of the ship's +officers were assembled in the central meeting hall when Broussard and +Hawkins arrived. Hawkins walked directly to the central podium and +turned to face the group. + +"Gentlemen," he began slowly, his features a mask of repressed emotion. +"I know that I do not have to give you any fuller explanations than you +have already received. We have been given a challenge that seems to be +insoluble. But we must face the situation, as the alien Lan Sur has +suggested, with a minimum of emotionality and with a maximum of good, +hard logic. I would welcome any comments, suggestions you might have +to offer." + +There was a general shuffling of feet and clearing of throats among the +crowd. It seemed to Hawkins as if each member present was waiting for +someone else to speak first. Finally the Communications Officer broke +the silence. + +"Captain, it has occurred to me that if the alien's powers are as great +as he claims, he may well be able to monitor every word any of us +speaks, even here. I think we must take that into consideration." + +The crowd murmured an assent, feeling, Hawkins was sure, that it gave +them an excellent excuse for not being able to propose any solution to +the problem. "I think you are quite right," Hawkins answered. "However, +I feel that for the moment we must operate as if he couldn't monitor +us. In the meantime, the communications department must take what +precautions it can to assure us that our future conversations are held +in complete privacy." A touch of bitter defeat crept into his voice. +"And I would imagine that even if he _is_ listening right now, he'll +gain precious little in the way of useful information." + +The group shuffled its feet again, embarrassed at its own impotence. +"Are there any further comments?" Hawkins asked. There seemed to be +none, until the Gunnery Officer spoke up. + +"Captain," he said, a slight smile on his broad face. "I'd sort of like +to see just how much punishment the bastard can take." + +Hawkins laughed, breaking the tension. "I think we all agree with you. +Suppose we put off any further discussion until after we've put the +alien through his paces. It will give us an opportunity to test his +strength--and to test our own. + +"Many of you--" Hawkins indicated with a wave of his hand the officers +in the room "--are familiar with the offensive strength of this vessel. +She is one of the most powerfully armed ships that Earth has. What I +intend to do, then, is this: We'll give our friend out there just as +much hell as the _Sunward_ can dish out. But while we're doing it, I +want photographs of every attack we make, fast photos that will give +us, perhaps, an inkling of how he overcomes all of our weapons, if he +does. I think this is extremely important." He looked the crowd over. +"We'll begin the attack just as soon as all of you have indicated to me +that your departments are ready. That is all, gentlemen." + + * * * * * + +Half an hour later the _Sunward_ rose from her landing site and floated +gently into the atmosphere. She came to a halt about ten thousand feet +up and drifted into an optimum firing position. Every gun and camera +the ship possessed was trained on the now scarcely visible figure of +the alien almost two miles beneath her. Hawkins was on the battle +bridge, his experienced hand controlling the ship firmly, belying the +nervousness he felt. + +"Gunnery all ready, Sir!" came the report. + +"Fire!" shouted Hawkins a little louder than he meant to. He strained +forward in his seat to watch the scene on the screen in front of him. + +The heat guns opened up first. In less than a second the area of +maximum temperature was less than two feet away from the alien's body. +A space of ground 300 yards in diameter suddenly went up in smoke at +the intensity of the rays. Slim shreds of fire licked at the edge of +the ring, and in the center all was fierce flame and smoke as the heat +actually melted the earth. For a full five minutes the guns remained +firing at maximum intensity. No organic substance known to man could +withstand such violence. + +"Cease firing," Hawkins called. He leaned back slowly in his chair. It +would take a few minutes for the smoke to clear, but he knew in his +heart what they would see once it had. And even before the wind had +blown enough of the smoke away to make things visible, they saw the +figure of the alien come walking briskly out of the hellish ring of +destruction and wave his arm to them. + +"God," said Hawkins quietly. After a moment he threw open a +communications switch that connected him to the Gunnery Officer. "Well, +what's next?" he asked quietly. + +Next came a huge ball of electricity that spat sparks as it hurtled +through space and shattered itself into a million bolts of lightning at +the very feet of the alien. The resulting burst of light was painful +to the eyes, but when vision cleared, they saw the alien again, still +standing erect and still waving. + +They tried launching a dozen space torpedoes at once, filled with the +highest chemical explosives known to man. They crashed in criss-cross +fashion about the alien, ripping the very air asunder with their +fantastic devastation. They left a crater almost a mile wide, and +standing in the middle of it, still untouched, the enemy. Then the ship +bombarded the small figure below with every wavelength known to man, +still without effect. + +Finally the Gunnery Officer called Hawkins on the intercom. "I'm sorry, +Captain, but we did our best. I guess there's only one thing left to +do." + +"I guess you're right," Hawkins admitted reluctantly. And turning to +his helmsman he said, "Take her up." + +The _Sunward_ was almost fifty miles from the alien when she unleashed +her final weapon. She had dropped tattle-tale robots behind to feed her +information both before and after the blast. And then she aimed the +mightiest atomic weapon man had created straight at Lan Sur. + +The very planet shook at its detonation, so powerful was the bomb. The +fire and clouds rose miles into the sky, and the _Sunward's_ delicate +instruments indicated the presence of a radiation so intense that it +was certain an area hundreds of miles in size was completely destroyed. +It took several minutes before enough of the aftermath of the explosion +had cleared away for them to find him, but they located the alien +sitting calmly in a crater at the very center of the affected area, +obviously still unharmed. + +Hawkins contemplated the situation for several minutes, and then +wearily stretched out his hand and turned on the radio. After a moment +he said simply, "All right, Lan Sur, you win. Where do you want us to +land?" + +Lan Sur answered immediately. "You will place your vessel in an area +almost directly beneath your present position which I have caused to +be marked in red. Any attempt to move the vessel without my permission +will result in your immediate destruction. If, during the waiting time, +you have any further questions to ask of me, I will be available. +However, if you have not come to any conclusion by the end of that +time, I shall be forced to destroy you without further hesitation. You +have exactly twenty-two hours and nine minutes left." + + * * * * * + +When the ship had landed, Hawkins returned to the conference room. Most +of the executive personnel were there, although some of the scientists +were absent, ostensibly still analyzing the results of the futile +attack on the alien. Hawkins strode briskly to the podium and faced the +group. + +"Gentlemen," he said, "you saw what happened. Perhaps some of you +refused to believe that the alien could enforce his demands on us--and +I'm sure that all of us hoped that this would be the case. But now we +must accept the fact that the choice we were told to make will _have_ +to be made, unless we can come up with some means of destroying this +creature or of escaping his wrath. + +"I want you to know that although it might well be within my province +as Captain of the _Sunward_ to decide which of the alternatives we will +take, I will not do so. What is decided here will affect all of Earth's +peoples everywhere. Neither one man nor one small group can make this +choice. Therefore, exactly one hour before the deadline, we will hold +a plebiscite. Every person aboard the _Sunward_ will have exactly one +vote, and the majority decision will hold. I will refrain from voting +and will decide the issue in the event of a tie. + +"In the meantime, I want you to think. To think not only of a means of +escape from our dilemma, if this be possible, but also how you will +vote. If any of you have any ideas, or if you simply wish to talk about +something, you will find me available at any hour. + +"I do not know how each of you will react to this situation. Perhaps +the alien is right. Perhaps man is far too emotional an animal to merit +more than slave status in the councils of the stars. But I hope that +our actions will prove otherwise--and that this, man's darkest hour, +will also become his finest." + +Hawkins turned from the group and walked quietly from the room. He knew +that his speech had been anything but an example of clear logic devoid +of emotional context, and he had no idea why he had let himself be so +carried away. But with the inborn and well-trained sense he had of men +and situations, he knew that he could not have spoken otherwise. + +The men on board the _Sunward_ faced the crisis in various fashions. +A few of the scientists worked with erratic bursts of speed to finish +up their analyses of the data they had gathered during the bombardment +of the alien. Some of the crew wrote letters home. The communications +department was swamped with personal messages to be relayed back to +Earth. The Chaplain gave up his attempt at private counseling and held +hourly open services. The routine jobs were still performed, albeit in +a perfunctory manner. But mostly the men just gathered around in small +groups and talked, usually in low voices. A few of the luckier ones got +drunk. + +Captain Hawkins remained in his room, completely isolated from the rest +of the ship, for almost four hours. During that time he simply sat in +his easy chair and thought. At the beginning of the fifth hour he broke +a precedent and opened a bottle of whiskey. At the beginning of the +sixth hour he broke still another precedent and sent for Broussard. +Hawkins was neither too drunk nor too sober when the psychologist +arrived. He told the scientist to sit down and offered him a drink. + +"I know it's unethical for me to take you away from the men when they +need your help more than ever before," Hawkins began slowly, choosing +to stare moodily at the table instead of directly at the man he was +talking to. "But for once I am exercising a Captain's perogatives. + +"You must have realized some of the problems that face anyone in +a position of command. Usually we have to operate on pretty rigid +rules, but things always go better if it seems as though we aren't +quite as rigid as we really must be. The men under you always feel +better if they think they have some free choice about things. In any +military set-up you can't allow much of this free will at all. The best +commander is the one who decides what it is his men must do in a given +situation, and then finds some way of making the men want to do it." +Again he paused, then looked up, facing Broussard squarely. + +"I have decided what the result of the balloting must be--and I want +you, as a psychologist, to help me make sure that I get that result +without anyone else being aware that we've rigged things." He got up +from the table and began nervously pacing the floor. + +After a few moments he stopped and turned to face the psychologist, +both his fists clenched tightly on the back of his easy chair. He said +nothing. + +After several moments of silence, Broussard cleared his throat and +asked, "And which choice have you decided it must be?" + +Hawkins collapsed into the chair. Finally his mouth opened, his lips +trembled, and he said, "Slavery, of course. It's the only choice. + +"You're the psychologist, perhaps you can understand the fierce pride +I'd take in knowing that the men would have the ... the _guts_ to +want to end it all instead of bowing down to that bastard out there +who holds us in the very palm of his hands." Hawkins paused in this +outburst, blinked his eyes briefly, and then continued. + +"But that's just the emotion showing through. From the logical point +of view, our race must continue. If we choose slavery we'll live and +breathe and die just as we always have. We'll do all of these things on +alien planets, having forgotten the Earth we sprang from and all our +past history, as sorry as some of that has been. We'll have forgotten +who _we_ are. We will have lost ourselves." + +He banged a fist down on the table. "But we _will_ exist! The +protection of the race comes first, and we've got to make sure that it +is protected, that the _Sunward_ makes the logical decision. I'll steer +things as best I can, but I'll need help." + +He turned to Broussard. "I'm not a psychologist. I won't tell you how +to go about it. I don't care what you do. All I want are the results." + +For a space of several seconds the two men sat without speaking. Then +Hawkins said, "And I guess that unless you have something to add, +that's all for now. Let me know what you're doing, if you have time to +tell me. But more important than that, let me know if you think you're +going to fail. We may have to rig the ballots if you do." + +Broussard gave a deep sigh and rose to leave. He could understand the +torment the Captain was going through, but there was little that he +could do for the man at the moment. He was almost at the door when +Hawkins stopped him. + +"Broussard!" Hawkins shouted. "What in God's name makes a man's +personality so dear to him? Why has it always been just about the last +thing that a man will give up? You're the psychologist. You must know +the answer. Even a man with a diseased mind who knows that he's sick +and wants help badly will fight back tooth and nail when you try to +change even one small part of his personality make-up. Didn't you once +tell me that? Didn't you?" + +The Captain's voice grew louder and louder. "That's why therapy is so +hard, isn't it? That's why constructive education is so difficult, +isn't it? That's why politicians who appeal to existing fears and hates +and loves get elected instead of those men who try to shift public +opinion for the better. + +"Oh, why in God's name are we so proud of this tiny, puny, weak, +insignificant, miserable thing inside each of us we call the real +_me_!" He picked up the whiskey bottle and hurled it with full force +against the wall. It shattered in a thousand pieces. The dark liquor +inside ran down the wall leaving long thin fingers of stain behind it. + +Captain Hawkins' personal steward came rushing into the room at the +sound of the crash, and looked, horrified, at the mess on the wall. + +"Oh, get out! Get out, both of you, and leave me alone!" Hawkins +shouted. + + * * * * * + +After they were gone, Hawkins threw himself on his bunk and buried +his face in his pillow. The mood of fierce hot anger passed rapidly, +leaving only the warm sting of shame. Although he had made the +decision to capitulate to the alien, at least at an intellectual level, +he could not really bring himself to believe that there was no means +of escape. His head ached from his emotional outburst and every effort +toward constructive thinking seemed to end in a blind alley. He had +been tossing restlessly for perhaps two hours when the Communications +Officer brought him a message from Earth that had just been received. +Hawkins reached for the message blank eagerly at first, his befuddled +mind thinking for just an instant that here were instructions from home +telling him how to meet the crisis, telling him of a means of escape, +or just taking the awful responsibility of the decision from him. But +then he remembered that communications, even when they passed through +subspace, took several days to get from Earth to here. Earth was still +unaware of the crisis on Trellis, and this message that had just been +received had begun its journey long before they were made so painfully +aware of the existence of the alien. + +The radiogram was of a semi-routine nature, but one that, in normal +circumstances, would have demanded an immediate answer. "Shall we +bother replying to it?" the Communications Officer asked. + +"Of course not," Hawkins said angrily. "It wouldn't be necessary, even +if we dared break radio silence to reply." + +The Communications Officer's eyes opened wide in a startled fashion. +"Radio silence?" he said feebly. "But, Captain, we've ... we've...." + +Hawkins sat bolt upright in his bunk. "Good Lord, man, do you mean to +say that you've been sending messages to Earth right along?" + +The Communications Officer nodded. "We started relaying from the moment +you contacted the alien. We've sent out all the talks, speeches, +reports, everything. Just as you ordered." The man was cringing in +fright. + +"But didn't you hear the alien tell us to make no attempt to contact +our home base or he'd destroy us at once?" Hawkins demanded. + +The other officer felt like crawling out of the room without bothering +to open the door. "I'm sorry, Captain," he managed to stutter. "But I +must have missed that ... that part of what he said. I ... I was called +out of the office during part of the contact when something went wrong +with one of our main transmitters." The man had turned a very pale +shade of white. "But I'll stop transmission at once," he said, turning +nervously towards the door. + +Hawkins looked at his watch. "If he hasn't blasted us for it by now, I +don't guess he ever will. But all the same, you'd better stop sending +immediately." As the Communications Officer left the room, Hawkins +cursed mildly under his breath. After all of his plans and sweat and +pains, it would take something like this to bring the whole house of +cards crashing about him, some little insignificant something that +he had overlooked. "For want of a nail...." he said aloud, reminding +himself of the age-old parable. + +"But if he meant what he said about not notifying Earth, why hasn't he +already destroyed us?" Hawkins asked himself. Perhaps Lan Sur wasn't as +cruelly logical and unfeeling as they had thought. Hawkins pushed the +thought from his mind, knowing that it would lead him to too much false +hope if he pursued it further. It would be too easy to hope that simply +because Lan Sur had not acted upon one of his threats, he might not act +on the rest of them. + +As he thought, Hawkins found himself pacing the floor of his room +anxiously--first to one wall, then a stop, an about face, and back to +the opposite side of the room. He stopped his walking and slumped down +into his chair. + +"Back and forth," he said out loud. "From one side to another. I'm +just like the child in Broussard's story. Only instead of a man with a +stick at one end of the hall and a dog at the other, I've got Lan Sur +at both ends. Death, or a kind of slavery which is just about as bad. A +real 'avoidance situation' if ever one existed." He laughed bitterly. +"The closer I come to one choice, the worse it seems and the better the +other choice appears." + +He shrugged his shoulders sadly. "But eventually I'll have to realize +that there's no escape. Unfortunately, unlike the child in Broussard's +example, I can't...." + +Hawkins stopped suddenly as something occurred to him. "Good God," he +said after a moment. He sat upright in the chair. "It couldn't be. It +just _couldn't_," he told himself. "And yet, I bet, I bet it is!" + +He got up from the chair and walked quickly to the wall communicator. +"Hello, Bridge?" he demanded. "Inform all officers not on watch and all +the scientific personnel that I want to see them in the council chamber +in thirty minutes. Exactly thirty minutes, do you understand?" + +There was a broad smile on his face as he marched out of his stateroom +to talk with some of the officers and scientists before the meeting. + + * * * * * + +After all of the men had crowded into the meeting hall, they closed and +locked the doors. The group kept up a low but excited chatter while +they waited for Captain Hawkins to begin. + +"Gentlemen," he said finally, calling the meeting to order. "I am +informed by the electronics specialists aboard that they have made this +meeting room as 'spy-proof' as is humanly possible, but I think we've +learned not to trust the power of human technology too much these past +few hours. Therefore, I'm going to tell you just as little of my plans +as I possibly can, on the theory that the best-kept secret is the one +that the fewest people know about." + +The crowd seemed anxious, and a little apprehensive, but still hopeful. + +"Within the past hour, I have made what I think are several remarkable +discoveries. I shall not tell you what they are, but I think I have +discovered a way out of the dilemma that we are facing." + +The crowd breathed a unanimous sigh of relief. Smiles broke out on +several faces. + +"I cannot tell you just at the moment what this mode of escape is. But +I have discussed it with a few of you--the fewest number possible--and +all of them agree that there is an excellent chance that it will work. +If it does, we of Earth will still face a great many problems. But +we shall, at least, be free, and that is the important thing. If we +fail...." Hawkins let his voice trail off for a moment. "If we fail, we +can expect instant destruction not only for us, but for all of mankind." + +He waited for the meaning to sink in, his face set in a firm frown. And +then, purposefully, he let his facial muscles relax into a broad smile. +"But I do not think that we will fail. I think we will win. And I have +come to ask your permission to risk all our lives on the venture. +I cannot give you any more information. I can only ask for your +confidence--and for your votes of approval." He looked around the room +deliberately, pausing for just the right length of time. And then he +said, "Will all of you who have sufficient faith in me and my judgment +please rise in assent?" + +Broussard had given him the trick of mass decision--had told him that +if you make people commit themselves openly, the decision has a better +chance of unanimity. Hawkins smiled to see how well the device worked. +Every man in the room was on his feet, most of them cheering. + +He waited for the shouting to die down and then said simply, "Thank +you. And now to battle stations." + + * * * * * + +Captain Allen Hawkins sat in his control seat on the _Sunward's_ +bridge, staring at the button that turned on his radio set. "The +purpose of a position of responsibility is to make decisions," he told +himself. + +A green light burst into life on the control panel, indicating that all +of the preparations he had asked for were in readiness. Such signals +would be his only means of communications during the entire maneuver, +for he had given orders that no one was to utter one word aloud during +the entire operation. He was taking no chances. + +Hawkins grinned. "And the devil take the hindmost," he told himself. + +Pressing down on the radio button, he said aloud, "This is Captain +Allen Hawkins of the _Sunward_ calling Surveyor Lan Sur of the Dakn +Empire." + +Almost at once he heard a voice answering, "You may go ahead." + +"I think we have finally reached our decision," Hawkins said soberly. +"But before we announce it, we have one request to make, and I do not +think you will find it an unreasonable one. As you yourself pointed +out, ours is an incredibly emotional race. Had we not been so, we could +have given you our answer much sooner." + +The alien's voice came booming into the control room. "I will listen to +your request, but you surely realize that none of the terms that I have +given you can be changed." + +"Yes, we realize that, and our request is along slightly different +lines," said Hawkins. "As I said, we are an emotion-ridden race. But +you must have realized that we aboard the _Sunward_ are probably much +more stable than are the majority of our peoples back on our home +planets. It is always so with explorers and scientists. Therefore, we +were able to reach a logical decision, and we will be able to hold to +it. + +"Unfortunately, we anticipate a little more trouble than this with 'the +folks back home,' if you understand that term. And to make things much +easier, not only for us, but also for you, we have a request to make." + +"I understand the semantic import of the term and will give you my +decision on the request if you will but come to the point," came the +alien's voice. "We are wasting valuable time, and I have other things +to do." + +Hawkins was beginning to sweat a little. He was purposefully needling +the alien, and he had no idea of how far he dared to go. + +"Well, we of the _Sunward_ are convinced that you can carry out your +threats if we attempt any rebellion. We have seen you stand untouched +by all the power this ship could muster. But defense against our meager +weapons is one thing. The ability to destroy a star is another.... + +"The folks back home would accept our decision without hesitation, and +would never dream of giving you or your people any trouble, if we could +show them authentic pictures of how powerful you are offensively. We +request, therefore, that you unleash your weapons and turn this entire +solar system into a nova while we photograph the procedure." + +Lan Sur's answering voice sounded frighteningly loud to Hawkins. +"What you request is impossible for several reasons. First, the Dakn +Empire has no desire to destroy potentially valuable property simply +to demonstrate its powers. Second, the procedure would occupy too much +time, for while my small ship could outrace the enveloping flames of +the nova, your larger ship, unequipped as it is with the C^{2} drive, +would be caught in the destruction and you would perish. I recognize +that from the emotionality index of your race, such a demonstration +would probably aid in the peaceful absorption of your culture into +ours, but it is impossible." + +Hawkins allowed himself the luxury of a quick smile. His analysis of +the situation had been absolutely correct. "Well, look," he said in +reply. "According to our survey, the outer planet in this system is +pretty small and of little use to anybody. Could you possibly destroy +it instead?" He paused for just the smallest fraction of a second, but +then hurried on before the alien could reply. "Of course, if you can't +do it without destroying all the rest of the planets too, why, we'll +understand. But it would help...." + +The alien's voice boomed back, interrupting the man. "You obviously +still underestimate the technological level of the Dakn Empire." The +alien paused, as if checking something. "According to my analysis of +this system, the fourth and outer planet is of no value whatsoever to +my people. Therefore, I accede to your request. The planet will be +destroyed at once." + +"Hey, wait a minute," Hawkins cried in a startled tone of voice. + +"You need not worry," came the alien's flat response. "I fully realize +that your visual recording equipment cannot function at such a +distance. Therefore, you will raise ship at once and locate yourself to +take advantage of the best recording angles." + +Hawkins had to hold himself in his chair to keep from dancing a jig. He +had set a trap for the alien, and somehow, some incredible how, it had +worked. At least he dared hope that it had.... + + * * * * * + +The _Sunward_ came to a full stop just inside the orbit of the third +planet. The alien ship danced on ahead of them towards the tiny outer +world. "You can come closer than that," Lan Sur informed Hawkins, +noting that the _Sunward_ had stopped sooner than expected. + +"No, thank you," Hawkins replied. "We can get excellent pictures from +this distance, and you must remember that we haven't the protective +devices that you have." + +Hawkins noted that Lan Sur's voice carried with it an almost petulant, +disdainful note. "There is a great deal of difference between the +destruction of one small planet and the creation of a nova. However, +if you feel safer there, you may remain where you are." A few moments +later, the alien added, "Are your recording devices in readiness?" + +Hawkins indicated to the alien that they were. + +"Then watch," Lan Sur said. + +It took perhaps three minutes for the first burst of light to reach +their position. The tiny planet, scarcely 500 miles in diameter, +began to glow slightly, then suddenly came alive with fire. Bursts of +flame danced up hundreds of miles above its surface, then fell back, +exhausted, into the boiling cauldron the planet had become. For almost +ten minutes the small world seethed in agonized torment, and then, all +at once, it seemed to shake apart at the seams. There was no sound, but +those watching on board the _Sunward_ mentally supplied the missing +component to the greatest explosion they had ever witnessed. The +cameras recorded the scene noiselessly. + +A few minutes later, after most of the fragments of the once-world had +disintegrated in flaming splendor, Lan Sur's voice broke the silence. +"I used only one of many possible means of destruction. However, it +promised to be, under the circumstances, the most spectacular. And so +you have seen the offensive might of the Dakn Empire. Are you ready to +give me your decision?" + +The control board in front of Hawkins displayed all green signals. +"Yes," he said. "I think we're finally ready. Here is our answer to the +choice you gave us." His finger pressed firmly on a single red key. + + * * * * * + +The _Sunward_ had been hurling itself back towards Earth for almost an +hour when Broussard discovered Captain Hawkins, standing by himself in +the observation room, staring out into the black of subspace. + +"Well," the psychologist said. "I don't suppose it looks quite so bleak +to you now as it did on the trip out." + +Hawkins turned and smiled at the man. "No, I don't guess it does. Funny +what the presence of one small pinpoint of light does to the blackness +of a field, eh?" + +Broussard nodded in assent. "I wonder what our alien friend thought +when suddenly Clarion, Trellis, the two other planets, and us too, just +up and disappeared and left him behind?" + +Hawkins laughed. "You're the alienist. You tell me." + +"I'd rather ask you something. How did you know it would work?" + +"You might say I became an expert in psychology over night," Hawkins +replied. "Oh, not the scientific kind that you practice--but the every +day kind that most people mean when they use the word. I discovered, +for example, that because of a misunderstanding on the part of the +communications people, we continued to send messages home after the +alien had specifically warned us not to do so. At first I thought he +might be ignoring this infraction of his rules, but then I began to +wonder if it didn't mean that he just wasn't aware of what we were +doing. I remembered that he talked a great deal about a C^{2} drive +system which he claimed was so much better than the type we used. But +when I asked the Navigator to do a little figuring, I discovered that +by using subspace, we can actually get places much faster than his race +does. + +"It all added up to the fact that his race had never stumbled onto the +use of subspace. I know that sounds incredible, but when I checked with +one of the top physicists, I found out that we happened onto it by +sheer accident--and an impossibly stupid one at that--and not through +any high-level theorizing. The theory came later, after the process had +been demonstrated in a laboratory. + +"For a while I still couldn't believe it. But when we discovered that +his space ship was a very small one--too small to utilize the subspace +drive--I knew my guess had been correct. So I tricked him into letting +us get into position where we could activate the drive--and had the +engineers increase the effective radius so that we could pull Clarion +and her three planets into subspace with us." Hawkins paused for a few +seconds as he turned back to the observation window. "We'll need every +sun and every planet we can lay our hands on." + +Broussard leaned comfortably back against the door. "I think you were +wise to take the pictures of the destruction of that fourth planet. We +may need them to convince 'the folks back home' that this was the only +solution to the problem." + +Hawkins agreed with him. "They won't like giving up all the universe +they've come to be used to, just to run away and hide in subspace. And +you know, I think the poets and the sailors and the young people in +love will hate us most of all." + +"How do you mean?" asked Broussard. + +"No more heaven full of stars to write poems about, to sail true +courses by, and to sing love songs under. I guess a lot of us will be +lonely for all the stars." + +"Do you think they'll ever find us?" Broussard asked, changing the +subject. "From the look on Lan Sur's face when he told about that other +world, I suspect they'll move heaven and earth to find out where we've +run to." + +"Find us? The Dakn Empire? I just don't know. We've got a thousand +ships equipped with the subspace drive. That's a thousand or so solar +systems we can pull through into subspace before they can catch up +with us--I hope. But we'll have to be careful. If one of our ships is +ever caught, and they discover the drive, we're all done for. I doubt +that they'll show us much mercy. + +"A thousand suns--and only a handful of usable worlds in the whole lot +of them. Not much for a race that's grown as fast as ours has. And to +some of us, I guess, subspace will never be quite the same as the one +we grew up in--and came to know and love." Hawkins shook his head sadly. + +"But _if_ they find us?" Broussard insisted. + +"Well, at least we'll have had time to prepare. Perhaps a year, perhaps +ten, perhaps a thousand. But we beat them this time, and maybe we can +do it again." + +For a long time he continued to stare quietly into the blackness. "I +just don't know...." + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Avoidance Situation, by James McConnell + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 59438 *** |