ATOMIC POWER PLANT-Experiments are now underway in America to

bt..lIld atomIc plants SImilar to the above. Much cheaper to operate Ihan
standard plonh. the alam pIle will turn water into steam which Will operate
giant generators prodUCing tremendous amounts of electriCIty. Current
obstacle is thet plant must be perfectly built---never any repc" .. '_~cou\e
deodly rays prevent anyone from entering oher It IS pul Inlo operahon.
Breakdown would force complete abandonment of plonf.
 ..

FOR REAL JOB SECURITY

-GET I.C.5. TRAINING (2) You have tile training you Costs po"nl•• CI day
nN'd for .dnln"C'm~1I1. (:H You
look for lJelurwlI)'~ 01 doing ll.in&~ M",,) "" U ~ ~lllJt'nl hu mad.
on )',,,,, <lU'''. "I' ,1,.. C'",I "I III~ cUllue ill one
m"t,ll, h"d, iI,... alal)' illcrt'l~ his
What "OU tlo .bollil YOllr lu-
I,e...... Il:tll""~', ",,'no',l {ul him. By
tUTt" i~ up 10 you. Do n"Il.i1'1I
uml ~lar At your IlfO'St'ut J"I, III
o\",I\,ul-: nt I",m.· III your ~pare
IIt'w. \"11 I'U\' l'"m.,'1f t1llflll'limet
the SDIlIf" olel 11l1,". Or ,'nrll 1111
1.e.S. Jililomn ill ~',,"r ~I'nrl'
un 1''''11 ,,"',.. _IHIIl )"utt'", now
lime (ur U!£'llri,,.. l'fur"",i",... ,,,,,I.,,,,,. ("n" 'I"d,'nl '''l'(lrlf-
u]\I)' l.t :.S, "Ultl"" WII" I'o'onil ,95
IIUJU'IU,,.r 'Vullr ti.."t "It',.
h. Itl
IIU I'uul III " ... :'J
-YOIl can Slop wOTC)"ing. hne. IIIllrk the cnllr~c Ihlll Inh'rC.h
My job', secure nl)w! And lIere's rOil ill IlIc ('011 lion bdow, ami Till' _r{'"tllr or ,nUt lIte,.
the insurance poli,~y 10 pruH' it- mail il 10 U8.
('nt jol'-or Ihl' ""('t'l'''' III lind·
my 1.C.5. diploma!" Free books lnl tlu' nc .... lull ~'OIl'H' AII... a,..
Thi' f«linc or .('('IITh,. I~ We'll sl'nd )'011 t .....o inl('re~ling "'anlrtl-h in 'flU' l"lUJ •• MOlle
probably Irflieal of ever)' I.C.S. boob, TIle firsl, "How 10 Sue- ahead will. I. L S, Italnin,
eradll.le. BCC8u.e-u lhc job cred." is a gold mine of belpful while lithe" lI"y hdliml on tbe
ailuatlon ,ett li,hter, the maD tipc. Points out man)" smallihings routine, IInall.pllr job" Re·
whh I.C.S. tralnln, blll, tbe in )'our per,;onalitf DoDd lKhavior raenlbc!r. ~our finl Ilcl' to Ie-
.d"anla,e. rhal ClIlI make Ihe difference he. curity and I"CU'" II 10 mail
~'h)'? Your t.C.S. diploma teU. tween 5uccei'> and failure. The thil coupetl, T.ke a Cl:W mill'
Jour preKnl employer lhue irn· second book le.lb you .boul Ihe aiel .ad do it nOW'. 1£ rou pal
plmanl tbin&s: (1) You Wlnl to opportunilies in the field of fOU.r 11 08', It un eo.. you yOU'
male tbe mOil of your preleo.l job. choice. {ulan.

For Real Job Security - Get I. C. S. Tn.1DiJ1l1 I.e. S., Scranl.on 9. PeDna.

IHTERH4TlOHAL CORRESPOHOEHCE SCHOOLS :ICS~

-~-------------~.~,,~--~~_.-'~-------------
 r
llllllllll~
WORLDS of SCIENCE FICTION
SEPTEMBER 1954
Ilmllmill (: All Stories New ond Complete

I
Edito" JAMES L. QUINN
Assistant Editors: THOR L. KROGH, EVE. WULFF
Ar..Edito" ED VALIGURSKY

Cover by Max Reach: A scene from "The Test ColDny"

11111111111111I111111111111111
~IlUllllllllllllll"'II"'III"IIIII""llltltlllll"ln"111U"lIlllIlIllllll'"'UUUIlIIIIUlllUlIlIllll11111Wm'""mllllllll'UII"·'.Ill11IIl11lUllltlmllll!
, G

I
•

~ THE TEST COLONY by Winston Marks

NOVELETIE
6
I
!

•
5 .1
SHORT STORIES ,
DISQUALIFIED by Charles L. Fonlenoy 33 i
CONFIDENCE GAME by Jomes McKimmey, Jr. 36 I
THE BATTLE by Robert Sheckley 52 ~
WORLD WITHOUT WAR by E. G. Von Wold S8 I
WASTE NOT, WANT by Dove Dry/oos 72 •
THE WORK-OUT PLANET by R. E. Bonks 78 i
D P by Arthur Dek.ker Savage 90 .1
A GIFT FOR TERRA by Fox B. Holden 104 ~.

A CHAT WITH THE

WORTH CITING
WHAT IS YOUR SCIENCE I.Q.l
~~~~URES 50
57
4 I
s
s
s
•
SCIENCE BRIEFS
COVER PICTORIAL
70
r!
_ ATO:IC POWER PLANT I'
iiiUlIlUlIlIIlIltUlIlUlIlIUlIlIUIIIUlIlIlIlIlllllllllllIIlllUUlIIll,mllUllltUlIUUllllllIlIIUlIIlIlIlUlIIIlUIIIIl'UllllUlIIlIIIIIlUIlIllUlIllulllllmll!.

IF iJ published monthly by Quinn Publishing Company, Inc. Volume 4, No. 1.

Copyrigbt 1954 by Quinn rubl1shing Co., Jnc. Office o{ publication, 8 Lord Street,
Buffalo). New York. Enterro a.I Second Class Matter at POit Office, Buffalo N,w
York. :)ubscriptioD $3.50 (or 12 imlu in U.S. and PoatuiollJi Canada $4 lor 12
JUUet; elsewhere $4.50. Allow (our weeks {or change o( addres.,. All storia appear-
jng in tbill magazine are riCtion i any limilarity to actual persolll is coincidental.
Not respon!ible ror unsolicited artwork or ruanwcriptl. sSe a copy. Printed in U.S.A.
EDITORIAL AND 8USIN£SS OFFICES. KINGSTON, NEW YORK

Nul "SJI~ on ,,,/, AupJt 10lh

 chat man, here's something that will
IF r.au'te
mterest )'OU.
ristical Conewl, Organization. Managemenc and.
Finance.
Noe a magic formula-nor a Icc-rieh.quick Your proJl;reu is as spc"edy as you cue co mike
scheme-but something more subsu.nrial, more ic-Jt'pC'nding on your own C'agerness co lC'uP
pncrical. and the time you ..pend in ..rudy.
Of course, you n~d something mon:- rhan juSt Will rccognilion comC'~ The only anstier. as
the' desire to be an accountant. You've gor to pay you know, is th:l.t success Jt>tl come to the man
the p,jcC'-~ willing [0 Sl'udy cnnesrly. thoroughly. who is rcally "ait/rd. Ie's possible your employers
Still. wouldn', it ~ wonh yout while 10 n.cri. will notice your improvement in. a very few weeks
lice some of your IcisurC' in bvor of inu,'resting or monrhs. Indeed, many uSalJe graduates have
hotnC' srudy-o\"ct a compan.ti\·dy brid period! paid for their tn.ining-with increased "rnings
Always provided rhat Ihe:' (C'wards wetc good-. -before' IhC'f havecompleled ie! For accoune:lnC$.
salary of $4,000 to S10,OOO~ who ue trained in organizaeion and management,
An accountant's duriC's arc:- intctC'sting, yuiC'd arc: IIII:' execulivcs of the future'.
and of fe'al wonh [Q his t'mp!oycn. He has .tanJinr..' Send for Free Sample LeSion
Do you (ed chat such thin,;s nen't (or you?
Well. don't N 100 surC'. Very possibly chey ,.. ,,~! For ,out 0.,1:1 eood. ,et "IJ [bC' factS. Write' for ow:
Why nor, like w many beforc you, invC'srigillc frt'(' 48-pal'C' book. ··Accountancy. The ProfC'!5ioD
LaSaIlC"s modern Problem MC'thod of tr1lining for Thst Pa,s··-t.I5o tbe' fr« s:uople' lesson so you can
an accountancy. position? proVe' to roundf that 'au can mutCf aCColU1taDCJ
JUSt suppose you wef¢ permitted to work in. quickly. thorolr in spare tilIle' II bOlIle.
large accounting house under the personal super· Ov... 4.000 C.rtl..." Pu"lIc Account.nta
vision of an C"XpC'rt 2-ccoununr. Suppose. wi(h his
"'"11 LaSeU. . . ".nl
aiet, you studied accounting principles and solved
problems day by day--n.sy one.. u tim-·then ••••••••••••••••••••••••••
more difficult ones. If you could do this-and
could turn 10 him for advice as the problems be· LASALLE EXTENSION UNIVERSITY
nrne complex-soon you'd master them all. A Cone.pond.nee Institution
That"s dIe training you follow in principle un· 417 S. D....... 'n St. D.~•• H.'DO Chicago 5.111.
der rhe laSalle Problem Method. Scftd me without obligatioo. Free Sample kisco
You co\'er accoumancy (rom the basic Prin. I1Id "Accowll:ancr. The PIOfession That Pa,,:'
ciples right up through Accountancy Sysrcms and
Income Tax Proce'clurC'. Tht'n you add C. p, A_ N. _ , b_ ..••.••••
Training and prepare for the C. P. "- examina-
tions. AJJfUI '
AJ you go alonl. you Ibsorb the principles of
Auditina. CQsc AccoWltioa. BllSinns Law. Su· Ci". L., 6' ~ ....
 The cargo is aboard-
u. • • the dozen~odd crewmen at
their stations, the hatches sealed.
The sphere floats for a moment,
barely off the ground, while the
stubby stabilizing legs retract. Then,
slowly at fi"t (in order to avoid
the heat of atmospheric friction),
it soa" into the sky. No one knows
for sure how fast it can go. In
theory, gravity acts instantaneously,
and even the electro-magnetic
waves that carry power travel at up
to 186,000 miles per second 0 0 0"

THIS quotation is part of an ex·

cerpt from Mr. Swain's article
A CHAT WITH which we ran in the September,
1953, issue of IF, and we waited
THE EDITOR almost a year before we got a leUer
which came out emphatically in
SINCE THE fi"t trip into space- favor of the sphere. Here it is-
science fiction-wise, of course-au· from Mr. L. Wo Walton, of Bucks,
thon and experts have conceived England, who read it in the Eng-
a multitude of shapes for the space lish edition of IF.
ship. They have been conical, egg-
shaped, tubular, spherical and cubi- Sir:
cle, while the most popular con- It is a pity that most science fic-
ception has been that of a rocket, tion writers cannol gel away (rom
or torpcdoe, with fins of varying the V2 idea, a most unsuitable form
size and design. In the March, of space ship not likely ever to be of
1953, i"ue of The Soo'ler Maga- practical use in space travel. From
zinp, published at the University of considerations of every aspect, seri-
Oklahoma, there appeared an arti- ous space travel is not likely to be
cle entitled liThe Sky's No Limit", achieved until gravity is understood
by Dwight V. Swain, professor of and when nuclear energy is avail-
journ3lism and a former science able in controllable amounts from
fiction writer, in which the space light-weight, compact apparatus.
ship is envisioned as follows: The super-streamlined, tail-
"A sphere of dully gleaming finned, pusher-rocket driven space
metal some fifty {cet in diameter, ship (V2 kind) cannot ever be a
it rests on stubby, retractable legs practical solution of space travel.
... Carriers speed to and fro from It is thoroughly unsafe in take off
refrigerated warehouses, carrying and more so in landing because it
cargo to the conveyor lift built into is nose heavy and therefore "ground
.> the ship's base .•." seeking"; the idea of landing by
< 4 0
standing on its jets is scaring, vio- Uwireless power transmission" and
lent unstable wobbles could not be Utransmutational duplicator" can
avoided. It would be much beller be dismissed as outside of practical
to have not less than three tractor science, Le" they are pure fantasy.
rockets instead of trail rockets, fins Nuclear energy is apparently the
with their weight and atmospheric only solution for space ships . . .
drag could then be discarded. The regeneration of oXYKen, water, car-
centcr of thrust in front of or a1 the bohydrates, protc-ins, vitamins and
centcr of gravity is much better body minerals, thoug-h most de-
than behind the latter. But the sirable, is not absolut<'ly llct:e-ssary
thing that kills the rocket as a but given nuclear t'lll'l"gy such re-
means of space travel is the formid~ generation is a reasonable scientific
able load of jettisonable mailer that probability.
must be carried whatever the \Vith nuclear energy and r('gen-
source of energy may be, eyen if it eration as above described and
is atomic. some means of directly distorting
The spherical form of space ship a g-ravitational field, space travel
has a higher strength-weight ratio wOlild not only be a practical but
and relative volumetric capacity also a comTllercial success-for the
than a torpedo form, and apart amount and weig-ht of hl(~1 and sup-
from the lowest levels of the atmos- plies of air, ' . . ater and food required
phere, say about 20 miles, it is not would be "ery small and possible
at any disadvantage. In fact, with· payload hiRh.
in that 20 miles velocity must be It is refreshing' to find ~1 science
low so streamlining has no real ad- fiction . . , 'riter having some scientific
vantage. logic, as Swain has, and science fic..
In landing, the spherical form is tion would be much more enter-
greatly superior, whilst the torpedo taining if fantasy was barred. In
form is positively dangerous. The present science fiction it is irritating
spherical form can take off from to bump into scientific absurdities
and land in water-the torpedo such as time travel, hyperdrive,
form could not; it could also berth space warps, telepaths, etc., etc.
in and take off from mud or dust, -Yours faithfully
snow or frozen gases, in all cases L. W. Walton
with perfect stability.
Swain, in the article refcrroo to [ disa!')"ee with Mr. Walton
..• speaks of a "contragravitation- when he says time travel or tele·
al device" and though an oar is pathy is a scientific absurdity, but
such a device it is obvious that he I do agree with him in reg-ard to
means some device which directly his ideas on space travel. Also, let's
counteracts gravity shields after H. not forget that everything we know
G. Wells. I a!(ree with Swain on today rested in our imagination be-
this point, and that is after some fore it ever got to the drawing
42 years study of the problems of board, And isn't imagination itself
space travel. real? . . . Anyhow, what do you
On the other hand, Swain's think? -jlq
5
 ,

THE
TEST COLONY

Benson did his best to keep his colony from going native,

but what can you do when the Natives have a rare

human intelligence and know all about the facts of life?

,
BY WINSTON MARKS

ItheTarrival.
WAS the afternoon of our

Utest
Our fellow members of
colony" were back in the
all of us, even tough.minded Phil
Benson. We both found it difficult
to relax and enjoy the invigorating,
clearing at the edge of the lake, oxygen-rich air and the balmy cli-
getting their ground-legs and drink- matc. As official recorder, I was
ing in the sweet, clean air of Sirius trying to think of words suitable
XXII. I was strolling along the to capture the magnificence, the
strip of sandy beach with Phillip sheer loveliness of the planet which
Benson, leader of our group, sniff- would be our home for at least
ing the spicy perfume of the forest four years, perhaps forever.
that crowded within twenty feet Each absorbed in his own
of the water's edge. thoughts, Benson and I were some
Half a billion miles overhead, 500 yards from the clearin~ when
Sirius shone with an artificially he stopped me with a hand on my
white glow. Somewhere on the ho- ann. "Who is that?" he demanded.
rizon, Earth lay, an invisible, remote Up the beach where he pointed,
speck of dust we had forsaken 24 two naked forms emerged from the
dreary, claustrophobic months ago. calm waters. They skipped across
The trip had taken its toll from the sand and began rolling together
6
playfully in the soft grasses at lhe covered with a silky hair, some two
forest's edge. Even at this distance or three inches long. It had al-
they were visihly male and female. ready dried out in the wann sun
HI can't make 1111'10 out," ] said. and was standing out away from
My only thought was th;tl ~}Ill' of their skins like golden haloes.
the youn~ coupie-.. 1I;ld swum down They stoad well under five feet
~hcad of us anu wa" cnjo~'in~ the tall, and in every detail, except the
first privacy aH:lin:abk' in two Yl"ars. body hair and digits, appeared to
Benson's eyes were sharper. be miniature adults, complete with
"Sam, they-they look like-" navels.
OUf voices must have reached Even in the midst of the shock of
them, for they sprang apart and surprise, I was taken by their re-
rose to their feet facing us. markable beauty. "They're true
"Like youngsters," I supplied. mammals!" I exclaimed.
"We have no kids with us," Ben- HWithout a doubt," Benson said,
son reminded mc. He began to eyeing ti,e full contours of the lithe
move forward, slowly, as though little female. Her pink flesh tones
stalking a wild animal. were a full shade lighter than those
UWait, Phil," I said. "The planet of the male. Both had well-spaced
is uninhabited. They can't be-" eyes under broad foreheads. Their
He continued shuffiing ahead, fine features were drawn into fear-
and I followed. Within 20 paces less, half-quizzical, half-goad-na-
I knew he was right. Whoever they tured expressions of deep interest.
were they hadn't come with us! They stoad relaxed as if waiting for
Benson stopped so quickly I a parley to begin.
bumped into him. uLook, Sam! «This," said Benson, His onc hell
Their hands and feet! Four digits of a note!"
and-no thumbs!" They cocked their heads at the
I could now make out the details. sound like robins. J said, "Why?
The two forms were not quite hu- They don't appear very vicious to
man. The toes were long and pre- me."
hensile. The fingers, too, were HNeither does man," Benson rea
exceptionally long, appearing to plied. HIt's his brain that makes
have an extra joint, but as Benson him deadly. Look. at those skulls,
mentioned, there was no opposing the car placement, the eyes and
thumb. forehead. If I know my skull for-
They stood well apart now, the mations, I think man has met his
female seeking no protection from intellectual equal at last-maybe,
the male. Curiosity was written in even, his superior."
their faces, and when we stopped "What makes you think they may
advancing they began edging for- have superior minds?" As a psy·
ward until they were only five yards ehologist I felt Benson was jump-
away. ing to a prctty quick conclusion.
Their outlines, instead of becom- "Thc atmosphere. Forty percent
ing clearer, had fuzzed up more as oxygen. Invariably, on other plan-
they approached. Now it was evi- ets, that has meant higher meta-
dent that thcir bodies were lightly bolisms in the fauna. In a humanoid
8 WINSTON MARKS
animal that strongly implies high didn't like Benson's moody reaction
mental as well as physical activity. to our discovery of an intelligent
As if to prove his point, the two life-form. To me it was exciting.
little creatures tired of the one-sided What fabulous n"ws I would hav..
interview, bent slightly at the knees to send b:u-k with the first liason
and leaped at a forty-five degree ship 10 ('ontact u'" four years hence!
angle high intu the tree branches. And il would ))(. ('ntirely uncx-
The female caught the first limb pcctl'd. hl'cause thl' original ex-
with her lonJ{ fingers and swung plor~ltioll party !lad r:.ik·d to make
out of sight into the foliage. The thc disnwcry. Tilill ill itself was
male hung by his long toes for a an intri~uill~ lIlySltTy. lIow could
moment, regarding us with an in- hY{'llty-lwo S(.. il~lIlisls. twnt on a
verted impish expression, then he, minute l'xaminatioll of .1 pl:tnc"~
too, vanished. flora and fauna, O\'I·r1l1ok tl1l" most
I grunted with disappointmenL fabulous creation of all- an ;lIIimal
Benson said, "Don't WOlTY, they'll virtually in men's image? Till' ouly
be back. Soon enough." guess I could make was that Ihey
mwt belong to a nomadic tribe
small enough to escape discovery.
AsJane
WE returned to the clearing
Benson and Susan, my
Benson broke silence as the nar-
row beach strip began to widl'n
wife, came to meet us. Although into ti,e grassy plain where our
both brunettes rated high in femi- ship "'Iuatted lik.. a hemispherical
nine charms among the forty wom· cathedral. "This posc~ so many
en of our group, somehow they ap- problemsJ " he said shaking his
peared a little ungainly and un- head.
commonly tall against my mental I said, "Phil, I think you're tak-
image of the little people we had ing your job too scriou!-ily. You just
just left., Their faces were pale can't plan every detail of organizing
from the long in tennent in the ship, our communitv down to the ration-
and bright spots of sunburn on ing of tooth· pOwder."
cheekbones and forehead gave them uPlanning never hurt any pro-
a clownish, madc·up appearance. ject," Benson said.
"We've sorted and identified the "] disagree," I told him. "You've
fruits," Sue called to us. "The had too long to dwell on your plans.
handbook is right. They're deli- Now the first unpredictable incident
cious! We've got a feast spread. thrO\\'s you into an uproar. Relax,
Just wait until you-" She caught Phil. Take your problems one at a
our expressions, "What's wrong?" time. We don't e\'cn know that
Benson shrugged. "You girls go we')) ever see the little creatures
on ahead and get the crowd to· again. Maybe they're shy."
gether. I have an important an· He scarcely heard me. He was a
nouncementto make." Jane pouted large, well-muscled man of 46
a little and hcsitatcd J but Benson years, an ex.collegc president aJld
insisted. HRun along now, please. an able administrator, He and
I want to gather my thoughts." Jane J hili wife, W('I'C thl' only two of
We trailed after them slowly. I our party older thall tile 35-year
THE TEST COLONY 9
 age limit. His background as a that Sam Rogers and I just en-
sociologist and anthropologist and countered two remarkably human-
his greater maturity were important oid animals on the beach' less than
factors in stabilizing a new colony, half a mile from hcr('."
uut his point of vicw had grov.. . n Tension replaced levity, as Ben-
excessively conse!vative, it seemed son described our meeting with
to me. the natives. I thought he· gave it a
A crew of craftsmen with v(heir needlessly grim emphasis with such
busy little power saws had con- terms <IS, hquickn than cats", and
structed a sloping ship's ramp of «devilishly intdligc'1ll", but I held
rough planks sawed from the near- my peace.
est trees. We stepped through and He summarized, "I do not want
over the assembled people who to alarm anyone unduly, but we
were lying around in the grass at llIust face up 10 the fact that we
the base of the ramp, and -Benson arc totally unprepared for such a
mounted twenty fcet above us at conting-ency. The exploration group
the entrance to the ship. failed us badly in overlooking these
Everyone was in high spirits, and creatures. They lIlay not be inimical
a light cheer, rippled through the to our culture, but until this is es-
assembly. Benson, however, ignored tablished we must consider them
it and ·bent a thoroughly serious prime threats. That is all," he con-
gaze out over his "flock". cluded.
"Please give me your closest at- No one grumbled aloud, but
tention," he began and waited until their faces showed keen disappoint-
everyone was quiet. "U ntil further ment at the resumption of quar-
notice, we must proceed under a tering in the ship. Reluctantly, the
yellow alert during daylight hours women began rolling up the still-
and a red alert at night. AU work deflated air-mattressl.·s that were
parties leaving the ship will check scattered about thl' soft, deep grass.
with the scribe every houl- on the Sue complained, "Sam, if these
hour. \\'e will resume sleeping in people don't gd a little privacy
the ship. Women arc restricted to pretty soon we'll turn into an ant
within 100 yards of the ship at all colony. There'll be lovin' in the
times. Men will go armed and will streets."
please inform themselves of their "It's not my idea," I said. "I'll
position on the security watch list be nailed to <1 table at the foot of
which will be post cd tonight." He the ramp all day making check
squinted in the bright sunlight. marks. Phil is taking this entirely
"For the moment, you men with too big. The little ~cople are really
sidearms, post yourselves around channing. He neglected to mention
the ship. Sound orf loud if you sight that they arc beautifully forllled
anything larger than a rabbit)' and quite gentle in their--'-thcir
The men named got slowly to actions.)'
their fect, fingering their light hunt- "Actions?" she said. "What hap-
ing pistols self-consciously. Benson pened, really?!)
continued, "You Tllay appreciate I described the conditions under
these precautions when I tell yOli which we first saw the natives, and
10 WINSTON MARKS
he laughed a little .trainedly. "I fuJly balanced group, Sam. We
can just imagine the look on Phil can't afford casualties. Look at our
Benson's face." medical corps, two doctors and
I knew what .he meant. In try- four nurses. Suppose we were at·
ing to enforce the .hipboard rule tacked and lo.t them?"
of segregation of the sexes, our Captain Spooner, whose author·
leader had de,'eloped an oversen- ity bad lapsed when we touched
sitive attitude toward certain as- down, hackl'd up Benson. "I see no
pects of modest)'. In the unutter- gn,..::tt hardship ill the precautions.
able boredom of space, the pledge InCOll\TniellCl', )'CS, but nothing
we had all taken to complete con- lh~t the {.hUI~t'r uoesn't full)' jus-
tinence for the voyage was a 5Cvere tify,"
test to all forty couples. He \'lo'as a cocky, virilc, bald·
Had propriety. and .pace con· headed liule terrier of 35 years,
sidera tions been the only reasons His vcry young \vire: and the wives
for the infamous uno-romanc,," of the other three officers sC(.'lIIed
regulation, it would never have held only Iightl)' perturbed at the pros·
up. But all concerned realized the prcts of continuing celibacy, which
problem of childbirth in space un- conllnncd my suspicions.
der the jam-packed living condi- I said, "That'. gritty of you, Cap-
tions, tight W'\ teT and food ration- tain, but remember, the rest of us
ing and the fetid, recirculated air. haven't had the relative privacy of
Now the second honeymoons the bridge. If this restriction con-
were over before they .tarted. It tinucs long I predict violations of
was back to the ship and the night- the diseipline, and probably some
life of monks and nuns. serious behaviour problems."
That night, Sue and I joined the My position as colony psycholo-
four ship's officers, their wives, gist had becomc somewhat obscured
Phillip Benson and Jane in Ihe
navigation cupola atop our doomed under Ihe snowstorm of paperwork
ship that had become a ·'fortress·'. thai my sc(,'onda,)' job as official
The small control room was the scribe had brought. Benson seemed
only semi-private room in the ship, now to recaU that mental health
and even Benson was admitted by was my concern. He said, "l
invitation only. The meeting was thought you rep0rted high morale
a council of war, so to speak, and upon arrival."
the officers were pressed into serv- "I did, but the ten'iions arc there,
ice to organize and operate the and it's foolish to draw Ihem too
security guard. tightly. We have a well-picked,
When the guard watch was highly adaptable group of people.
worked out for a week in advance, Let's keep them that way. The
I spoke up. "I think we're getting quicker we hit a more nonnal
011 on the wrong foot, Phil. We existence the less risk we run of
can't stay penned up like animals emotional disturbances."
at night and expect to function as "They·U take it," Benson said
humans." posilively, and Spooner nodded in
Benson argued: "We are a care~ arrogant agreement.
THE TEST COLONY 11
 I
y
M g'cared to thl' 5hortcr rotation
20-HOUR wristwatch, don't even bite."·
"They will," I said, Cl as soon as
of Sirius XX II, s;lid nine o'clock, thcy get a good taste of human
one hour bdofC nOOI1, when the hlood. And hahy, you're sUre mak-
WOIII('11 Iwg:all undressing. jn~ it easy for them."
Tlu:rc had been an air of con- Benson was distracted from the
spiracy among them all morning, conversation by the converging
a studied casualness as they wan- male colonists, who were whooping
dered around near the ship, form- and yelling like a horde of school
ing small conversational eddies, boys. He hacked up the ramp and
dispersing and reforming elsewhere. ordered, ULct's get on with the
I had just finished checking in the work. You've seen your wives in
II-man fruit-gathering detail. I the altogtthcr before."
looked up from my roster in time Thc mcn quieted a little, but one
to sec the first motions of the "great yelled, "Yeah, but not lately!"
disrobing". Zippers unzipped, snaps Another added, "And not all to-
popped open, slacks. skirts, blouses gelher. n
and jumpers feU to the gra~s, and a In spite of the fact that nude
dazzling spectacle of space-bleached sun-bathing was a commonplace,
feminine epidcnnis burst into view. nventy-second·century custom on
The ladies were very calm about Earth, by tacit consent clothes had
it, but a chorus of yips sounded been worn at all times aboard ship.•
and swelled into a circus of cheers The women had gone along with
from the male working parties. Bcnwn for two years on such mat·
Before I could fathom it Benson ters, so this was clearly a feminine
came charging down the ramp fol- protest against the spirit of the
lowed by his fruit-stowing detail. yellow alert.
He stopped at the foot of the ramp, Young doctors Sorenson and
mouth open and eyes pinched with Bailey came trotting up, grinning
annoyance. appreciatively but wagging their
He spotted Jane and Sue. "What fingers. Without consulting Benson,
is going on out here?" he demanded Bailey mounted the ramp and
loudly. shoutcd, "Blondes and redheads,
Our two wives waved at us and tcn minutes exposure. Brunettes,
stroUed over, doing a splendid job fifteen."
of acting unconcerned. "Just a little A great booing issued from the
sun.bathing," Jane said, shooing a men, but Bailey held up his hand
small insect from a pale shoulder. for silence. "The medical staff will
Susan refused to meet my eye. make no errart to enforce these
She was watching two birds soar exposure maximums, but be advised
overhead. "It's fantastic," she said. that the radiation here is about the
"If you don't look at things too same as Miami Beach in June, so
closely, you'd never know we don't let the air-conditioning· fool
w:ercn't at a summer camp up in you."
Wisconsin-except for the fruits. Benson was spared further deci-
They remind me more of Tahiti. sions on the issue, because at that
It's marvelous! The mosquitoes moment one of the sentries rernem.
12 , WINSTON MARKS
,. (' ' ,

bered to take a quick look at the ing motion.

vector of forest he was supposed to A ripple of subdued exclamations
be guarding. Unable to make his ran through our people, and in tum
voice heard over the hub-hub, the the little natives moved their lips,
guard fired his pistol in the air. turned their heads to one another
We all jumped up and stared, and seemed to be commenting
and Benson muttered, "Dear God!" among themselves.
Benson began hissing futile com·
OUf people were f.cattered over mands for the women to start
an aCfe around the ramp, and en- boarding the ~hip. No one paid any
compassing thel11 was a semi-circle attention. I could sense no great
of at least a hundred "savages", danger in the situation. In fact I
frozen like bronze statues at the felt more attracted than repelled
sound of the gun-shot. They curved by the little golden.haired crea-
in an arc less than a hundred yards tures.
from the ship. Bailey, who was still on the
Their hands Wl'rc empty of weap- ramp, took a different view. He
ons, and their motionless attitudes called out, "They don't look dan-
were in no way threatening. To gerous, but keep away from them.
the contrary, they seemed small and Lord knows what kind of bugs they
quite inoffensive except for their may have in them."
numbers. It was a soberinR thought. Their
Ac.til1g in my capacity as psy- most insignificant disease germ
chologist, I ran up the ramp and might easily wipe out our colony if
called out as calmly as a shout it proved contagious.
would permit, "Everybody take it Yet, how could we stop these
easy! Don't make any quick moves. natives without inflicting blood-
Above all, don't anyone fire off a shed? On they came in their sham-
weapon again unless there is an bling, loose-gaited walk. Benson was
obvious attack." unsnapping his holster flap, and
Benson clutched my arm. "Are even the highly curious women
you mad? We've got to get the were beginning to shrink back to-
women inside." ward the gangplank, when a light
"That's what I'm thinking," I breeze swept through us from be-
said. "But if we invite attack by hind. It rustled the grass softly and
running they won't all make it." moved into the natives, only 20
"They aren't armed. The men yards away.
can stand them ofT." The wavering line stopped again.
"Then what are you worrying Segments began to retreat, first
about?" I demanded. uRelax for a singly, then in pairs and groups.
minute and sec what happens." All but a handful of the most curio
Benson simmered and reluctantly ous suddenly bounded for the forest
accepted my logic. Meanwhile, the and disappeared.
line of natives became mobile again. The others came forward again,
They closed in at a casual saunter, but with increasing bewilderment.
rolling off the balls of their long Repeatedly, they raised their noses
feet with a peculiar, slow, bounc- and sniffed the air.
THE TEST COLONY 13
 Bailey said from behind us, clean·5ihaven.
"They catch our scent and don't By now Benson was as fascinated
know what to make of it. Thank as the rest of us. I stepped down in
heavens most of them took off. We front of him to confront our visitor.
can handle a dozen of them easily I plaeed a hand on my chest and
enough." said, "Sam Rogers!"
Our people opened ranks and let The dark eyes swept from my
the little creatures infiltrate. Sue feet to my head and fastened upon
squeezed my arm. "Why, they're my face. He pointed four long
beautiful little things! They make Iinge.rs at me and repeated distinct-
me feel self-conscious with my ly, "Samrogcrs."
bleached-out skin. They certainly My name is easy to pronounce,
look intelligent, those eyes-no fear but it was a shock to hear it from
in them at all-look, they're even the lips of an extra-terrestrial being.
smiling!" Then he placed the sanle hand
I ndeed, several of the creatures on his own chest and said, "JOe!"
were grinning broadly at the male Actually, it came out with a rapid
members of our party. They found widening and narrowing of his lips
our clothing amusing. that sounded like a quick version
Now we couJd hear their soCt of, uJo-ah~ah-oh," but the vowel
voices conversing in a language that echoes were sO rapid that for prac·
was liquid with a great many com- tical purposes it read, uJoe," to
pound vowel sound!\, not unlike me.
Earth's Finnish tongue. Their I pointed my hand at him and
quick, dark eyes seemed to take in repeated, "joe!" He looked vaguely
everything. They seemed torn be- disappointed at my crude aspiratory
tween a consuming curiosity and a control, but then a bright smile
strong aversion to our scent. One creased his cocky little face. His
by one they satisfied the former and hand flicked out and back.
yielded to the latter, dropping back "Samrogers-joe."
and racing for the forest in great, Involuntarily I nodded my head.
joyous bounds punctuated with He nodded back and smiled again.
happy little whoops of undefinable Before I could think of what comes
emotion. after, uDr. Livingstone, I presume,"
At last only one, chesty little he wrinkled his nose, squinted his
male was left. Benson exhaled heav- eyes, whirled and darted off for
ily beside me. "I t's the little fel- the timber.
low we saw on the beach. Sam. We stood rooted for a minute,
Look, hc's coming through." then Bailey said, uWe must really
A tawny stripe of brown, furry stink. Plucky little fellow took it as
hair ran from his high forehead, long as he could."
over the crown of his proud skull Benson looked back at Bailey and
and down his neck to fade into the me. uWell, what do you think?"
typical, deep, golden fuzz of his I looked at Bailey, and he looked
body. As he approached the ramp at Dr. Sorenson. uLord, I don't
I saw that his face was smooth, know. Except for the possibility of
entirely free of hair as though microbe infection, they appear per-
14 WINSTON MARKS
 feedy harmless to me," Sorenson the uncommon justice, one of the
said. hardest workinK amateur carpenters
I said, "Since they don't like our won. The women brought in arm-
scent there doesn't seem to be much loads of grass for a couch and
danger of contact. Phil, why don't decorated it with wild-flowers.
we call off the yellow alert with the When (,vl'nillg fdl it seemed like
exception of a rule or two about an occasion fIll" :1 celebration, and
fraternization in closed spaces?" Benson n·h'llled Ull the evening cur·
Benson looked over his people. few.
All were paired off now, husband \\'1' ~dtlll'n'd ~1'r:lPS from the
with wife. And to a man their anTIS lumber Illill, I":lll'fllll\' cleared a
were wrapped protectively around sandy- strip 011 lilt' Ilt':;dl of all in...
their respective spouses, watchin~ Aalllmablt, 'Il~Hll'l' allt! 1>llill ~I huge
for the decision. Their faces read, bonfire. III thl' rich :lllllOSphcre
"Is this innocuous little race of peo- evell the gn'l"11 wood hU1'I1l'd mer..
ple the cause of all the troubll' ?" rily, spitting grL't:n sap :lIld ';«'nding
Benson rubbed the gray of his up clouds of pungent, :IT'Olllatic
temple with a knuckle. He mounted smoke.
the ramp and announced, "The Sue had just curled up in the
emergency is reduced to a blue crook of my ann, and we were
alert. 'Vomen will have the frce- working on a case of Earth·nostal-
dom of the clearing and the visible gia, when we noticed our visitors
beach, but only authorized work- again. They came bounding, up to
ing parties will enter the forest. the wide rim of the firelight. They
Men .....ill continue to .....ear side- jabbered in excited, ecstatic ,"oices
arms. When outside shelters aTC but stopped short of our human
complete we wilt sleep in them, but assembly. Only one, I rccognized
until then, or until we are better him as Joe, picked his way through
informed about the natives. we us and caDit' close to inspect the
shaIl continue sleeping in the ship." crackling blaze.
Fascinated, Sue and I watched
his profile contort with an expn:'s-

T HE NEW order of the day did

nothing to mitigate the resent·
ment and tension, but it did ac-
sian of immense admiration. It \\'as
not the awe of a savage, but the
heartfelt appreciation of a human
celerate assembly of the lumber mill for a rare and beautiful spectacle.
and house construction. The little "Fire must be unknown to
Sirians s('cmcd to have satisfied them," Sue whispered.
their curiosity, for they left us to "At least mighty rare," I said.
our labors for a whole week. "The handbook says no volcanoes
The first building of our pro- and no thunderstorms."
jected village was completed on the Joe turned at the sound of our
seventh day. It was little more than low voices. With eves half-blinded
a two~room shanty, but it repre- by the glare he searched for me.
sented the most sought after prize "Samrogers!" he called clearly.
of the moment, privacy! "Samrogers!"
We drew lots for it, and, with I rose to my feet and answered.
THE TEST COLONY 15
.::"'.:'i,
"Joe! Right here, Joe." handling fire, and that during the
He picked his way over to me, present dry season even the green
smiling broadly and glancing back foliage might take off in a holo-
at the fire every step or two. A pace caust if ignited in this rich, oxygen
away he stopped, pointed at me, air.
said, US amrogers," pointed at him- Even as he spoke, a long, slen-
seU, said, "Joe!n then pointed at der pole, flaming at one end, top-
the fire and waited. pled from the settling fire and rolled
It was a clearly indicated ques- ncar Joe. With scarcely a pause to
tion. I answered it ..... pectfully, debate, he leaped to his feet,
"Fire!" grabbed the pole by the cool end
He repeated, "Fire," and his eyes and waved it aloft like a torch.
glowed like sparks. Then he made With a triumphant yell he
gestures of picking up some of the plunged through us and out aero"
fire and taking it away, turning to the field bearing his prize aloft
me to pose the question. trailing sparks.
Sorenson, propped up on an el- I tried to shoot low, but my
bow, said, "I'll be damned. He's light caliber pellet caught him
asking you to give him some of the rather high in the thigh. He dived
fire." to the ground senselcss in a shower
"No," Benson said. uHe knows of sparks. His fellow creatures im-
fire, knows you can't take the mediately gathered around him.
flames. He's asking for thl! means When we closed in to retrieve the
to build a fire." fire-wand and stamp out the
I faced Joe, shook my head sparks, the other natives faded
solemnly and said, UNo!" To give away, crinkling their noses. They
meaning to the word I sat down made no effort to remove Joe, but
and turned my head away for a cast many admiring glances back
momen t. When I looked back Joe at the fire he had stolen.
was looking very disappointed. It Sue came up stomling at me.
made Sue so sad that she held out "You didn't have to shoot him."
a wedge of sweet melon to him. She started to knecl down beside
Joe accepted the gift easily, grace- him, but Dr. Bailey restrained her.
fully and with a small smile of "Easy, Susan. Remember the
"thank you". He turned back, quarantine."
squatted as ncar the blaze as com· uWe can't let him lie there and
fort would permit and chewed ab- bleed to death," I said, feeling un-
sently at the melon. accountably ashamed for my deed,
Thereafter he ignored the ani· although there was scarcely an al-
mated conversation that sprang up ternative.
among us. Jane wanted to know Benson came up, "Nice shot,
why we didn't give him one of our Sam."
lighters. "He's jwt as intelligent as J said, "Phil, I want permission
we are," she insisted. She got no to enter quarantine with Joc, here.
argument on that score, but her Let me have the instruments, and
husband pointed out that the gold- I'll probe for the bullet and take
en people were unaccwtomed to care of him:'
16 WINSTON MARKS
 Benson shook his head. "We muring, "Tala! Tala!"
can't take that chance. We The doctors seized the oppor-
couldn't spare you if you caught tunity to launch a study of Sirian
something. n microbes, diseases and earth molds.
"Who could you spare better?" Sue and I took cultures from Joe's
I demanded. "See here, we've got wound, and the medics experi-
to find out sooner or later whether mented with the effects of local
these little fellows carry anything mold products similar to the peni-
contagious. If they do, well, then cillin snies. By fOJ'd'-fccding we
we have a decision to face, but we managed to ket·p JOl' alive until
can't decide anything until we Bailey, Olll' lI\()rllill~. held up a
know." hypo full of dea,· liquid and told
Sue was at my side now. She us how to arlmillistn it.
said. "You have a dozen people Joe responded at on('c. The fol-
who can punch a micro-writer. lowing day he began silting up and
Sam and I aren't indispensable. vociferously demanding, "Tala,
Besides, it was he who crippled the Tala !"
poor little fellow." "Must be his wife 01' girl.frirnd."
Without waiting for an answer Sue deduced. ShC' was wrong. Joe
she called out, I'Larson, where are began making motions of a person
you?" The lucky carpenter tried to lifting a vessel and drinking. When
draw back in the shadows, know- we offered him water he refused,
ing full well what she had in mind. repeating, "Tala !" Jncl making
Benson stared at me for a min- more drinking motions. He tried
ute. He said gruffly, "Very well, if to rise, but the pain iri his swollen
you can talk Larson out of his thigh stopped him. He sank back
cottage, go ahead, play hero!" licking his lips like a man dying
I didn't fcel very hcroic right of thirst, and in spite of his general
then. Two hours latel", when we improvrmC'nt, he stayed in a sullen,
had the bullct out of .lac and had subducd attitude.
him beddcd down comfortably for As his wound closed and the
the night, Sue cosied up to me in swelling reduced, Joe's tempera·
our double sleeping silks and mur- ture, which had reached a fabulous
mured, "What a guy has to go 142 degrees F., stabilized at 137 F.,
through out here to get a little thereby confinning Benson's pre·
privacy!" diction that the natives would dis-
Poor Larson! play a much higher metabolism.
Sue, who had spent hours strok·
ing the- fevered brow, had grown
BAILEY and Soren",n set up
their lab outside our cabin
used to Joe's hot-bloodedness, and
she tcased me about my relative
"frigidity".
door. Joe's wound was seriously
infected, and none of our cautious- Until Joe got his HtaJa" I made
ly applied remedies would control disappointing progress at teaching
the raging fever with which he him our language. Hc picked up
awoke the first morning. He lay, our words for those few items that
apathetic, eyes half dosed, mur· pertained to his cornIort, such as
THE TEST COLONY 17
food, drink, bedpan and pillow- fruit, poked a hole in the rind with
he revelled in the luxury of our a pointed forefinger and drank
down-filled pillows. But at first he deeply. Watching from the door of
evinced little interest in communi- our bedroom, we could smell a de-
cation. lightful, tangy scent that was only
Then onc morning we arose to va~ely typical of the Sirian man-
find him standing and clinging goes we had eaten.
weakly to the door jamb, search- To our surprise, as Joe drank,
ing the perimeter of the clearing the skin collapsed like a plastic bag.
with frantic eyes. 'lIt must be a different species,
We scolded him, but he ignored or else it's much riper than any
us. He spotted a fellow native we've gathcrcd/' Sue said.
examining one of the unfinished When Joe paused to breathe,
huts, which were going- up at the the female took the fruit from
rate of one a day. Hp called out him and sucked at it enthusiasti-
in a loud, clear voice, :md th(' little cally. They sank down on Joe's bed
golden creature came running over and took turns drinking the juice
to investigate. until the quart-sized skin was
It was a lovely little female, and crumpled and empty.
and I told Sue, "We have a re- I fear I interrupted an incipient
union on our hands. Must be his romance in order to retrieve the
mate." discarded skin. The female wrin-
But Joe was quite indifferent kled her nose and made for the
to her charms. She seemed toler- door. I watched her roll unsteadily
ably happy to sec him, touched his across the clearing with eccentric
bandages with long, gentle fingers, little lurches. The bland smile on
then hurried off to the forest as if Joe's handsome face deepened my
in response to his commands. Joe suspicion. I pointed to the skin
made no effort to follow. He and asked, "Tala?"
seemed still to realize that he was He nodded, patted his stomach
in good hands and was profiting and repeated, "Tala!"
by the care he was receiving. From that moment our relations
Hmvcver, he chafed for the ten improved immensely. Joe enlisted
minutes or so before her return. the help of various females to keep
We waited. with high curiosity. him supplied with skins of tala,
I bet Sue that we were about to and with the satiation of his crav-
learn what "tala" was. When the ing he took a completely new in-
female approached again we were tcrest in life.
mystified. "Why it's just a mango,"
Sue said. Indeed, the yellow-
skinned, kidney-shaped fruit which E SPENT hours evcry day
the little native bore carefully in
both hands appeared to be one of
W working out our language
difficulties. He learned so rapidly
the over-sized specimens we had that I abandoned learning his lan-
named after its smaller Earth coun- guage in favor of teaching him
terpart. ours. Even such abstract concepts
Joe reached greedily for the as time and space proved no ob·
18 WINSTON MARKS
stacles. He grasped the purpose of that his tribe was the only clan on
my wristwatch after a single day's the face of the planet, so far as he
demonstration of its relationship knew, and that it numbered fewer
to the passage of Sirius across the than a thousand individuals.
sky. There was no such thing as
Using a pencil I had managed monogamy or even polygamy.
to convey our symbols for large True, at night when tlw air was
numbers. Joe could count up to cooler, they p:lil'cU ofT, Ill:dl.' and
any number now, and he seemed female, and each lnal(' chose from
actually to understand the open- among several favorites. Rut there
end nature of our system of enu- was no formal nor pf'rlll:lIU'nt mat-
meration. ing arrangement.
It made possible a mutual agree- Benson, who Iud set lip :1 ~hcl­
ment on such matters as the num- tered desk outsidC' Jo(''s window
ber of Hdays" in a )'('ar, which he in order to listen in with all an-
was mildly interested to learn num- thropologist's avid interest, posed
bered 440 on his planet. Then a the question which grew into quite
startling piece of infonnation carne a mystery. Under such fruitful con-
from him whro I asked how long ditions :lnd ideal environll1f'nt,
his people lived. why hadn't Joe's people overrun
"Two years. Maybe three," he the planet? Even with the hrief
replied. Because of the shorter days, life-span, each female should pro-
a Sirian year about equalled an duce many babies.
Earth year, and I found it dif- Joe had no answer. The problem
ficult to belicvl' that these won- didn't interest him, and he ref used
derful little animals lived only two to ponder it. He'd squat in the
or three years. He persisted until corner jealously guarding his limp-
I believed him. skinned mango, nipping at it oc-
He was strangely vague when I casionally when our questions
tried to determine the common failed to make sense.
manner of death. Indeed, personal We were all, incidentally, quite
death was a concept either so hazy curious to taste Joe's tala juice,
or distasteful to him that he re- but it was his sale property. His
fused to dwell on it. The most he lady-friends would hand it to no
would convey was that there were one but him, and he guarded it
always new facrs in the tribe, and selfishly. Bailey and Sorenson had
the old faces rarely remained more enlisted the help of our t\\lO organic
than thr('c years. At this time, he chemists to examine the moist resi-
described himself as being more due of the empty skins, but with
than a year old. their limited lab facilities all they
This was only one of several could do \\'as make guesses that
startling items that were revealed the coveted juice was the product
in our conversations. The golden of fennentation or enzymic action
pcople ma tUTed in three months with which we were unfamiliar.
to fully grown adults. A female As a psychologist I knew that
could bear several babies a year Joe responded to the tala similarly
and usually did. Vet Joe insisted to the way a human dipsomaniac
THE TEST COLONY 19
does to alcohol. When he wa' well- They're just human enough to
supplied he was cheerful and hap- have a bad influence on the colony.
py. When he ran out, he became They're dissolute and entirely with-
taciturn and irritable. His frequent out ambition. In fact they seem to
resort to the liquor, when we tried have damned tittle race survival
to Corce him to ans......er trouble- instinct at all."
some questions, confirmed my sus- I had pondered this many times,
picion that there were certain mat- but it hadn't struck me a~ especial-
ters his brilliant mind simply re- I)' dangerous to the colony. Benson
fused to embrace, and the simplest went on, uWc have a glorious
way to avoid worrying about them pJanet here, rich in minerals and
was to take another drink of tala. other natural resources. By com-
Ben!On and I discussed this one parison, Earth is so wont-out and
afternoon while Joe was taking a depleted and over-crowded that the.
nap. We sat in the shade of my contrast is almost too great."
hut spooning the lush pulp of a UWhat are you driving at?" I
mango into our mouths. He said, demanded.
UEverything points to a race of "J ust this. From the first the
super-intelligence held down by biggest problem here has been to
sheer degeneracy. n prod cveryone to work. "Ve have
uYou mean the tala-drinking?" a civilization to build here, and
I asked. that means dearing morc land,
He nodded. "For one thing. Our breaking the soil, mining, construc-
work parties report that they never tion, manufacturing."
stop drinking the stufT. The older "Look," I said somewhat im-
ones get quite plastered. I've seen patientl)', u you don't exprct 80
it myself. Disgusting. And they people to accomplish all this in
have no common sense of, or- four years, surely?"
well, I shouldn't say decency, be- "I expect progress," he said finn-
cause obviously morality as we Iy. "Do you realize that when we
know it just doesn't exist. But finished the last of the fort)· houses
thank heavens they don't care for that virtually ended the building
the scent of humans." program? \\lork on the two ware-
I said, UDon't depend on that houses, the water system, sewage
too much. I asked Joe about it, disposal plant and the commissary
and he said that we don't neces- we planned is almost at a stand-
sarily smell bad to them. It's just still."
so alien to any scent they\'c known uThe people want time to finish
that they tend to shy ofT. Joe is up their homcs and make them
quite used to it now. He lets Sue comfortabJe," I objccted.
rub his back and his head. She's "That's what they say," he told
made quite a pet of him." me, "but they're fooling away lbcir
Benson didn't like this news at time."
all. He pondered thoughtfully for "Phil, \\'e'"c only been here a
a moment. "That means that month and-"
they'll all gradually get used to be- "And if I hadn't pulled a blue
ing around us. I don't like it, Phil. alert," he interrupted, I\..'e
20 WINSTON MARKS
"
wouldn't even have the resiclentials and wander off with it."
built yet. Now they've got their "That's odd," I said. uJoe in·
precious privacy, and the pressure dicates that they place no value
is off. They'd rather go chasing on possessions normally."
off into the woods to hunt exotic "Oh, they don't keep things,"
fruit and peek at the natives than Donnegan explained. "They pack
get on with the project. H them ofT, fiddle with them and
I hadn't realized things wefC this then we find thelll ~trcwll all over
serious. UDco't they obey orders the forest. Sometimes I'd like to
any morc? What about your work wring thl'ir little 1lt'cks!"
schedules?" Benson looked up at him quickly.
"I've pushed them as hard as HSounds funny l:tlllling- rr01l1 you,
I can without forcing a test of my Paul. You were Olll' of their chief
authority," he said. "They claim ddcndt'l's at the llIl'eting last
they deserve time to get adjusted week."
and relax a little before buckling Donnegan's face darkl'ned.
clown." "That was last weck, bcf ore I
"I agree with them," I said. found out a few things. As a mat·
"They're all serious, industrious ter of fact, I think it's tilllc you
. people, and this is still an aclven· knew about them, too." He
ture with them. It will wear off squatted down by us Jnd unbur·
pretty soon, and they'll be yearning dened himself.
for comforts of Earth. They'll
buckle down when the rainy season
hits," I predicted.
tel wonder. Here's one good ex· A shadIT erected
SO often will, a barrier
itself between the
ample. Look over there. Donne· colony members and their leader,
gao's food detail is just now re- Phillip Benson. Donnegan some·
turning with its first load. The)' left what shamefacedly confessed what
thrce hours ago." He yelled over had gone on behind this curtain ·of
to the foreman. silence.
Donnegan) a large, pleasant- It seemed that two weeks earlier
faced biologist sauntered over to BromleYl one of the chemists l had
us. Benson said) "Was the expe- contrived somc rather crudc, old-
dition succcssf ul?" fashioned, sulphur-and-phospho-
Donnegan brushed off the sar- rus, friction matches. Trading on
casm. IIFoolin~ aside, it is getting the native's delight with fire, he
to be something of an expedition had bribed them with matches to
to find fruit. The natives are clean- give him one of the tala-mangoes
ing it out near at hand." which he tasted, then promptly
Turning to me Benson said, proceeded to swill until he was
"There's another thing. The little quite drunk.
devils have settled all around us, In a generous mood he passed
and everything is community prop- out matches to other male mem·
erty with them. Not only do they bers of the colony who, in turn,
strip the fruit but they pick up made the barter and joined the
anything that isn't nailed down party,
THE TEST COLONY 21
 "The stuff is really delicious," and they'll do anythin~ just to
Donnegan admitted. "And it watch a match burn."
doesn't even 1{ive you a hang-over." "But the quarantine?" I said.
~ "Go on," Benson invited coldly. "I guess they figure it's safe
Within :I fl'w d;tys, Donncgan rc- enough. Personallr, I don't. But
lated. l·vnyhody waOi nippin~ on they (l'r! that since you and Sue
thl' t~da. Bromley was turning out haw' l·~{';tpt.·d any disease there's
a stl'itOy supply of matcln'S from no reason for the non-fraternizing
hi~ lab, and thry were now the go- rule, not even in closed spaces. Sev-
ing currency for trading with the eral <"Cup!es 1 know hold parties
natives. In ordl'r to keep thdr every night in their huts after dark.
wives quiet the men brought the They invite a couple of nati,'cs
super.ripe mangoes home and who supply the tala. They all sit
shared them. around a candle. The natives sleep
The precious fruit, it developed, there."
came from regular rnanKo trees but He kicked at an empty tala
reached the desired, fermented skin that Joe had tossed out ·the
condition only at the leafy crowns door earlier. HThinW' arc out of
of the trecs whcrc evcn the nimble, hand, and I'm ashamed 1 haven't
li~ht.wcight natives found it come to you sooner. Benson."
hazardous and difficult to reach Phil was so oUlra~ed he couldn't
them. Bromley said that he knew speak. I said, "Thanks, Donnl'gan.
of several native casualties from You did the right thing."
fatal falls that had occurred since He left us, and while Benson
the traffic in tala increa!iCd. was struggling to control his anger
Benson asked the question that I said. "It's a wonder they haven't
was in my mind. "\Vhat caused burned the place down. The forest
you to come to me at this late must be damp ('nough to sustain
date?" he dcmand('d. "Something fire, or they certainly would have
more scriou~ mu~t have happened."' set one."
"Well, I didn't mind the tala- "It might hav(' lwen bf'tter:'
drinking so much-but, well, Cap. Bemon said, "if they had burned
tain Spooner and I came back to the whole damned planf't up! And
his hut ont" afternoon this week you thought I was exag~crating!
and found his pretty little wife with Ther", you have' it, a prrfrct set-up
one of the natives-a male. to make beachcombers out of the
Spooner thought it was a big joke whole rolonr. Plentr of free food,
-he was a little drunk at the time, liquor, b<oautiful native girls and a
and so was his wife. But I don't mild climate."
think ifs any joke at all." "Ano native bovs," 1 addcd. re--
Benson was on his feet, his face membering suddr'nly that I was
livid. "What c!st·?" harboring one of the "pets" under
Bromley !'laid, "I checked around my own roof.
a little bit, and I found that quite Benson c1ent.·hl·d his fists. "From
a few of our people arc making the first J knew what the answer
pet. out of the natives. The little must ("orne to. I just didn't have
devils have got used to our scent, the guts to face it."
22 WINSTON MARKS
 I nodded... I suppose we'll have should have some ideas. He's a
to drive them off." biolog-ist."
"Drive them off, nothing! When Benson said, IIbiologist",
They're nomads, and they'd be the obvious solution popped into
back sooner or later. There will my head, "If we could sterilize
always be people in ,the colony thl'lII-all th(' 111:11(',\. anp,'ay-they
willing to deal with them secretly. a "tllnl lifl'-~pall-n
h:l\'I' "11("11
and the natives are clever enough "Tno slo\\', lk"idn. hnw are you
to circumvent any discipline I goill~ to cO:tX all llll' IIlall'S to lie
aim against them." down and " Ilis l'Yl'S opened
"What else can you do, short widl'r, "H.adi:lliflll!"
of-~enocide?" HExadl\', \'\'1' t:tkl' dll'n1 for a
"Why rule out genocide? Sam, tour of Ih'c ship. illdlillill~ tilt' X·
face it! Race cxtcrmin:ttioIl is the fit)' hooth, <111<..1 p(JIII" till tilt' powl'r."
only permanent ~md satisfactory "Mig"hl bl' dOIlI' .11 tll:l!. But it
solution." wuuld be so slo\\'."
The thought was ahhorrcnt to
mc, but he arbrtlcd. Hlf w(' don't
eliminate them t'ntirdy they'll al-
ways be around to plagUl: us. Just SLOW OR NOT,
was concci\'l'd
lll'lI"r plan
llO
six of u,~
<l1]lOllg'
picture what this or any future who met secretly that night in
colony would look like after n year Benson's new ship quart[·rs. Don-
or two of uninhibited mingling negan brought his fellow biolo!,:ist,
and loafing and swilling down that Terrence Frost, and I had con-
tala. h that tlw civilh:ation that tacted the two mcdk!\, \Ve reached
Earth sent us out here to cstahlish ?" swift agreement as to the neces-
In every part of the universe sity of taking steps, and decided to
where living conditions have been work on my rough plan. It was
too kind and discipline too lax, also voted not to divulge our in-
men have ocen known to go naJive, tentions to the others, and then the
and suddenly I felt that Benson meeting broke up.
had been much morc acute in his Whcn I returned to my hut,
apprehensions than I, a graduate Jane was sitting cross-legged just
psychologist who was supposed to outside my door visiting with Su·
understand human nature. san. I thought ~hc would be curi·
Somewhat subdued I said, '1How ous about the confidential nature
do you plan to accomplish a com- of the meeting from which she was
plete extermination? If ,...'c start excluded, but she had other things
hunting them down they'll just on her mind. She stood up and
fade into the woous, Besides, you'd said, "I think your patient is re-
have a devil of a time getting coverl'd, and you'Vt' got a problem,
agreement among our people to mister." She stalked ofT into the
take on such a messy pro ject. " night.
lilt has to b~ donc, that"s all. I 1 looked at Sue's pink face and
want you to keep completely half-guessed the answer before she
quiet about what we've learned told me. It seemed that Joe had
until I can think about it. Bromley suddenly developed amorow in-
THE TEST COLONY 23
- ~·T
c1inations. Sue bad the babit of had decided to take all males of
stroking his bead like a pet dog, his race for a tour through the
and this evening, without warning, sbip. Would he take this word to
Joe had begun returning the ca- his people?
resses in a manner so casual and He said he would, but his face
gentle that Sue hadn't noticed the became very thoughtful.
trend. That afternoon they formed a
From a morc objective view- short line at the ramp, and the
point, however. jane had observed "tours" began. The line was short
the rather unplatonic indications bccaus.e they refused to wait long
of Joc's attitude and mortified Sue for anything, but as the line short-
by drawing her attention to it with ened. others came from the woods
an acid remark. to take their places. To produce a
In my fury I fancied that Joe f"vorablc 'lJl'css" on our show and
had tried to take ;:tdvamngc of my thus assure perfect attendance by
absence. His c!('\,crncss in avoid- all the males, Benson rigged several
ing such advann's in lily presence mechanical displays of Oashing
was nullified by his error of assum- lights and whirling devices.
ing that Jane would pose no ob- They were delighted, and when
stacle. they got to the X-ray booth, to
At present he sprawled in his induce them to stand still we set
comer beside an empty mango up a gas torch with a bcautif uJ,
skin, breathing rapidly, innoccndy vermilion, strontium Aame. The
asleep. The incident sClVcd to drive ani)' problt.·1lI at this point was to
home Donnegan's story and steel get them to move on after th('y
me against the many twinges of got their painless dose of sterilizing
conscience I was to suffer in our radiation.
campaign to wipe out Joe's race. Every tenth ugolden boyn was
h also served as an adequate ex- shunted into a small chamber filled
cusc, in Sue's eyes. when I told with orgo", the instanl anaesthetiz-
Joe the next morning that he was ing gas, and Dr. Sorenson wearing
j

quite well enough to return to the an oxygen mask, would catch him
forest. This was a fact we both as he fell, take his specimen hand
j

had known for over a week, but it through a slot to Dr. Bailey and
Joe in his indolent way, had been then drag the unsuspecting victim
quite content to remain and talk into the fresh air where the nurses
with me endlessly. Until now, I took over with more wonders to
had welcomed his presence as an distract his attention.
inexhaustible source of information. This running spot-check on the
He accepted the dismissal with- collected semen samples assured us
out rancor and promised to return that our radiation was effectively
and visit us next spring. destroying the spermatozoa.
"Next spring?" I said. I sat at myoid place at the
"We will leave soon," he said. base of the ramp, weeding out the
"We go south in the autumn:' occasional females who tried to
"Wait," I said. And I told him sneak in and also checking to see
that as a gesture of friendship we that we had no repeats.
24 WINSTON MARKS
...
 Our method was simplicity it- "We have enjoyed almost two
self. As each native finished our months of rather unrestrained par-
lour an attendant atomized a faint tying, and rill not going to rail at
but very pCnllan(·!1t stain of water- you for some of the illicit behaviour
proof dye on the hair of the right that came to Illy :lttention. So far
shoulder blade. It was hardly no- the intima("il.'~ wltich some of you
ticcable unlcss you were looking took with I) It: 1I:11ivcs have pro-
for it, and that was onc of my jobs. dun'd 110 epidl'lllil':- nor bastard
In two days we «toured" 481 off"pring- 011 cit"I'!" ,jell'. However,
males, ' were I tf) :1(TI'I,t V,'Ilr :wlifJll$ as
A week later the ni~ht rains be- typical of till" fUltln'. I wfluld ('on-
gan, and our unwekomcd nt'ig-h- sider our t"Ollllly dllor ... ·d aln'ady
bors vanished. and write oil' this I'blld as unfit
for further invcstllH..·lIt by Earth
civilization.
B ENSON had postponed his
little lecture deliberatC'1y. and
now he called us <111 together for a
"Instead, I frC'1 ),ou will. during'
the winter month,.., regain your
perspective and apply yourself to
fatherly talk which I helped him the principles which brought us
prepare. He began abruptly. 'here and must continue to hind
«Since nature has been so boun- us together if we are to survive as
tiful in providing us with tala, I a permanent culture,"
don't intend to proclaim any ~illy Benson's speech had the desired
prohibition regarding its consump- effect. Without the little p"ople
tion. With a little reflection, how- al"Ound to distract us, the colonists
ever, I hope that all of you can plung-ed inlo their work, and thin~
understand that we must have got done. True, a rather dispro-
sOTlle control. I am fully aware that portionate numher of logs brought
many of you ar),~11Igcd your own in by the fallinp; crews turned alit
privah.' channd:- for obtaining this to be mango-wood, but the tala-
liquor, but with lhc departure of rationing program added inccntivl:
our tree-climbing friends the easy precisely where it was needed. TI1f'
sOllrce has dril'd up, perimeter of our clearing advi.mccd
"Now, to prevent some of you rapidly, the cultivating and plant-
from breaking yOlll' fool necks try- ing parties followed closely be·hind.
ing to climb the tn.'l:S yourselves, I and the sawmill added an indus·
propose that we place tala in the trious sound to the whole opera-
commissary as a normal ration to tion.
be issued equitably to all-when As Benson had hoped, when the
it is available. And \\torking- to- people buckled down they once
gelher, our clearing parties will, no again began yearning for the con-
doubt, fell enough mango trees to veniences they had left on l':Ulh,
give us all a fair taste," The chemists finally contrived
Benson's unexpected tolerance suitable raw materials for the plas-
and remarkable proposal was re- ticizer and began manufacturing
ceived with mixed embarrassment, screens for our gaping windows,
relief and enthusiasm. He went on, muchly-needcd pipe for our water
THE TEST COLONY 25
and sewage systems and even a The little cub kept nipping af-
few "frivolous" luxuries such as fectionately at my neck on the hike
cups, saucers and fruit bowls. The back, and he clung so close he was
commissary and other public build- a nuisance, but Sue was delighted.
ings were planked out roughly, and We had to improvise a cage at
the hospital-clinic was completed night to keep him from mauling us
before the first two babies arrived. and keeping us a\\Take.
The history-making blessed event Sue named him, ClToots\>, and we
was an honor and an onus to Cap.. were the envy of all the camp.
tian Spooner and his young \·vife. When Joe and his people returned
To father the first human offspring three weeks later, and we discovered
on Sirius XXII was the fond hope the truth about Toots, the others
of many of us, but Spooner and the were happy they hadn't acquired a
Second Ollicer had something over similar pet.
a light-year head-start on the rest
of us.
Infant Spooner arrived just sy,
months after our landing. The I Tmango
WAS late spring, and the
trees were rapidly refill-
Mate's baby came two weeks later. ing their high branches with the
Sue herself was satisfyingly preg- tala-fruit. We now had a roofed
nant. By spring it \\'as obvious that central kitchen where the women
Earth's gynecologists had chosen the prepared our meals. We ate at long
members of our colony well, and tables in the open.
there would be no dearth of young Shortly after the noon meal one
blood. Fully a third of the women day, Joe and his people returned.
were expecting, and Sue's date in· He caught up to Sue and me as
dieated she would have won the were strolling to our hut for our
derby if it hadn't been for the ship's daily fifteen-minute siesta. He ap-
ollicers' perfidy. peared tired from the journey but
The colony as a whole was in quite glad to see us. [ felt the pangs
good shape. As the most pressing of conscience as I added my hypo-
work was disposed of, the men took critical welcome to Sue's warm
turns at the pleasant hunting de- greeting.
tails, and we began enjoying fresh In his old room we sat on the
meat from the small game of the rough furniture I had fashioned,
forest. and Joe eyed Sue's fruitful con-
On one such trip I brought back tours. CIA baby soon, eh? We have
a live little animal that looked like many babies among us."
a cross between a three-toed sloth "You-have?" I said.
and a teddy bear, except that he "Many were born on the return
had a long, woofly snout like an trip. They slowed up the females
ant-eater. He seemed to be hiber- with their sucking. For eight days
nating in the crotch of a small they are a burden on the mother."
tree, and when I shook him down Sue exclaimed, "Eight days?
he cuddled up and clung to my Then what happens?"
neck so lovingly that I decided he'd The subject did not greatly in-
make a good pet for Sue. terest Joe. "Then they find their
26 WINSTON MARKS
own food-if the koodi does not began nibbling at my neek. .I took
find them firsL'! him outside, and out of perverse
UWhat in the world is a koodi?" curiosity 1 let him have his way
Sue asked with a shiver. with my neck. At first it tickled, as
Joe was silent for a minute. He always, but instead of batting- his
wrinkled his broad brow and looked head away I let him nibble with
at me. "Samrogers, you asked me his mft, pointed lips.
many qUl'stions about how we die. Sue called out, "Sam what are
I did not understand this death for you doing? Kill him, Sam!"
a long time. Now I know. I t is His lips spread into a little cir-
when the koodi comes. He comes cle on my flesh and began sucking
to the vcry young and to the old. gentl}". There was no pain, just the
The babies are too small to hold throh of my jugular under his
him 01T. The old drink much tala, mouth. Now his long-, soft. hairy
then the koodi comes to them. This arm~ became firmer around my
is my third yt:ar, and my thirst for neck. I jerked back and they
tala is g-reat. The kqodi will come." gripped hard. A chill of panie
His words painted a clear picture stabbed me, and I could feel the
of a superstitious concept of death, taut flesh of my neck drawn mOre
'personif yinp; it even as humans re- deeply into his puckered lips.
fer to the "grim reaper". But Sue I tugge~ at him silently, not wish-
took a different vicw. "''''hat docs ing to frighten Suc'. He wouldn't
the koodi look like ?" she persisted. come loose. In broad. IIoon-clay-
Joe looked puzzled. He raised a light I had a Sirian varnpin' in my
long, four-segmented finger and arms, threatening to rupture my
pointed to a corner of the room jugular vein and kill 11IC within
where Toots W~lS curled up like a speaking distance of half a hundred
fur neck-piece. "He looks like that. people. I tried to level my voice.
There is a koodi. n "Joe, would you COille out here,
My first impulse was to reject please ?"
the statement as ridiculous. Toots He came at once, stared with a
was as harmless as an over-sized blank expression and s:lid. "You
kitten. Besides. the manual lllade have been drinking much tala?"
no mention or- "Help me, dammit~" I said, hold-
Sue made a small sound in her ing Illy voice down. "I can't shake
throat. Her face was colorless. him loose. He's trying to-" The
"Sam! Get him out of here!" long, tight arm squeezed off my
"But the manual- breath. In turn I tried to strangle
"The manual didn't mention him, but under the thick fur was ;]
Joe's people, either," she said half- bony protection whei'e there should
hysterically. uGet Toots out 01 have been soft neck.
here. n "It docs no good to kill the
Still unbelieving I walked over koodi,'~ Joe said. "There is always
and hauled the little fuzzy animal another. Once they hold you tightly
up into Illy arlll~. Instantly, he cud- it is too late."
dled close and rammed his pointed Sue thought differently. She
snout under my open collar and came through the door like a hell-
THE TEST COLONY 27
cal. Calching up her garden hoc that he was ,till ,terile or had just
,he ,wung a blow Ihat, had il missed become so.
Toots, ,.. .culd have crushed my This time we tallied 496 males
,kull. But Sue didn't miss. I fen on which, according to Joe, was cer-
my back. and Toot, let go, dead tainly the whole masculine popula.
of a bl'oken spine. tion. The mystery of our failure
at genocide forced an unpleasant
decision on Benson. Till."' biologists
HE "LIQUOR control board"
T was Benson's best idea. Not
and medics insisted th<lt we must
win the natives' confidence even
only did it put tala on a legitimate further to gain their cooperation.
basis 1 but it controlled our dealings A<; the hl'at of summer bore down
with the natives. Bromley, the and the Im'reury rose, we eased off
chemist, who was the original of- on the work schedule and dcUb·
fender, was chargC'd with manu- crately planned social functions to
facturing the wooden matches, and which we had JOl' invite a group of
the medium of exchange was con- natives. There were picnic~ and
centrated in the hands of the com- beach parties where our guests
missary "purchasing agent", brought their own tala, <lnd ours
The reason that Benson sanc- was carefully rationed. Group sing-
tioned Ihe controlled tala trade ing entranced the little golden pea·
with the natives stemmed from our pic, and they took remarkable de·
apparent failure to stcrili7.c the lip;ht in the discovery of their own,
males. There was, indeed. a huge sweetly pitched voices. Enterprising
crop of native babies. tiny little Joe. with his remarkable memo!)',
doll, tha t looked like 'pider soon became unofficial song leader,
monkeys and dropped from their and all day long we wo~ld hear
mothers' breasts after little more the natives practicing.
than a week. Suc's baby camc, a slurdy little
The brisk tala trade was part of boy whom we ll<lITIeu Richard
our program to keep the nalhTs Joseph-Sue insisted on the second
in close association while we de- name, and I couldn't argue her
vised \'I'ays and means to discover out of it without revealing my
the cause of our failurC'. All quaran- reasons, \rVithin two weeks the clill-
tine rules had long since been ic's nursery was full of babies, and
dropped, and Sorenson and Bailey it was at this point that the na~
began inventing ruses to lure the tives' interest became deeply stirred.
males into the gas chamber again. The language barriers were
\N ('('ks passed while we worked breaking down rapidly. Many of
our way through the whole male our regular visitors were females,
population again, testing for fer· and with Joe's help as an inter·
tility and X-raying it wherever we preter they were soon able to ask
found it. Through Joe we adver- questions. Their greatest curiosity
tised new \.. . onucrs to be seen in the hinged on the fabulous care we
ship, and as the sight-seers left we gave our infants.
tagged each with an atomized spot Although I wouldn't permit Sue
on the other ,houlder, indicating to do it, several of our women be·
28 WINSTON MARKS
gan using femalf' n:,Hivcs for haby- kllOW, it stl'ikes me that Joe is being
sitters. This lead to the first basic awfully helpful. What reason did
behaviour change we had notked. you give him for w.lIlting this in-
The females began to pay marc formation ?"
attention to their own offspring-. It "He didn't ask," I said.
was as if they had just discovered
the pleasure of fondling- their babies
and watching- thell! crawl and kick
and gurgll'. Even after the first O UR 12-\10NTH year was
composed of J7-(by months.
wl'~k th~y were st.ill carrying except Februo.ry which we shorted
them around, finding choie(' Illor- six davs to nwke it COIIIC out evell.
sels of fruit for thelll, f:J.nning ofT Acc~rding to this co.ll'ndal' lhl'
the insects and singing thl'lll to lI;"by-nics'· came ill July, just a
sleep with their new-found ahilities mOlllh before our first anniversary.
to make music. TIH' little winged insects were a
Benson noticed it and r:t1kd a season;lI life-ronn, aile marc itl'ltl
meeting- of tht.: secret six. He said, that !'s(';qwd the exploratory party.
"Our little program had hetter anJ for whidl we were unprepart·d.
work this time or we arc in for it. They ('<lrlll' out of the north. ami
Apparently this kuutli animal that the\' struck us bdon' we could Llkl'
Sam had the tussle with is the shrlll'J' in the ship or our plastic-
principal population control, and screellcd huts. They wen.' a littlr-
now the mothers arc packing their smJI!l'r tho.n flying ~lIIts. ancl evell
kids around until they're old their long wings \\'('1'(' jet-bbck.
enough to fight ofT the ko~di." Their bites were inhuitl':iimal. but
Donnegan shook his head. each one slIlarted like :l prick -\,'itb
"Damned if 1 can find oul where a hot needle.
we slipped up. Frost and ] just III the midst of the confusion of
finished a SL'rics of tests with native re.-;nling babies and herding every-
ova and hUIII<'H1 speno. The)' dOll't 01lL' in doors. I noticed that all the
mix. Of course, we didn't expect natives had disappeared into the
thelll to, but whJ.t in hell is the forest. Everyone had suffered a
answer?" hundred biles or marc. and we
I hadn't known of this projcct. were sorry, swollell sights. Sue in-
] said, "You didn't think that our sisted that I cover myself and make
male colonists- l l a run for the clinic to see if Dr.
Benson scowit'd with exa.;pcra 4
Bailt'Y had allY n:lIledies for till'
tion. "\Vc don't kno\\! \vhal to bitl's. Richard Joseph was crying
think, Sam! \Vp sinilized 481 na- loudly 1'1'0111 the irritJtion, so I
tive males last fall, and the babies agreed.
arc just as thick as ever." It was only 75 yards to the dill-
I said, 1"Wcll, we got to 496 of ie, and I made it wilhout collecting
them this time. That should do it many 1Il0re stings. But the doctors
for sure. Joe says he'll keep a look- had nothing to offer. They were
out for any mail's willlOut the t\VO dabbing various salves, astringents
stains on his shoulder." anti pastes on test patches of their
Benson narrowed his eyes. IIYou own skin, but nothing seemed to
THE TEST COLONY 29
 have any effect at all. stay in here, Sam. The flies will cat
ClAII we hope," ~aid Sorcnson, "is him alive out there." She went to
that the flies aren't microbc·car- the window and knocked the Aies
. "
rlcrs. from the outside of the screen.
I started out the door to return Then she screamed. I thought she
then stepped back and peered had just discovered the massed na-
through the screen. The forest was tives. but shc kept on screaming
erupting with natives. Thcy stag- untiJ I went to her and lookC'd out.
gered into the c1earin/{. headed for In the late afternoon sun. fuzz)'
the center of it and sank down as if little brown animals w('re waddling
with great weariness. On and on out of the forest, closing in on the
they came until the g-round among 900 or more natives I)'ing scfl!ielcss
our buildings was literally paved in the clearing. Koodi! Dozens of
with their prone bodies. them.
"Poor devils," Baile" murmured I for,got my screaming wife, my
as the cloud" of !lirs ~ontinu('d to crying- infant, the drunken wife.
sweep through our villa,({e. HNoth_ stealer slumped on the floor. I for-
ing we can do, though. I wonder got the torture of my own ~tings.
why they come out in tlit" open? All I remember is snatching my
You'd think they had beller pro- pistol from its holster that hung by
tection in the trees." the door and plunging out and
I had no answ('r<;. "a I covl'red pulling the trigger until fire ceased
my head ag-;lin and lnadC' a dash to come out of it. Then I was
for mv own Itul. Insidl' I brushed kicking and ~mashing with a lr('c
ofT th~ clinging- flil"S and stamped limb. and cvcry blow smashrd one
on them, "Thr lIledin don't have of the vile little ghouls into the
any hclp for us," I said. Tben I saw grass. I thouj(ht I saw Benson firing
him. and kicking. but I blacked out be-
Sue was struggling to hold Joe fore I could be sure.
on his feet. His arms were draped I regained consciousness with the
loosc"'ly over her shoulders, and for flies still kccning in my ears. Sue
a second I couldn't decided whether \Vas caIling my name and slapping
he was ill or making- a pass at Sue. me sharply in the face. Joe was
I pulled him oA' hel' by one shoul- trying to pull me to my feet, but
cler. He swung around <Ind toppled the last thing I remember is the
into my arms, Rl'markably frw in- both of us collapsing to the ground.
5Cct bites showcd under the trans-
parcnt hazc of golden hair) but he
reeked of tala.
"You're drunk," I yelled at him.
I AWOKE days later with a burn-
ing fever and gloriously drunken
uA lot of help you are at a time sensation of floating. Joe brought a
like this!" fruit to me when he saw I was stir-
"Tala," he said from loose lips. ring. I drank the thin, tangy juice
"Much tala." in one breath and sank back into
"You've had much tala) an a deep sleep again.
right!" I said disgusted. My next drink carne from the
Sue said, "We've got to let him long, slender fingers of a pretty lit-
30 WINSTON MARKS
,.
 tIe female native. This time it was natives pretty well alone, and it ap-
water, and I stayed awake. Joe pears that the tala was responsiblr.
came in, saw I was awake and came Could be that the stuff is what
back in a few minutes with Ben- neutralized the toxin, too. They
son and Dr. Bailey. must have poun'd a gallon of it
They both looked terrible, Ben- down me, judging" from the empty
son especially. Bailey said," "Take it skins by my bcd. At any rate, they
easy. Sue's at the clinic. She and kept us alive until we could get
the baby are all right, but you up and feed oUI':o:elvL's."
damned ncar didn't make it." "Why did they I.:OIlIt' into the
Benson said, "Can you talk?" clearing when they drank tIlt' tala?"
I cleared my throat and decided I asked.
I· could. He waved Joe and the Bailey said, "Joe told us that tIlt'
female out. Then he and Bailey sat day he saw Sue kill the kood; tha'
down beside me. I asked, "Any was attacking you, he got the idl'~l
casualties ?" that he should do something about
"Two of our babies and thirty-six them himself. Through his errort.;
native babies. Some of the koodi the natives no longer take the littk
came in after dark." devils as an inevitable evil. The)'
I t sounded strange, Benson's list- kill them wherevlT they find thelll
ing native casualties with our own. now. And whell they had to get
Thc memory of the koodi attack drunk to save th('mselvcs from thl'
brought a wave of nausea over me. flies, Joe passt'd thl' word for thclll
I said, "Benson, I'm sorry, but I'm to hit for the dearing. The koodi
all done trying to murder Joe's race. usually a\"oid thl' sunlight. but it
I want no further part of it." \\'as late in the afternoon. They
Benson's face was thin and came anyway."
drawn, and he stared at the Aoor. "Phil," I said, "did 1 sec you out
III[ we haven't murdered it al· there with me, killing the littll'
ready/' he said, "there will be no bastards?"
more attempts while 1 am in He nodded silently.
charge." He covered his face with "You had changed your mind
his hands. "Bailey. Tell him, about the natives at that timet·
Bailey." "1-1 suppose so. Don'l rub it in,
The doctor's voice was gravelly Sam. It's hard enough to live with
and weak. "If it hadn't been for the thought of how wrong I was.
the natlves we'd all have died. The All I can do now is pray that what-
venom from the flies paralyzed ever failed in our first try failed
everyone the second day after the again. Joe's people have made the
swarm hit us. The flies were gone human race look pretty dismal.
the next morning, but every soul They h:we every right to their
in the colony passed out. Joe and planet, and if we are foolish enough
his friends took care of us, poured to go native, well-at least we have
tala down our throa ts and fed us." a stronger survival instinct."
"But they were soused," I said. At that point Susan came in
"Their only defense against the carrying Richard. He had the hie-
flies. The little black devils left the coughs. Sue kissed me. "Richard
THE TEST COLONY 31
~.
just drew his ration of sterile tala as there should be, but Bailey was
from the clinic. He still has a slight not satisfied. He poked a finger
fever. But thanks to joe and Har- into them and examined the skin
mony-" und("r the hair. "Mango pilCh!"
UHannony? ''''ho's that?" h(" announced, "Stained clean down
"The native girl who helped joe to the skin. Did you do that, joe?"
nurse us. Her nanll~ i~ reallv Hah- "Yes."
ah-arrn-ig-hin-ih-hcc. or' rome· "'Wh)'?"
thing like that. She answers to Har- U I kluow you would force me to
mony. though." go inlo the ship with the others if
And ~he did. Hcaring her name I didn't have the stain."
the little golden girl came through Benson looked up, shocked.
the door towing jO<' by one hand. "Thl'n you-you knew what we
I said, "One of your favorites, were Il'ying 10 do?"
Joe?}) "YI'S. You and Samrogers spoke
He ran a caressing, four-fingered of it outside the hUI one day. You
hand over her shoulder. "I like though t I was asleep. Some of
her," he admitted. uShe wants to your words puzzled mc, so I staycd
call me husband like Sue calls vou." away from the ship. Then I found
Bailey smiled. "I t seems there is out ''''hat they meant."
a new fad among the nativeli. Some- "Bul you hclped us get the others
thing like monogamy, I under- to go into the ship!"
stand." "It was whal you wanted," Joe
I said, "What do you think of the said simply. "Later, when we went
idea, Joe?" south, the females saw that only
He thought it over. "I have not Joc's favorites continued to have
made up my mind." babies. So joe became very-popu-
Sue pressed him, "Why not mar- lar."
ry Hannony, Joe?" I said, "You mean they figured
In the blunt manner in which he it out?1t
so oflen made his curious revela- joe smiled. "Did you think we do
tions, Joe blurted out, "Because I not know aOOut-" he paust'd to
am in much demand among all the dredge amon~ his amazing store of
females. It is-very pleasant." human idioms, "-the facts of life?"
Eailey's eyes widened. He or- Bailey shook his head. "What a
dered. "Bend over, Joe." man! What a race ~ Think what
joe obliged so we could all ex- they would Ix, if they had a hu-
amine his back. There were two man's survival inslinct ,"
brown stains on his shoulder blades "And thumbs," I added. • ••
.1.
THE BIGGEST EVENT OF 1954 for sc.it'nec fiction fans will be the 12th World
Science Fiction Convention to k held in San Francisco, California, on Scpt('m~r
4th. 5th and 6lh. The program promisn to ~ an exciting and unusual one, Wilh
outstanding SCil'lllists, and aUlhon and artists in the world of sci('nce fiction lakinK
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Illest of honor. Makr )·our re!C'rvations early and send )'our registration frt' (only
one dollar) today to Box 33S. Station A. Richmond 2, California.
32
 If Saranta wished to qualify as one who loved
his fellow man, he should have known that often
the most secretive things are the most obvious.

I) IS.IIJ1'1.. I I~ I I~ I)
BY CHARLES L. FONTENAY

liFTER the morlling inspection the planet. The meal was delicious
J: tour, Tardo, the Solar Coun- -trnder, inch-thick stc;:sks served
cil's Planetary Aid agL'llt, alld his with dl'ikatc wine sauce and half
companion, Pco, \.... 1'1'l' taken to the a dO'll'n of the planet's exotic vege-
castle which stood 011 a hill over· tables, lOppl'd oIl by a cool fruit
looking the area. dcs.<;crt.
Tardo and Peo were entertained "My recommendation will be of
royally at luncheon by Sarant;], cOllsiderabk illlportanrf' to you,"
their host, who appeared to be the said Tardo as they ate. I'lf it is fa-
wealthy overlord of this portion of vorablc, there is certain technical
33
aid aboard ship which will be made Iy. "That is to say, you didn't resort
available to you at once. Of course, to slavery?"
you will not receive advanced Saranta smiled and spread his
equipment from the Solar Council hands slightly.
until there is a morc thorough in- "Does this look like a slave so--
vestigation." cicty to you?" he countered. "The
"I'm afraid our culture is too colonists were anxious to co-operate
simple and agrarian to win your to make the planet liveable. No one
approval," said Saranta modestly. objected to work."
"That isn't a major comiclera- "It's true we've seen no slaves,
tion. The Council understands the that we know about, I> said Tardo.
difficulties that have faced colonies "Bul two days is a short time for in-
in othC'-f star systems. There arc cer· spection. I must draw most of my
tain fundamental requirements, of conclusions from the attitudes of
course: no abnormal rclig-ious prac- you and the others \\·ho arc our
tices, no slavery ... well, you under.. hosts. How about the servants
stand what I mean." here?"
"We really feel that we have "They are paid," answered Sa-
done well since we ... our ances- ranta, and added ruefully: "There
tors, that is ... colonized our world arc those of us who think they are
a thousand years ago," said Saran- paid too well. They have a union,
ta, toying with a wineglass. A smil- you know."
ing servant fillt'd the glasses of Taro. Tardo laughed.
do and Pea. "You sec, there was no "A carry-over from Earth, no
fuel for the ship to explore other doubt:' he commente-d. "An unus-
planets in the system, and the ship ual onc, too, for a culture without
just rusted away. Since we are some technology."
distance from the solar system, When the meal was over, the
yours is the first ship that has landed two men from the ship were con-
here since colonization." ducted on a tour of the area. It was
"You seem to have been lucky, a ncat agricultural community,
though," said Pea. He was naviga- with broad fields, well-constructed
tor of the Council ship, and had buildings and. a short distance from
asked to accompany Tardo on the Saranta's castle-like home, a village
brief inspection trip. "You could in which artisans and craftsmen
have landed on a barren planet." plied their peaceful trades.
"Well, no, the colonizers knew it Pea tried to notice what he
was liveable, from the first explora- thought Tardo would look for on
tion expedition," said Saranta. such a short inspection. The COWl-
"There were difficulties, of course. cil agent, he knew, had had inten-
Luxuriant vegetation, but no ani- sive training and many years of
mal life, so we had no animals to experience. It was hard for Pea to
domesticate. Pulling a plow is hard judge what factors Tardo would
work for a man." consider significant-probably very
"But you were able to solve this minor oncs that the average man
situation in a humanitarian way?" would not notice, he thought.
asked Toredo, peering at him keen- Tardo had seemed most intent
34 CHARLES L. FONTENAY
 on th~ question of slavery, and Peo spcction is as satisfactory, I suppose
looked for signs of it. He could see you will recommend the beginning
none. The people of the planet had of technical aid?"
had time to conceal some things, of "There will be no inspection tour
course. But the people they saw in tomorrow, and T shall recommend
the village wore a proud air of inde· against aid at this time," replied
pendence no slave could assume. Tardo. "I've seen enough."
Saranta apologized for their hay· HWhy?" asked Peo, surprised.
iog to walk, explaining that there "There arc two d:l.sses of people
was no other means of transporta· on this planet, anu wc've seen only
tion on the planet. onc)" said Tardo. "Those we have
"And, without transportation, seen are freemen. The other!' are
you can understand why we have no better than animals. Wc give no
not been able to develop a technol- aid that helps men tighten their
ogy/' he added. "We hope trans· hold over their fellows."
port will be included in the first "If you haven't seen them, how
assistance you will give us." do you know there is another class?"
Tardo asked about the fields. demanded Pea. "There is no evi-
"I see there is no onc working dence of any such situation."
them," he said. uls that done by uThe evidence is well hidden.
the villagers?" But if you think your stomach can
"Our labor supply is transient," take it now, I'll tell you. If you re-
answered Saranta after a moment's member your history, colonizing
hesitation. "The laborers who will ships 1000 years ago had no space
work our fields-for a wage, of to carry animals along. They had
course-are probably in the next to depend on native animal life of
town or the onc beyond it now." the planet, and this planet had
Alpha Persei was sinking in the none."
western sky when Tardo and Pea "Saranta said that. But I don't
took their leave of Saranta and see ..."
made their way down the road to- "Those were delicious steaks,
ward their planetary landing craft. weren't they?" remarked Tardo
"It looks like a good world to quietly. • • •
me," said Pea. "If tomorrow's in-

.Ie .

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I

DISQUALIFIED 35
/llust,atld b)' Ed Emsh

CON FI DENC E GAME

Cutter demanded more and more and more efficiency-arid got
it! But, as in anything, enough is enough, and too much is .•.

By JAMES McKIMMEY, JR.

36
G EORGE H. CUTTER wheeled
his big convertible into his re-
served space in the Company park~
and himself, that seldom existed
between employer and employee.
The guard at the door came to
ing lot with a flourish. A bright a reflex attention, and Cutter
California sun drove its early bobbed his head curtly. Then, in-
brightness down on him as he stead of taking the stairway that
strode toward the square, four- led up the front to the ~econd
story brick building which said floor and his office. Ill..' strode down
CUlter Products Inc. over its front
J the hallway to the' left, angling
door. A two-ton truck was grinding through the shop 011 lilt' first 1I00r.
backward, toward the loading He always walked thruugh the
doors, the thick-shouldered driver shop. He liked the hl':I\'Y driving
craning his neck. Cutter moved sound of the machine~ ill hi~ cars,
briskly forward, a thick-shouldered and the muscled look of thl: II ll: II,
man himself, though not very tall. in their coarse work shirts ;Iud
A glint of light appeared in his heavy-soled shoes. Here again was
eyes, as he saw Kurt) the truck strength, in the machines and in
driver, fitting the truck's fear end the men.
into the tight opening. And here again too, the bond be-
"Get that junk out of the way!" tween Cutter and his employees
he yelled, and his voice roared over was a thing as real as the whir and
the noise of the truck's engine. grind and thump of the machines,
Kurt snapped his head around, as rcal as the spray of metal dust,
his blue eyes thinning, then recog- spitting away from a spinning saw
nition spread humor crinkles blade. He was able to drivl' him-
around his eyes and mouth. "All self tJlrough to them, through the
right, sir," he said. "Just a second hard wall of unions and prejudices
while I jump out, and I'll lift it against business suits and white
out of your way." collal's and soft clean hands, be~
"With bare hands?" Cutter said.
"With bare hands." Kurt said.
Cutter's laugh boomed, and as
he rounded the front of the truck,
he struck the right front fender
with his fist. Kurt roared back from
the cab with his own laughter.
He liked joking harshly with
Kurt and with the rest of the truck
drivers. They were simple, and they
didn't have his mental strength.
But they had another kind of
strength. They had muscle and
energy, and most important, they
had guts. Twenty years before Cut·
ter had driven a truck himself. The
drivers knew that, and there was a
bond between them, the drivers
37
cause they knew that at one time time, the invisible but very real
he had also been a machinist and quality of employer-employee rela-
then tool and die operator and tionship turned coldly brittle, like
then a shop foreman. He got frozen cellophane.
through to them, and they respect- The' sounds now, the clicking of
ed him. They ",",ere even impircd typcwriters, the sliding of file
by him, Cutter knew, by his energy dra\\'crs. the squeak of adjusted
and alertness and steel confidence. swivf'1 chairs-all of it-irritated
It was one good reason why their him. rnlher than giving him in-
production continually skimmed spiration. and so he hlJrricd his
along ncaf the top level of effi· way, esp('cially when he passed that
cieney. ont? fellow with the sad. frightened
Cutter turned abruptly and cves, ",ho touched hi:,; slim hands
started up the metal-lipped con- at th£' palwrs on his desk. like a
Cf{'te steps to the second floor. He cautiotl!\ fawn testing the sound-
went up quickly, hi~ square, 011· ness of die l'arth in frol1t of him,
most chunky figure moving smooth- What wa~ his n~mc? Linden? God.
ly, and t!Jefe was not the faintest Cutter thought, the epitome of the
shortening in his breath when he breed, this man: sallow and slow
reached the level of his own office. and so hesitant that. he appeared
Coming up the back steps re- to be about to leap from his chair
quired him to cross the entire ad- at the slightest alarm.
ministration office which contained Cutter broke his aloofness long
the combined personnel of Produc· ('nough to glare at the man, and
tion Control, Procurement. and Linden turned hi!> frightened eyes
Purchasing. And here, the sharp quickly to hi, desk and began shuf-
edge of elation, whetted by the fling his paper!> nervously. Some
walk past the loading dock and day, CuttC'r promised himself, he
the truck drivers and the machine was going to stop in front of the
shop and the, machinists, was man and ShOUI, "Booo!" and scare
dulled slightly. the poor devil to hell and back.
On either side of him as he He pushed the glass doors that
paced rapidly across the room, led to his own offices, and moving
were the rows of light-oak desks into Lucile\; antc·room restored
which contained the kind of men his humor. Lucile, matronly yet
he did not like: rragile men, quick and l'outhfully spirited,
whcthc.r thin or fat, fragile just smiled at him and met his eyes di·
the same, in the eyes and mouth, rectly. Here was some strength
and pale with their fragility. They again, and he felt the full energy
affected steel postures behind those of his early.morning drive return·
desks, but Cutter knew that the ing fully. Lucile, behind her desk
steel was synthetic, that there was in this plain but expensive reeep·
nothing in that mimicked look or tion room) reminded him of fast)
alertness and virility but posing. hard efficiency, the quality or ac-
They were a breed he did not un- complishment that he had dedi-
derstand, because he had never cated himself to.
been a part of them, and so this "Goddamned sweet morning) eh,
'38 JAMES McKIMMEY, JR,
 Lucy?" he called. sureness of step and facial expres-
"Beautiful, George," she said. She sion, that made it obvious that he
had called him by his first name for was physiGtily fit. He was single
years. He didn't mind, from her. and only thirty-five, twelve years
Not many could do it, but those younger than Cutt'tr, but he had
who could, successfully, he r("- been ,,,·jth Cuttn Products, Inc. for
spected. thirteen years. J11 rollege he had
"What's up first?" he asked, and been a Phi Beta Kappa and let-
she followed him into his own tered three yeJrs on tlw varsity as a
office. It was a high-ceilinged room, quarterback. He was thl' kind of
with walls bare except for a pic~ rare combination that CUf(n liked,
ture of Alexander Hamilton on one and Cutter had offered him more
wall~ and an award plaque from the than the Chicago Cardinals lo get
State Chamber of Commerce on him at graduation.
the opposi te side of the room. He Cuttl:'r felt Quay's presence. with-
spun his leather-cushioned swivel out looking up at him. "God-
chair toward him and sat down and damned sweet morning, eh, Bob?"
'placed his thick hands against the "It really is, George,'l Quay said.
surface of thc desk. Lucile took the IIWhat's up?" Cutter stopped
only other chair in the office, to signing, having finished the entire
the side of the desk, and flipped job, and he stared directly into
open her appointment pad. Quay's eyes. Quay met the stare
"Quay ' ...· ants to sec you right unAinchingly.
away. Says it's important." "I've got a report from Sid Perry
Cutter nodded slightly and closed at Adacam Research."
his eyes. Lucile went on, calling hi:-; "Your under~cover agent again,
appointments for the day with eh ?"
clicking precision. He stored the Quay grinned. Adacam Research
information, leaning back in his conducted industrial experimenta-
chair, adjusting his mind to each, tion which included government
so that there would be no energy work. The only way to find out
wasted during the hard, swift day. what rcally went on there, Cutter
"That's it," Lucile said. uDo you had found out, was to find a key
want to see Quay?" man who didn't mind talking for a
"Send him in," Cutter said, and certain amount of compensati()l1~
he was already leaning into his regardless of sworn oaths and signa-
desk, signing his name to the first tures to government statements.
of a dozen letters which he had You could always get somebody,
dictated into the machine during Cutter knew, and Quay had been
the last ten minutes of the preced- able to get a young chemist, Sidney
ing day. Perry.
Lucile disappeared, and three UOkay," Cutter said. "\Vhat are
minutes later Robert Quay took her they doing over there?"
place in the chair beside Cutter's "Theres a fellow who's ofTered
desk. He was a taller man than Adacam his project for testing.
Cutter, and thinner. Still, there They're highly interested, but
was an athletic grace about him, a they're not going to handle it."
CONFIDENCE GAME 39
 IlWhy not?" ing. A healthy ego."
Quay shrugged. "Too touchy. It's "And ?"
a device that's based on electron- "Confidence."
ics-" Cuttl'f stared at Quay's eyes,
"What the heU is touchy about assimilating the information.
electronics ?" HThat\ all very damned nice. Now
"This deals with the human per- where does it fit in with Cutter
sonality," Quay said, as though that Produc.ts?'·
were explanation enough. Quay dr('w a notebook from his
Cutter understood. He snorted. coat pock(·t swiftly. "You remem-
"Christ, anything that deals with ber that dlici(,llcy check we had
the human personality scares them made t\\'o months ago--thc rating
over there, doesn't it?" of indi\,idual d('p~lI'tments on com-
Quay spread his hands. parable wnrk produced?"
"All right," Cutter said. "\Vhat's Cutter nodd«·ll.
this device supposed to do?" Quay ]ooh·d :It his notebook.
"The theory behind it is to pro- "All administr:llivc p(,T'~onncl de-
duce energy units which reach a partments show('d an average of-"
plane of intensity great enough to "Thirty-six point ('ight less effi-
effect the function of the human ciency than th(' skilled and unskilled
ego." labor departments," Cutter fin-
"Will it?" Cutter never wasted ished.
time on surprise or curiosity 01'- Quay ,miled ,lightly. lIe snapped
theory. His mind acted directly. the notebook shut. "Right. So that's
Would it or wouldn't it? Perform- our personnel C'fficicncy bug."
ance versus non-perfonnancc. Effi- "Christ. I've known that for
ciency versus inrfHHency. \¥ould it twenty years," Cutter snapped.
improve production of Cutter Pro- "Okay," Quny said quickly, alert-
ducts, Inc., or would it not? ing himself b<1rk to the serious
uSid swears theire convinced it effort. "Now tlwTI. you'll remember
will. The factors, on paper, check we submitted this ~'ffici('ncy rrport
out. But there's been no experi. to Babcock and Stecle for analysis,
mentation, because it involves the and their reporl oO'ned no answer,
human personality. This thing, b('cause their expcrience showed
when used, is supposed to perform that you ahttaj'.f g{'t that kind of
a definite penonality change on the ratio, because of personality differ-
individual subjected." ences. The administrative personnel
"How?" sho\\l more iTlfit'riority influences
"You know the theory of psy- per man, thus less confidence, thus
chiatric therapy-the theory of less cfficiencv."
shock treatment. The effect is some "I rcme~b('r 311 that," Cutter
what similar, but a thousand times said.
more effective." "Their report also point('d out
I'\r\'hat is the effect?" that this in('vit"blt: loss of efficiency
"A gradual dissolving of inferior- is levC'ied out, by proportionately
itv influences, or inhibitions, from smaller wage compensation. The
the personality. A clear mind result· administrative personnel gets ap~
40 JAMES McKIMMEY, JR.
 proximately twenty-five percent less curate rf'action from the subjects
compensation than the skilled labor effected, For hilJl it's perfect, be-
personnel, and the remaining- eleven cause wl"re rUllllillg a continuous
point ci,ght percent 1ms of efficiency efficicllcy check. :lIld if this thing
is made up by the more highly docs the job like it\ supposed to do
efficient u1lskilled labor receiving it, we'll hav(' g:lilled the entire
approximately the same cornpensa~ benefits for nOlllilq~. II<Jw can wc
tion as the administrati\'e person- lmc?"
nel." Cuttr'l" stared ~tl {)ll;W for a mo-
"I remember .:111 that nonsense, ment, his mind \\';)l'killg' swiftly.
too," Cutter rcddcnrd failltly \vith "Call HOnlf'l" in (lil this. hUl no-
a suddcn anger. He did not believe hody clsc. Absolutely W,)Jllt!y cl~c.
the statistiGs- were nonsens(', only Tell HortlC'r to \\IfitL' ujJ ;1 .'Olltl";ICt
that you should expect to write ofT for this fellow to sign. Gcl ~l ("bUSl'
a thirty-six point eight efficiency loss in there to the effect t1wt this [(·1-
on the basis of adjusted compensa- low, Bulen, assumes all respomihil-
tion. A thirty-six point eight effi- ity for any effects not designated
ciency loss was a comparable loss in the defining part of the contract.
in profits. You never compensated Fix it up so that he's entirely
a loss in profi ts, except by erasing liable, then get it signed, and let's
that loss. "And so this is supposed see what happens."
·to fix it?" Quay smiled fully and stood up.
Quay's head bobbed. "It's \...· orth 'IRigbt, sir." He had done a good
a try: it seems to me. I've talked job, Ill' knew. This was the ~ort of
to Sid about it extensively, and he thing tliat would kf'ep him solidly
tells me that Bolen, who's developed entrenclH'd in Cutter's favor.
this thing, would be willing to in- IIRight, George," he said, remem-
stall enough units to COVcf the en- bering that he didn't need to call
tire administrative force, from the Cutter sir anymore, but he kne\v
department-head level down." he wouldn't hear any more from
"How?" Cutter, because Cutter was alread\'
Quay motioned. 3 hand. lilt's no looking over a blueprint, eyes thi;l
larger than a slightly thick saucer. and careful, mimI completely ad-
It cauki oc put inside the L'hairs.'l justed to a new problem.
Quay smiled faintly. I'They sit on
it, you sec, and-"
Cutter was not amused. "How
much ?" E DWARD BOLEN called the
saucer-sized disk. the Confidet.
"Nothing," Quay said quickly. He was a thin, short, slililing man
IlAbsalutely nothing. Bolen wants with finc brown hair which looked
actual tests badly, and the Institute as though it had just been ruffled
wouldn't do it. Snap youI' fingers, Ly a high wind, and he moved, Cut·
<:lnd give him a hundred and fifty tcr noticed, \vith quick, but certain
people to work Oll~ and it's yours to motions. The installing W(IS dum:
usc for nothing. He'll do the install- two nights after Cutter's bwycr,
ing, and he want.f to keep it secret. Horner, had \A... rittcn up the contract
It's essential, he says" to get an ac- and gotten it signed by Bolen. Only
CONFIDENCE GAME 41
,i
;I'
Quay, Bolen, and Cutter Were pres- door.
ent. Niels took his hat, and Mary was
Bolen fitted the disks into the waiting for him in· the library.'
base of the plastic chair cushions, She was a rather large woman,
and he explained, as he inserted although not fat, and when she
one, then another: wore high heels-which she was
HThe energy is inside each one, not prone to do, because although
you sec. The life of it is indefinite, Cutter- would not· have cared, she
and the amount of energy used is kept trying .to project into other
proportionate to the demand people's minds and trying, as she
created." said, "Not to do anything to them,
"What the hell do you mean by that I wouldn't want them to do to
energy?" Cutter demanded, watch- me."-she rose a good inch above
ing the small man work. Cutter. She was pleasant humored,
Bolen laughed contentedly, and and cooperative, and the one great
Quay flushed with embarrassment irritant about her that annoyed
over anyone laughing at a question Cutter, was the fact that she was
out of Cutter's lips. But Cutter did not capable of meeting life whole-
not react, only looked at Bolen, as heartedly and with strength.
though he could sec somehow, be~ She steadily worried about, other
neath that smallness and quietness, people's· feelings and thoughts, so
a certain strength. Quay had seen that Cutter wondered jf she were
that look on Cutter's face before, capable of the slightest personal
and it meant simply that Cutter conviction. Yet that weakness was
would wait, analyzing expertly in an advantage at the same time, to
the meantime, until he found his him, because she worked constantly
advantage. Quay wondered, if this toward making him happy. The
gadget worked, how long Bolen 'house was run to his minutest lik-
would own the rights to it. ing, and the servants liked her, so
that while she did not use a strong
Cutter drove the Cadillac into enough hand, they somehow got
Hallery Boulevard, as though the things done for her, and Cutter had
automobile were an English Austin, no real complaint. Someday, he
and just beyond the boundaries of knew, he would be able to develop
the city, cut off into the hills, slid- her into the full potential he knew
ing into the night and the relative she was capablc of achieving~ and
darkness of the exclusive, sparsely then there wouldn't be even· that
populated Green Oaks section. one annoyance about her.
Ten minutes later, his house, a He sat down in the large, worn,
massive stone structure which leather chair, and she handed him
looked as though it had been shifted a Scotch and water, and kissed his
intact from the center of some cheek, and then sat down opposite
medieval moat, loomed up, gray him in a smaller striped-satin chair.
and stony, and Capra, his handy- "Did you have a nice day, dear?"
man, took over the car and drove she asked.
it into the garage, while Cutter She was always pleasant and she
strode up the' wide steps to the always smiled at him, and she was
42 JAMES McKIMMEY, ·JR.
indeed a hand~ome woman. They
had been rnarried but. five years, T Confidet
HE FIRST indication that the
might be working,
and she was almost fifteen years came thn'i' wCf'ks lakr, when Quay
younger than he, but they had a handed Cutter the report showing
solid understanding. She respected an efficiency illClT;lse of 3.7 per-
his work. and she wa~ careful with cent. "I thilJl.; that should tell the
the rnorwy Iw allowC'd her, and she story/' Quay s:lid elatcdly.
never forgot the Scotch and ..vater. "Doesn't ml';lll <I11ythin.g." Cutter
"The day \vas all right," he said. said. "Could b,' a thousal1d other
"My goodness," she said, "you factol's besides thai d.'\lllllt'J gim-
,,\:ol'ked 1<11e. Do you want dinner mick." '
right m.. .· ay?" ' "But we've ncver bel'n ,lhlc- to
"I hrld some "anchviches at the show more than 011(' point lin::
office." he said, drinking slowly. variance on the admilli~lr:\li\'L'
"That isn't cIlough," she said re- checks."
proachfully, and h(' l'njoyed hI'!' "The trouble with you, QU:1y,"
concern over him. ':You'd better Cutter said brusquely, "is you keep
have somc nice roast be(~f that looking for miracles. You think the
Andre did just pnfcctly. And way to get things in lhi.~ world is
thnc's some wonderful dressing to bopc rcal hard. Nothing COlll('S
that I made myself, for just a small ColS)', and I've got half a notion
salad." to get those damned silly things
He smiled finally. "All rig-ht," he jerked Oll!." He bent OV('1' his work,
said. "All rig-ht." ob\"iomly finished with Quay, ~lJ)d
Shl' got up and kissed him again, QllaY1 deflated, paccd Ollt of the
and he relaxed in the large chair, office.
sipping contentedly at his drink, lis- Cutin smikd insi(h~ the empty
tening- to her footsteps hurrying office. He liked to sec QUOlY's en-
aWi\\', the sound another indication thusiasm broken n()w <tnL! then. It
that'she was doing something foJ' took that, to mold a really good
him. lie felt rin.'d and easy. HC' let man, because th~t \\";1\' he assumed
hi!i mind relax with hi~ b~dv. The I'l'al strength after 3. 'while. If h('
gadg-tt, the Confide!; that "~'as go- got knocked down and got up
ing to work, be kncw. It \'>iOuld cra:-;(' enough, he didn't fall apart 'WhCll
the last important bug in his opeD.- he hit a rcoally tough obstacle. Cut-
tional efficiency, and then he might ter was not unhappy ~lhout the
('YCll expand, the wny he had efficiency figures <1t all. and he
wanted to all along. He dosed his knew as well a~ Quay that th('y Wl'rC
eyes for a mOllH'Ilt, tasting (Jf his dNisi\"C'.
contentment, and then he heard the Give it another two weeks, he
sound of his dil1lH..T being placed on thought. ~nd if the increase was
the dining room table, and he stood comparable, lhen they might h,I\'c
up briskly and walked out of the a rcal improvement OIl their hands.
libnuy. He really wa.s hungry, he Those limp, jumpy ClTatllJ't'S OJl the
realized. Not only hungry but, he dt?sks out there might <.ll:lu:illy start
thought, hl' might make love to earning their kCl'lJ. Ill' was thinking
Mary that t.'\·ening. about that, ......hat it would mean to
CONFIDENCE GAME 43
the total profit, when Lucile opened Quay had never once gone to lunch
his door and he caught a glimpse of with Cutter before. Quay was quite
tht' olllet' outside, including the nonchalant, however, and he said,
rink with the sad, frightened eyes. "Why, fine, George. I think that's
EVl'1I yOll, Linden, Cutter thought, a good idea."
WI' 111 igh t even im pJove you.

The increase was comparable

:lfter another two weeks. In fact, B OLEN appeared in Cutter's
office the next morning, smil-
the efficiency figure jumped to 8.9. ing, his eyes darting quickly about
Quay was too excited to be knocked Cutter's desk and walls, so that
down this time, and Cutter was Cutter felt for a moment, that
unable to suppre.\is his own pleas- showing Bolen anything as personal
ure. as his office, was a little like letting
"This is really it this time, the man look into his brain.
George," Quay said. "It really is. "Quay tells me you've set ten
And here." He handed Cutter a s~t percent as the top efficiency in-
of figures. "Here's what accounting creasc we can count all, Bolen."
estimates the profit to be on this Cutter said it directly, to the point.
eight-nine figure." Bolen smiled, examining Cutter's
Cutter nodded, his eyes thinning hands and suit and eyes. "That's
the slightest bit. "We won't see right. Mr. Cutter."
that for a whHe." "Why?" .
"No," Quay said, "but we'll see Bolen placed his small hands on
it! We'll sure as hell sec it! And if his lap, looked at the tapered fin-
it goes much higher, we'll absolute- gers, then up again at Cutter. He
ly balance out!" kept smiling. "It's a matter of
"What does Bolen figure the top saturation."
to be?" HHow in hell could tcn percent
"Tcn percent." more efficiency turn into satura-
"Why not thirty-six point eight?" tion?"
Cutter said, his eyes bright and "Not tcn percent more efficien-
narrow. cy," Bolen said quietly. "Ten per-
Quay whistled. tlEven at ten, at cent effect on the individual who
the wage we're paying-" creates the efficiency. Ten percent
"Never settle for quarters or effect of that which causes him to
thirds," Cutter said. "Get the whole be ten percent marc efficient."
thing. Send for Bolen. I want to Cutter snorted. "Whatever the
talk to him. And in the meantime, hell that damned gimmick does, it
Bah, this is such a goddamncd sweet creates confidence, drive, strength,
morning, what do you say we go doesn't it? Isn't that what you
to lunch early?" said?"
Quay blinked only once, which "Yes," Bolen said politely. "Ap-
proved his adaptability. Cutter had proximately."
just asked him to lunch, as though "Can you explain to me then,
it were their habit to lunch to- how ten percent more confidence
gether regularly, when in reality, in a man is saturation?"
44 JAMES McKIMMEY, JR.
 Bolen studied what he \V;1S going GiSt·, Ihe dt'lll:lIld nUI\\'I'ig-hed the
to say card ully, smiling all the capability, No\\", if you get a total
while. "SOllIe men," he s~lid vcry tCIl-1HTCl'll! illl"J"!':I"t', then you're
slowly. "are c1iO'erent than others, balanCl'd. II y"11 ~',(' n\'t'\" Ih.1t. you'll
Mr. Cutter. Some lllell will reacl break tllo' hd:llll" ,i1t OVl.'I' again
to p('r~(lnality c!ung-es as abntpt 3<; cxct'pt t]Ld \1111'11 11.1\'('. ill l"C"rtai~
this in differcnt w::Iys than others. cao;cs, ('~lJul)ilir\ "ll1\\(·i!..',hIJlI~· the
You aren't too concerned, are you, dCIl1.1nu (If Ill!' Wild.. "
with whZlt thos(' changes might al· "Good." CUltl'l -"lid ":\11\' ill:m
ready hav(' c10Ilc to any of the in- who\ capahility Illll\\r'i",II" 1Ill' wl.lrk
dividuals affected?" he's doing- will :;iJlljJJ~ 1-,I'I'p ill-
"Hell, no," Cutter said loudly. cn';l<;ing bis C'ff]Cil'lll·y.'"
"Why should I be? All I'm in- Bolen ~hook his 1H':1(1. ' N,,_ lit-'ll
terested in is efficiency. Tell me react quite the othL'r W:l)', Ill"ll In,('
about efficiencv, and I'll knO\v what interl'::it, became thL' \\,(\1].; wiJl 111.1
you're t~llking ·about." longcl' be a challenge, and thcll til!'
"All right," Bolen s;ljd. "We have efficil.'ncy will drop."
no way of knO\....ing right now \vhich Cutter's jaw hardened. "All ri~hl
men han' bccn affected morc than then, I'll move that m:Hl up, ;:Iml
others. All we have is an average. fiJI his place with someone else."
The average right now is eig-ht and Bolen looked 3t Cutter's eYl-'~,
nine-tC'nths percenL But pcrhaps examined them curiously. "S~mL'
you have some workers who do not men hm'e a great deal of IatCllt
react, because they really do not taklll. 'Mr. Cutter. This t::I1(,l1t !"c-
suITer the bcks or cumpulsiuns or leasl'd-"
inhibitions that the Confidet is COll- Cutter frowned, studying Bnlt'IJ
cerned with, Perhaps they are work- can'fully. Then he laughL'l1 suddl'll-
ing at top efficiency right now, and 11'. "'{ou think 1 might not be able
tiD amount of f urtllC'1" <;lIbjection to to halldle it?"
the Confidet will change them." "\Vell, let's say that you've got
"All right then:' Cutlef said a stable of gentle, quiet mares, aiid
quickly, "we'll ferret that kind of you turn them suddenly inlo thor-
deadwood out. and replace them!" oughbreds. 'You have to nuke al·
"How will you know which afC" lowances for that, Mr, Cutler. The
deadwood?>l Bolen asked pleasant- same stalls, the S3l1le railings, the
ly. same' stable boys might not bL' able
"Individual chccks, of coursc !" to do the job anymore."
Bolen shook his head, looking "Yes," Cutter said, smiling \vith-
back ;It his tapering fing:ns. "It out hUIlJOr, "but the {)~(,'lIer has
won't necessarily work. You see, nothing to do with stalls and rail-
the work that these men arc con- ings and stable boys, only in the
n.'rned with is not particularly de- scn,-c that they arc subsicli~uy. Tlw
manding work, is it? And that owner is the O\vncr, and if he It:l,~
means you want to strike a lxdancl' to Illake a· few subsidiary L'hallg-('s,
bet\','CCIl capability and dCIl1:md, all right, But !lorhillg really <tll'eds
It's the unbaLlIlcl' of these things the owner, no mattn whether
that creates trouble, and in your you've got gentle mares or thor-
CONFIDENCE GAME 45
oughbreds." said to the man who answered. "My
Bolen nodded, as though he had wife's birthday is next Saturday.
expected that exact answer. "You Do you remember that antique desk
are a very certain man, aren't you, I bought her last year? Good. Well,
Mr. Cutter?" the truth is, she uses it all the timc,
"Would I be here, in this office, so this year I'd like a good chair
heading this company, if I weren't, to match it. She's just using an oc-
Bolen ?" casional chair right now, and ..."
Bolen smiled.
Cutter straightened in his chair.
"All right, do we go on? Do we T IKE EVERYTHING he gave
shoot for the limit?" L her, Mary liked his gift ex-
Bolen chose his words carefully. tremely well, and night aftcr night,
"I am interested in testing my Con- after the birthday, he came home
fidet, Mr. Cutter. This is the most to find her at the desk, using the
important thing in the world to me. chair, captaining her house and her
I don't recommend what you want servant staff. And the improvement
to do. But, as long as you'll give was noticeable in her, almost from
me accurate reports on the effects the first day. Within a month, he
of the Confide!, I'll go along with could detect a remarkable change,
you. Providing you grant me one and for the first time, since they
concession." had been married, Mary gave a
Cutter frowned. dinner for thirty people without
HI want our written contract crying just before it started.
dissolved." Thcre were other changes.
Cutter reddened faintly. Nobody Quay brought in efficiency report
ever demanded anything of him after efficiency report, and by the
and got it easily, but his mind end of three months, they had hit
turned over rapidly, judging the eighteen and seven-tenths percent
increase in efficiency, the increase increase. The administrative office
in profits. He would not necessarily was no longer the dull, listless place
have to stop with administrative it had been; now it thrived and
personnel. There were other de- hummed like thc shop helow. Cut-
partments, too, that could stand a ter could see the difference with
little sharpening. Finally he his own eyes, and he could particu-
nodded, reluctantly. "All right, larly see the differences in certain
Bolen." individuals.
Bolen smiled and left quickly, Brown and Kennedy showed re-
and Cutter stared at his desk for a markable improvement, but it was
moment, tense. Then, he relaxed really Harry Linden who astonished
and the hard sternness of his face Cutter. An individual check showed
softened a bit. He put his finger a sixty~percent increase by Linden,
on his desk calendar, and looked at and there was a definite change in
a date Lucile had circled for him. the man's looks. He walked dif-
He grinned, and picked up the tele- ferently, with a quick, virile step,
phone, and dialed. and the look of his face and eyes
"This is George H. Cutter," he had become strong and alive.' He
46 JAMES McKIMMEY, JR.
began appearing ('arly in the morn· Iv on the individual checks, and th£>
ing, ahead of tIlt' starting hour. and total efficif'ney average had I"eac:hcd
working late, and the on]y tilJlf' he thirty~thr(,t· percent. His and !\{ary's
missed all\" work hours, wZ].s ant' allllivl'l'\ar\" W;J<; on the fourth of
aftl'fIloon. 'during- which. Lucile in- }"farch, an~1 \'\'Ilt'll that day arrivc.'d.
fonned Cutter, he had appl'~lITd in lw was cnLJill t!J:lt he had n:achf'u
court for his divorce tl'i,d, that P01Ilt wht'w Ill' ('()uld ('''palld
Withill a IIlOIJth, Cutter had to ;ltlotllel' pblll.
fired Stoll' and Lacktel' ~lIlcl Grant, I Ie '\':IS abnUI III order hl'r a
as d('partllll'nt head:" ami replaced mink stoll- in celdn;lllcHJ, bllt it \vas
thellJ with Brmvll, Kt'lllledv, and also that clav th;JI he w:\>; infonneJ
Linden, I fl' had forlllulated plans that she wa~ suing hillJ fill di\ or!.·I'.
for installation of the Confiuets in Hr' rushed hOllle, furious, 11111 sIll'
the drzifting Ckpal'tlllcnt amI the was gone, She h~ld takt'll IlCr dothc'<;
SUPIJly dep;ll'lJlll'llt, ;mel alrc~ldy tlw and jewelry and the second Cadil-
profits of increascd cflicicI1!.·Y were lac. In fact, all that :-he h;ld Jefl
hcgilllling to "how ill t1l(' n'cords. of iln prrsonal p()"session,~ Wl'n: thl'
Cutter was full of IlC'\\" enthusiasm antiqU(o desk and ch<lir. \Vhcll the
and ambition, <lnd there was only trial W<l<; o\'er, months later, Shl'
one thorn in the entire develop- had WOIl enough support 10 take
ment. hn to Francf'", W!Jf'TT, he Il'arned,
Quay had re..;igned. she pllrc!l:lsl'd ;1 dlJtl':Jll at C"nnL's.
Cutter had heen startkd and Ik tried to lose hilllself ill his
extrnneJy allg-l"Y, but Quay had \vork, but for thL' first time in hi~;
been uIlpnturlJ('d ami stubhorn. life-, he bad fwg-un to grt faintly
"I've enjoyed working' with you \vorricd. It '.. .'as only a sliver of
imllH'nsely, Georg-e, but my mind \vOI'l'~'. but it kept him from ,!,;oillg
is Illade up. No hard fl'elings;)" on with the CXp;lllSioll, Stocks ill
ClItter had not n'('l! shaken his the COIllP;\IlY had turned OVl'r at an
baud. amzlzingly r':lpid Lltt'. ,mel while it
Jt had botlll:n'd hill! for days, \\las ."till nothing more thall intui-
and he clwcked every industrial tion 011 hi'i part. 11(' began to tight-
COI!lp~lny ill the aI"e.l. t'o "ce where el1 up. l"C'adying' hilllst'if to meet
QUZIY had found a belter position. anything.
He was highly sul'jJl'i'wd. wl[('n he The e'\:plosioll
c;:\tlH' in July.
learlled, fInally, that Quay had Drindor Produl'!:' kId picked up
purcl18sc<.! :1 sllla\! bo:lt and was rOl,ty-niIll' percell I of the stock 011
eal"llillg hi..; living by l';IITying fi~h­ thl' lliarket, by usillg' Sl'COlluary
crnU'1l oul uuto til(' KlV. OU<lV had I.HIYtTS. Tlwl'e !l;ld !lI'l'll ;t leak
also llLarril'd, four tb'vs 711'lt:1' hi" <;or;H'whcl't·, Cutter I"(';dtzed, that
resignation. ~Uld CUller' pu~hl'd the had [old his COillpetitor, Drilldor,
entil'l' thing out of his Illind, check- the kind of proht h(' was making,
ing it off to p:\rtial ill~anity. He kill'\\" who it had bt'I'1l imLtntly.
By Febru;lry nf llw lll,,,t )"l':lr, ill' but 1x'fol'l' he- could fire J bn:\'
had promoted IlalTy Lindell to Lindell, all of his \\,~tlls n<.lslwd
Quay's old job. gottt'll rid uf the dowll. Foul' mOl1tb~ tll·forl', to put
deauvI-'ood that sho\ved up so plain- more esprit de COT/J:l' into Linden,

CONFIDENCE GAME 47
he had allowed Linden eight slilares he had not lost an ounce of his
of his own stock, intending to pick ability to make a sudden decision,
it up later from the market. Linden and then he removed that disk and
had coerced with Drinclor. Cutter carried it to the library and fitted it
lost control. under the cushion of the large,
A board of directors was elected worn, leather chair.
by Drindor, and Drindor a~sl1mcd
the presidency by proxy. Harry Lin- By fall, he had done nothing to
den took over CutH.'r's office, as regain control, and he was less
Vice President In Charge. certain of how he should act than
CUlter had wild Iv ordered Ed- he had been months before. He
ward Bolen to rcmov'c the Confidets kept driving by the plant and look-
one week before, but ('ven then he ing at it, but he did so carefully, so
had known that it wa:- too late, and that no one would sec him, and he
the smiling, knowing look on was surprised to find that, above
Bolen's face had infuriated him to all, he didn't want to fact.:: Harry
a screaming rage. Bolen remained Linden. The memory of the man's
undisturbed, and quietly carried finn look, the sharp, bold cyes,
the disks away. Cutter, when he frightened him, and the knowledge
left his office that final day, moved of his fright crushed him inside. He
slowly, very slowly. wished desperately that Mary were
back with him, and he even wrote
her letters, pleading letters, but they

H E BROODED for many long

days after that: searching his
mind for a way to counterattack.
came back, unopened.
Finally he went to sec Robert
Quay, because Quay was the only
He still had enough stock to keep man in his memory whom he some-
him comfortable if he lived another how didn't fear talking to. He
hundred years. But he no longer found Quay in a small cottage ncar
had the power, and he thirsted for the beach. There was a six-day old
that. He turned it around and infant in a crib in the bedroom,
around in his brain, trying to figure and Quay's wife was a sparkling-
out how he could do it, and the one eyed girl with a smile that made
thing he finally knew, the one cer- Cutter feci relatively at ease for the
tain - thing, was that if he used first time in weeks.
enough drive~ enough strength, then She politely left them alone, and
he would regain control of the com~ Cutter sat there, embarrassed faint-
pany he had built with his own ly, but glad to be in Quay's home
hands and mind. and presence. They talked of how
He paced lhe library and the it had been, when Quay was with
long living room and the dining the company, and finally Cutter
room, and his eyes were lost, until pushed himself into asking about
he saw, through the doorway of the it:
sl'wing ro0111, that desk and that "I've often wondered, Bob, why
chair, and he remembered he you left?"
hadn't done anything about that. Quay blushed slightly, then
He paused only briefly, because grinned. HI might as well admit it.
48 JAMES McKIMMEY, JR.
I !(ot one of those things from time. Bolen had kept track of his
Bolen, and had it installed in my Confidet, the one that Mary had
own chair." Win!. :lIld 311 this time, he had
Cutter thoug-ht about it, sur... known Cutter still had it. Cutter
priscd. He cleared his throat. "And was furious over thl' realization that
then you quit?" Bolen kul bl'ell w:ing- him for cx4
"Sure," Quay :'J.id. "Alt my life, periIlWIl(;ltioll. ;lIId .11~,o bC'l'ause the
I'd wanted to do just \.. · hat I'm do- Confidet thai IIf" 11;1(1 tried to use
ing. But things just came easy to had turned \\'ortldl'ss.
me, and the opportunities were al- All his ha(r('(1, :111 hi . . anger
way... there, 3ntl [ just never had churned inside or hill! likl' the
the guts to pass anything by. Final... heat from shaken {'o;I1 .... hut when
ly I did." he walked up the p;lllt to Bol.'n's
Quay smiled at him, and Cutter small house, he did ,(1 quil't1y. with
shifted in his thaiI'. "The Confidet extreme care.
did that." When he saw Bolen's facL' in the
Cutter nodded. doorway. he wanted to strike the
It came to him suddenly, some... man. but he kept his hands quietly
thing he'd ne\'er suspected until at his sides; and though he hated
that moment. There was somcthin~ himself for it. he c\'('n sll1ilcu il
very definitely wrong with what had little at the man.
happened to him. The Confidet "CoIne in." BokIJ smiled. and
had effected everyone but him; he spokt, softly, and at Ihe salllc
there must have bN'n something time ht' examined Cutter with
wrong wirh the one he had bCl'n quick. penetrating t·yl' ..... "CClITIC in,
using. It had worked with Mary, 1\11'. Cutter."
but hadn't Bol('11 said something Cutter wantrd to stand there and
about the energy hring used in demand another Cunfider, a good
proportion to the demand? Mary one, at~d not walk inside, politely,
had certainly LTL'3tL'd a deIn~md. like' he' did. And h(' \\'i,hed th:1t his
Bol(,11 said the life of it was in- voice would cOl1le Ollt, quickly, with
definite, but couldn't the energy the powC'r and hate in it that he
have been USt'J up? had once' been capable of. But for
"Ah," he said carefully, smiling, some rcason, he couldn't say n.
to Quay. ';You wouldn't have it word.
around, would you? That Confidet Bolen was extremely polite.
of yours?" "You'vc been using that Confider,
"Oh, hell, no," Quay said. HI haven't you?" He spoke gently, al-
gave it to Bolen a long tilTH' ago. most as though he were spt."aking
He came around for it, in fact. to a frightened child.
Said he had to keep track of all of "Yes," Cutter managed to say.
them." "And what you expected to hap-
Cutter left hurriedly, with Quay pen, didn't. That's wh:u you want
and his wife following him to his to tell me, isn't it?"
car. He drove straight to Bolen's Cutter's insides quivcrcu with
house. rage, but he was able ollly to nod.
Fury built inside of him. All this "Would you like to know why?"
CONFIDENCE GAME 49
BoJen said. didn't return that last Confidet, I
Cutter rubbed his damp palms somehow felt that you might use
over his knees. He nodded. it, after all that nasty business at
Bolen smiled, his eyes sparkling. the company and all.
UVery simple really. It wasn't the UBut while T was fairly certain of
fault of the Confidcf. so much, Mr. the effects, Mr. Cutter, J wasn't
Cutter, as you. You sec, you arc a absolutely sure, you sec, and so like
rare exception. \Vbat you arc, or t~e rest of the expnirnents, I had
possibly I should say, what you to forget my conscience. I'm really
were, was a complete super cg-o. very sorry."
There arc very few of those, Mr. The anger was a wild thirrg in·
Cutter, in this world, but you hap- side Cutter now, and it made his
pened to be one of them. A really hands tremble and sweat, and his
absolute, complete super ego. and mouth quiver, and he hated the
the Confidct's crTect was simply the man in front of him, the man who
reverse of what it would have been was responsible for what had hap-
with anyone clse." Bolen shook his pened to him, the smiling man with
head, sympathetically, but he didn't the soft voice and exploring eyes.
stop smiling, and his eyes didn't But he didn't say anything, not a
stop their infuriating exploration word. He didn't show his anger or
of Cutter's face and eyes and hands. his frustration or his resentment. He
UIt's really a shame, because I was didn't indi<:a te to Bolen a particle
almost certain you werc a super of his inner wildness.
ego, Mr. Cutter. And when you He didn't have the nerve. • ••

WORTH CITING
The story of a woman patient who allowed doctors to graft living
cancr-r cdls under her skin was recently disdosed at a meeting of the
American College of Surgeons. Hopelessly ill with a widespread cnncer.
she let doctors at Memorial Hospital in New York City operate to re-
move cancerous tissue for culture in laboratory animals and in test tubes.
Several months later the doctors back-transplanted these cultured cells
under her skin. They grew actively, and when removed a second time ror
microscopic C'xaminatlon they proved to be identical with the c:mccr
cells that had ken removed in the oriJdnal operation.
Scientists who IUlVC struggled to control this killer disease howe long
been hampered by the fact that the)' must always work with mouse or
Tat cancers, or cells that have br-f'n cultiv:lll"d outside the human body.
Now, thanks to this heroic woman patient, science knows that the cells
which have been cultivated outside the body are r('ally human cancer
cells, and drugs which work on these cells in test tubes are working on
human cancer and C.1n be used on patients with grcatcr confidence.
Nameless though she is, our Cit:uion this month goes to this woman
who pioneered so bravely in her desire to "be useful to humanity."

50 JAMES McKIMMEY, JR.

 Secrets
entrusted
10 a
few

THERE arc ..orne things that cannot urganizatiun) an a~c-ult.l hr, ,thcrh<lod
be Kcncrally tolJ-things yOIl ollgl)/ 10 uf le;lrnin~. kl'H' preserved thi:> secrcl
IwClw. (;rcat tnahs 3rc dan~Crl)US tu wisdom in their arcbiH:S ('Ir I.-"cntu·
:,oOlc-hut fan~lrs for pLTl'rmtJI pOU'('r fil·S. 'J'JJn' 1Jvu' im'ift, }WI tu sh..·,.... tiN
and .ncoml,li.'!.>IIit!nt in the hanJ~ uf Ilr>Jr,i,-..·I h"I/'.!JlIr"·jl of tid ir 11',0( /);":-:'1.
thIJ~l' who lIndt:rst.toll tbem. Uehind \X'ritl' tuda)' fur :1 Ircl,: copy of thl'
[hI,; t.iles of the miracles and mp;u:ric,," huok. "-"be i\L.L.'tcrr of I.ife.· \Virhin
of till: aUcil't1I ... lie cCll(uri ..,s of their it.; r.lg('~ rna~ IiI.' a In;w lifL' nf uppr)r-
~C("l,.. l ptuhill": into n.iCurc's 101 ..... 1>- tllnjt~ fur yUlI, AdJrn ... : .scribe
theil" al1lazin~ di~(Cln:rics (If the hid.
do, l'I'(JI't'ssrs oj ",.I1/·S mi",I, and Ihl! r-· ·SE.ND THIS COUPON---j
m<ls!<.'.I) oj It],·', l,rubl"flH. Once ~hrlllal· 5,·(1),,, I
cd in Iln-stetV 10 avoid their dcsttUl':· n'l: I~O:-'lunICL"."":-(:\MUIH,) 11.1,7 I
~Jn hl~l'.l .d1l0fll'..
tioll hy 1;13l>!> i'I.".Il" and j~:n()r;trll,:(:. tbc'ie
!
Pl •."., \L-I"I Ill,· tln i,..... bouli. 1/,,- .\1.1,1." > I
Llcel> remain a Ll... cful hcrit:_lI.:c fur the <-I Lii., "hil,:h "l..,I~il1' louw [ I"~f- k .. :n lU I
thOLll>:lnds of rnCll and wumc~ who pri- u ..· llly l~.ulli,,~ .l.uJ p..,wer. 01 l.Il:nJ. j

nltd)' llS~ thelll in tlH~ir homes today. l\".imc .........•• _..... .••• ••••••. j

THIS FREE BOOK I AJJr,,~~.... :

•L Cit)·............... J
I
The RosicrUli.lrJ-s (nu[ a religiuus

fJlj(; Rosicrucians (AMORO SAN JOSE, CAl!I'OltNI ..\. U.S.A.

I.
lllusirattd by Virgil Finlay

THE BATTLE

It was the Last Battle. The cavalry was ready. The air arm

was ready. The troops were ready. Metal shining,

rela).s renewed, energy reservoirs charged. Television tOT

the world was ready . .. Was there anything not ready?

BY ROBERT SHECKLEY

52
......
 "RathCl" medieval," erncraJ D(,11
S UPREME General Fetterer
barked "At case!" as he hur-
ried into the command room.
IIlurmured.
General Fcttercr':-; aide came in,
Obediently, his three generals stood his face slJining and happy with
at case. thought of thc Coming,
U\Ve have-n't much time," Fet- "Sir,'l he said, "The priest is out-
te-fer said, glancing at his watch. side again."
"\Ve'l! gl) over the plan of battle 'tStand at attentioll, soldier,"
again." Fettcrer said sternly. "Therc's still
He walked to the wall and un· a battle to be fought and \\'on,"
rolled a gigantic mLip of the Sahara "Yes sir," the aide said, and
desert. stood rigidly, some of the joy fad-
HAceQl"ding to our best theologi- ing from his face.
cal inforlllatioo, Satan is going to "The priest, eh?" Supreme Gen-
prcsL'nt his force:'; at these coordi· eral Fettcrcr rubbed his fingC'rs to-
nates." He indicated the place with gether thoughtfully. Even since the
a blunt forefinger. "In the front Coming, since the knowledge of the
rank there will be the devils, de- imminent Last Battle, the rt:!igious
mons, succubi, incubi, and the rest workers of the world had made a
of the ratings. Bacl will command complete nuisance of theJllst:!vl'S.
the right flank, Buer the left. His They had stopped their bickering,
Satanic Majesty will hold the cen- which \...a5 l:'offilliendable. But now
ter." they were trying to run military
53
business. fight in the Lord's battle."
"Send him away," Fctterer said. Supreme General Fetterer
"He knows we're planning Arma· drummed his fingers nervously
geddon" against his side. He wanted to stay
"Yes sir," the aide said. He on friendly terms with these men.
saluted sharply, -wheeled, and Even he, the Supreme Com-
marched out. mander, might need a good word,
"To go on," Supreme General ,·... hen all was said and done...
Fetterer said. "Behind Satan's first Hyou can understand my posi-
line of defense will be the resur- tion,H Fcttcrcr said unhappily. "I'm
rected sinners, and various elemen- a general. I havr a battle to fight."
tal forces of evil. The fallen angels "But it's the Last Battle," the
will act as his bomber corps. Dell's priest said. "It should be the
robot interceptors will meet them." people's battle."
General Dell smiled grimly. "It is," Fetterer said. "It's bein.~
<lUpon contact, MacFee's auto- fought by their reprcs('nlati\"cs, the
matic tank corps will proceed to- military."
ward the center of the line. Mac- The priest didn't look at all con-
Fee's automatic tank corps will vinced.
proceed toward the center," Fet- Fetterer said. "You wouldn't
terer went on, "supported by Gen- want to lose this battle) would you?
eral Ongin's robot infantry. Dell Have Satan win?"
will command the H bombing of "Of course not," the priest mur-
the rear, which should be tightly mured.
massed. I will thrust with the "Then we can't take any
mechanized cavalry, here and chances," Fetterer said. "All the
here." governments agrel'd on that, didn't
The aide came back, and stood they? Oh, it would be very nice to
rigidly at attention. "Sir," he said, fig-hl Arm;lg-cddon with the mass
"The priest ref uses to go. He says of humanity. Symbolic, you might
he must speak with you." say. But could we be certain of
Supreme General Fetterer hesi- victory?"
tated before saying no. He remem- The priest tried to say some-
bered that this was the Last Battle, thing) but Fctlcrer was talking
and that the religious workers lvae rapidly.
connected with it. He decided to "How do we know the strength
give the 1113n five minutes. of Satan's forces? '/I/e simply must
"Show him in," he said. put forth our best foot, militarily
The priest wore a plain business speaking. And that means the auto-
suit, to show that he represented matic arnlics, the robot intercep-
no particular religion. His face was tors and tanks, the H bombs."
tired but determined. The priest looked very unhappy.
"General," he said, "I am a rep- "But it isn't right," he said. "Cer-
resentative of all the religious work- tainly you can find some place in
ers of the world, the pr.iests, rabbis, your plan for pl~ople?"
ministers, mullahs, and all the rest. Fetterer thought about it, but
We beg of you, General, to let us the request was impossible. The
54 ROBERT SHECKLEY
plan of baltle w,,,fully developed, Fclterer frownf'd deeply. He
beautiful, irresistible. Any intro- didn'l know what was ~uppos('d to
duction of a gross hUtll;l.Il elemcnt hap!JeII <If tel' The Battle. 'That part
would only throw it Ollt of order. of it W;)S pn'Ql:l1ahly, in the hands
No living flesl. could stand the of the 1'l'ligillliS ~lg('llcies.
noise of that mechanical altack, "I SlIppn,(' t]W!"l,'1! be ~l pr('''-l'llt<l-
tlH' energy potentials humming- in tion or soltlt'thin.~';:· he ~aiJ v~lgue­
the air, the ;"Ill-enveloping- fire Jy.
power. A human being who camE' "'YOIl Illl'~lll w(' will lllt'et~
within a hundred miles of the Him?" Grm'ral 1)(']] dsb·d.
front would not live to SCi" the "Don't l'\·:dlv I:..llnw," 1"('tl<'I"I'I"
rnel1lv. said. "But I Sh~lllld tllillk S~l. \fln
''}';n afr~dd not." fr·ttercr said. ~111--1 ml'.m, you kllow wll;11 r
"There are some," the priest mean
said sternly, "who fecl that it \\'as "Bllt \\·l!;\t ~hoLl]d \\"l' \\T;Il'?"
an error to put this in the lunds Genl'l';ll :MacFec ;-lskec1, in a sud-
of the militarv." den panic, "I HlC'an, what does OIl('
"Sorry." Fetter!"'r said cheerfully. we3r?'·
"That's defeatist t<1lk. H you don't "\Vhat do the angels wear?"
mind-" Hf' gestured ;11 the door. F('ttl~r('r askf·d On~ill,
\Vc<1rily, the pric<;t ldt. "I <.lon't know," Ongin said.
·'1'h<.:s[' civilians," Fe-He-ref "Rohes, do VOli think?" General
mused. "\\\-11, gClltlemen, arc your Dell offcl"('d. '
troops [ead y?" "I\n," Fl'tlercr s;lid sternly. "We
"\!Ve're ready to fighl for Him," v.'ill weal' dress uniform, \vithout
General MacFc(' said l'lllhu"iasli- decor:ltions."
cally. "I can vow.:" for every 3Uto- TIll' gencrals noJded. It was fit-
matic in Ill)' command. Their IIletal ting.
is shining, all rcbys have bccII I'e· And then it was timf'.
newed, anel the l'!lcrgy reservoirs
arc fully charged, Sir) they're posi-
ill
tively itching for battle!"
General Ongin snapped fully out GORGEOUS
:tn::!\".
their
tht' If'g'iol1~ of Hell ad-
baltle

of his daze. "The ground troop" are vancl'<.l ~\-l'l thL: dest'rt. Hellish
ready, sir!" pipes skirh'd, hollow drums
"Air arm reauy." General Dell pounded, :llld the great ghost
said. IIH)\"cd forward.
"Excellellt," Gt'neral Fctterer III a blinding doud of salld,
said. "All other arrangcll1ent." have" General ?\1acFec's :-lUtomJ.ti, tanks
been made. Televi"ion Ltcilitics arc hurled thcllIse!ves ,lgainsl the S.l-
available for the total population tanie foc. Iml"l'c1iatcly, Dell's
of the world. No onE', rich or poor, auto:n,ltic bumbel"'i sC!"ccchl'u o\"t~r­
will miss the spectacle uf the Last head, hurling their bombs OIl the
Battle." massed horde of the d:lltlw·d. Fet-
"And after thl:' battle~" General terrI' thrust valiantl\' with his auto-
Ong-in began, and stopped. He matic calvalry. '
looked at Fcttcrer. Into this melee advanced On·
THE BATILE 55
 gin's automatic jnfantry, and metal "I congratulate you, gentlemen."
did- what metal could. The gcnerals smiled wearily.
The hordes of the damned over- They looked at each otllt'r, then
flowed the front. ripping apart broke inlO a spontaneous shall I.
tanks :lI1d robots, Automatic mech- Armagl'<.Jdon was won, and thl'
anis,"~ died. br:wdy defendin~ 3 forces of Satan h.:ld b('cn van-
patch of sand. Dell's oomJx>rs were quishl'd,
torn from the skits hv the fallen But sOIllcthing W3:-; h3ppening on
an~cls, led by Marcho~ias, his grif- their ~l'rel'I1S,
fin's wings beating the air into a HIs th;lt-is that-" Ceneral
tornado. ~{a(Fce began) and (~lCn couldn't
The chin, battcfl..'d line of robots speak.
held, against gigantic prescnces For The Prt'Sellcl' W;lS upon tllc
that smashed :lIld scattered them, battlefield, walking alllong (he pilt.:s
and struck terror into the hearts of twisted. shattered Illetal.
of television vil'wers in homes The generals were silcllt.
around the world, Like men, like Thl' Prl'Sl'l1l'e touched a twistl'd
herOt's the robots fought. trying to robot.
force back the forces of evil. Upon the smoking dr"crt. tht'
Ast:uoth shriekl'd a command, robots bq.,:-.tn to movc. The t \\·istcu.
and Bt-hl'llloth lumbered forward. searl'll. (used metals straighttm'd.
Bac!, with a wedge of devils be- The robots stood on their (ect
hind him. threw a charge at Gen- again,
eral Fctlercr's l:rumbling left "~'la(""\'l"." Supreillc General
flank. Metal scn'anu::d, electrons Fettercr \,,'hispcn'd. "Try your con-
howlt·u in agony at the impact. trols. Make the robOIS kneel or
Supreme General Fctlcrcr something,"
swcatl'd ;md trelllb1t'd. a thousand The gennal tried, but his con-
miles Ix"hind rhe firing line. But trols werl' dead.
steadily, nervelessly, he guided the The bodies of the robots bcgall
pushin~ o( buttons and the thrO\\'- to rise in the air. Around thl'll1
ing of levers. were tht, angels of the Lord, and
His superh corps didn't disap- the robot tanks and soldiers and
point him. Mortally damaged ro- bombers floated upward) higher
bots swayed to their feet and and higher.
fou~hl. Smashed, trampkd, de· "He's saving' thrm [" Ongin cril'd
strO}TU by the howling fiends, the hystcric3lly. "J-It:'s ~:l\'ing the ro-
robots managed to hold their line. bots!"
Theil the vet('fan Fifth Corps "It's a lIIisl'lke~·' Fl'uerer said.
threw in a counterattack, and the "Quick, Sc'nd a mcssl'Jlger to--no!
enemy front was pierced, \Vc will go in person!"
A thousand miles be.·hind the fir- And quickly a ship was com-
ing line, the ~cnerals guidl'd lhe mandl'd, ~llld lJuickly they sped to
mopping up operations. Ihe fil'ld of bank. But by Ihen it
"The battle is won," Supreme was too btl', for Armageddon was
General Fctterer whispered, turn- over) am! the rouots gone, and the
ing away from the television screen, Lord and his host departed, • • •
56 ROBERT SHECKlEY
 What Is Your Science lO.?
IF YOU were going on a sight-seeing tour through space, here
arc some of the wandt'rful sights that would be pointed out to
you. How many do you know? Counting five for each correct
answer, 65 is passing, 7:1 very good and B5 is excellent. The an-
swers arc on page I 19.

I. An especially bright meteor or fireball is called a - - - -

2. 'Vllat is the name of the substance regarded as the only form
of matter in which the phenomena of life arc 11l:l1lift'stcd?
3. Which of the following is not a part of the sun: chromo-
sphf'l"c, Baily's Bead.. . , corona, photosphere?
4·, In one second a ray of light could travel around the Earth's
equator - - - timrs.
:1. Triton and Nereid arc the two moons of - - - -
6. "'hen we speak of an Earthman we call him a Tl~ITan. 'Vhat
other designation is often used?
7. 'Vhat is the name of the nearest brig-hl star, four light years
away?
8. Polaris is the North Star of the prescnt; but in the time of
the ancient Egyptian~ was the North Star.
9. How many constellations are there in the heavens as we know
them?
10. The only moon known to us that ha~ an atmosphne is - - .
] 1. What is the name of the largest known asteroid?
12. Eleven Earth years arc equal to one year on - - - -
13. According to the Doppler shift a star that is in the violet
shift on the spectrum is the Earth.
14. What escape velocity is necessary for a ship to leave the
Earth's atmosphere?
1:1. \Vhat have the following in common? Antlia l Vobns, Nanna,
Crater, Pavo, Tucana?
16. The straight line joining the center of an attracting body
with that of the body describing an orbit around it is called
a----
17. \\'hat is the name of the comet that returns every 3.3 years?
18. Double stars \\'hich revolve around each other are called

19. Which of the following is not a moon of Jupiter? 10. EuropOt,

Mimas, Callisto) Ganymede?
20. Another name for the ionosphere is - - - -

57
 BY E. G. VON WALD

World Without War

Cooperation was all right back in the dark ages but this was
an era of super culture and hi-psi intelligence.
And love was no laughing matter. People who cooperated,
even biologically, were unlawful and . ••

M ARK KNEW he shouldn't

SLOp_ He was already latc for
jennette's birthday party, but the
long, slanting rays of milky sunlight
glancing off the ribbing of the fiats
and sparkling through the mmion
sight of three people out in the brittle shards of collapsed debris,
open like this was too much. filled him with a certain poetic ex-
He pulk'd around and hovered ultation.
over the undulating flow of glassy "By the stars/' he murmured to
magma, frozen on its way to the himself happily.
long, dry Potomac river bcd, with Bubbling with good humor, he
its shallow caverns and fa:scinating slipped down a little closer to the
milc-\vide potholes. Just under an hole, staying up hard against the
overhanging dill'" of half-vitrified overhanging clifT. He was feeling
soil were two cars, obviously dam- too cheerful to usc his rightful ad-
aged. The three men w'Cre standing vantage over them, and decided to
beside them. use a handgun, since they had
Mark laughed out loud. It was nothing better.
not often that one found three This was a mistake, of course.
people at once. And so close to each He was only moving along at a
other. The scene there, with the hundred miles an hour now. Too
58
slow for safe shooring, particularly
\\'ilh the bumpy air in the hole. But
ht· h:tppily di.sreg-ardcd thi". ali he
pushed 01X'n a view porI and blazed
;1\\':\)' with a zuzz piS10l,
Alll1fKt illlnwdi;tll·ly the ship
lurrh('d in the lHll'\""11 :lir. and he
could !'iI'" lhe- lim' tlain tr:t('c of
viult"( :\.'\ it s\\"C'pt tip :lItd :lW:lY oIT
Ih(' t:trgl'ls. On(' of the men went
down. "Iin'd de.lIllv ill two. But
the otlwrs had sce-n him,
f\'lark c\II'"nl Illildly. .;omr of hil;
high good hUlnor g'om.. :lntl pulit'd
Lh,' cal' ;JbnUf for :\Ilotllt'r run. Tht:
l'hronollll'tt'r pingvu \\':nning-Iy at
hilli. nnlifi\'ing him that he wa~
Ill)\\' :l ftlll hour Iatc for .Jl:nnClle's
birthday p:tny, but the code n~­
quired tilt' ~l'l'ond try.
Then' h":t-: nOlhing Ihat rl'quired
h.llldwt"qk,n... for Ihi". lIowf'vcr. :\TllI
Ill' slippt'd Iii.. stmng young hands
,lround tlU' InaiJl ~1I1l control. A
~illglc burst uf vlolc'I. and one- of
lilt' mell \ ,lnished in a puff of
stl'.un, Good :md dr·an. 1)(' tolel
hilll"C'lf wlth sali.;Lwtion, But the
1:1'1 m3n opened hi .. pi"lol onto
hrn:ld-b,.':tlll. hurnin~ :l red narc of
~"IILT:l1 dC!'tllll"tion at him,
M~lrk vf'lTl·d :lround :Ind bore
down ."-II;"! .. pl\' for lhe bSI bursL He
h:u..l to get it 0\'t'J' with and on to
.it'll/Will'. Hili till' Ch':ltlly broad
bl';Ill1 SWl'pt IIdow tli., ("ar, rvacu-
:lling the :Iir and lhrowing the
\ dlirlt., IIWlIWIH:1ri1r Ollt of ('ontrol.
Clo'oC behind. thC' c1ill OCC:1Il1C sud-
dntl)' ;lli\'l~ a~ lhe hC":l11l engagcd it,
huhhlill~ alld Spt'willA' out huge
gllU1S of JIIl1ltcrl rock, The ain.':Ir
burst into brief. brilli.mt. sodium.
;t
C\IIOll'd fin' :md fell, with ~'brk
bUl1ling inside of it, yelling and
scrl"aming in pain,
It took almoS! five seconds before
59
till' CkUTt'C..l Lrnin of Mark's body to shoot off a quick R T, explaining
stoppeu f ullclioning. Then it rc- the situation and excusing himself.
Icascu hill I. Nobody would have minded, least
of all himself. Particularly a no-
lie was t'onscious of the hum~ fight affair like this one was sup-
lIIil1~ (If his transmitter. Almost posed to be.
illlllll'di:lIcl)' the remembered pain But not Jennette. Ohhh, Jen-
hrought perspiration running down nette.
inside the helmet into his eyes. He Mark grinned and rubbed the
rcached up and removed the head- pleasant fluid over his well-t:arcd-
piece with unsteady hands, groan- for skin. Oh yes, Jennette. There
ing softly. was something about Jennette that
It had been some decades since he could not quite put his finger on,
he had last been involved in trou- but it was good. It was wonderous-
ble like this. Killed, yes-but in a Iy good. Like the bodies she wore.
painless, fair fight. Being burned No matter what it was, it was al-
to death was no joke. And that body ways perfect. She just had the
had been one of his best, with the knack of dressing well.
finest reflex sensory s)'stim manu- Idly he wondered what her pro-
factured. tobod)' was like. There must be
The machine purred softly beside some resemblance, of t:oursc. That
him. He thought suddenly and was the law. Identifkation was vcry
emptily of Jennette, and stood up. important, and few manufacturers
"Damn," he muttered, crossing would violate that, eVl'll as a sim-
the floor, feeling the pleasant ple matter of good taste. But there
warmth of the soft plastic umier his still \.. . ould be considnable differ-
feet. "Damn, damn, damn. 1I He ence.
stopped before the transparent cov- As he thought about it, he got a
er of a storage cabinet, gazing sour- strang-c wistful feeling that hl' did
ly at its contents. not quite understand. There was a
Eleven humanoid forms were sort of sadness about it. Jennette
stiffly erect behind the cover, all seemed oddlv different fWIll other
broadly resembling him in feature, people. He 'liked her much too
and differing only in such minor much.
things as height, hair, perhaps the Guiltily he brushed the thoughts
color of the eyes. Each bore the aside. Anyway, it didn't maller., he
scars of some past clumsiness or told himself. Due to his carelessness
accident. in that last fight, he probably
IIDamn," Mark said again. "That wouldn't even see her tonight, since
was the only decent body I had to he had nothing to wear.
wear. Now what do I do?" He stalked out of lhe shower and
He went into the next room and gazed again at the bodies ill the
bathed himself in the tepid pcr- store room. The only half way de-
fUJlled mist that fell perpetually cent one there was that six root
from its domed ceiling. If it were black fellow with the little ears. It
anybody but Jennette, there would used to be his favorite, until he
be no problem. He just would have got it smashed one night during a
60 E. G. VON WALD
 party at his nearest neighbor's. A fun? He wondered.
half smile tuggf;d at Mark's lips He simply had to make Jennette's
as he recalled the incident. That party. Otht'l"\\'ise he wouldn't see
had been a no-fight party, too; but her for months at lcast, and the
he had managed to smuggle in a thought of tiLal made him feel fun-
small bomb, and set it on' right in ny ill hi .. stUlll:Ll'il.
lhe middle of the main bedroom, t\1.lrk ).:1 illlll'd :Lg-ain, admiring
There \",crc at kast ten couples hL'r illl:lgl' ill his mind, and set
thcr<\ since it was a big partYI ;llLd ;IUOllI his t".I(:dc'gUL· to lilld the
Ilonc of them lin'd, Thc truubll" flllllblllt·/l(.l1 fn'qul'lh:y of tbat old
was, Mark had been pretty h:ully CliP}' of Ililll... dr. Fll~l.· it, Ill' told
smashed up hilllSdf, and just man- hilllsL'lr rL'sulutely, NobuJy woulll
aged to get away without luslng know it \\';IS ;lJ) .'X:l('\ dliplit";lll',
his body. J Ie IOl'all'd tlll' ltLt:1 ;11111 sct it
Now the thing was all scarred up up in the tl'aIlSlllillt.T, I It- h~ld no
and practically usdess for anything idea wlLLTL' the bou)' W;l'i, but that
except manual labor. would take cafe uf itself if it \\'CI"L'
Mark shook his head disgustedly. still in gooJ shape, Placill1-'. lilc hel-
There was nothing to do but send met on his head, he pUJld IL·J the
off the RT to Jennette. controls and relaxed b:lck un the
But this \,,35 her birthday- table.
He caught a glimpse of himself
in tlw reflection from his transmit-
tcr housing and ;Jutomatically
straightcned his shouldLTs a little,
then laughed at his image.
T wo LEVELS below, under a
pile of dust-cO\'cred trash. the
body became suddenly conscious.
Then he stopped and contem- Mark opened his eyes and looked
plated himself f urtlH.'r. There was around, rl'cogni.tion slowly return-
one thing- he could do, :tvlany yL'ars ing. He had forgotten all about
before, he had all exact duplicate of this old rOOIll, but thcn-onc tould
himself producl'd; when the vogue harc..lly rem emocr everything about
for copper colored bodies was at a full shelter system, what with the
its height. Since then the fashion hundreds of compartments, endless
had changed back to the pink, but automatic cyuipment and innumer-
that old job must still be around able connecting passages. \Vhoever
somewhere. it was who built this one sure had
He hated to do it, though. He liked complexity.
had never liked that body. It had He bathed and carefully braided
been just too accurate, and every the long, blue black hair, simulating
time he wore it, it embarrassed him. somewhat the fashion of the day,
It had been allllost as if he were and spent some time adjusting a
going outside in his protobody. purple scarf over his left shoulder.
\Vhich, of course, nobody did, Pco~ The purple scarf was sort of a trade
~ pic used their O\...·n bodil:s hundreds
of years ago l but it was most un-
mark with him l and Jellllette al-
ways admired it. Purpk was her
civilized. Besides, it was tiring. and favorite color. He made a joke out
I.
I dangerous, too. Yet-was it marc of it and called it Their color,
i' WORLD WITHOUT WAR 61

t
which was typical of the strange, pursuer, watching nervously as the
dangerous behavior she engendered indicators described the pitiful short
in him. range of his fire at this setting.
Mark was a little worried as he The assailant veered off, how-
plunged lip toward the stratosphere ever, scurrying into the cobalt
in his extra car. Tl'!is time he kept doud. Mark grinned. He knew the
clearly in his mind the fact that man would expect him to wait for
thi.s was his last serviceable body, him to come out, so he swooped
and he could take no chances with down at max acceleration toward
it getting ruined. Even if he saw a the surface. In five minutes he was
whole multitude of people, all clus- signaling into Jennette's shelter for
tered together, he would ignore permission to enter.
them, he told himself. There were servants everywhere
Halfway there, however, he -mechanical things, controlled by
spotted a peculiar marking on the electronics and not alive, although
scope, and detoured. The peculiar they looked it. This was Jennette's
marking followed him. specialty. She ownf'd a factory that
Anxiously, he looked out a clear manufactured them for mining on
view panel, but could see nothing the scalding plains of Mrrcury, ~md
in the cold, mist·laden night. The these had been superficially reo
marking grew more definite as he modelled to act as servants. Ther{'
hesitated. It was another car, and was the usual govcrnment mHIl
there could be no question what it there, too, runninA' the party. He
was after. A shot at Mark. strutted around under his official
He cursed and sucked in his sash with ill-concealed self·im-
breath, making quick calculations. portance.
There was a rolling billow of cobalt "Hey you, there-wait a min-
fog off to one side, a whole bank ute," he called to Mark, waving a
of the stuff. Somebody apparently zuzz pistol in his direction.
had been having a little game near· "Yes?" ~1ark hesitated, eyed the
by. It was still hot enough, ac- pistol, and obeyed.
cording to his indicators, to dis- "That scarf-get it off," the man
charge anything the other car sent ordered sternly as h(' approached.
after him, and he would have the The zuzz pistol was level and
added advantage of bcing invisible steady.
to the other man's instruments. The "Why?" Mark demanded. "It's
only trouble was, once in the fog, jU!a a scarf. I always wear one."
he couldn't see anything either, uYou know why." the other man
and could be ambushed without said coldly. "This is; a tctotal part)'.
difficulty on the way out. If I let somebody slip a weapon or
The marking on the scope be- something in, it would be an awful
came morc definite, and the ques- brawl in no time. You know how
tion settlc·d itself as the other car people are."
came bch\'ccn Mark and the cloud. The man was right, of course.
Growling with irritation, Mark You can conceal a lot of things in
swung around and sent a wide the fabric of a sheer scarf. Reluc·
angl~ beam in the direction of his tantly, Mark undid tbe catch and
62 E. G. VON WALD
handed it over. robot servants. Then he saw her
UOkay. You can pick it up at the and caught llis breath.
entrance when yOll leave. n The
officer's amused eyes ,.,.'rinkled as
he looked 1\.1ark . up and dO\vn.
"Say, that's a pretty nice job you've
got there, man. Mind if I ask who
J ENNETTE. His lips formed a
low ,\"histlt: in timp-honored ac-
clamation or (·xl'I'lknce. The offi-
made it?" cer followcd his g-:IZI' and agrl'ed.
"It'~ pretty good." ~{J.rk said "Yes," he s;lid ill a low \"('Iice,
cautiousl\'. "It's custol11 made to a I<that girl is l"t':dly "1I111L'thillg, Pri-
priva te sjlccifica tion." vate :-Pl'C for L:\'l"rythin).!, allll ",Ill"
The offircr grinned goodnaturcd- sure knows how to U",l' it. T:lkl' th;Ll
Jy. "Sure, I understand. That's all little golden job sl\l''s wl'arillg to-
rig-he I'm not frorn the revenuc night. Nothing to it. But with 11\'1',
department. I don't h:.lVe to do it's terriliv."
anything" about bootlq:;-ging," He \\'as right. Jrnncttc W::iS wcar-
"1 don't l1lean that." :Mark pro- ill£!; a sklldlT, soft-looking goldt'lJ
tested. "There's nothing illegal-" litth' bod\" that Mark had Tle\"lT
The man waved his disregard seen befOJ:e. But it was a real prize"
anyway. "Forget it. It's a nice one, Being hostess, shL' could han'
thou?;"h. And that copper color is clothl'S on, and sported a half dozell
corning back SOOB, loa. These little bran,lets ano a jet bbck
fashions run in cycles, you know." b:mdana around hel" throat. Thl'
"Yes," :\'{ark Illunllured diffi- thing was draped umvn O\"lT 'hL:r
dently. "1 thought so, too." left brC':l'it, and thl' whole effect was
"Sure." The officer eyed it speru· re~lly quite stunning"
latively for a moment. "Two point "011 :t\1;lrk!" slit' ('xclaimed, fun-
oh one centimeter naval, isn't it? ning up with an odd sort of bl'l'ath-
They're the best, of course." ~1ark Il'ssnl.'s~. "You're 1:Itl'."'
nodded shortly, lookin,£!; away from "Suny Jl'llIll'tte," he replied.
thl' talk:ttivc officer, hoping he lORan into a little trouble and had
would stop. But the man wtnt on. to go h3rk for ~IlHJtll('r body."
HAnd I don't have allY use for <'YOUllluSl han' 11li"Sl'd," she said
these new Bon·feeders thev've been with ~HllllS('d accusation. "rm SUl'-
cOllling Ollt \.... ith recelltly:> prised ;( t you.
UNo," Mark muwblcd. "Aw, there \,"ere three of thelll,"
\'It's all right to fix it so that the he protested. "And the last Olle
food is not IlcCl'ssary, and it really used a broad be:llll,n
is a bother to have to fCl'd those old "Ne\'er IIlind, I forgive you," silt'
models whcthel" YOU W:lnt to or not. told him. "Collle along. Let's go
nut sometill1e~ y~u like to eat some- look at 111)' garden."
thing just for the fUll of it, and Mark grilllleu happily, \'Wolldn-
with the non-feeder models there's ful idea. Hut what about yOIl!"
no recL'jJtacle for it." guests? Arc you jU~l guing tu It 'ave
:t\'lark nodded, his eyes searching tllelll like th:lt":'''
the huge anteroom, gazing hOjJe- "This is IllY birlhd;ly," she said.
rully between the moving ranks of Wfhey can 'llllllSC themselves."
WORLD WITHOUT WAR 63
Then she pulled him down and put as had been developed since the
her lips to his ear. "Besides," she underground movement.
whispered. IIl've got an identical llBright," Mark commented.
copy with electronic works. No UGh, that's right. I've been forc-
one will CVi'n know I've left, unless ing some Venel'ian puffers and
they get too friendly with it." scent flowers, and raised the radia-
"Pretty dever," !\1ark admitted tion level ten decibels. They always
thoughtfully. "But [ wouldn't al- do well under a strong ~un, you
ways be so ready to break the law know." She left his arm and moved
like that." to a control panel beside the en-
UWho's to know except you, trance to the elevator. She manipu.
Mark?" She lookl'd up at him lated something and the sun
with burning, gold-flecked eyes. dimmed a little. I'Thcrc," she
"You wouldn't tell anybody, would turned around. "Better?"
yoU?ll lvlark looked at the landscape,
Mark shook his head uncom- then back to her. He grinned. "Too
fortably. much light."
"All right, then." "Oh you-" she murmured. She
They entered the elevator that touched the controls, and the sun
took them down another half mile disappeared, being replaced by a
to the central living quarters of the huge, mellow moon that sailed ma-
ancient shelter. It had been built jestically on the simulated horizon.
early in the flux period and re- It \vas impossible to tell it from the
modelled several timcs. It was one real thing.
of the best equipped on the planet. I'How's that?"
"Tell me," Jennette said, gazing HA little dark."
appreciatively at the heavy bronze Ignoring his comment, she carne
shoulders, "where on earth did you back and took his arm, and they
get that?" went strolling across the flO\.. .ers and
"I-Oh, it was just lying around grass. "Don't you like my moon,
somewhere," Mark mumbled. Mark?"
"I bet," she said. "But it's nice. I "Sure. It's fine. Sort of aphro-
like it." disiac, of course, but-"
Mark just grinned at her, happy "Isn't that what it's for?" Jen.
for the moment, secure in the nctte asked innocently.
knowledge that it would be impossi- "I dunno. I never had a moon."
ble for her ever to know that it was "Let's sit dow II here," she said
really identical "vith his protobody. abruptly.
Not that it would matter, just so
long as it was artificial. He listened
to the humming of the elevator for
a few minutes. When it stopped the
door vanished, and the two of them
T HEY WERE eating pomegran-
ates, biting briefly into them
and sucking on the sour juices. The
moved out into a sea of wild, moon had risen higher during the
colorful beauty. High above them past hour, becoming a little smaller
was"a simulated sun that made as in appearance, It was a peaceful,
good a substitute for the real thing contemplative scene. Jennette snug-
64 E. G. VON WALD
gled up against Mark, thoughtfully Mark suggested.
tracing a design with fruit juice on "What's the matter? Do I shock
his arm. you?"
"This is fun," she said softly. "So Mark laughed and brushed his
much more fun than the usual lips against her shoulder. "I'm pret~
things a pel':-:oo has to do." ty hard to shock. Expecially by
"Mmmm?" you."
I'Gh, you know. Checking re- "Sec?" she replied archly.
ports from the factory, making sure "You're just as anti-social ag I
there is p1l'nty of ammunition all an1."
the time, pestering the body manu- Mark's face clouded. nIt's noth-
facturers so you'll always have ing to brag about> though."
something decent to wear. Always "I'm not bragging." She sighrd
'watching or somebody will sneak in again 1 and resumeu her fruit. Ey-
and blow up part of your shelter." ing it speculatively, s-he said, "I
"Yeah. "VeIL guess that's life." guess I'm just bored with life, that's
Jennette sighed and picked up all. Sometimes things seem so silly.
another fruit. lilt gets so tiresome, Like all the times you have to get
always ha\'ing to keep on the look- a new body. You'd think the manu-
out and fighting people. Don't you facturer~ were giving them away
get bored by it." free."
"Sure, sometimes. It's gotta be "Yeah. Not like it llsed to be.
done though. Otherwise you Guess business is pretty good."
couldn't tell what might happen." "Something ought to be done
"Mark-" Jennette said hesitant- about it."
ly. Mark grinned mischievously.
"Yes ?" "What do you suggest? Build an-
"Mark, would you shoot me if other factory?"
you found me outside your shc1- "Oh> you know you can't do that.
tn?" She looked coyly up at him. Somebody is always blowing it up."
"Well, sure, unless you had a "Well, don't worry. In another
proper> government-authorized per- hundred years or so, people will
mit to be there." Mark turned as- start dying off again. These proto-
tonished eyes on her. \'\Vhat else bodie~ aren't as serviceable as the
could I do?" manufactured kind."
"Oh, but you know I wouldn't "Yes, but if they keep producing
do anything to harm your place." new people in the Decanting Cen-
\lAw, Jennette>" Mark said un- ters, what good is that going to
comfortably, "of course you would. do?"
Anybody would. If people starred "I dunno. Blow up the Decanting
acting likr- that, the whole balance Center~, maybe."
would be upset." "Maybe," Jennette said, glancing
She gem!y stroked his arm where impishly at the man beside hn, "we
the fruit juice had dried. Her face ought to just stop we;,uing these
crinkled up and she giggled. "May- silly old manufactured bodies en-
be you just don't know me." tirely."
"Let's talk about something else," Hycs?" Mark tasted a pomegran-
WORLD' WITHOUT WAR 65
 ate, made a face, and tried another. feed you in the Decanting Center
"Just what do 'you suggest people about ancient history."
wear?" "'Course not," Mark said de-
"They could go around in their fensivelv.
protobodics." "All 'right then. Why follow all
"What?" Mark looked swiftly these rules of social conduct if
and searchingly at her, alann on the'fc's no good basis for th('m?"
his face. "Aw. but there is," he replied
"Why Mark," she laughed dis- seriously. "Th('re was a big war-
anningly. "You're such a righteoU!~ way back centuries before we Wf"_re
beast, aren't you?" decanted out at Center."
"Great Atoms, Jennette," he uHah," said JennettC'.
said, ga7.ing intently at her goldcn- "Sure. And it was a whole lot of
flecked eyes, wondering what people who cooperated with each
strange things went on in!iide that other in it. There must have been
lovely head. "You mean go around hundreds of them-it was an aw-
all the time as if we wen~ savages? fully big war. Hundreds of people,
Why that's illegal, immoral, and all on one side, all fighting together
besides-besides, it's dangerous. against the other side."
Suppose somebody took a shot at "I don't believe it."
you? You've only got one proto- "It's true, r tell you," Mark in-
body, you know." sisted religiously. "Hundreds and
"A clever fighter like you hundreds of people. Maybe even
shouldn't have too much trouble as many as a thousand, all dressed
with that, if you're careful," shl" alike-with clothes, I mean. And
said gaily. "And I'm pretty good they didn't shoot each other-the)'
at that myselr." just killed the people they were
Mark took a slow deep breath fighting-the hundreds of people
as he decided that she was just on the other side. u
teasing him. UI'm surprised at you, "Other side of what?"
Jennette." Mark frowned. "Oh, I guess that
She shrugged. "I'm bored, I is just an expression. But that's
guess. I'd like to try something what happened, anyway. Before
new, just for excitement. Personal· civilization got started. people co-
ly, sometimes I think the whole operated like that."
social system we have is pretty silly, "That's just a whole lot of
anyway." theory," ]('nnette insisted. "No-
UAtOni5," Mark mumbled. body's going to make me ever be-
UNo need to swear about it," she lieve people used to act like that.
chided him. "Come on, Mark. Just Besides, there just aren't enough
think about it for a minute. And people around to have all those
be consistant." mythical wars."
UConsistancy is all right for a Patiently, Mark continued. uI'm
fre.e psi," he said. nit sure doesn't telling you, Jennette, this is more
do a protobody any good." than theory. There arc still some
Jennette laughed scornfully. "I'll records left from those days."
bet you believe all that stuff they "Prove it."
66 E. G. 'VON WALD
 "All right. That's not hard. "Pouf," said Jennette critically.
Somebody had to build the fac- "All right," he growled, biting
to~ics~ didn't they? And the De- viciously into a pornegr:.matc, "Let's
canting Centers?" hear your big story if it's so good,l'
HRobots."
"Who built the first robot fac-
tOf" ?"
Jennette comidt'f(·cl. Then she
shrug-gt'd petulantly. "Ob ~dl right.
J ENNETTE stretched out her
legs ~tnd contemplated her wig-
gling toes. "Oh, 1 dnn·t kilO\\,. I
:Maybt' a few people did n)()pCr~lt('. dOIl'l havc any I'c:t1 ideas, But I
But not hundreds of thelll. People know hettcl' thall to believl.; that
just don't act like th3t." sort of nonSl'nSl'. People ju:'t arl'Tl't
"WeJl. they did. And, of course, like that l and yOli know it.'l She
the obvious thing happened. Since Il('~itatl'd thoughtfully, then co[\-
t!le)' cooperatl'd in SOlll(' things, tiIlw'd. "~1a\"be a fl'\\' of tltelll got
tlu·), cnopcratcc! in a lot of things, tog-l,tht~r nO\~· and thl'n ior a p;rty
even fighting. That\ how thl')' or sOlllething like this. But not
could Illake W~lr. you knmv-not hUlldreds of thelll,"
the nicl'. soci~d sort of fighting we \\'hen J\'Ltrk did not reply, sht,
do now. And yOlI ran im:lgine what bu,~-IJt'd and s;lid, "r gut'ss 1'111 just
h;lJ)pl'lH.:d. You ('<111 kill :m awful fl'eling risque tonildll."
lot of people awful fast, if a gang "'V~lI surl; are,·;-- he 1I1ulllbled.
gets togdher on it like that. If the)' "Of course there ~tn.: P;)rts of the
didn't have the :lrtificial hodies and old IIlythology that Sl'L'Il1 rat-her in-
the psi transfer tr:lIlsmittl'l's to make tcn:sling-hc<lutiful, even-"
them COllIe aliVl', theft· "..ouldn't "It's not mythology."
havl' becn anybouy h-fl after a "Likl' the part that de;)ls with
while. That cooperatioll is rough mal'ri~lge,"
stulL" She wailed. Mark dutifully
"Ohviously," she cUlllmented echoed, "Dcals with what?"
dryly. "Marriage,"
"\Vpll, that's the 1'(';lSOIl for every- 'tvlark considlTccl it. Then he
thing, thell. Prl'u)' SOOIl the fac- shook his head. "\\'hal's that?"
tories couldn't tUfIl out hypnobodies "Sec? shc taullh'd hilll. "You
fast enough and pt'ople had to fight don't know eVI.:rything like you
in their pwtobodil's sOllll'times. But think you do. Marri~lg-e," she ex-
aftcr a few Cl'llturil's, the leaders pbilled, "",'as a sort of cooperative
began to gct civilized, and decided agrcclllcnt that the ancient people
to put ~lll end to ~11l this cooperative were supposed to have entered
killing. 1 guess thl'Y all got together into."
and agreed not to COUpl'f<ltc with "Sure, just like I said," Ivfark
each oth('1' in anything in the fu- stated with assuranl"L'. "Hundreds
ture." of people did it. They got involved
"It statld.~ to reason," 1\1ark con- ill thi... marriage agrCL'lllcIlt, and
cluded, "people had to learn to be made war on each olher wilh it."
civilizcd. They wl:n.:n't just born "What a dope, :rvlarriage was an
that way. It's-it's culture." agreement between just two peo-
i

t WORLD WITHOUT WAR 67

pie. And tha t much I might believe. me, because all you ever see is a
Hundreds is too much." manufactured thing that only
"It was hundreds," Mark in- somewhat resembles what I am
sisted. really like?"
"It was not. It was just two. And Mark blushed. She had come a
what's more, it w~s betwC'en a man little too close to the uncomfortable
and a woman. They lived together truth. But he ref used to admit it,
with their protobodies and <l'grccd at least to her. He mumbled an in~
to cooperate together, and they distinct denial.
made childrC'n and took care of "Are you sure?" she said, grab-
them until they grew up." bing his hands, gazing intently into
"Why that's thirty or forty his eyes, forcing him to look at her.
years," Mark exclaimed. "Even the "Wouldn't you sometime like to
wars didn't last that long. That's corne down to my transmitter
really nonsense. Besides, you can quarters ?"
only make children in the Decant- "But-"
ing Centers. And it's all done by HAnd see and touch my proto-
machines." body-the thing I really am?"
H\Vell, maybe it is a little far "Aw-"
fetched. But I think it's ,cute." "Scared ?"
"Humph." "Maybe I am."
There was a few minutes si- "That's silly."
lence. Then Jennette said softly, Mark s\\'allowed and said stiffly,
"Mark-" uJust because there is a lIo·fight
"Yes ?" clause in your invitation tonight
"Mark, you like me a lot, don't doesn't necessarily mean I have to
you?" follow it, you know. You don't
Mark squirmed uncomfortably, need weapons. I could strangle
and stared at the artificial moon. your protobody easily."
"Don't you?" she insisted. "More "You wouldn't," she said con-
than you ~vcr have anybody else?" fidently.
"Well, guess that's right," he "You sure don't think much of
admitted lame Iv. "A whole lot more me, do you?"
than I should.;' "I think just the same of you
She reassuringly patted his hand as you do of me," she said simply.
with her little one. "That's all right, With impulsive hunger, Mark
Mark. I won't tell anybody. Besides, threw his arms around her, holding
I feel just the same way about you." her tightly against him, nuzzling
Mark nodded without speaking, her, smelling the perfume of her
worriedly studying the vague mark· hair, incoherently mumbling into
ings on the bright luminous disk her ear. "Jennette, Jennette," he
in the simulated sky. sang, "I think more of you than
uMark, don't you ever want to anything. I love you. I know it's
see the real me?" she inquired wrong, but I would never even
urgently. "Don't you sometimes shoot you, -because sometimes it
feel kind of empty because you hurts you, and I wouldn't want
can never really have me-know you to feel even the slightest dis-
68 E. G. VON WALD
comfort." He stopped, took a deep sighing of wind in the leaves of
breath, and added meekly, "I'm the weB trimmed shrubbery.
sorry." "Suppose." ~Ilark said finally,
"But Jvlark," she whispered. "SUPP<N' other people started do-
U\Vhy is it really so wrong?" ing this thing? This coopnativt'
'·You know." agrCl'llll'lIt:' Lul-; of peopil: must
"Suppose I told you that this W~~lt to, just like:. \Vc do." .
body is my protobody right nowr I SUPI)o.~c' so, . . 11(' adJlllltl·ll.
she asked earnestly. "I went tbrough this Ollt'l' Iw-
"But it isn't." fore," Ill' . . v ent 011 ~dJ-;t·lllly. "About
"It is," she said faintly. ninety y'l'ars ago I rl\l'l this WIJIII-
M3rk's brc;lth hissed :1-; he an~she was :l\vfully nice. Clew'l".
gaspctl. Jennette "vas blu-;hing all Uncll'J":-itood things. Not likl' \'011.
over her body, heightl'nilHj the of COUI'SI·. but s'till SIll" \\'dS ~.l'l"~
golden color of it. He let her go, nice. I thought about it ttll'll."
and she slid off his lap onto the "\Vhal happened to !llT~" j('n-
shadowed grass beside him. She nelle asked Iltllllbly.
bit her lip. "1 didn't really mean "She died after a whilt-. Stll'
to tell yotl~yet." was pretty old. Oh, we didn't do
'flH:re W3S silencl'. Mark said anything," he hastened to adJ.
quietly, "That's all right, Jennette," '~\Ve kept it :dl on ;-1 perfectly
"You aren't angry \\·jtlI me, are moral :tnd honest plane-nevLT saw
you ?" each other exccpt at :wllJorizl'd
"No," he said slm.. . ly. "Not governllH'nt sex partie,.. , like this,
angry." and all. Fought \....helll·vlT We.' 1';111
"Mark-" across l';ICb other outside. But I
"Yes ?" rClllcmlwl' thinking at tht· tiltH' th;lt
"Now lhat we're inlo this lhing," SOlliC sort of agreemcnt would Iw
she asked hopefully, "V\dlY don't nice. \Vc ~ot along awfully v"Tll.
we try this marriage agrccment- I could never understand what sIll'
vou know, like the ancients did. sa \.... ill llll'."
It .'il·l'IlIS lib, ,-;lich a beautiful thing "1 (,;111," Jennette whi~pned.
to do \vhell t\VO ptojJ!l' (ike us~ "'This is just the same, unly a
you know." lot 1l10n~ so," Mark wcnt on
"1 don't know." Mark shook his thoughtfully. "And it's \\ITOn[;. YOLI
head doubtfully. "I just don't know know it's wrong. Suppose a lot of
about it." pcopk st;u'ted it. First thing yOll
"Why not? You wouldn't have know, vvholc groups of jJeople
to rcally stay here. It could bt.: just \\'otild be cooperating with cadi
a Sl~Crl't a1!:l"cement he!wl'cn us. othcr ~lg:.lin. And whcll thcy gOI
And you c~uld come and set.: me into truub!c oUbide, or pLulIIl'u
\...·ht.:llcver you liked." an inllOcclit little raiL! Ol\ SUllll'-
"it all seems so unreal," he mut- body's Shl'1tl'f, they \vould all ".. . ork
ten·eI. togclhcr 011 it. Alld prl'lty -;0011,
They lapsed into thought, both there would be other gruujJs <::'0-
avoiding looking at the other. oper:.lting in fighting baLk again.
There was no sound except a faint They'd have to.
WORLD WITHOUT WAR 69
 "And that, of course, would be a while/' he ~id.
the end of civilization. Pretty soon, For a few minutes, Jennette
there would be nothing left, and stared at the grass before her fe,et,
everybody would be dead." pulling up little blades of it one
Jennette did not reply when he by one. Then Mark stood up, and
stopped. She turned her head away, she flashed him a small, wistful,
but Mark could hear her uneven damp smile. Together they walked
breathing. back toward th(' elevator, st.epping
"We have a responsibility to- quietly ~nd almost furtively on t..lie
ward society at large. We know it. soft ground. "If it weren't for
We've been well educated and we that-" he started.
aren't savages. Neither one of us "] understand," she replied
can get away from it. It might be quickly. Taking hold of his arm,
wonderful a t first, but our con- she said, "I'm sorry."
science would come out sooner or "Sure." Mark grinned affection·
later, and the whole thing would ately at her. I'Come on. Let's see
be ruined." if they've been having any good
She rubbed her face with her fights upstairs." They stepped in-
cupped hands, shaking her head. to the elevator and dbappcared.
III suppose--" she murmured un. The artificial moon continued its
happily. regular motion through the simu-
"You'd hate yourself for it after lated sky. • ••

• ••• •
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:70 E. G. VON WALD
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IlluSlrattd by Kell)' F,eas

WASTE NOT, WANT

Eat yOUT spinach, little man! It's good faT you. Stuff )'OUT-

self with it. Be a good little conSllmeT, aT the

cops will get you . .. FaT SIIch is the law of supply and demand!

BY DAVE DRYFOOS

72
P ANIC roused him-the black
imp of panic that lived under
the garish rug of this unfamiliar
only to the extent required by law
to fulfill his duty as a consumer.
"You must change your home
room and (rawh~d out at dawn to because of thl' change in your fam-
nudge him awake and stare from ily cOl1lpositioll," the Ration
the blank space to his left v,'here Board's bright young- fClllJlc had
Tillie's gray hC;ld should have explained. right Jfte!" TilJil"s fu-
been. nf"r~l1. "Your prl"';t'Tlt furnishings
His fi~ts. clenched in anger-at arc obsolete. You must rl'place
himself. He'd never heen the sort them."
to make allowance for his own HAnd if I don't?"' He'd bC'f"n
weakness ;tnd didn't propose to be- truculent.
gin doin.g so now, at age eighty- "I doubt we'd h:we to invnkc
six. Tillie'd been killed in that the penalties for crimin;d llllcllT-
crash wcll (lVl'l' a year ago anu it consumption," she'd ('Xpl;lilll'c1
was time hl' got w;C'd to his widow- <'I.irily. "Thpre are plenty of oth{'r
erhood and· quit searching for possible courses of action. 1vfaybc
her every morning. we'd just get a decision that you're
But even after he gave himself prematurely senile lind un<lhle to
the ba\''''ling out, orientation came carl' for yourself. Then you'd go
slowly. The surroundings looked to a home for the aged where
so strange. No matter what he told they'd help you consume-with
himself it was hard to believe that forced fceding-s and such."
he was indeed Fred Lubway, me- So here he was, in this home-
chanical engineer. and had a right of-his-own that s('cmed to belong
to be in this single bed, alone in to sOllleone else. \Vell. at least 111'
this house his Tillie had never wasn't senile, even if he did move
scen. a little slowly, now, gr'tting out of
The ri~ht to be there was all bed. He'd warm up soon. All by
wrong:. He disliked the house and himself. \Vith no onc's help.
hated all its furnishings. And as far as these nc\vf<1ngled
The cybernetic cooker in the gadgets in the bathroom werc con-
kitchen: the magnetically-sus- cerned. he could follow any well-
pended div<1ns in the living room; written set of directions" He'd
the three-dimensional color broad· scalded himself that time only be-
casts he could so readily project cause the printed instructions
to any wall or ceiling; the solar· were so confusing.
tropic machinery that would turn He took a cold shower this time.
any face of the pentagonal house When the airtowel had finished
into the sun or the shade or the blowin~ and he was half dry-
breeze: the lift that would raise not wholly dry because the ma-
the entire building a hundred fect clline wasn't adapted to people
into the air to give him a wider who took ice-cold showel's-hc
view and more privacy-all left went in to the clothing' Illachine.
him dis~atisfied. He punched the same few holes
They were new. None had been in its tape that he put there every
shared with Tillie. He used them day, stood in the right place, and
73
in due course emerged with his eggs, toast, and tea-none of
long, rawboned frame covered by which he liked, except for toast.
magenta tights having an exces- He ate dutifully nevertheless,
sively baggy seat. telling himself he wasn't afraid of
He knew the costume was the ration-cops who were always
neither pretty nor fashionable ancl suspecting him of underconsump-
that its design, h'aving been wholly tion because he was the tall skinny
within his control when he punched type and never got fat like most
the tape, revealed both his taste people, bnt that he ate what the
and his mooel. He didn't care; cooker had given him because his
there was no one in the world father had been unemployed for a
whom he wanted to impress. long time during the depression
He looked in the dressing room seventy-five years before, so he'd
mirror not to inspect the tights but never been able to bring himself to
to examine his face and see if it throw food away,
needed shaving. Too late he re- Failure to consume had in the
membered that twenty years had old days been called "overproduc-
elapsed since the permanent de- tion" and by any name it was bad.
pilatories were first invented and So was war~hc'd read enough
ten since he'd used one and about war to be glad that form of
stopped having to shave. consumption had finally been
There were too many changes abolished.
like that in this gadget-mad Still it was a duty and not a
world; too many new way~ of do~ pleasure to eat so much, and a re-
ing old things. Life had no sta- lief to get up and put the dirty
bility. dishes into the disposal machine
He stalked into the kitchen and go up topside to his gyro.
wishing he could skip breakfast-
anger always unsettled his stom-
ach. But everyonl;' was required to
eat at least three meals a day, The
vast machine-records system that
n rSGUSTINGLY, he had a long
wait before departure, After
climbing into the gyro and trans-
kept track of each person's con- mitting his flight plan he had to
sumption would reveal to the Ra- sit seething- for all of fifteen min-
tion Board any failure to use his utes before the Mount Diablo
share of food, so he dialed Break- Flight Control Center deigned to
fast Number Three-tomato juice, lift his remote-controlled gyro into
toast, and coffee. the air. And when tll(' signal
The signal-panel flashed "Un- came) ascent was so awkwardly
der-Eating" and he knew the state abrupt it made his ears pop.
machine-records system had ad- He couldn't even complain. The
vised his cybernetic cooker to in- Center was mechanical, and un-
crease the amount of his consump- equipped to hear complaints.
tion. Chin in hands he sat hope- It routed him straight down the
lessly at the kitchen table await- San Joaquin Valley-a beautiful
ing his meal, and in due course sight from fifteen thousand feet,
was served prunes, waffles, bacon, but over-familiar. He fell asleep
74 DAVE DRYFOOS
and awakened only when unex- Was he a man? Or was he a
pectedly brought down at Bakers- caged squirrel racing in an exer-
field Field. cise-wheel, running himself ragged
Above his instrument panel the and with great effort producing
printing-receiver said "Routine absolutely nOlhing"?
Check of Equipment and Docu- He wa~Il't ~oing to do it any
ments. Not Over Five Minutes' longer. hy g(llly~ He was going
Delay." t<>--
But it could take longer. And "Good lllllfllillg!" A chubby
tardiness was subject to official youlIg lIlall in till" 1H'~l-gf('l'n uni-
punishments as a form of unpro- forlll of a ration-nl~ 0pclled lIlt'
ductivcncss. He caBed George door and c1illl1)l·d HlIil1vill't1 iuto
Harding at the plant. the cockpit. "May I dll'ck the up-
Harding apparently had been to-dateflcss of your ship's equip-
expecting the call. His round blulT ment, please?"
face wore a scowl of annoyance. Freel didn't answer. He didn't
"Don't you ever watch the news- have to. The young officer was al-
casts ?" he demanded angrily. ready in the manual pilot's seat,
"They began this 'Routine Check' checking the secondary controls.
you're in at five this morning, and In swift routine he tried motor
were broadcasting pictures of the and instruments, and took the craft
resulting traffic jam by six. If you'd brieRy aloft. Down again, he de-
filed a flight plan for Santa Bar- manded Fred's papers.
bara and come on down the coast The licenses that pertained to
you'd have avoided all this." the gyro were in order, but there
"I'm not required to listen to was trouble over Fred's personal
newscasts,>' Fred replied tartly. "I documents: his ration-book con-
own the requisite number of re- tained far too few sales-validations.
ceivers and-" "You're not doing your share of
"Now, listen, Fred," Harding in- consumin~, Oldtimer," the young
terrupted. "We need you down cop said mildly. "Look at all lhese
here so hurry up!" unused food allotments! Want to
Fred heard him switch ofT and cause a depression?"
sat for a moment trembling with "No."
rage. But he ended by grinning "Man, if you don't cat more
wryly. Everyone was in the same than this, we'll have mass starva-
boat, of course. For the most part, tion!"
people avoided thinking about it. "I know the slogans."
But he could now seC' himself as jf "Yes, but do you know the pen-
from above, spending his life Hit- alties? Forced feeding, compulsoJ')'
ting back and forth between horne consumption-do you think they'n'
and plant, plant and home; wrack- fun ?"
ing his brain to devise labor.saving "No."
machines while at the plant. then "Well, you can file your Right
rushing home to struggle with the plan and go, but if you don't spend
need to consume their tremendous those tickets before their cxpira.
output. tion dates, Mister, you'll have
WASTE NOT, WANT 75
 cause to regret it." and coach him on the most ap-
With a special pencil, he sense.. peasing answers.
marked the card's margins. A 'Nell-meant gesture, but a
Fred felt that each stroke of the false one. And Fred was fed up
pencil was a black mark against with the false. "I forgot nothing,"
him. He watched in apprehensive he said bluntly. 'Till perfectly
silence. well and haven't been n('ar bed:'
The young cop was also silent. uNow, wait," Geor.ge said hast·
When finished he wordlessly re- By. "It's no crime to he sick. And
turned th" identification, tipped -ah-don't say anything you
his cap, and s''''aggered off, his wouldn't want preserved for pas·
thick neck red above his green terity."
collar. "George, I'm not going to play
Fred found he'd had more than along wilh you." Fred insisted.
enough of swaggering young men "This business of producing to
with beefy red necks. That added consume and consuming to pro-
to his disgust with the constant duce ha' got me down. It's beyond
struggle to produce and consume, all reason!"
consume and produce. Vague, IINo, it isn't. You're an excellent
wishfuT threats froze as determina- mechanical engineer, Fred. but
tion: he absoluteJy wasn't going you're not an economist. That's
through any more of it. why you don't understand. Just ex·
He filed a flight plan that would cuse me for a· minute, and I'll
return him to his home, and in mow you."
due course arrived there. He left the field of view. Fred
The phone rang in his ears as waited incuriously for him to re-
he opened the cockpit. He didn't turn, suddenly conscious of the
want to answer, and he stayed on fact that he now had nothing bet-
the roof securing the gyro and ter to do with his time.
plugging in its battery-charger. But George was back in less than a
he couldn't ignore the bell's in· minute. anyhow. "O.K." he said
si'itent clamor. briskly. "Now, where were we?
When he went downstair~ and Oh, yes. I just wanted to say that
switched on the phone, George production is a form of consump-
Harding's round face splashed on tion, too-even the production of
the wall. machine-tools and labor-saving de-
"Fred," he said, "when we vices. So there's nothing incon-
talked a few hours ago, you forgot sistent-"
to say you werc sick. I phoned to "What arc you trying to do?"
confirm that Ior the Attendance Fred demanded. Don't lecture me
Report. Did this call get you out - I know as much econ as you
of bed?" do!JI
He could see it hadn't. There- "But you've got to come back to
forc Fred knew he must be re.. work. Fred! I want you to usc your
cording the audio only, and not rations, put your shoulder to the
the video; trying to give him a wheel, and conform generally. The
break with the Attendance people policing's too strict for you to try
76 DAVE DRYFOOS
~lIlvthing el:;e, fella.----and J like yOll C:lUSt' thl' house to rear a hundred
IO~ \\-'('11 to v,'ant to see you-" fect into the air all its titaniulll-
"I don't IllTU you to protl'ct me, alUlllinu1l1 plunger,
George," Fred said stifHy. "I gut.'ss Tlwll Ill' went ba{'k to the win-
you lIlean \vell e\lough. But good- dow to w;I\("1I till' ground fl'Cl'dl'.
hyt':' He switcht.'d off, He felt ;1 h:lIld nil hi, shouldl'l". 111'
decidl'd tlw ~l'll",ltillrl \V;h ;111 illu-
sion-;1 p,i!'t llf his ~t,ltt.' of Illind.
A Y()UIl.~ l11al1'S \'oil'l' ,.;aid, "I\1I".
T IlE SILE:';CF, struck him.
Not a SOU lid stirred the' :lIr ill
that lundy new Iiousc excepl thL'
Lubw:lY, Wl' Ilcl'd }llIl."
Tha.t \V:IS a Ilil'l' lhill.~ to 111':11
:;Iig-Jll wheeze (if his brcathill~. so Fred turned, [(';Ilk to ,milt.'. I It-
Ill' fclt tired. BUIll' \\"car\", As if didn't ~lllik. He \\-:IS l'ullfrontt'll
all lite fatigLll'~ (II' his eighty-:.:ix by :lllotlll'r ration-cop,
ve:II"S wen: al'clllllubleeJ williitl TIiis Olle' was a Llll Y(llln~ mill!.
him. d:lrk ;lIld hefty. Ill' st'emed VCl")
He stood by a window alld kindly, ill his oll1("i;d :->llI'l of W'I\".
stal'ed blindlv out. EVl'I'\'UIH' "!\Ir, (;c'llrg-c Ibrding sent Illt<"
sctllled to han:' hl'l·11 hcckline: jlilll, he \':-;pLlirwd.-"Hl' d~ked us to look
shewing- him arl\llilel. makill'g him you up :llld see if Wl' could hdp."
change <Ill hi:. W:lyS every l1Iilllltl', "'Vl':-,::'"
He didn't W~lllt to changl'. Ill' "Y nil Sl'c'm to luvl: I)('('n no littk
didn't want to be forever adapting- un!l;lpl'}, this momill/-';. I nW:lIl-
to Ill'W gadgets, Ilew [ads, new \\'Cll~st;llillg out that window
wa.. . s of doing' thin!~,. \vhik your house rises eLlllg('r(lll~­
fll' thowrLt of the vil1:lO"e.s of Iy big'l!. 1'-.1r. Gl'Olp;t' I-Iardill!-!
Jndi;l, subst~lJ]li;ll1y unchani;d for didn't like the mood you're in, :lnd
thn'I'. foul', five thousand y('ar~, neitlH'1' do [, Mr. Lubvvay, 1'111
TIll' villagers had no malley, so afraid you'll have to (OllIC to tilt'
they I'ouldn't tw cnn~Un1(T~, :i\by- hnspiLI1. \Ve can't klH' a valu:lbk
be they had tIlt' natural w:\y to citizt'll likv you falling out th;ll
live, St;ltically. Al~{I, frugally. \vindll\\', (";lll wc?"'
Bllt no. It \\';IS (no frug;t1, too "\Vh:lt do you IlW:lIl, 'vaht:lhlc'
St:ltil', ] le'tI Iward :Ind read loa citizen? 1'111 no use to anybody.
much about tIll' ,t:llvation, pesti- Therc's plenty ur l'Jlgilwcrs, alld
lence, pl'OIlJ.gl' ;llld other ills morl' ht'lllg graduated l'VtTy s('nlt'~­
pbgllillg those JIldi.111 villagers. tel'. Yuu dOll't nCl'd 1111.'."
TIlt'}' didn't kl\"t~ liJc liL'ked, "Ob, )."l'S, Wl' d(l~" Sklking his
eithe!". head. tlw young- I':\titill-cop took
The 1ndinns had not enough. a fintl grip on Fred's rigllt hicl'IJ:-;.
the Americans, tou lillich, aile W;\S "YOll'Vt' ~'()l to CUlll(' along with
a:; b;ld as the at her. me till \"(:Jur outlouk ('h'lll!.!.t~', .\lr
And he wa, in the middle. Lul)\\'~l\':" "
He h,ft thl' window hc'd Ill'l'll "Nm'v, sct.' here!" fn'rJ ohjl'l·lt'll.
staring from UllSI'tingly and walked trying unsuccessfully to lwisl rn'l'
to lhe foyer control-panel. There of til(' ofllcer's grip. "Yoll've no
he pushed the button that would (Coutirwed Oil jJiI,L!.t: 119)
WASTE NOT, WANT 77
 I TI WAS Saturday afternoon and
was in our sludy.lab working
on my home cyclotron. The cyclo-
tron was so new that Nora hadn't
paid for it yet, but at least the solu-
tion to my trouhles was at hand.
Now I could finish Illy cinstcins.
That year I had been unable to
The find work for more than six weeks
-all because I hadn't finished my
('josle-ins. Most people thc~c days
finish them by the age of Iwenty-

Work-out one or two, but I was thirty-two

and beginning to worry. So was
Nora. It was more than a little em·
barrassing that the greatest ft:malc
scientific theorist in cw York City

Planet had a husband with a low IQ. SO

after having held my lasI job for
only two days-a job which was
hardly more than an office boy's-I
had gone out and bought the home
cyclotron. I thoroughly intended to
~ut an end to this nonscn~c about
Colonial life on Mars with a my being an intellectual light-
weight. I had taken a vow not to
"chicken" like Shirley was leave home until I had finished my
einslcins and though Nora lifted
enough to make any Earth- her brows at the cost of the
machine, she had said nothing. Per~
haps because she \',as too wrapped
man shudder. But what can up in her work on the UMathe_
matical Point-Count of the Surral:es
)IOU do when you are mentally of Great Paintings."
"Doesn't anyone answer uoor~
incompetent and legally bells on earth, Mr. Singer?"
I turnC'd in surprise to sec a
young woman standing in the door.
trapped? Then my heart sank. Jt was Nora's
cousin from Mars, Shirley Reming-
ton. She looked very odd indeed.
BY R. E. BANKS She wore a light wool dress that
outlined her body instead of a lei-
sure-work smock or the standard
female coveralls. Her hair was too
long and waved, a mass of bronze,
making her head look heavy to me
78
became the femJle hutch haircul
hasn', chan/:cd in filty years, She
WOrt' archaic lipstick on her mouth
and her eyebrows wert' neat and
pluckec.l which stall1ped her a" a
Colonial.
I had !iCCn pirturl" of her when
f\or:t's unde Rcmin(!lOl1 had vi.. -
iled Earth about Ihn"':" VC'Jf" hdofe,
AI Ih:u time h(' h:ld Ih't' CTazv idl':l
th:1I she ~hould cOll1e to Ea;th to
finu ;t hUl'b;mu. ~inCf' Illl'lI "'t'fl' ,,0
short in the l'olonies. but we'd
taHa-d him out of it Ilwl1,
"Hello," I :o;aid, trying' to hid!:' my
shock at her ugliness, "What hrings
you all the way frolll i\'l:trs?"
"Oidn't Nora tell vou I W,lS com-
ing?" shC' asked in ~~lrJ.>risc.
"~o:' I said, Hrr f:lce showed
no signs of work at all; no lines on
hrr skin. no n'd veins in Ihe eves.
A smoolh, ~hiny complexion iikc
the u/:ly, unmarked I"'tal 01 a gar-
den 10....•. She ('yen had a Ian frol11
bcinR outdoors and not working
very hard,
I'Quile frankly." shl' said. "I've
cOllle to New York 10 find :1 suitahle
and pleasing malC. \Vc-'vc had Iht·
usual cosOlk rav storms on ~'f:trs
and the male sit'uation is fantastic.
So whrtl ~or;l :-:aid fnr 111(' to come
011 ;l11l'ad and "l'(' wh:1t 1 could do
in NI~W York, I came flying-or
T:ttlu:r rol'kt,till~'"
Th:ll struck me as qUl'C'r. Of
CO\lrSl' l\ora would bt, mildly in-
teTl'st,'d in Ilw m;lrit:l1 SUtTCSS of
IIt'l" t,:ollsill, hut I\ora has very littl('
time" for su<·h foolishness :ll1d lr}'ill~
to iUlroduce Ihis up-I)' girl (nyloll
ho«,!) aruund in Nev.- York would
be a .. hnT wa... tc of ('.£Ton.
"F.:wuse l1Ie for sounding doubt-
ful, ~(is, Remington:' I said. "bul
you don't have a line on your face.

79
 Your figure is too youth!ul. J t's too vices which can distinguish over
curvy to be frank with you. No two million shades of color. The
man on Earth would look at you paint was mixed to the proper
twice." shade by automatic device-so The
.. I realize my shortcomings," she artist-in this case Dr. Ryder-
said with an undisturbed grin. "But was standin~ lX'fore a canvas with
Cousin Nora is a very smart person his arms locked in a sort of harne!i.'i..
and she told me to come'. I'm leav- As the scanner read out each brush
ing the answers to her." stroke Rembrandt had made on
Disgusted that I had to interrupt that original painting centuries ago,
my work, I led the girl to the spare the harness duplicated the stroke in
room. There was the smell of ftow· terms of motion on Ryder's arms,
crs about her, some artificial con· controlled by an analog servo-
coetion she called "pcrfume" and mechanism loop. Ryder was paint-
a long way from the socially ac- ing a Rembrandt which, when fin-
crptablc aroma of perspiration that ished, would be indistinguishable
every attractive young Earth girl from the original except for age
favors. ] accidentally touched her elTeets.
while picking up her luggage and No value in duplicating Rem-
shuddered at her soh ness. brandt, of course. The value was in
training- the artist's muscles. After
Ryder had painted Rembrandt and

N ORA was in her lab behind the

garage. DL Ryder \,'as there
Van Gogh and a half-dozen olher
great artists for hour after hour, he
also. I knc\\" they \\'ere very busy, \","ould have some concept of how
working on Nora's demonstration the masters worked. In six month5
to be given that evening before the he \\-'Quld know more about painting
Society of Electrostatic Engineers. tech.niques than a man could learn
But [ couldn't help puzzling over in tC'n years under the old system.
Nora's intentions. Certainlv she This exciting l<"chnique, designed
knew that my work on the ei~steins for leisure work, was just another
had to be gotten through with at brilliant idea of Nora's-Nora
all possible speed and ,he couldn't Remington Singer's Art-Aid, she
expect me to jockey her unattrac- called it.
tive cousin around the city on a "I thought I told you we were
fruitless hunt for a man. busy," said Nora.
Dr. Ryder was in the harness that Nora turned off the Thompson
Nora had designed. It was a very Probe and Ryder slipped out of
clever contraption, destined to open the harness with a sigh, exercising
a whole new field of leisure-work. his tircd amlS.
Nora had an original Rembrandt "Your cousin from Mars is here,"
on the scanning surface and her I said. U I deem that important
computer was scanning the work of enough to interrupt you. Especially
the old master carcfull)', reading when she tells me you encouraged
each and e\'eT)' brush stroke he had her to come to Earth on a fool's er-
made. She had a photospcclrometer rand,"
set up alongside-one o[ those de- Nora looked at Bob Ryder and
, ,.
80 R. E. BANKS
he looked at her. r didn't like that normal is 160."
look. III think she's vcry wise to "The Thompson Probe gives me
come to earth to find a man," said hcadache~ and so I work 510\...' cr.
Korn. ~\'Ir. Scicntist," 1 said. "Soilleday I
"Her looks are all against her." m~r surpri:-e .~'O\l ~11." • .
Nor:l is conscious 0'[ her own Someday, S;11d Nora With a
great beauty. She's lived a full life. sigh, "you Tll;lY C\'cn be srnart
Though only three years olcler than enough to figure out how to distin-
I, she looks fifty. The hard lim', guish molecuks of dllst from paillt
of her face, the deep ponches undl'r molecules on Illy !\.·bthcITlaticll
her eyes, and the bent posture of Point-Count Svstt';n of Art. Th:lt's
her body give her a great animal more than I Gl~l do. But tTICamdlik
attr:l.ctiOll. ] have seen men stop in Shirley is here alllI "hc's broll~lll
sheer a;;tonishmcnt at her admir- quite ;. large "UIlI of 1l1oney with lin
able work· worn figure. which has to he t:.lken care of allJ
"St;1ndards of be:lUty are dif- you can Ill:lke yourself useful by
fercnt on ~lars," said Nora. taking her to I\h. DuPres."
"If she's brought mone)'; she has I felt a waVl: of relief. Smart
a chance," said Bob. Nora! 1\11". DuPrl:s was our bwyer
"And I suppose rill the ot'le to and the logical Illan to h~lIl~lk
take !leI' around ami illtwducl' Shirley's pl'Obklll. A'i :1 membn of
hC1"-" olle of the prof{'~~iull" he \,;J.') ill the
Nora laughed. "Now. Hal. Jon'l bottom qU:1l'tt'r ()f sncicty. for nil
get excited. Vou aTC Ollt uf a job--" Earth the technic.J} skil15 predlllni-
"I'm working hard em my l'in- nat~. Thercfore lw \\'ould be ~bJ
stl'ins-" to h.Jndlf' Shirlcy for J. fce. Am] he-
"AmI you completely T\lined Ill)' ing acqu<linteu \~'lth lawyers, t('Jcll-
dig-ital read-outs on the 'Mat.he- t.TS, divines, doctnJ"s and other rifr-
matical Point-Count System' last raff, he could pl'ub:lbly find some-
week, and so I'd think you could body for Shirley. someone of low
make \'ourself useful to sOn/rune in taste who would accept th~ :\br-
. ·1 y. "
my f ;llll1 tian idea of be:lIlt\'.
"For w·ars." I s3id angrily, "That's dill'l'l"l·Il·t.·' I said.
"YC1U\'C c~ll1p(ainf'd because you've "'VeIl, be ofT \vith her!·· cried
practically supported me. Now with Nora \villi ellthl1',iaslll. "And .!ftc!"
the Ill'W 110111(' cyclotron I C<HI get tht' lawyer's sho\\! 111'1' some of Nl'w
m\' eillSteins done and mavbe fiud York. if \'011 \vant. I'll not be tWill!"
a ~it'c('nt job. That's all I',~ trying for sUPP~>1" aIlYw:!\,. Slllce Bob :wd
to do :lIld (';]('h day's deby lIlean:- I han:' In leavL' t.·arly for till'
anotlwr day that I'm a stOHl' aroulld L!L-'llOllilralioJI. ,.
youI' ncck." ~1y reiid Ch;lllf!t:d to ;:lIIxio:ly.
"Oh, no\.. . , Hal, you mu __ tn't kcl Nora was too chcL'I'f ul about thL'
that W3\"." whoh.: thing.
"I-I;wing a low IQ io.; no (rime," "DuPrf'~ "1l1.lV IlI)t be at his office.
smiled Bob Ryder. "\I"h,. if I h"d It's Satu,J;lv :lfll'l"IIlH'\J."
a 120 I'd be proud. At least it sets "DuPl'es ~\·ill be at his office,"
you apart in a city where the dull said Bob. HI don't knu.. . . of a lowly
THE WORK-OUT PLANET 81
 professional in New York who can easy for him and he can do twice
make a living on a five day work- as much in half the time-because
.week." his leisure-work teaches him to
uI'lJ call just to make sure," said think. Today work is the chief
Nora. "I wanted to talk to him pleasure of mankind. At his office.
anyway." Around the home. And in the all-
I left them. I poused to make the important leisure-work that used to
complicated signal that brought the be called hobbies."
car out of the garage automatically, "All because of the Thompson
and I thought I heard a burst of Probe ?"
laughter from the lab. My uneasi- "All because of the Thompson
ness grew. I'm not a jealous man, Probe. It has made the final revolu~
but Nora and Bob make a fine tion in mankind-the greatest since
couple, he with his white hair and the Industrial Revolution. For cen~
lined face and Nora with her work· turies mankind complained that the
seared body. layman could never catch up with
And when they get together they science. Today all is changed. By
seem to ta 1k down to me Ii ke a the time he's reached his majority
couple of parents to a simple- the average man (or woman) has
minded child. It would be well for becoIne the equivalent of a gradu-
me to get my cinsteins done as ate physics major in the old days.
soon as possible. Sci(:nce has a pretty hard time keep-
ing up with us today," I said proud-
ly.
A stoWEexplain
drove downtown I had
to Shirley about our
We went past a large building
that hummed with activity.
work-week. No one considers their "What's that?" she asked point-
job as important as their leisure· ing.
work any morc. In fact, employers I laughed. "The public library."
have been trying to push through "The library! It looks like a mob
the 4Vo day work-week. I had to scene, \-"hy, back home on Mars
explain that to Shirley, because on you'd sec a crowd like that in front
Mars the employers want to get of the theatre but there's never a
the most out of their workers and crowd at the library."
the workers want to give as little "They keep the libraries open all
as poss-ible. night long;' I said. "They have had
"It's simple," I said. HO n Earth, to cut book loan time to one week
leisure-work and hobbies increase so that everybody will have a
the efficiency of the person. Take chance at- them. Study is an impor-
a man on a straight office job. In tant part of leisure-work, especial-
the office he may be merely ly the classics and heavy scientific
shuffling papers around. But in his literature. A book can't be a best-
leisure-work he may be doing gar- seller any more unless it's pretty
den chemistry or a study of the meaty on science."
molecular structure of plastics. His A traffic policeman had his head
leisure-work is so difficult that or- bent over an experiment he was
\ dinary office work becomes very doing with a vacuum jar, and so I
..,'f~ 82 R. E. BANKS
.
.... .,.,
. '.".~
.1. '6 "i72
scooted across on a changing light sec and pay homage to the dying
and ended up in a mob that over- with applause.
flowed the sidewalk. Th(" man raised his pick, gave a
U\\'hat's that crowd for?" shrick and dropped to his knees as
I shot a sidelong glance at the his heart exploded inside of him.
/(id and felt a lin~le of pleasure. He made some ftrtilf", erratic ges.
Living \,,"ith a st:iciltist of Nora's turl'S, patting the ground and
mentality, I am mually thl' ow' to crawling fol' :1 1I101l1l'nt in ~I sJ.-las-
~"k questions. O('spite the girl's modic fa5-hion, thell he sho\'ed his
naivete, she really wanted to know, face into the dirt, quivered, and lay
and I didn't give her the look of still.
irnpatil:'oce that Nora and her The crowd appbudcd somhrc1y
friends arc always giving 111(' when for his soul and Ilwl1 hl'J!~lIl to Ineh
I ask questions. as a woman caJlll' out of the house
"This is a work-oul," I said. stop- with a hOIlll' t'TI1halll1ing kit and
ping our vehicle. "Lcisurc-\'wrk has began to arrange his limbs.
its bad fl'atures. But we can expect
this, the old principle of loss and
gain. you know. For ("\-ery J(h'an-
tage there is a disadv~ltltagc. To the SH IRLEY shuddered, reminding
Jill' again of her repugnantly
truly ohj('ctiv(' mind. there is no soft body.
purpose in hiding th" bad features "Do people just die likL' that?"
of our lives." "He led " happy, full life," I
The- man was doing his last work- sai<l. "I-k was probably fifty-two,
out. For thirty or morc years h(' had threc. :\0 onc li\'('5 any longt'I" any
been using a Thompson Proue. Hl' more. La"t year a man of fifty-eight
had worked hard for each 16 hours was di~cov('rcd and hl' I'Zlused a sen-
out of 24 unclt'r the Probe, every sation. But in tLTIl1S of work we ac-
day of his life. The energy released cOlllpli:'ih four, five times as much
by that machine had finally set its as our ancestors who lived to be
pattern on his n('rH" cell.s. The day sixty-s(,venty. And we're not as
finally CJJllC whcl1 he turned oIT his m:urotic."
Probe-but couldn't stop . ." orking. She sighed. "Doesn't anybody
He had to kccp going', burning him- have fun on EZlrth?"
self out. "\\"hat kind of fun?"
I Ie had been digg-ing a patch of "Oh" you kno\\". Parties, and the:
ground with a pick. The pick beach and going to bars. Eating
pounded the dirt with "ludding tint' dillHeJ's and going to concerts
blows and al e3ch ~troke the- lIIan and shO\\"s."
gave a balf-cry of anguish !Jt'GlUSe I was ill a hurry to get rid of her,
the rest of his botly was tirl'u·--·ab- bllt I couldn't pa~s that remark up.
nonnally tired after the years of Chuckling, I. swung a couple of
ceaseless acti\·it\". The crowd about blocks out of the . .vay LO show her
him was paticilt, grim-faced and the largest movie theatrl~ in Nc\\"
r("spectf ul. Since no one has time York. it's hidden bel\\'l.'(,Il the 22·
any more for funerals, it is social story All-Cenluric~ An t..1u5cum
custom to attend any work-out you and one of the hundreds of build-
THE WORK-OUT PLANET 83
 ings of the enlarged New York who was a hoarse-voiced old baboon
University. It has one hundred of an Irishman, who obviously
seats. drank his own \\'ares.
"Martin and Lewis," she said in "Look what this dag-nabbed
surprise. Thompson Probe has went and
I smiled proudly. "We don't did," he said. "It's went and climi·
make fictional movies any more," I nated sex." He leaned ovt'r the bar
said. "Not since the Thompson and winked at Shirley "ud pinchcd
Probe. This film is over two hun- her soft arm. IITake you now,
dred years old and th" only people Ma'm. In the old days you would've
who come to see it arc the very bcpn a knockout."
young ehildrcn and ofT-planet visi- "How did they went and elimi-
tors." nate sex?" asked Shirley, innocently
"But I saw a TV set in your liv- cuddling forward on the ancient
ing room." bar stool.
, "Sure. Most of the programs are "Like Freud went and said/' said
put on by the universities and the the bar.keep. "You take a baby,
i
T- scientific institutes. Last year the well, that little child is curious
convention of the Institute of Ap- about hisself. Right?"
plied Science had an all-time record "Right?" asked Shirley of me,
audience of 200 million. But there sipping her drink.
were some really fine papers-" "Right," I said glumly. I was
uO n Mars people \\fatch base- thinking back to the day I met
ball," she said frowning. UDon't Nora. She was doing a study on
you even have that?" uStimulants and the Creative
"Baseball? Sounds familiar," I Mind." In those days ten years
said. uVlasn't that the game they ago she was merely a bright student
played on icc with skates and and I was a thorough-going anti-
sticks?" quarian. I spent a lot of time in the
She made a sound of protest in bars. [ had a chip on my shoulder
her throat. Suddenly she put her against the world. The Thompson
hand on my arm. "Stop! There's a Probe that everybody used gave me
ba!. M,r God, I could stand a a headache and I W:IS \Vav hehind
dnnk- my friends in achievemellt. I was
I <lopped reluet3utly. I hadn't probably headed for a Clinic, hut
been in a bar since I met Nora. Nora sa\'cd me. She was always one
Drinking fuddles the mind and pre· to improve th~ world. Maybe she
vents clear thinking necessary to thought she could remake me. Any-
work. There an'n't vcry many bars, way, she tried hard for ten years.••
and they're mostly attended by anti· "That baby is curious about his
quarians. This one was dimly body," said the bartl'nder. "Then
lighted in the true tradition, repul. about his mother's body and finally
sively inefficient. Shirley was sigh- about others. So he goes and grows
ing for the nostalgic New York of up and this curiosity went and got
magnificent bars and restaurants sublilllated."
she'd read about in history books. .IAt Sublimation Junction," I
She feU to talking to the bartender said remembering an old tune and
84 R. E. BANKS
lettin~the bubbles from the drink "Of course we do," I said. UBut
ping at my nose. the begetting is unimponalll. It is
uYou know a big- jokc?U said the simply inefficient to make such a
bartender. "You take an adult, <l fuss over mating as aliI' ancestors
scientist. You take a bi.g-doille. like did. Think of the total loss in tf'rms
Dr. l)evcriIlg" or ('ven this Nora of w:lstcd work hlJllrs. Tr)(b\' those
Remington 'Sillger daml'- tht'sl' hours ~Ire IJlon' n',l~llnallly ~IJ' III in
giant brain type ... all they"re tluing either jub W(1I';: Ill" lcisul"c-wurJ.: or
is being sublimated. Scientific curi· in a dl'e;ll1d,'~~ 'leep."
OSil)' is just a final result of the samt' 11:":0 dn::II1's. I-bl?"
old rllrio~ity the kid had in his cra- "No. After J day llIICkl' the
dic. So what do they mean, giving Thompson Prohe. yn~1 sleep like a
p:1 per" on how to count up the stone."
paint dot" on SOIlIl' picture, paintcd She looked di~tllrlJl'd. "I St't' it."
bv SOlllf' old-timer?" she ~aid. "A :"\ew York ;l~ lLl':1t ;IS 3
. Shirley grinncd at me. "So what pin. l'fficient and happy. But I still
do they mean, Hal? These Nora don't sec why-why do you revel in
Remington types?" \\"nrk ?"
uThe Thompson Pron' a llnws "Rl':-,d history," I said. "There
total sublimation," I said ddnl"jn"- W<'lS 3 lillle when our tcchnology
Iy. "Frcud pointed out tllt' l{)<;~ alit! l'xl't'l,Je-d the knowledge tlf the lil;Hl
gain factor in sublimatioll. ,rilhout 011 till' "1rl'l't. Fill:dly, I)t'gilllling
sublimation, civilization l:otl1dn't \\'ith till· atom. it gut "0 h.ld that
exist. Of cour~(", the primitin' ill- the a\"l'l"~gl' mall !lU longt'l tilisted
stincts continue 10 l'xi~t. Exn.:pt Ihat himself to make decisiolls ill his
now the sex-cirin' is mostly swal- own l'1l\·ironlllt'Ilt. He had :l (h-.;;,ire
lowed in the curiositv sublim:Hion. to klluw ~s llluch ~I:-' tht' :-.l..'i"lIlist
That's why a body that shows the himself knew. So Sl'il'llCL' gave hirn
effect of work is ~ttr3cti\'e, and J. the- ThompslJll Probe,"
smooth, unrnarkf'd one like your, She- wrinkled her nose and
isn't." shO\ved he\" jJl'O\'illcial prejudices.
"You're mighty ugly, sistcr~" said "Probc-~ll1(1b('. I'lli glad the Probe
the bar-keep, chucking Shirley un- is out!:l\\"C'd on !\1~lls."
der the rhino H\\'hCIl ~brs h.l~ l'nough books.
"You're prclt\· ugly yuur:-'l'lf, labs and libr'lrics they'll ~ COllle t~
Gralldpa," said Shirley. She siglH~d use the Probe," I said.
am'! took my ann. "Come on. Hal,
let's go."
For a mill ute in the dim light she
lookt'd pre-tty good, and I thought
that lI\avbc ",he had 3 dunce, btll
W ElieFOUND Mr.
shuming
wa..;
DuPres in.
<;Olll!.' p:LIJI,,!"S
011 his desk <Ind he ]{\okl'd \·ny
whell w'c came out into the SUIl gra\'e. for the hUllLll"t'dth tilll!" that
again, the c!l'an, wind-blown look day I had a feeling of IJli"lj\"illg. I
spoiled it. didn't like the legal looking JIlClI-
"\Vhat about m;uriagc and chil- menh he h~d in front Ill' hilli.
dren," "he said, "Go..;;,h, I hope t1n-' "rm afrJ.id I h:\\ t' 'Olllt' bad
Earth men still lx-licve in children." news for yOll, :Mr. Singn," he said.
THE WORK·OUT PLANET 85
 J waved a hesitant Shirley into DuPres insistently. "Have you any
the chair. After all, she was one ideas, Mr. Singer?"
of the family. III can lend you fifteen thousand
"Go ahead, DuPres." dollars," said Shirley impulsively.
He had a cringing look on his "Don't be ridiculous," I said.
face. He handed me a paper. It "I don't think she's ridiculous."
was a divorce notice. It said that, said DuPrcs. "\Vhy don't you bor-
due to my failure to support her, row the money from her?"
Nora Remington Singer, plaintiff, II] couldn't pay it b~ck. T t.:an
had decided to terminate our mar- hardly support myself on Earth."
riage and that she wished to collect "On Mars it would be different,"
fifteen thousand dollars from me said Shirley. "If you decided to
which was the basic amount I come to Mars, you could gct a fint·
should've brought home to support job... l l
us in the ten years of our marriage. "No. I don't want to go to Mars.
Fifteen hundred a year isn't \"ery Besides, you've brought your mOllc)'
much but the law set the base very as a dowry, in hopes of finding ~l
low and then insisted on it. In a young man."
world of work, of courst', non·sup- DuPres cleared his throat. "As
port is an ugly word, and I felt a a matter of fact," he said, "I be-
cold dutch of horror. lieve my client, Nora, had some-
"Nora wanted me to break the thing like this in mind. She men-
word to you," said DuPres. "She tioned to me something about your
just called me a few minutes ago." coming to Earth to find a. hmband.
"I'll fight it!" And she mentioned the money you
Hyou can't," he said. "The evi- had. And Mr. Singer will be frel'
dence h all here. Affidavits from of all marital engagemcnts, cITcc-
her friends telling of her mental tive at ten o'clock Mondav morn-
distrcs~ at having a stupid husband. ing." ,
Why, it isn't even a case for a We both st;trcd at him in amaze-
human judge. I'm putting the ment. Shirley blushed. Nora h;.td
evidence into the Computer Court fit the pieces together in a \"l'ry
at nine Monday. By ten-thirty she'll efficient, non-emotional way.
have her final decree." DuPres 1I0\\" broug-ht out another
"I'll cross-file!" ] cried. piece of paper. "This J1IJrriagc li-
"The machines would throw out cense is properly filled out," he
your case as soon as it scanned your said, Hand needs only the signa-
salary reports. No, your marriage is tures. ] have a friend, a parson,
dead. The important question now whose offices arc in thc nl'xt build-
is-how can you raise the fifteen ing. We could wrap this whole
thousand dollars you owe Nora." thing up in a matter of minutes."
"It's Ryder," I fumed. "He's a He smiled benignly as if he had
high-erg man. That's all she wants. just put over a big deal.
A goddam high-erg man." "You forgot one thjng," I said.
"The court will most certainly "Oh, don't worry about the li-
demand fifteen thousand dollars of cense," said DuPres. HIt's dated for
non-support money for Nora," said Monday. The law win recognize
86 R. E. BANKS
the principle of convenience of paint molecules on her Mathemati-
ceremony, regardless of the stream cal Point-Count System.
of time." "Hal/' I told myself, uHal you've
I stepped up and let him have never done well under the Thomp-
one on the jaw. He went over back- son Probe. But now, son, you've
wards in his swivel chair. got to come up with it:-You've got
"My compliments:' 1 said, "and to show them this time, or else-"
you forgot that people have feel-
ings."

Shirley and I stood on the side- A LOT of poetics have been de-
voted to the Probe because of
walk outside. the marvelous things it's done for
"Sure you won't borrow?" she humanity. Actually it always looked
asked. to me like- no morc than a paint
"No. I'm not through with Nora spray gun. and it worked as simply.
yet.·' The Thompson Probe is a prac-
I made a signal for the car and til'al solution of man's oldest wish
it came gliding up. I got in the -to make available to himself the
car and she squeezed my arm. enormous mental energy he knows
HTakc care of your good right arm. lies sleeping below the surface of
The way you hit that man was every human mind. It emits non-
the finest thing I've seen on Earth." thermal radiation which is played
"Aren't you going back?" I on the head and shoulders. This
asked. radiation is on the \\'ave scale
IINo," she smiled. "I've got a som('where between visible light
date with an old-fashioned bar· and ultra·violct. Thompson's spec-
tender and a bottle of liquor." trum, if you prefer, in which visible
I watched her go, head back, light is beginning to turn into
her ugly, over-womanly body something else before it becomes
swinging in a hippy walk. Let ultra-violet. It is very unstable. but
science pile invention on invention, it will radiate up to several hun-
I thought, there is always the dred feet and for x number of
earthy primitive oriented to breed- hours before it loses shape and falls
ing. back into light rays or gains pulsa-
tions and moves up to ultra-violet.
I was half-way home when a (Is there anyone who hasn't ex-
brilliant idea hit me with a flash. perienced the foolish feeling of be-
It was so good that I cried out in ing in the middle of serious work
amazement. There was still a way and having the commutator in the
to prove myself to Nora, better Probe fail? Then rour desire for
than finishing my einsteins or bet- work drains out of you and you're
ter than cornering her with an staring foolishly at a beam of use-
emotional appeal. She hated the less light. Or, on the other hand,
waste energy of an emotional ap- your commutator goes wild and
peal anyway. burns the hell out of you-yon get
Nora was stumped on how to a sunburn strong enough to send
distinguish the dust molecules from you to bed for days.)
THE WORK-OUT PLANET 87
 But when the Probe works prop- caded in my mind and the head-
erly it literally forces increased ac.. acheaproducing equations seemed
tivity in the atoms of the brain. to draw up on the paper and re·
Perhaps the molecules creak and solve themselves into marks as
snap a bit, perhaps that's why we simple as "if I have four apples-"
don't live as long-but to feel the Experiments were called for. All
pure energy of your full mind re- of the stuff was within the ray's
leased for work-Ah, that is Jife's beams) and I set up and activated
greatest pleasure! a dozen different experiments at
I took out the set bar and once. My hands flew as fast as my
moved up the generator. I moved mind. I could feel my mind racing
it way up. The Probe is theoretical- past the first fatigue and slipping
ly safe to handle the high meta- down into a vast void of concen a
bolism rates of the very quick- tration. I" worked like a very de·
minded, but any child can kick off mon and muttered and laughed
the governor. No one in our in- and quivered all over from the una
telligent world does, of course. But accustomed heavy charge of the
this was emergency. I set up the Thompson Probe.
power level as high as it would go, I got some of the feeling a work-
way beyond the last safety factor, out must have, The human mind·
even for the highest metabolic body stretched to the very limit of
genius. I felt some misgivings, but endurance. The nausea of fatigue
I had gotten myself into an all-or- grew like a round, black balloon.
nothing situation, and I restrained Vet I drove myself forward. lights
an impulse to fudge a little. blurred in my eyes and I was
r rushed in and got Nora's blinded and yet I could still work
papers on the dot count of the sur- and I worked-
face of pictures. She had all of her
papers oUl, because, she had told
mc, she had been asked to donate
them to the Museum. Now I knew NORA and Bob discovered me
around midnight when they
better. She was simply breaking up got home. I was lying twitching
housekeeping. on the desk while my experiments
I went to the study and turned rattled on unheeded and the paper
on the Probe and stepped into its tapes I had fed into the machine
rays. By midnight when Nora and went on rattling out long equa-
Bob got home from the meeting tions. I had received an overload
they were going to find a little of energy and run into a sort of
surprise waiting for them. human short·circuit, being too
I'm used to standard Probe cf· young for a real work·out to death.
fects as is cveryone on earth. But But not, I thought with pleasure,
the blue-white jolt I got dazed me, before I had done some consider·
even while I felt my mind turn ably good work. The last thing I
. over and the racing energy come remembered was when they put
with a jolt. I yapped and yam- me to bed.
mered like a lap dog because I was We are all doctors because
so jagged up. The thoughts cas- everything short of surgery is fairly
88 R. E. BANKS
easy for an alert mind to pick up. his freedom of living alone. ['m
When I awoke about noon on Sun- going to he, a bachelor too. You
day, I instantly knew that it was can Ret more work done. Goodbye
going to take me a long time to -Nora Remington.
r('('over from my efforts. Never-
theless, 1 wa:, content. I crept I dragged myself into the living
downstairs in anticipation. room where Shirley had just fin-
I found Shirl"y in the living ished calling for a cab.
room assembling her luggage. She "You gave Nora the money," I
looked VtT)' white and used up. accused h('r.
"Try to find a hangover remedy "I savpd enough for your tid.et
in this IOlls~r city," she moaned. to Mars," she said.
"I'm glad I ean still make the two "I'm not going to Mars. n
o'clock rocket." She grinned and waved a paper
"Leaving?" at mc. "This says yOll have to. Old
"I've gotten everything I wanted DuPres came in this mornin.~ and
out of Illy trip. So T leave." drew it up. You owe me fifteen
"How was last night?" thousand. I can offer you a job
"\Vc got drunk and sang' old from which you can pay it back.
songs," she said, "and I flirted The law says you either have to
with an antiqu:uian." have your own job or take the job
"''''her(''rc Nora and Bob?" I offer or go to a readjustment
Shirley shook her head. "I don't Clinic for mental incompetence.
know. But there's a note on the And I don't think you ('an find a
brcaHast table." job here very easily, nor allow
I crept into the breakfast room. yoursrlf to be sent to a Clinic."
Nora's note was to the point: I gro<llll'd. "I won't be bought
like a side of beef!"
Dear Hal: A noble try. In all "Now, Hal, what a thing to say!
3
)'OUT years ),ou ve never done such Your bags are packed, thanks to
a brilliant piece of work. But in Nora. Do you want to come quiet-
your usual unobservant fashion ly or shall I send for the police?"
you picked the wrong set 0/ equa- What could I do? I was legally
tions. Yau solved a problem I trapped and physically weak..
worked on years aft!o which has to
do with paint coatings on build-
ings and the weathering eUects. If
you had the i'lllt:llig(~llce to have Myrocket
SEATMATE on the Mars
was an antiquarian.
Tead my books, you'd have known. Each day Shirley brought me to
P.S. Shirlfy has given me the the Solarium to enjoy the sun and
non-support moncy. 1 think she left me neatly tucked in under the
was (hunk. She murmured some- blankets. Each time this fellow
thing about bUl'ing a man with a would stare at her and then at me
good right arm. J hope you'll be and then dig into the books and
very !lapp)1 loge/hfT. magazines he carried. Finally he
P.P.S. You're wrong about Bob spoke.
and me. I've always envied Bob (Continued on p(j~e 102)
THE WORK-OUT PLANET 89
 Jllustrated by Paul Orban

DP
Once upon a time life was perfection. Gouernment made sure

its citizens were supplied with euery comfort and

pleasure. But sometimes perfection breeds boredom and

BY ARTHUR DEKKER SAVAGE

..l LLEN KINDERWOOO slowed parture Permit. ShOlllt/ get one,

f t his pace so his forelock would he corrected himself. BUI he had
quit bobbing. The damn thing never heard of a petition for a
wasn't supposed to bob; it was OP being refused.
supposed to be a sort of peaked He wanted to spend his last
crest above rugged, handsome fca~ night in the city over here in the
tures-a dark lock brushed care- main park of C Sector, walking in
lessly aside by a man who had the restless crowds, trying to settle
more important things to do than his thoughts. He moved through
fuss with personal grooming. But slow aimless eddies of hrightly ap-
no matter how carefully he combed pareled citizens, avoiding other
it and applied lusto-set, it always pedestrians, skaters and the heavy,
bobbed if he walked too fasl. four-wheeled autoscooters. Every~
But then, why should it mailer thing was dully, uncompromising-
now? He wasn't looking for a ly the same as in his own sector,
woman tonight. Not when his ap- even to the size and spacing of the
pointment with the Social Adjust. huge, spreading trees. He had
ment counsellors was tomorrow hoped, without conviction, that
morning, and he would get a De- there might be some tiny, refresh.
90
ing differencc-anything but the wcre a t('ch, Government gave you
mind-sapping samC'ncs~ that had stuff to ket'!, you alivl: longer. A
driven him to thc petition. jobman got :l somcwhat diffcrenl
Allen wal' cardul not to brush deal-he got nothing to keep him
against any girl with an escort. ali\'l~ aIJllorrn:t11y, because ninety
Since he \\'<.1SI1'1 on the lTlake, what percent nf E~lrth's population was
would bc the USl' of fighting? Kind waiting fOI" hi~ job anyway.
of an odd fel'ling, though, to know Allen skirtt:d a huge fountain
you'd nc\'C'r date or fight ag.lin, throwing- colored, scintillant spray
or. . . . Or what? ''''hat else was high into th(' dark summer sky,
t1H'J'l' to do, if you hadn', tht, luck stealing ;, g):lIln" JX1('kward over his
to bl'''1 jobll1an or a tcch? You ate, shoulder. Th'lt girl was still behind
and slt-pt, and prC'cned. am"! ('xer- him. FolJo\\"iug him? It wouldn't
(iscd. and found what pleasure be anything new, in his casl'----es-
you could, and fought lIlo'\lly be- peciallr in his o\''',n sector-but
causc it was llloU1cntarih" ~timu­ maybt~ she just happened to be
tating, and. c\'t'ntua)Jy, aft~r a hun- going his way.
dred and fifty years or so, }'OU died. II would be oasy 10 find oul. Ho
Unless you were a tech. If you circled the fountain twice. With
91
her looks she should have been She looked up at him, and the
pich'd up before she'd left her passion in her gaze made his heart
compartment building block-ex- skip like a teener's. "Could be I'm
cept th:lt \\'hoever got her might very particular, darling, but,>' her
h:wt' to fight more than once dur- look was suddenly beseeching, "the
ing the evening to hold her. Def.. truth is, I'm protected."
initely a young rna"n's clilrli~g. A slow, tiny fire of distaste
And, the way it began to look, fanned itself alive in Allen's brain.
definitely Allen's darling. On the Why in the name of World Gov-
second trip around, she had back- ernment did every other girl who
tracked to meet him face to face- made first play with him have to
her purpose obvious. be protected? But there was his
He tried to dodge, but there was out. By unwritten social code
no way it could be done without he could declare the date off. Ex-
insult. Damn... cept that he had grown to increas-
"Hi, brute. Nedda Marsh. ingly hate the spiteful practice of
Alone?" She ran soft hands along 'protection'. It meant Nedda had
the hard biceps under his short peeved some local lothario who,
jacket sleeves. The motion threw along with other males in his
open hcr shriekingly bright orange clique, was going to damn well sec
cloak, displaying saucy breasts, she wasn't intimate with anyone
creamy abdomen and, beneath her else until she begged another date
brief jeweled skirt, long smooth with the original one. If you had
thighs. And the perfume assailed a sadistic turn of mind, it meant
his nostrils with almost physical you could keep a delectable bit in
force. freeze until her naturiJl inclinations
"Hi, Nedda. Allen Kinderwood. forced her into your arms. But
Alone, natch." Natch, hell. But you'd have to fight any man who
what could any male do to combat tried to date her in the mean-
Government perfume? He smiled, time.
his pulse suddenly quickening. Fighting was legal, of course, as
"Datc, darling?" She was a beauti· long as the loser was surgically re-
ful thing. pairable, and it was considered a
Her large, sparkling eyes showed normal catharsis for strained rela·
pleasurc. "Take mc, AI." She tionships between males.
touched vivid red lips lightly Not, Allen thought glumly, that
against his. And the formula was he had any stake in the future of
complete. Private citizens Allen frantically weary society, but he
Kinderwood and Nedda Marsh had reached the conclusion long
were dated at least until dawn- ago that a man without the cour-
or a bctter man did them part. age to back up his personal convic·
He squeezed her arm where tions wasn't worth the energy it
she'd snuggled it against his side, took to down him.
starting with her away from the He stopped and held Nedda
fountain. "How come the most against him protectively. "1 still
gorgeous thing in Kansas City want the date, sprite," he said. "I
wasn't dated earlier?" have to leave early tomorrow, but
92 ARTHUR DEKKER SAVAGE
~
"

I'll try ,to get you out of protection da? Every time I think of the
--okay?" hundreds of hours I've spent plow-
Her lips trembled. "Oh, yes. If ing air with one of these gut-
you knew how it's been, these weighted things I want to break
last few days-" one. Hell, I can run faster. Any-
He shook her again, but more way, you know where we're going."
tenderly. "Deal. We'll try to reach The girl smiled, pushed the
your compartment." Living quar- power lever into forward ran"ge and
ters were a sanctuary no one but stee:red into slow-moving traffic. "I
a medic could legally enter without saw a man lift a single, once, but
invitation. He removed his stain- that's all he was able to do with
less inrlentification plaque and it."
slipped its chain about her throat. The lighted street seemed in-
Ulf you see any of the guys who're tensely bright after the dimmer
watching for you. tell me but don't reaches of the park. "Ever think
look at them." He took her arm of running one into the river?"
again and alertly began to work She looked at him in amaze-
through the throng. "Describe your ment. "Fright, no. Why-you'd
protector." have to drive along a pedestrian
"Jeff Neal-Hayne. He's big, AI. path for at least a block to reach
Bigger than you. Heavier, but the bank!" Nedda spun the steer-
you've got muscles like he never ing wheel to avoid a long string of
saw. You look fastl~r, too." solemn teeners playing follow the
Allen didn't know him, but the leader on singles. "You have funny
name was revealing. Not that any- thoughts, Al."
thing but your Earth society nwn· "I'm laughing." He flexed his
bel' was official, but usc of a double muscles, impatient, as usual, with
surname meant vour father had another citizen's sluggish menta-
elected to stay \~ith your mother tion. I suppose the damn music
U

for at least a while after you were never gets on your nerves, either?"
born. Most babies, of course, were "Music? Oh-the music." She
immediately turned ovcr to a Gov- listened as though for the first time
ernment creche, but it had always to the muted strains which played
seemed to Allen that kids raised by continuously throughout the city-
one or more parents had other ad- calming, soothing, lulling. "0f
vantages too, although he had course not. Why should it?ll
nl'vcr been able to figure out just "They've got it synchronized,"
what they were. Maybe it was only said Allen. "Govcnllnent's got it
his imagination. synchronized so you hear it just
the same volume no matter where
you are outside. You have to listen
to it."
AT chose
THE edge of the park they
the nearest double IIDarling, your boredom's show..
scooter whicb showed full battery ing."
charge. He squeezed her hand reassur-
Allen leaned against the for- ingly. "Don't let me spin you/love-
ward rail. "Herd it, will you, Ned- ly. I've got the answer."
D P 93
 nOh?» with a practiced hand-and
"Yeah. I applied for a DP this grabbed the wheel when she sud-
morning." denly strained against him, trem-
"AI-TZo!''' bling, pressing eager lips against
"Why not?" He put it like the his neck.
noedle thrust of a fighting knife, Christ, how long had she been
daring her to find~ a reason, half protected? He felt a mounting
hoping she could. anger against the social ennui which
1'1_" She glanced at him once, drove men's minds to such inhuman
quickly, then away. Then she drew activity. Departure was the only
a deep breath and let it sigh out. escape from this kind of thing, and
"How about Mars, AI? There from the city-from any city.
aren't many service machines, anel But the Departees had always
they even let women do lots of little bcen only a tiny minority. Did that
detailed things. I almost went, mean they-and he-were wrong?
lJ
once. He brooded about it for seemingly
He was watching her shrewdly. the googolth time, guiding the
"Why didn't you?" He had fought scooter without conscious thought,
this one out with himself before. turning as Nedda directed.
"Oh-I don't know, Just never A trap, he'd told her. Well, he
did." could see no reason to change that.
""II tell you why you really The blazingly glorious senso-
didn't. It'd be too different. \Vhcn theaters, cafes, gymnasiums, danc-
the Government provides e\'ery ing salons, amusement rides and
convenience, every comfort you can hypnodream houses, crowding every
think of here, you can't stand hav- main thorough rare with their fan-
ing to work in a mine, with an tastically ornate architecture, were
oxygen helmet, stuffed into heavy -when you thought about it-de-
clothes. You can't stand the danger signed to trap people's minds, keep
and the fear-and somehow, in- them from thinking of anything but
side, you must know it. I'm pretty a gossamer, useless pursuit of per-
strong, and 1 never met a man 1 sonal pleasure, And \\'asn't the de-
was afraid of, but I know I sign faulty when everyone was
couldn't stand Mars." He gripped bored, when some chose Departure
the rail and stared out over thc and others sank to the unnatural
wide, swarming strcet. "But Earth practice of protection to whet their
is a trap, Nedda. A big, comfort- sated appetites?
able trap wlll~r(' you \\'alk around Nor \.. . as there any apparent hope
endlessly without being any use at for the future. Theatre productions,
all." dream tapes, even the elahorate
She trod the brake and barely hOll1e teleview shows were all his·
missed bUlllping- a couple who had torica!' \Vhy? \Vas Government ad-
stopped to embrace. "I'm some usc, mitting there was nothing but stale·
han. Wait'll we get home." Her ness in the present? Why the con~
eyes held a promise she could cern with backtimc?
barely restrain. Because of Government enter·
Automatically, he caressed her tainment diet, Allen could prob-
94 ARTHUR DEKKER SAVAGE
f
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 ably, with a bit of practice, fish would help avoid a knife slash from
skillfully from an outrigger, make the rear if the other rammed his
and use a longbow expertly, run a scooter-further assuming the man
store profitably in the Money Ages, had not been tricked into thinking
weave cloth correctly, build com· his presence was unnoticed.
plete wooden houses-oh, any num- He hadn't. When Allen whipped
ber of ancient things. his head around to look at him,
But he couldn't even talk the there was barely time to brake the
same language as the relative hand- heavier double to avoid a shrewdly
ful of trained men who built and planned collision. Halgersen, Nedda
operated the unbelievably intricate had said. He was thick~set, with
robomachinery which activated and heavy brows and large jaw. The
; maintained the complex cities of type Allen had learned to asso-
'.
..
",. Earth. ciate with power and endurance
but not too much speed.
Halgersen was holding a knife

N EDDA'S soft voice broke into

his thoughts. "AI-Dan Hal-
in his right hand. Allen quickly
slipped his own blade from the
sheath conveniently held at the
gersen's coming up behind us on a
single. He's one of Jeff's-" front of his belt. They cut intricate
"Hold on." Allen swung the patterns of feint, attack and with-
scooter hard right and adroitly draw, using passing vehicles as
darted across traffic toward an em· buffers. But not for long.
, blazoned theatre entrance. Here, A voice from the crowd called,
now, was a situation he knew how "Fight!" and space grew miracu~
to deal with. He said rapidly, out lously about the combatants, leav-
of the side of his mouth, "Jump ing a huge clearing in the street
off when I stop at the entry and kiss rimmed solidly with scooters and
me like good-by. Register your pedestrians. A few shouts of en-
plaque in the ID slot and head for couragement began to be heard as
the door-then look back. If I'm individuals selected one or the other
down, go on in and lose' yourself. If of the men as a likely winner.
he's down, come back." Allen dodged a sudden attempt
He made a wrenching stop at at a side-swipe coUision and the
the very edge of the crowd, swung attendant vicious swipe of Halger-
Nedda through the opening be- sen's blade-and then drew first
tween front and side rails and gave blood by a lightning riposte to the
her a hard, sterile kiss. arm. Legal knife target was arm,
She clung to him a moment. Jeg, abdomen and a forehead cut
Without letting her eyes stray she without thrust-which would ob-
said, «Slowing down right behind scure vision with blood without do-
you. Luck, lover." Then she turned ing organic damage.
and 'started to pick her way across The bright yellow luminescence
the walk. of a police copter dropped and
Allen swung the scooter in a fast, hovered as Allen tried to follow up
tight circle to the left. Assuming his his momentary advantage. The
opponent to be right-handed, this scene, he knew, would now he
96 ARTHUR DEKKER SAVAGE
"-
--"_~'L'~; "~':tm. I
simultaneously filmed for possible his own guard rail to land gaspingl)'
legal record and hroadcast on all across Allen's.
tcleview news programs. Enter~ Allen wasped the back of the
tainmcnt for adults, education for other's bplt in a grip that had dis-
the tc('ners. mayed many a ('ornbatant, hauled
A fClllinine voice in the front him into position 3.nd hamstrung
ranks c<llled, "Two stunts to one both legs with I\vu dextrous thrust-
on green jacket!" 'Jnd was imrnf'di- and-cut movements. It took but a
atcly taken up by ~lI1other girl ncar moment longer to leap above a
bv. desperate slash :J.t his own legs,
. He had little time to think with drag the heavicr 1ll:1Il to tl1P thick
satisfaction that no female had ever floor of the scooter ~lI1d render him
been forced to payoff a bet of some' unconscious with a stamping kick
ingeniomly f'llloarrassing publi(' hc- of one sandaled hCl'1. It left an
havi(lr 011 his <lecount. Ha!gcJ'sell easy repair job for the medics l but
\\'as no\\' trying to maneuver him for would kc~ep one Dan Halg-ersen
a straight ram which would bring from fig-hting again for more than
them definitely together. He wasn't a week-and mayne make him
being wl'akcncd by the slow drip of think p.vicc about joining in an-
blood from his arm and he didn't other protection pact.
seem to be bothered by pain. Allen leaped lip amI balancl'd on
And then they were close to the two guard rails while the police
circle rim. Allen swung his scooter copteI' settled down to pick up
so the cooling downdraft from the Halgersen. He signaled Nedda to
copter--coming from above the movl' on along the walkway.
center of the clpared area-was di- While the onlookers were clap.
rectly ag-ainst his back, a IlWlhod ping approval of the show, he rc~
he had dl'viSf'd for knowing his po- moved Halgersen's plaque, leaped
sition without having to take his down and dodged an attempted
eyes from .:t close opponent. He let kiss from the girl who had given
his shoulders droop suddenly, as odds on him-glancing- back warily
though he was tired, and at the in case her escort felt insulted-
murmur of disappointment from then pushed through the mob to
many onlookers he began to back join Nedda.
slowly away from I-Ialgersen. She hugged his arm ecstatically.
The blue-jacketed figure rolled "Darling, every \vonw.n should have
into the trap scowling. He tried a guy like you."
again for a head-on ram. Allen let "Yeah." He felt no sense of tri·
him COlne, and at the last possible umph. It had happened too many
instant, when Halgersen would be times before. Ever)'thing had hap-
unable to feverse, stop, or even pened too many times before-
swerve, he flipped the bar to full repetitive, palling and purposeless,
power ahead. And braced himself He tucked the won plaque into her
accordingly. decorative belt. It was Nedda's
The scooters met with a bone- proof that protection was ended,
jarring thud of perimeter rubber. and Halgersen would have to call
Halgcrsen was hurled neatly over for it accompanied by a witness.
D P 97
 "Where the hell is your place?" to be a new taste sensation. Like?"
he asked. For a moment he won a He shrugged. "Let's try it. It'll
dcrcd why he didn't just turn be my last go at this robot feed."
abruptly and leave her, social mores When the meals had been de-
notwithstanding. Then Nedda's posited in the service chute she
prrfume began its chemical magic looked at him pleadingly. "Han,
again, and he carefully straightened why don't you try being psyched?
his jacket and set his forelock in They could make you satisfied with
its proper place. -things as they arc."
Allen lifted a thin transparent
food cover while he shook his head.
N EDDA," he accu",d lazily,
"you're a nymph. Ever tried
"Maybe they could, Nedda. But it
would have to be almost total era-
psychoconditioning ?" sure to change my slant on every-
She gave him a tender, lingering thing, and being forced to accept
I
"( kiss and burrowed more com· \vhat I hate is worse than anything
fortably in his arms. "Not yet, else I can think of. It wouldn't be
",
darling. Would you prefer me less me when they got through. What-
-responsive ?" ever causes me to think like I do is
Allen patted her as carefully as the mc, and t-hat'd be gone."
possible to show approval without Some of the resentful animosity
arousing her again. IINo man surged up in him and he had to
would. But it must be rough be- talk about it. "Look at your com-
tween dates, isn't it?" And just why partment. The same as every other
should he be worrying about any- single in the city-or any city. The
one else at this stage of the game? walls arc the shade of green that's
Maybe he wam't. Maybe he was best for the eyes. Furniture and fix-
Jil just curious now that it no longer tures are always the same colors.
mattered. Every compartment has a scrvo-
She avoided his eyes in the cool console to condition the air, control
scmigloom of the compartment. "I the temperature and humidity,
-usually manage to have enough bring you food or any other stand-
dates. Until some mOl'on like Neal- ard service, provide teleview
Hayne puts me under protection." shows, music 01' requests. You
He disengaged himself gently, could live your life inside this
rolled off the pliant couch and in- square hole. Everybody has every-
creased the room's light with the thing and nothing means anything
wall knob. "You should register a -can't you sec that?"
complaint, Nedda. After three he'll She came around the table and
be forcibly psyched, you know." He sat on his lap \-vitli !tCI' head against
dialed the servoconsolc and focused his neck. "No, pCl'sh, but if you'll
a morning meal menu on the view· change your mind about a DP you
screen. "Ready for breakfast, pip?" can date me any time, always. I'd
"Mmm-if you arc." Nedda like to share a double with you for·
came over and lifted the phone ever."
from its panel recess. IIThat nwn~ He traced soothing circles on
ber sLx algal protein is supposed her· smooth back with his finger·
98 ARTHUR DEKKER SAVAGE
tips. uThat's the clo!iest I've ever At the door marked Kansas City
come to owning anything," he Department of Social Adjustment
mused. he slipped his plaque into the cor-
"But han, Government owns rect slot for a moment and was ad-
everything and takes care of every~ mitted directly to the waiting room
thing. When you can always U!iC for those who had appointments
a thing, how could it be better if for the day.
you owned it ?" There was only one other wait-
Allen held her agoainst him tight- ing-a 'handsome blond youth
ly, fighting the old fight to find whose knife was new. Allen sat
words. How could you explain how down in a lounge chair across the
you felt things to be right or wrong, room.
without really knowing the reasons? And Nedda came in and sat
"Maybe," he said slowly, "it's as down beside him.
thougoh I wanted to keep you for He could have understood al- .,
myself alone. But Nedda, if an· most anything but that. <lHow in
other man made the right ap~ the name of fear-"
proach. could you refuse him?" "Do you think," she said mis-
After a minute he repeated, "Could chievously, taking his hand, "the B
you?" Sector champ is the· only onc who
Eventually, she made two an· can ~ct an appointment?"
swers. Before it could marc than flash
They were wann and wet and through Allen's mind that he'd
dropp~d onto his chest. not told her that, the blond youth
was standing before them, his l~Yl'S
hotly on Nedda. Then, obviously
T HE ADJUSTMENT Build-
ing was a soaring, chastely
white structure of silicoid plastic,
confused that she was already hold-
ing hands, he addressed himself to
Allen as though it was what he had
dazzling in the hot morning sun. It intended doing.
crossed Allen's mind fleetingly that "Marty Bowen, sir. Vh-I'm go·
everything built nowadays would ing to see if they'll let me have a
long outlast the builders. That double compartment with some
seemed right, but he didn't know gym apparatus in it." He shifted
why. his weight to the other foot and
He took his ID plaque from hung a thumb nervously in his belt,
Nedda and kissed her. He had tried unable to keep from darting glances
to dissuade her from coming with at Nedda.
him, but she had merely smiled Allen noted, with rising anger
and held his arm and urged him and some other unpleasant emotion
toward a double scooter. he couldn't define, that she hadn't
"Thi~ is it, beautiful," he said dropped her eyes. He said curtly,
shonly, ~lt the entrance. And, with I"Finc, kid-hope you make it."
an attt'II1pt at kvity, I'Don't take The youth mumbled sOIlll'thing else
any marl' protet:tion." Actually, and wcnt bark to his chair.
what could you say? He went in· He had barely seated himself
side quickly, without looking back. when a voder speaker crooned a
o p 99
number melodiously. With a quick share a double with her. Would
backward glance at Nedda, the that be all? Much happiness to her.
blond lad went on into the counsel Abruptly, Allen realized Nedda
room. had left and that the frail old man
Allen'! mind remained in con- was talking to him.
fusion, shot through with anger at ". . . unusual to have joint in-
himself that he -should waste terviews without a more definite
Ihoughts now on anything but the emotional tic, but we felt you would
coming interview. The room was like to know how you had rendered
beginning to fill quietly with others. civic aid."
His number was called a few So pitting him without choice
minutes later. against any of several men wa~
And Nedda's was called along their idea of civic aid. No wonder
with it. he'd met so many protected girls in
Well-the place to get the an- the past. This time, they'd har-
swer was the counsel chamber. He . nessed Nedda's restless passion to
got up slowly, barely noticing that the task of dissuading him from a
Nedda continued to hold his hand DP. Very neat.
as they went in. It made him feel better to know
The brilliant room was two they'd failed where he was con-
stories high, with fluted walls and cerned} and his resentment abated
no windows. Obviously the size was somewhat. He said, "Glad I could
to impress interviewees. But why help," careful to keep his voice
should they have to be impressed? emotionless. Then, detennined to
Wasn't ihe wisdom of the five tech have no further subtleties, "If I
doctors sufficient by itself? Wasn't can have my departure pcmlit, I
it? won't trouble you further."
He sat in a chair indicated by Maybe his approach wasn't right,
the dark-skinned one, and listened bUI all they could do would be to
while the very old one in the center refuse him. In which case there
talked to Nedda. were other ways-and the hen with
Had dating the B Sector park legality.
champion solved her difficulty with "We hope," smiled the old doc-
the man she had reported? Fine. tor benignly, "there may be an~
h was the second such report about other way. Perhaps, if we discuss
him in a year-the other also com- your prohJem, we can find a solu-
ing from a girl who was highly tion which won't cost the city a
sexed. Did Nedda not consider her- handsome young citizen."
self 10 have a problem which re- Allen made il a direct attack.
quired psychocondilioning? No? UWhy should the city miss any citi~
Well, perhaps in laler years, when zen? In fact, what gooo is the city
her beauty and her mind were itself-what good is any city?"
somewhat changed. . . . No, there And almost, the techs seemed
would seem to be no justification startled. But a younger one said
for giving her a compartment in easily, "A city, Mr. Kindcnvood,
another sector, unless she had per- pennits a ma.ximum of efficient
suaded the champion or another to service and pleasure, with a mini-
100 ARTHUR DEKKER SAVAGE
mum of waste and discomfort." "No," he said curtly, "I don't
Allen leaned back and stubborn- know the answer to any of them.
ly folded his arms. "I've had Has it got a bearing on my getting
enough of pleasures and comforts a DP?lJ
without meaning, and I've nothing The central figure sighed. "None
to do, and it doesn't look like any- at all." He pressed several tiny but-
one's making any progress any- tons on the polished table and an
where. Even on the planets they're inscribed card rose halfway out of
just repeating backtime stuff with a slot. "We merely hope that some
modern equipment." day a man will come along who
The old man waved a hand at can tell ug,...-before someone who
the others and looked at Allen in- may not be a man comes along and
tently. His voice was softly insist- makes the answers futile." He
ent. "The one continuous thread handed Allen the card. "Here is
in human history has been the seek- your permit. You may take it to
ing of more pleasure and greater the third office south on the corri-
comfort for all members of the dor through that door. We don't
race. Our technology gives us a feel it is the answer to your prblem,
maximum of both. No one labors, but we admit we don't-"
and the few who work prefer to do "Pardon me, sir," interrupted Al-
so. No one is diseased, no one stays len. He wet his lips. "Did you say
in pain longer than the time neces- 'someone who may not be a man'?U
sary to reach a medic. Everyone can "Yes. It is an aspect you have
have everything he needs, without not considered, Mr. Kindenvood."
striving and without debt. And as The sociologist's face seemed hag-
technology advances, there will be gard. "Even a few generations ago,
even greater benefits for all. What Earth as it is today would have
more can be done to make the citi- seemed like a concept of heaven.
zens of Earth happy?" We know now it is not enough, but
For the first time, Allen felt con- we don't know why. Perhaps, if we
fused. "I don't know," he said can reach the stars the problem will
slowly. "The way you put it, it cease to be critical. By the same
sounds right. But where does it all token, life from the stars may come
lead? What reason have I got for here first.
living? What reason does the hu- "We have no remotest idea what
man race have for surviving?" such an eventuality would entail.
The sociologist looked even old- It may provide a solution. It may
er. "In all seriousness, sir, can you quite conceivably send man back
answer the questions you have just to the forests and jungles.
asked?" His eyes were expectant- "You have experienced our only
but there didn't seem to be much answer to the lalter possibility.
hope reflected in their depths. While providing man with every-
Allen nott'd a tenseness around thing to which he has aspired for
the table. Why were they asking milleniums, we instill in him,
him for answers they were sup- through the media of entertain-
posed to know? Or was it another ment, knowledge of all the survival
of their subllelies? practices known to the backtimers
D P 101
who painfully nurtured civilization for any ordinary cltuen. Or was
from an embryonic idea to its pres- there? And if there was, was it
ent pinnacle. We can do no more.n worth trying to 6nd? He flung open
Allen flexed his arms involuntar- the door to the corridor violently, as
ily at the sheer enonnity of the though the force could quiet his
idea. It was onc thing to let a usc- mind. Maybe, if he didn't use the
less race expire, quite another to pennit, he could stay and 6gure
think of its being forced back to-- out an an..wcr. Nedda would be
'"But---ean't anyone think of any- sympathetic and paticnt while-
thing else to do?" And thcn he stopped. Across the
"Whoever is capable of devising wide hallway, Nedda stood beneath
anything else," thc old doctor said a window, looking at him. And the
resignedly, "will undoubtedly be blond youth held her with f1u,hed
able to carry it out with or without understanding, impatiently waiting.
our assistance." He pres~cd more caressing' her ann with hi!li hand,
buttons and there was a muted binding her to him with the one
sound of the voder calling a num- bond ,he could not break.
ber. tiThe exit over there, Mr. Kin- She watched Allen start slowly
derwood. And-much happiness." down the corridor. Once, when he
Allen's thoup;hts swirled in tu- stumbled, she gave a stiO{'cl sob, and
multuous confusion. Dimly, he real- tears brimmed and spilled silently
ized that man had out,tripped him- when he pa<sed through th. door
self, and saw with intense bitterness marked Kaasas Cit)' D,partm.at of
that there was no answer on Earth Euthanasia. • ••
••• •
THE WORK-OUT PLANET (Continued /Tom page 89)
"This chicken is your wife?" he parti., and-uh-brccding. I will
..ked. probably have to escort her on
"Chickrn ?" these functions."
He handed me an ancient Earth His •.yes lightcd up. "Rich dame,
magazine. On the cover was the good-looking and sexy, likes a
picture of a very ugly woman. She good time and gets a kick out of
had been called Marilyn Monroe. breeding. Brother, some people
UThat's a chicken," he said, have all the luck!"
"like yours," I sighed. "No. I'd give aoytbing
I shl'ugg'cd. UNo, she's not my to be back in New York, working
wife." again, doing my einsteins and put-
Ulf I'm not too curious, what ting in a useful eighteen hours a
are you going to do with her?" day."
"It's what she's going to do with My sealmate gave me a look of
me," I SOlid glumly. uHer father is disgust and pulled hi, blanket' up
rich and I have to go to work for over his face. He never spoke to
him. As for her, she has a great me again. J can sec it'!\ going to
enthusiasm for archaic items like be hard to get used to colonial
baseball, fine restaurants, bars, thinking. • ••
102 ARTHUR DEKKER SAVAGE
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 BY FOX B. HOLDEN

A GIFT FOR TERRA

The good Martian Samaritans rescued Johnny Loue and of-
fered him "the stars". Now, maybe, Johnny didn't look closely
enough into the "gift horse's" mouth, but there were others
who did . .. and found therein the answer to life . ..

H heIS HEAD hUTt like blazes, but

was alive, and to be alive
He shook loose with more strength
than he needed. gave the rest of
meant fighting like hen to stay that the muscles in hi, blocky body a
way_ try, and there wasn't any hurt
That was the fi",t thing return- wone than a bruise. Funny. Ferris
ing consciousness told rum. The was dead.
next was that his hehoet should He had a feeling somewhere at
have been cracked wide open when the edge of his brain that there was
the bum landing had wrenched the going to be more to it than just
acceleration hammocks out of their checking his oxygen and food·con·
suspension sockets and heaved his centrale supply and walking away
suited body across the buckled con- frol11 the ship. A man didn't com·
ning deck. It should've been, but it plete the fi",t Earth-Mars Aight
wasn't. ever made, smash his ship to hell,
The third thing he knew was and then just walk away from iL
that Ferris' helmet had been His astrogcologer-navigator was
smashed into a million pieces, and dead, and the planet was dead, so
that Ferris was dead. a man just didn't walk away.
Sand sifted in a cold, Ted river There was plenty of Toom for
through the gaping rent in the side rum to scramble through the yawn-
of the ship, trying to bury rum be- ing rip in the buckled hullplates-
fore he could stand up and get his just a matter of crawling up the
balance on the crazily tilted deck. river of red sand and out; it was
104
 a5 easy as that.
Then Johnny Love was on his
feet again, and the sand clutched
at his heavy boots as though to
keep him from leaving Ferris and
the ship, but it didn't, and he was
walking away ...

Even one hundred and forty mil-

lion miles from the Sun, the un-
filtered daylight was harsh and the
reflection of it from the crimson
sand hurt his e)'es. The vault of
the blue-black sk)' wa< too high;
the desert plain "'3 too nat and
too silent. and save for the thin
Martian wind that whorled deli-
cately-fluted traceries in the low
dunes that were the only interrup-
tion in the natness, there was no
motion, and the planet was too still.
Johnny Love stopped his walk-
ing. Even in the lesser gravity, it
I
I
lUwt,ated by PGul Orban
I

105
seemed too great an effort to place And if only one made the 273-day
one booted foot before the other. journey from the orbit of Terra-
He looked back, and the plume of that would be Plan III; Condition
still-riling smoke from the broken Untenable, Return. The twenty-
thing that had been his ship was day interval idea had come from
like a solid black pillar that had some Earth-bound swivel-chair
been hastily buik by ~omc evil genius who had probably never
djinn. even set foot ill a Satellite opera-
How far had he walked; how tion!\ room. Somebody had im-
long? pressed on him when he was young
He turned his back on the glint- that egg-carrying was a safer mis-
ing spec and made his legs move sion with a lIIultiplicity of baskets;
again, and there was the hollow it \'vas common sense that if any-
sound of laughter in his helmet. thing happened to Mar,-I touching
Here he was, Johnny Love. the first down, at least it \\'ouldn'l happen
Martian! and the last! U sing the to II and III at the samc time.
last of the strength in his bruised Common sense, Johnny thought,'
body to go forward, when there and he lauglwd again. Space wasl
was no forward and no backward, not common, and it was not sensi-'
no direction at all: breathing when ble. And nobody had ever taught;
theft' was no purpose in breathing. it the rules men made.
Why not shut off the valves He kept walking, seeing, think-'
now? ing and breathing.
He was too tired for hysteria. For a long time. He fell once or:
Men had died alone before. Alone, twice and picked himself up again
but never without hope! And here to walk some more, and then he
there was no hOfle, for tht"TC was no fell a final lime, and did not get,
life, and no man had ever lived up. Red sand whispered over him"
where there was not life! uanced lightly, drilted . _ . .
But he had come to sec, and he
was seeing, and in the remaining
hours left to him he would sec
what no man had seen in a half a
million years.
T HE FLAT, wide-tracked ve-
hicleswerved in a tight arc,
tht'Owing up low ruby-colored
Harrison and Janes or Lamson clouds on either side. Its engines
and Fowler would not be clo\'\'"n for throbbed a new note of power, and
twenty days at the inside; that had it scuttled in a straight line across
been the time-table. Twenty days, the desert floor like a fleck of shiny
twenty years ... he heard himself metal drawn by an unseen magnet.
laugh again. Time-table! Behind it rose a thinning monu-
He and Ferris first. Then Harri- ment of green-black smoke, and be-
son and Janes. Then Lamson and tween its tracks was a wavering line
Fowler, all at twenty-day intervals. of indentations in the sand already
If all landed safely, they would use half-obliterated by the weight of
Exploration Plan I, Condition Op- their own shallow walls. But they
timum. If only two crews made it became deeper as the vehicle raced
down, Plan II; Condition Limited. ahead; and then at length they
106 FOX B. HOLDEN
ended, and the vehicle halted. John Love. That is why you did
There was a mound of sand that not see us) or surface indications
the winds, in their caprice, would of our existence. A group of us
not have made alone, for they speak your language, because for
sculptured in a freer symmetry. And eleven days we have been studying
the child-like figures seemed to your brain and analyzing your
realize that at once. thought-p;lttcrns,"
With quick precision they lev- Johnny was holt upright again,
elled the mound and found Johony and now his eyes werc wide and
Love. They took him into their his hands wne knotted. and where
vehicle. and deftly matched and there had he en only light and shad-
replenished the W3tling gas mixture ow before there was full sight now.
in the cylindrical tanks on his back. S\''''iftly he ,vas off til(' low cot and
Then they drove away with him. on his fcet looking for the speaker,
arms reauy to lash out and hit.
"Ferris?" But hf: was alone in the small.
"Ferris was your astrogeologcr- sterile-looking chamher, and his
navigator. He di"d when you muscles wne so Dluch excess bag--
crashed." gage. He tried to recover his bal-
"Harrison ... ]anl's?" ance; he had forgottl'1I about the
uHarrison and Janes are not due slight gravity. He tried too hard,
for nine morc days. But you are in and his body crasJ1f'u, confused. in-
no dan~cr." to a wall. A-damn them, a padded
There was darkness and warmth; wall!
his throat was dry and it burned. He reg-aiDed his f('ct. Stood still,
It was hard to talk. and Ferris \....as and ra('t>d his eyes about him.
dead. Harrison and Janes \'~"ere not There it was-above the cot. A
due fol' nine more days. Somebody small round, shuttered opening-
said so. Nine more day:-; :lnd then some sort of two-way communica-
everything would be- tion system. He wondered if they
Panic shook him, sent blood coulu Sl'C him, too. If they could,
throbbing to his head and brought that part of it '.. . orkcd only one way.
consciousness back hard. His eyes "All right, whoever you are, so
opened and he was suddenly sit- you've analyzed me!" He had to
ting bolt upright. direct his sudden anger at some-
"But Lamson, you were twenty thing, so !R. shouh'd at the shut-
days Ix·hind-" And the racing tered aperture. "'Now what ..."
thought froze solid in his fumbling- Tht-IT was silence for a tiny eter-
brain. TheIl there was a torrent of nity, and he could feel them prob-
thoughts and memory overran ing, e"aluating him, as a human
them, buried them, and red desert scientist would study a rare species
was rushing up to engulf him. He in a cage. The feeling ignited a
screamed and fell back with his new anger in him, and made him
hands cla,\'ing at his eyes. want - to curse the teachings that
"You arc in no danger. You had had conditioned his lifetime of
thought our planet lifeless; it was thinking to the belief that Man
an error. We live underground, was more than an animal.
A GIFT FOR TERRA 107
 /He'd been sold short . . . "shock."
, "Damn you! God damn you, "Go ahead," he said.
what arc you going to do to me?" "OUT examination of you has in·
In a cOJ'lu'r of his mind he was dicated that yOUT race is a poten-
aware of a gentle hissing sound, tially effective one, with a superior
but lal' tJid 1I0t listen. The fear and survival factor. We fecI that, prop-
It.'rror had 10 he broken. Make them erly instructed and assisted, such a
tell, m(l~" lhem tell ..• race might be of gn.,.'at value as a
His muscles grew heavy and his friend and ally. In short, we re-
face W3:i feverish with his effort, ceive you in peace and friendship,
and his eyes stung. Something ... Earthman. Will you accept us in
like roses. But there were no roses like manner?"
on dead planets- Johnny tried to think. Hard
"Earthman, can you still hear?" thoughts, the way men were sup--
III can hear:' Johnny said. It posed to think. What kind of game
was suddenly easier to talk. Even was it? \Vhat were the strings? The
easier to understand. They had angles _ .. the gimmicks. What did
done something .. _ they really want?
"We are surprised that your state His lips were dry and harely
of shock was DOt more severe. In moved o\"er his teeth, but the words
the process of anal)'Zing you, we dis- came easily. "Who says you're a
covered that )'OU were totally un- friend?"
prepared for Space-Bight, and 'We would have learned as
therefore-H much ahaut you hy examining your
"Unprepared? What do you corpse, Earthman."
think all those months of physical So he was alive, and lhat had to
conditioning were for? Yeah, and prove something. And it mighl have
all those damned texthoolo;? You been a lot of trouhle 10 keep hion
think that hane! I cracked up was thaI way. The hell of it was you
built in a Kindergarten class-" couldn't know . .. AlI),thing •.•
"Space-flight requires hut a rela- you couldn't know anything when
tive minimum of those things, you were tossed into the middle of
Earthman. Required most is psy- the impossible. Hc fell the skin on
chological and philosophical condi- the back of his ncck chill and
1I
tioning. tighten.
'ITo what?" BUI who held out their hand like
uTo all things unreal. Because this?
they are thc mosl rcal; infinity ap- Whoever did anything like that?
plies to prohability and possibility No.
far more directly lhan to simple "We wish to help you, Earth..
Space and Time. But-are you man, and your race. We havc ob-
calm now?" The voice was grow- served your kind at close quartl.'l'SJ
ing deeper, and seemed almost yet we havc neVl.'r landed among
friendly. Johnny tried his muscles; you nor attempted communication
they weren't paralyzed-he could because of fear for ourselves. But
move easily, and his head was clear. ,,~th proper help, there need be no
And there was no anger, now. No fear between w. We offer you
108 FOX B. HOLDEN
friendship and progress." knowable to men hung· in tile si-
"You keep talking about what lence.
we get out of it." Johnny stared up- "Picture, if you can, Earthman,"
ward at the ceiling, got his eyes off the answer came at last, "several
the little shuttered aperture. He small islands in the center of a great
wished he had a cigarette. "You sea; all without life, save two. TBe
sound too damned much like a men on onc have learned to build
politician." boats which can successfully sail the
"Perhaps at this point you should sea within certain limits-they can
be informed that your ship is com~ visit the other islands, but are too
pletely repaired, and ready for your frail and too limited in power to
return to Earth whenever you de- venture past the horizon. It is in-
sire." finitely frustrating to them. The
uSa, it's- You said Harrison and only places to which they may go ,
Janis would be here in nine days! are dead places. Save for one- ",/",
That means I've been out for near- only one, and it becomes magnified :r
ly two weeks! For a nap that's a in importance-it becomes an en-
long time, but nobody could get tire raison d~etre in itself. For with·
that bucket back in one piece in out it, the men with the boats sail
eleven days! Not after what I did uselessly ...
to it_ lJ
"We are old, Earthman. We have
"Your ship is completely reo watched you-waited for you for a
paired, Earthman." long time. And now you have
Johnny knew somehow that the grown up. You have burst, your
voice wasn't lying. So maybe when tiny bubble of human experience.
you got off of Earth miracles did You have set out upon the sea your-
happpen. He just didn't know selves ..."
enough. "You guys should give gradua-
"We wish to give you data to tion talks. I didn't ask for a scaled-
take back to your Earth which will down philosophy. You tell me that
banish disease for you-all disease. you want to give us every trick in
Data which will give you space- your hat-for free, no questions
craft that match our own in tech- asked. So I asked why. And the
nical perfection. Data that will question isn't changing any."
make you the undisputed masters "The answer should be self-evi-
of your environment. We offer you dent, Earthman. We are old. And
the stars, Earthman." we are lonely."
He shut a thousand racing
thoughts out of his head. "Maybe
I'll believe this fairy tale of yours
on one condition," Johnny said, T somewhere
HERE was a logic at work
in his brain even
Ubecause I can't intelligently do during the dream. It told him that
otherwise." he was exhausted from the day's
"And that-eondition?" tour with the child-like men of
"Tell me why.n Mars, and that the dream was only
There was a pause, and it was the vagaries of a reeling, tired
as though something forever un- mind of a badly jarred subcon-
A GIFT FOR TERRA 109
,cious. Itfold him that the things Mars had offered friendship and
he had stell had been too alien for told him that there was nothing
hi, rcl.. tively inflexible adult Earth for him to fear.
mind 10 accept without painful Slowly, he lay down again. And
n."actioll, lind this was the reaction. gradually, the cold perspiration
This, tIl<' dream. That was all it that had encased him vanished; hi,
wns; his logic said SQ. body relaxed, and the fear sub-
Earth spread out before the un- sided.
disciplincd eye of his dreaming The day's tour had been exhaust-
brain, and the near-conscious in- ing both mentally and physically,
stant of logic faded. The fertile and there was the excitement of
plains that once had been ,'ellow knowing that in five more days
desert-land mounted golden fruits Harrison and Jane1: would land. If
to a temperate sun, and beyond the they did not, his own ship would
distant green of gently-rolling hills carry him safely back to Earth on
spread the resplendent city, and the day follOlving, for the little men
there were other cities as grace- had miraculously repaired it; they
fully civilized beyond the untrou- had shown him. They had shown
bled horizon. him, and he wanted to go home.
And in the dream, these were Johnny Love rolled over on the
all things men had done, as though wide, soft cot, sighed, and went
sanity had invaded their minds back to sleep.
overnight. It was the Earth that
men had intended, rather than that trHe sleeps again, Andruul."
which they had built. uYes, but the damage is probe
The sun dimmed. The air ably done."
chilled, and the grains and fruits UNo, or he would not sleep again
wilted, and the rolling hills were a so easily. His kind do not have such
darker hue than green as the shad- emotional control."
ow lengthened, spread to the The two turned away from the
gleaming cities beyond and then as fading transparcnc), of the sleep-
it toucht"d them and ran soundless- ing-room wall, Dud their short, thin
ly the length and breadth of lheir bodies Wire in incongruous contrast
wide malls, there were other to the spaciousness of the metal-
changes . . . sheathed corridor down which they
Skeletons, reaching upward to a walked.
puffy, leaden sky. "Psychoanalysis showed up the
The horizon split into jagged, differl'nce in his brain structure-
broken moats of dark flame, and that apparently accounts for the
Earth was no longer what men had poor efficiencjl our SCTee7lS are
built, but what they eternally showing. J1'hat does Kaarn say?"
feared they must one day create . .. U H e says we should never have

Then Johnny Love was suddenly allowed the theft."

awake bolt upright in his cot and Andruul cursed. €lAllowed it!
his eyes were open wide. His muse Those nomadic scum are like flies!
c1es were taut and cramped. And No matter how ma71Y you extermi·
he was afraid although the men of nate, the)' never fail to come back
,110 FOX B. HOLDEN
in double their number. And they them and his ship, and there was
strike at the precise moment you not enough time to think about the
are certain the liones of the last one feeling. Or about the heavy sealed
are sinking beneath the sand. Some- tube they had given him to take
how Cenlral Palrol har got to get back to his people.
that unit back.n Usually, when a man ventured
}'ou're certain it was a theft, beyond the bounds of familiar ex-
then?" istence, there was conflict. Either a
ct Don't be an idiot. Since when struggle to win or) immediately
1

can those gypsies build anything recognizable success, with no strug-

more complex than a crude electr;· gle or hint of conflict at all.
cal gC1Jnotor? Lei aiotlC a psibeam But not this. Not this success that
unit? They've forgotten what little seemed-what was the word? Hos-
their civilization ever knew." tile? That was ridiculous. These
IIThey are clever C710Ug" at evad- people were friendly. But somehow
ing directed over-surface missiles." -there was an empty ring-
Andruul muttered something, Hell! They had saved his life.
and lapsed into silence. Rebuilt his ship. Given him the
nWell there is one thin!! for ecr· tube that contained transcriptions,
lain at anjl rate . .. A JJSibeam unit in his own language) of every scien-
is unaccounted lor, and despite our tific secret his people could ever
protective· screen ill!!. the Earthman hope to learn for themselves in the
was visibly disturbed if!" his sleep. next thousand years! And, they
His encephalotopes show that clear.. had even buried Ferris ...
ly. They know about him, Andruul, Use the brains of a mature man,
and they're makin~ their bid. Cen. Johnny Love! You've pulled it off
tral Patrol had better be quick and without even trying! The most stu-
certain this time." pendous thing any man in any age
Andruul kef" hir silence. But he has ever pulled off . . . without
thought. He 'hollght Central Patrol even trying! For God's sake don't
was getting less efficient and more question--don't question things
rtupid every day. you don't understand! Take the
credit and let the soul-searching go!
It was a strange fecling; a feel- He looked behind him again.
ing with which no human was emo- They were still there. A special,
tionally equipped to deal. smiling farewell c~eort) watching a
Johnny looked at his flawlessly single, solitary figure eros~ a short
renovated ship) poised like a snub· expanse of sand to a towering, glis.
nosed bullet against the blue-black tening thing of power.
brittleness of the ~1artian sky, and He raised a booted foot to the
then looked behind him at the bottom fin-step, hauled himself up
crescent-shaped formation of by the stern mounting rungs, ham-
tracked vehicles' that had escorted mered the outer lock stud with his
him back across the sucking red glo~ed fist and the hatch swung
sand to this place. With each heavy- open. Like a trar'
booted step away from them he He could fee the skin at the
closed the short distance between back of his neck tighten but he
A GIFT FOR TERRA 111
 'I .'•.,

forced himself to ignore it. The as if to crush it with his bare hands
lock cycled up to thirteen psi and · . . His face was wet, and be was
the inner port swung automatically breathing, ehoking, in strangling
inward, and then he was inside J gulps.
clambering up the narrow ladder A scanner alarm clanged.
past th" titanium alloy fuel tanks He forced his eyes to focus on
and tile spidery catwalks between the center screen,
them to the tiny control room in UEarthman! Emergency! There
the ron·hull. has bf"en a flaw discovered in the
He would not be waiting for repair of your ship! Do not blast
Harrison and Janes. He would get off! Do not ..."
the hell out of here and then radio The other image caught him as
them and let them make all the de- his arm was in mid-flight toward
cisions from there. Earth for him. the control bank. Sweet and wann
Home. He ached for it. · .. the fertile plains mounting their
He strapped himself in the ham- golden fruits to a mdlowed sun,
mock, punched the warming studs and beyond the distant gently-roll-
for each engine, and there was a in/( hills spread the resplendent
dull, muffled throb below him as city, and there were other cities ...
each jumped into subdued life. The But his ann kept going, its mus-
banks of dials that curved in front cles loose, and it fell. Heavily.
of bim glowed softly, and he started Squarely on the srud-complex to-
an almost automatic blast-off check. ward which its fist had been aimed
It took twelve precious minutes. a split-second before.
Then he was ready. Scanners ODJ The engines roared, and the ship
heat up ... ready. lurched upward from the red sand.
The Martian sky was like frozen
ink above him and his hands were The command flicked into the
wet inside his gloves and there was Captain's brain like a lash of ice.
a choking dryness in his throat. "Slaazar! Converge sheaf!"
Now ... uConverl!ing, sir . .." It would
And he could not move. There be no use, 0{ course. If the high
was a sudden. awful nausea and his brass had been conterzt to rely on
head spun, and before his eyes there the beams rather than on their own
spread a bleeding Earth; the sun subtlety in the fiTSt place, the
dimmed, and fertile plains were Earth man would never have fallen
cast in sudden shadow ... The air prey to the Nomads, even for a
chilled, the shadow spread, and second. But they had wanted to b"
there were skeletons reaching up- as forthright as possible-force, they
ward to a puffy, leaden sky! said, would only arouse suspicion,
And Earth was no longer what Psibeam units orlly as a last rcsort
Men had built! · . . The lowliest Patrol Lancer
Then the horror in his head was could have told them the folly of
gone, and he felt an awful pressure that!
on each side of it. His hands ... he Hastily, Slaazar issued orders to
had been pressing with insane his battery crews tracking the
strength at both sides of his skull ascending Spaceship, their units al·
112 FOX B. HOLDEN
ready nearing overload potential. Jakes. And on aU the vast surface
But the desert-scum would see some there was no hint of the Patrol
real psi-power now! They'd see it tracks, no sign of-anything.
wasted completely if they saw it at But he had to descend to the
all . . . Because they'd outma- place.
neuvered the brass a!!ain.' He did not know how to locate
HConvrrgl'1zce imJlOHible;t sir:' it, but the image told him that it
As he had expected. did not matter. The image said
HC%nel TTllul, this is Captain merely that he must begin cutting
Slaazar. Tar.~et has passed critical his power.
planetary curvature. Convergence There was no strength in his arms
impossible. Standing by, sir." and hands, yet they moved in front
For several moments after that, of him as though things detached
the thin atmosphere of Mars was from his body; skillfully, surely,
warmed a little. ; • playing deftly across the colored
studs.
Scanners on. Scanners on, kid ...
ACCELERATION blackout had
not been total; leaving Mars
He watched the screens again,
unconscious of what his fingers did
was even easier than lea ~'ing the on the panels. The dull red sphere
surface of Earth for the orhits of loomed large once more. The pic-
the Stations. But there WJS a period ture was off~ccntcr; without know-
of no-thought, no-time, no-being. ing what he did he rectified course
And then full consciousnl'ss seeped with the bow jets; it was centered
back slowly, But not as it was sup- again. But it was a different place.
posed to. Still the desert, but with ridges of
Johnny Love knew he had come brown-green at its horizon; oddlya
to because he could see the banked formed crater-places . . .
instruments glowing palrly before It was coming up fast, now;
him; because he could realize from faster, until the horizon was only
reading them that his ship \vas do- a gentle arc against a thin span of
ing- its job to perfcnion. Almost blackness, and the rest was cold red.
ready to complete the blastoff agee, Hardly knowing what he did, his
and- fingers suddenly raced over the
Angrily he belted the scanner control console, even before the
switches ofT and the dull red sphere scannl'r-:.llarms bL'gan thetr C3ra
faded from the viewplates. splitting clanging!
And he could feel the sweat start The ship lurched into a direc-
again all over his body. No, the re~ tion-change that threatened to
turning consciousness was all wrench the hull apart, aBd Ole piCa
wrong . . . All wrong, and the ture in the scanner reeled crazily.
image wouldn't go away ... He knew his O\vn brain was not dic-
Red desert he had seC'n before, tating the commands of control to
yet had not seen. There were dark his fingertips, nor was it evaluating
ridges of brown-green at its hori~ for itself the madly fluctuating
zan; oddly-formed crater-plan's values indicated on lilt:: panels, A
that might once have held placid hwnan brain could not have done
A GIFT FOR TERRA 113
 .,, .
,,

it, he knew that ... in his body .that had never been
He had cut power. At least there there before.
was no power. He was falling at a Through the thin glassite walls
crazy angle and the desert was rush· of his helmet he could hear the
ing up now, hurtling up to sma!ih thuk, thuk, thuk of his boots as
him. Th"y'd hit him, then, yet he'd tney pounded somewhere below
felt nolhing ... him, and there was another
It was getting hot. His hull must pounding, a deadly rhythmic burst-
be glowingl now, even in the thin ing pressure in his chest. And a
atmmphcre of Mars-it was a long whine in his ears . ..
fall. Slower than a fall on Earth, The wind-strewn sand stretched
through thinner air lay(,fs, yet he flat and infinitely before him. Then
was glowing like a torch. leaped at him headlong and there
The ocean of sand rushed up. was no horizon; there was only the
And suddenly his left hand sudden awful wrench of concus-
rammed the full-power stud. sion, a tremor of pure sound which
It was as though he'd been hit would, in denser atmosphere, have
from behind with all the brute destroyed him with the inertia of
force of some gigantic fist, and his own body.
there were two things. There was He could not move. Only cling
the split.second glimpse of a cres- to the shifting desert floor that
cent formation suddenly wheeling rocked sickeningly beneath his out-
toward him and there was the clang stretched body . . . cling to it for
of the scanner·alarm. There were dear life.
those two things his brain registered There was no thought, no under-
befofe the titanic force of full pow- standing. Only a sensation which
er squeezed consciousness from it he could not comprehend, and the
and left him helpless. sure knowledge that none of this
was real. Not real, but the end of
He was running. In a nightmare survival nonetheless.
of a dead planet that was not dead,
he ran, away from something.
That was how his consciousness
returned. While he ran. He
stopped, stumbling, turned to look
P AIN, and seeing two bright ob·
jects transiting the darkness at
which he looked; seeing something
behind him. then between.
And the ship was there. Landed His brain began identifying. The
perfectly, stubby bullet·nose point. darkness; sky. The bright objects;
ing to the sky. And above it- Diemos, Phobos ... And the some-
R~n! thing between-
The command hit his brain with It was a transparency of some
almost physical force. A will that sort; curved, or he would not have
was not his own took hold of his been able to detect it at all. A
whole being, and he was running vaulted ceiling through which he
again, plowing his way through the could see ...
sucking sand with strength sum- His fuU consciousness came
moned from a well of energy with- flooding back, then. He tried the
114 FOX B. HOLDEN
muscles in his neck, they hurt, but were aiming it at him.
they worked, and he could move "No! No..:-" He tried to get to
his head from side to side. There his knees, but it was as though
was the same transparency, as there were no muscles in his body.
though he were covered by some "Man of-Earth! We arc friend-
huge, invisible bowl. ly. Is that understood?"
And there were men. Big, mus- The thought-words formed in
cular creatures, yet thin, tall his brain as the strange images had
Not like the others at all ... before, and then he knew. Should
He sat bolt upright, and they have guessed it, part of his mind
did not move. It was not the same was telling him in a fantastically
as· before, No small room. No voice detached way, the dreams . .. the
that he could not see. They had comfJUlsions over which he had
not even removed his suit or his had no control in the ship . • .
helmet, and he was lying on :l This-thing. It probably-
hard, cold substance. "You arc quite astute, Earth-
Then he saw what they were man, But it is not OUf technology
doing. There were two of them which created this device. To save
apart from the others, working to you and the civilization which you
bring a compact-looking machine represent-and ultimately, our own
into position near him. A gleaming, -it was necessary for us to steal it.
short cylinder, swung on gymbals It cost six lives."
between slender forks, mounted on "Steal. , ."
a thin wheeled standard. They "From your former captors. It is

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their invention, as are 50 many speak.
things with which they destroy. They stood before him, im.
With this instrument, they have mobile, watching.
succeeded in taking onc of Nature's Somewhere, Johnny Love found
more subtle phenomenon-psy- his voice.
chokincsis-and amplifying its "Look, I've been through this
energies nearly a million~fold. 'friendJy' act before ... n He hesi-
Thosc stepped-up energies can then tated, and they did not try to in-
be projected in a tight or fanned terrupt him. "Well don't just stand
beam at will. there I" The fear was suddenly
"They can make a man 'dream,' turning to the biller anger of frus-
as you did-or they can destroy tration, they had him whipped, and
him outright, depending on which he was tired. "Tell me why! You
of the 'psi' factors, ESP or PK, is stick that thing into my head when
given dominance during projec- I'm blasting for home. You force
tion. But we are not skilled in its me to drop back. You blow up my
operation-they detected our use ship. Real friendly! Real sports!"
of it on you while you slept, and For a moment he had run out of
from that moment on you were so words, and again they made no
well screened that even at the ri;k effort to amwer him. "All right! r
of burning this unit out, we were don)t understand you-I don't
not able to project powerfully know what you want. But nobody
enough to do more than merely is trying to hurt you, nobody's aft-
touch your brain--" er your little desert paradise. We
had an idea, that's aU. We thought
we could make it work. People
have been talking 'go to Mars' on
T HERE WAS a strange calm in
his mind, now. He undestood my planet for longer than most of
'em can remember. So we finally
the words and accepted them as
matter-of-factly as they were given. gave it a whirl! Sorry!"
Even now they were manipulating He looked at them hard, then,
him like some intangible puppet, and thought that there was some-
thing almost like a smile on the
yet he was convinced it was not a
face of one. Smile, then) damn
malevolent manipulation. Con- you. . .
vinced. The conviction-manipu- HWe want nothing, Earthman,
lation, too.•• but to prevent from happening on
"Only partly, Earthman. We your planet the thing that hap-
said we are friendly, and we are. pened on this. If they succeed in
We have calmed you and erased destroying you as they have us,
your fear. From this point on, we then this System will always be un-
will use this instrument only for der their heel, and we shan never
communication. be rid of them. Understand, their
And then he felt the fear in him numbers were too few ever to con-
again, goa wing, and his body was quer a planet with a civilization
again damp and cold. But he had as large and as higWy organized
control, now. Control enough to as that of Earth, by physical means.
116 FOX B. HOLDEN

....
 "Knpwing that, we-they call us One day, we thought, we too will
gypsies, nomads, desert~scum to- be in Space: And with that day
day-we were not too alarmed would begin one of the greatest
when they landed here two cen- projects of exploration that our
turies ago. We were glad to take race had ever known. So we
from them, without paying a price. agreed, and gladly."
We were awed by their gifts. Their "Hold it, hold it! 'They'-who
papers and their books, which the hell are 'they'? You can spare
would show us how to rebuild our the suspense ..."
waning civilization-advance us a And then there was no more
thousand years in less than fifty; words. The pictures formed in his
restore to us our lost arts ... And mind as before, only stronger, now,
compared to you, we were so very and there were no details left out.
few. The weapons of war had been
'lIn return, they said that all built, not by the out-System men,
they wanted was permission to set but by their hosts. The plans had
up a research site. They told us not proven too difficult to follow ...
they were a scientific expedition The new knowledge was not
from far out-System. Aldeberan, hoarded, was not held under jeal-
they said. Part of a vast exploratory ous guard by those who had given
program which they had been con- it, but by those to whom it had
dueting for centuries. been given. One man from anoth~
"We believed them-why not? ex; one group of men from another.

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States and nations from each other. they_I!
Until there was no trust left on "There is little that they can-
all the planet. not do. Destruction is their forte.
There Wl're the wars, then. They could not keep' us from pre-
And w hen they were over, the venting your taking their 'gift' to
ncw masters had established their your people, but they could keep
first bcm:hhc-ad in the ncw System. that 'gift' from falling into our
"Bul. il was OIily a beachhead, hands-and they did. They do not
and had been only intended as always win. But they never lose."
such-" The pictures broke off; the "But I_" Johnny)s thoughts
unspoken words resumed. "Your raced. The ship, gone. And Har-
planet was the ultimate target, but rison and Janes, Lamson, and
at first, your civilization was not Fowler. They would be landing in
adequately advanced to fall prey a few days. They-
to their technique. Their weapon "Yes," the thoughts of the true
is knowledge, but the potentialities Martians before him answered.
of that knowledge must be under- "And they will be given a 'gift' for
stood by a people before it can Terra as you were. If your friends
be effectively used to destroy them. return successfully to your planet
liThe rest must be self-evident. with that 'gift'-thcn-lJ
After we destroyed ourselves, they The thought was not completed.
sank their infectious, hollow roots But it did not have to be.
into our planet. And from then, in~ A beachhead was one thing.
vestigated your Earth from time to These scattered, struggling people
time . .. and wai ted ... who had once been masters of
I'Waited, because they knew you Mars might one day unseat it, for
would be coming. And they knew they were not yet beaten people,
what kind of men you would be. and their will to survive was yet
Strong men, with the light of the strong. But beyond that~
stars in your eyes. Yet confused, Earth taken, the System taken.
weak men, with the darkness of There it was.
suspicion and jealousy still in your There was a sudden coldness in-
souls. Such are humans, after all... side him now that the fact had
UThat is why we stopped you, crystalJized) had become teal. Here
Johnny Love. Once your blast-off was no fantasy; no wild surmise.
ogee had carried you beyond the They left him in silence while
curvature of their horizon and he thought, their psibeam turned
brought you over us, our psibeam away, now.
was effective and theirs were not. Harrison and Janes. Lamson)
We arc sorry about your ship. Once and Fowler. Had to stop them.
they realize that you were under Stop them) and then somehow, get
our influence, and were returning home. He ached for home.
rather than taking their precious He thought about Ferris, who
data to your people, they zeroed- had given his life for this thing.
in with those damnable guided jug- No, Ferri!\ would not be going
gemauts-" home. Ferris was dead.
HIt wasn't you, then. You mean He signalled for the psibeam to
118 FOX B. HOLDEN
be turned toward him again. finally spoke.
"You'd have to know their posi- uPlan III, sir, as we've already
tions out there to make contact, said. Condition Untenable-Re-
wouldn't you?" They did not an· turn ..."
swer. He worked to get rhe words "That is all you can say?"
formed, and rhere was a fleering "That is-all, sir."
thought of a green, lush planet far The General turned away.
away, irs wide strcers and rolling There was frusrration and anger in
fields bathed in warm sunlight. "I his face, and ir hid the fear be-
can figure 'em," he said. "I know neath it like a mask. Plan III. It
blast-oR' schedules, speeds. I know would be Plan III for a long
the works! Those things they had time yet.
in the books. Then you guys can do It was the thing he saw in the
the rest wirh-that rhing. Right?" faces of the four men that told
They answered him, then. him that. There had been too
"Thank you," they said. And many giant sreps, too fast. He had
that was all. seen this thing in the faces of men
before, but never so nakedly.
HAnswer me!" the General One day, perhaps, men could
barked again. "You, Janes! Lam- think of Plan I again. One day,
son! Fowler-Harrison! For rhe but not now.
last time, what happened out He turned back to the four, and
there ?" looked once more inro rheir faces.
The four stood silently before Plan III. Condition Untenable.
the nervous figure of their com- "Dismissed!" the General said.
mander, and it was Fowler who • • •
. .1.
WASTE NOT, WANT (Continued 'rom pa£. 77)
call to rreat me like a criminal. gery, and you'll Sit m your cage
Nor to talk to me as if I were and consume and consume and
senile. My outlook won't change, consume without a care in the
and vou know it!" world. Yes, sir, we'll change youl"
"Oh, yes, it will! And since outlook!
you're neither criminal nor senile, uNow, you mustn't try to twisr
that's what has to be done. away from me like that, Mr. Lub-
"We'll do it in the most humane way. I can't let you go. We need
way possible. A little brain sur- every consumer we can get." •••
. .1.
ANSWERS to Quiz on page 57: I-Bolide. 2-Protoplasm. :l-Baily's
Beads. 4-7 y,. 5-Neptune. 6- Tellurian. 7-Alpha Centauri. 8- Thu-
ban. 9-Eighty-eight. 10-Titan. II-Ceres. 12-Jupiter. 13-Approach-
ing. 14-25,000 m.p.h. 15-AIl constellations. 16-11.adius vee tal'. 17-
Encke's comet. 18-Binaries. 19-Mimas. 20-Hcaviside "Layer.
A GIFT FOR TERRA 119
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