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Short Science Fiction Collection 005-Various · Famous Sci-Fi Stories Collection

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Got a problem? Just pick up the phone. It solved
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: them all, and all the same way. To Be Are
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Not To Be by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Everything was perfectly swell.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: There were no prisons, no slums, no insane asylums, no cripples,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: no poverty, no war. All diseases were conquered. So was
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: old age. Death, barring accidents, was an adventure for volunteers.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: The population of the United States was stabilized at 40
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: million souls. One bright morning in a Chicago lying-in hospital,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: a man named Edward K. Whaling Jr. waited for his
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: wife to give birth. He was the only man waiting.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Not many people were born in a day anymore. Whaling
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: was 56, a mere stripling in a population whose average
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: age was 129. X-rays had revealed that his wife was
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: going to have triplets. The children would be his first.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Young Wheeling was hunched in his chair, his head in
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: his hands. He was so rumpled, so still and colorless
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: as to be virtually invisible. His camouflage was perfect, since
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: the waiting room had a disorderly and demoralized air, too.
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Chairs and ashtrays had been moved away from the walls.
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: The floor was paved with spattered drop cloths. The room
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: was being redecorated. It was being redecorated as a memorial
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: to a man who had volunteered to die. A sardonic
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: old man, about 200 years old, sat on a stepladder
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: painting a mural he did not like. Back in the
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: days when people aged visibly, his age would have been
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: guessed at 35 or so. Aging had touched him that
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: much before the cure for aging was found. The mural
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: he worked on depicted a very neat garden. Men and
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: women in white, doctors and nurses, turned the soil, planted seedlings,
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: sprayed bugs, spread fertilizer. Men and women in purple uniforms
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: pulled up weeds, cut down plants that were old and sickly,
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: raked leaves, carried refuse to trash burners. Never, never, never,
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: not even in medieval Holland or old Japan, had a
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: garden been more formal, been better tended. Every plant had
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: all the loam, light, water, air, and nourishment it could use.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: A hospital orderly came down the corridor, singing under his
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: breath a popular song.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: If you don't like my kisses, honey, here's what I
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: will do. I'll go see a girl in purple, kiss
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: the sad world to the loo. If you don't want
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: my lovin', why should I take up all this space?
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: I'll get off this old planet. Let some sweet baby
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: have my place. The orderly looked in at the mural
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: and the muralist.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: Looks so real, he said. I can practically imagine I'm
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: standing in the middle of it. What makes you think
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: you're not in it, said the painter. He gave a
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: satiric smile. It's called the happy garden of life, you know.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: That's good of Dr. Hitz, said the orderly. He was
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: referring to one of the male figures in white. whose
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: head was a portrait of Dr. Benjamin Hitz, the hospital's
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: chief obstetrician. Hitz was a blindingly handsome man. Lots of
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: faces still to fill in, said the orderly. He meant
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: that the faces of many of the figures in the
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: mural were still blank. All blanks were to be filled
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: in with portraits of important people on either the hospital
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: staff or from the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: of Termination. Must be nice to be able to paint
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: pictures that look like something, said the orderly. The painter's
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: face curdled with scorn. You think I'm proud of this daub,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: he said. You think this is my idea of what
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: life really looks like? What's your idea of what life
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: looks like, said the orderly. The painter gestured at a
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: foul drop cloth. There's a good picture of it, he said.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: Frame that and you'll have a picture a damn sight
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: more honest than this one. You're a gloomy old duck,
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: aren't you, said the orderly. Is that a crime, said
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: the painter. The orderly shrugged. If you don't like it here, Grandpa,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: he said. And he finished the thought with a trick
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: telephone number that people who didn't want to live anymore
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: were supposed to call. The zero in the telephone number
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: he pronounced not. The number was 2BR not 2B. It
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: was the telephone number of an institution whose fanciful sobriquets
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: included Automat, Birdland, Cannery, Cat Box, DeLouser, Easy Go, Goodbye Mother,
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: Happy Hooligan, Kiss Me Quick, Lucky Pierre, Sheep Dip, Wearing Blender,
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: Weep No More, and Why Worry? To be or not
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: to be was the telephone number of the municipal gas
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: chambers of the Federal Bureau of Termination. The painter thumbed
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: his nose at the orderly. When I decide it's time
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: to go, he said, it won't be at the sheep dip.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: A do-it-yourselfer, eh? said the orderly. Messy business, Grandpa. Why
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: don't you have a little consideration for the people who
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: have to clean up after you? The painter expressed with
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: an obscenity his lack of concern for the tribulations of
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: his survivors. The world could do with a good deal
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: more mess if you ask me, he said. The orderly
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: laughed and moved on. Wailing, the waiting father mumbled something
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: without raising his head, and then he fell silent again.
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: A coarse, formidable woman strode into the waiting room on
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: spiked heels. Her shoes, stockings, trench coat, bag, and overseas
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: cap were all purple, the purple the painter called the
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: color of grapes on Judgment Day. The medallion on her
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: purple musette bag was the seal of the service division
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: of the Federal Bureau of Termination, an eagle perched on
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: a turnstile. The woman had a lot of facial hair,
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: an unmistakable mustache, in fact. A curious thing about gas
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: chamber hostesses was that no matter how lovely and feminine
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: they were when recruited, they all sprouted mustaches within five
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: years or so. Is this where I'm supposed to come,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: she said to the painter. A lot would depend on
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: what your business was, he said. You aren't about to
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: have a baby, are you? They told me I was
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: supposed to pose for some picture, she said. My name's
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: Leora Duncan, she waited. And you dunk people, he said.
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: What?
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: She said. Skip it, he said. That sure is a
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: beautiful picture, she said. Looks just like having a something.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: Or something, said the painter. He took a list of
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: names from his smock pocket. Duncan, Duncan, Duncan, he said,
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: scanning the list. Yes, here you are. You're entitled to
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: be immortalized. See any faceless body here you'd like me
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: to stick your head on? We've got a few choice
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: ones left. She studied the mural bleakly. Gee, she said,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: they're all the same to me. I don't know anything
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: about art. A body's a body, eh, he said. All righty,
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: as a matter of fine art, I'll recommend this body here.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: He indicated a faceless figure of a woman who was
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: carrying dried stalks to a trash burner. Wow, said Leora Duncan.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: That's more the disposal people, isn't it? I mean, I'm
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: in service. I don't do any disposing. The painter clapped
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: his hands and mocked a light. You say you don't
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: know anything about art, and then you prove in the
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: next breath that you know more about it than I do.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Of course, the shiv carrier is wrong for a hostess.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: A snipper, a pruner, that's more your line. He pointed
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: to a figure in purple who was sawing a dead
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: branch from an apple tree. How about her, he said.
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: You like her at all? Gosh, she said, and she
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: blushed and became humble. That puts me right next to Dr.
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: Hitz.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: That upsets you, he said. Good gravy, no, she said.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: It's just such an honor. Ah, you admire him, eh,
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: he said. Who doesn't admire him, she said, worshipping the
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: portrait of Dr. Hitz. It was a portrait of a tanned, white-haired,
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: omnipotent Zeus, 240 years old. Who doesn't admire him, she
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: said again. He was responsible for setting up the very
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: first gas chamber in Chicago. Nothing would please me more,
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: said the painter, than to put you next to him
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: for all time. Sawing off a limb, that strikes you
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: as appropriate? That is kind of like what I do,
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: she said. She was demure about what she did. What
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: she did was make people comfortable while she killed them.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: And while Leora Duncan was posing for her portrait, Into
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: the waiting room bounded Dr. Hitz himself. He was seven
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: feet tall, and he boomed with importance, accomplishments, and the
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: joy of living.' Well, Miss Duncan, Miss Duncan,' he said,
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: and he made a joke.' What are you doing here?
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: This isn't where the people leave. This is where they
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: come in.'' We' re going to be in the same picture together,'
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: she said shyly. Good, said Dr. Hitz heartily. And say,
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: isn't that some picture? I sure am honored to be
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: in it with you, she said. Let me tell you,
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: he said, I'm honored to be in it with you.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: Without women like you, this wonderful world we've got wouldn't
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: be possible. He saluted her and moved towards the door
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: that led to the delivery rooms. Guess what was just born,
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: he said. I can't, she said. Triplets, he said. Triplets,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: she said. She was exclaiming over the legal implications of triplets.
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: The law said that no newborn child could survive unless
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: the parents of the child could find someone who would
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: volunteer to die. triplets if they were all to live
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: called for three volunteers did the parents have three volunteers
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: said Leora Duncan last I heard said dr. hits they
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: had one and we're trying to scrape another two up
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: I don't think they made it she said nobody made
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: three appointments with us Nothing but singles going through today,
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: unless somebody called in after I left. What's the name? Whaling,
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: said the waiting father, sitting up, red-eyed and frowsy. Edward K. Whaling, Jr.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: is the name of the happy father-to-be. He raised his
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: right hand, looked at a spot on the wall, gave
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: a hoarsely wretched chuckle. Present, he said. Oh, Mr. Whaling,
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: said Dr.
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: Hitz.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: I didn't see you. The invisible man, said Wailing. They
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: just phoned me that your triplets have been born, said Dr.
• 10:54
  Speaker 5: Hitz.
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: They're all fine, and so is the mother. I'm on
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: my way in to see them now. Hooray, said Wailing emptily.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: You don't sound very happy, said Dr. Hitz. What man
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: in my shoes wouldn't be happy, said Wailing. He gestured
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: with his hands to symbolize carefree simplicity. All I have
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: to do is pick out which one of the triplets
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: is going to live. then deliver my material grandfather to
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: the happy hooligan and come back here with a receipt. Dr.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: Hitz became rather severe with Whaling, towered over him. You
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: don't believe in population control, Mr. Whaling, he said. I
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: think it's perfectly keen, said Whaling tautly. Would you like
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: to go back to the good old days when the
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: population of the earth was 20 billion, about to become
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: 40 billion, then 80 billion, then 160 billion? Do you
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: know what a drooplet is, Mr. Whaling, said Dr. Hitz. Nope,
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: said Whaling sulkily. A drooplet, Mr. Whaling, is one of
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: the little knobs, one of the little pulpy grains of
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: a blackberry, said Dr.
• 11:57
  Speaker 6: Hitz.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: Without population control, human beings would now be packed on
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: the surface of this old planet like drooplets on a blackberry.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: Think of it. Whaling continued to stare at the same
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: spot on the wall. In the year 2000, said Dr. Hitz,
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: before scientists stepped in and laid down the law, there
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: wasn't even enough drinking water to go around, and nothing
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: to eat but seaweed, and still people insisted on their
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: right to reproduce like jackrabbits, and their right, if possible,
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: to live forever. I want those kids, said Whalen quietly.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: I want all three of them. Of course you do,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: said Dr. Hitz. That's only human. I don't want my
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: grandfather to die either, said Wailing. Nobody's really happy about
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: taking a close relative to the cat box, said Dr.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: Hitz gently, sympathetically. I wish people wouldn't call it that,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: said Leora Duncan.
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: What?
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: Said Dr.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: Hitz.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: I wish people wouldn't call it the cat box and
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: things like that, she said. It gives people the wrong impression.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: You're absolutely right, said Dr.
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: Hitz.
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: Forgive me, he corrected himself. gave the municipal gas chambers
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: their official title, a title no one ever used in conversation.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: I should have said Ethical Suicide Studios, he said. That
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: sounds so much better, said Leora Duncan. This child of yours,
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: whichever one you decide to keep, Mr. Whaling, said Dr. Hitz,
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: he or she is going to live on a happy, roomy, clean,
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: rich planet thanks to population control. In a garden like
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: that mural there, he shook his head. Two centuries ago,
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: when I was a young man, it was a hell
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: that nobody thought could last another twenty years. Now centuries
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: of peace and plenty stretch before us as far as
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: the imagination cares to travel. He smiled luminously. The smile
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: faded as he saw that Whaling had just drawn a revolver.
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: Whaling shot Dr. Hitz dead. There's room for one. A
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: great big one, he said. And then he shot Leora Duncan.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: It's only death, he said to her as she fell. There,
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: room for two. And then he shot himself, making room
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: for all three of his children. Nobody came running. Nobody
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: seemingly heard the shots. The painter sat on the top
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: of his stepladder, looking down reflectively on the sorry scene.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: The painter pondered the mournful puzzle of life demanding to
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: be born and once born demanding to be fruitful. to
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: multiply and to live as long as possible, to do
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: all that on a very small planet that would have
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: to last forever. All the answers that the painter could
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: think of were grim, even grimmer, surely, than a cat box,
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: a happy hooligan, an easy-go. He thought of war, he
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: thought of plague, he thought of starvation. He knew that
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: he would never paint again. He let his paintbrush fall
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: to the drop gloss below, and then he decided he
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: had had about enough of life in the happy garden
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: of life too, and he came slowly down from the ladder.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: He took Whaling's pistol, really intending to shoot himself, but
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: he didn't have the nerve. And then he saw the
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: telephone booth in the corner of the room. He went
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: to it, dialed the well-remembered number, 2BR02B. Federal Bureau of Termination,
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: said the very warm voice of a hostess. How soon
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: could I get an appointment, he asked, speaking very carefully.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: We could probably fit you in late this afternoon, sir,
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: she said. It might even be earlier, if we get
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: a cancellation. All right, said the painter. Fit me in,
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: if you please. And he gave her his name, spelling
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: it out. Thank you, sir, said the hostess. Your city
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: thanks you. Your country thanks you. Your planet thanks you.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: but the deepest thanks of all is from future generations.
• 15:46
  Speaker 3: Circus by Alan Edward Norse Just suppose, said Morgan, that
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: I did believe you. Just for argument, he glanced up
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: at the man across the restaurant table. Where would we
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: go from here? The man shifted uneasily in his seat.
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: He was silent, staring down at his plate. Not a
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: strange-looking man, Morgan thought. Rather ordinary, in fact. A plain face.
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: Nose a little too long. Fingers a little too dainty.
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: A suit that doesn't seem quite to fit. But all
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: in all, a perfectly ordinary-looking man. Maybe too ordinary, Morgan thought. Finally,
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: the man looked up. His eyes were dark, with a
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: hunted look in their depths that chilled Morgan a little.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: Where do we go? I don't know. I've tried to
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: think it out and I get nowhere. But you've got
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: to believe me, Morgan. I'm lost. I mean it. If
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: I can't get help, I don't know where it's going
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: to end. I'll tell you where it's going to end,
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: said Morgan. It's going to end in a hospital. A
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: mental hospital. They'll lock you up and they'll lose the
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: key somewhere. He poured himself another cup of coffee and
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: sipped it, scalding hot. And that, he added, will be that.
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: The place was dark and almost empty. Overhead, a rotary
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: fan swished patiently. The man across from Morgan ran a
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: hand through his dark hair. There must be some other way,
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: he said. There has to be. All right, let's start
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: from the beginning again, Morgan said. Maybe we can pin
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: down something a little better. You say your name is Parks, right?
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: The man nodded. Jefferson Haldeman Parks, if that helps any.
• 17:43
  Speaker 3: Haldeman was my mother's maiden name. All right, and you
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: got into town on Friday, right? Parks nodded. Fine. Now
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: go through the whole story again. What happened first? The
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: man thought for a minute. As I said, first there
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: was a fall, about 20 feet. I didn't break any bones,
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: but I was shaken up and limping. The fall was
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: near the highway going to the George Washington Bridge. I
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: got over to the highway and tried to flag down
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: a ride. How did you feel? I mean, was there
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: anything strange that you noticed? Strange? Park's eyes widened. I
• 18:26
  Speaker 3: was speechless. At first, I hadn't noticed too much. I
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: was concerned with the fall and whether I was hurt
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: or not. I didn't really think about much else until
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: I hobbled up to that highway and saw those cars coming.
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: Then I could hardly believe my eyes. I thought I
• 18:43
  Speaker 3: was crazy, but a car stopped and asked me if
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: I was going into the city, and I knew I
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: wasn't crazy. Morgan's mouth took on a grim line. You
• 18:54
  Speaker 3: understood the language? Oh, yes. I don't see how I
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: could have, but I did. We talked all the way
• 19:01
  Speaker 3: into New York. Nothing very important, but we understood each other.
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: His speech had an odd sound, but Morgan nodded. I know.
• 19:10
  Speaker 3: I noticed. What did you do when you got to
• 19:13
  Speaker 3: New York? Well, obviously I needed money. I had gold coin.
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: There had been no way of knowing if it would
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: be useful, but I'd taken it on chance. I'd tried
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: to use it at a newsstand first, and the man
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: wouldn't touch it. Asked me if I thought I was
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: the U.S. Treasury or something. When he saw I was serious,
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: he sent me to a moneylender, a hawk shop I
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: think he called it. So I found the place. Let
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: me see the coins. Parks dropped two small gold discs
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: on the table. They were perfectly smooth and perfectly round,
• 19:47
  Speaker 3: tapered by wear to a thin blood. edge there was
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: no design on them and no printing morgan looked up
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: at the man sharply what did you get for these
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: park shrugged too little i suspect two dollars for the
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: small one five for the larger you should have gone
• 20:06
  Speaker 3: to a bank I know that now. I didn't then. Naturally,
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: I assumed that with everything else so similar, principles of
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: business would also be similar. Morgan sighed and leaned back
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: in his chair. Well, then what? Parks poured some more coffee.
• 20:24
  Speaker 3: His face was very pale, Morgan thought, and his hands
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: trembled as he raised the cup to his lips. Fright? Maybe.
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: It's hard to tell. The man put down the cup
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: and rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: First I went to the mayor's office, he said. I
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: kept trying to think what anyone at home would do
• 20:44
  Speaker 3: in my place. That seemed a good bet. I asked
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: a policeman where it was and then I went there.
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: But you didn't get to see him. No, I saw
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: his secretary. She said the mayor was in conference and
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: that I would have to have an appointment. She let
• 21:00
  Speaker 3: me speak to another man, one of the mayor's assistants.
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: And you told him? No. I wanted to see the
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: mayor himself. I thought that was the best thing to do.
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: I waited for a couple of hours until another assistant
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: came along and told me flatly that the mayor wouldn't
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: see me unless I stated my business first. He drew
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: in a deep breath. So I stated it. And then
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: I was gently but firmly ushered back into the street again.
• 21:29
  Speaker 3: They didn't believe you, said Morgan. Not for a minute.
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: They laughed in my face. Morgan nodded. I'm beginning to
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: get the pattern. So what did you do next? Next,
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: I tried the police. I got the same treatment there,
• 21:45
  Speaker 3: only they weren't so gentle. They wouldn't listen either. They
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: muttered something about cranks and their crazy notions, and when
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: they asked me where I lived, they thought I was...
• 21:55
  Speaker 3: What did they call it? A wise guy. Told me
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: to get out and not come back with any more
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: wild stories. I see, said Morgan. Jefferson Parks finished his
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: last bite of pie and pushed the plate away. By then,
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: I didn't know quite what to do. I'd been prepared
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: for almost anything excepting this. It was frightening. I tried
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: to rationalize it, and then I quit trying. It wasn't
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: that I attracted attention or anything like that. Quite the contrary.
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: Nobody even looked at me unless I said something to them.
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: I began to look for things that were different, things
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: that I could show them and say, See, this proves
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: I'm telling the truth. Look at it. He looked up helplessly.
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: And what did you find? Nothing. Oh, little things, insignificant
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: little things. Your calendars, for instance. Naturally, I couldn't understand
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: your frame of reference. And the coinage. You stamp your coins.
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: We don't.
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: And cigarettes. Cigarettes. We don't have any such thing as tobacco.
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: The man gave a short laugh. In your house, dogs,
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: we have little animals that look more like rabbits than poodles.
• 23:08
  Speaker 3: But there was nothing any more significant than that. Absolutely nothing.
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: Except yourself, Morgan said. Ah, yes. I thought that went
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: over carefully. I looked for differences, obvious ones. I couldn't
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: find any. You can see that just looking at me.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: So I searched for more subtle things. Skin texture, fingerprints,
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: bone structure, body proportion. I still couldn't find anything. Then
• 23:37
  Speaker 3: I went to a doctor. Morgan's eyebrows lifted. Good, he said.
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: Park shrugged tiredly. Not really. He examined me. He practically
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: took me apart. I carefully refrained from saying anything about
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: who I was or where I came from. just said
• 23:54
  Speaker 3: I wanted a complete physical examination, and let him go
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: to it. He was thorough, and when he finished, he
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: patted me on the back and said,' Parks, you've got
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: nothing to worry about. You're as fine strapping a specimen
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: of a healthy human being as I've ever seen.' And
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: that was that. Parks laughed bitterly. I guess I was
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: supposed to be happy with the verdict, and instead I
• 24:18
  Speaker 3: was ready to knock him down.' It was idiotic. It
• 24:22
  Speaker 3: defied reason. It was infuriating. Morgan nodded sourly. Because you're
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: not a human being, he said. That's right. I'm not
• 24:32
  Speaker 3: a human being at all. How did you happen to
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: pick this planet, or this sun, Morgan asked curiously. There
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: must have been a million others to choose from. Parks
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: unbuttoned his collar and rubbed his stubbled chin unhappily. I
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: didn't make the choice. Neither did anyone else. Travel by
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: warp is a little different from travel by the rocket
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: you fiction writers make so much of. With a rocket vehicle,
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: you pick your destination, you make your calculations, and off
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: you go. The warp is blind flying, strictly blind. We
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: send an unmanned scanner ahead. It probes around, more or less,
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: hit or miss, until it locates something, somewhere, that looks habitable.
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: When it spots a likely-looking place, we keep a tight
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: beam on it and send through a manned scout. He
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: grins sourly. Like me. If it looks good to the scout,
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: he signals back and they leave the warp anchored for
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: a sort of permanent gateway until we can get a
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: transport beam built. But we can't control the directional and
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: dimensional scope of the warp. There are an infinity of
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: ways it can go until we have a guide beam
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: transmitting from the other side. Then we can just scan
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: a segment of space with the warp and the scanner
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: picks up the beam. He shook his head wearily. We're
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: new at it, Morgan. We've only tried a few dozen runs.
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: We're not too far ahead of you in technology. We've
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: been using rocket vehicles just like yours for over a century.
• 26:05
  Speaker 3: That's fine for a solar system, but it's not much
• 26:08
  Speaker 3: good for the stars. When the warp principle was discovered,
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: it looked like the answer, but something went wrong. The
• 26:16
  Speaker 3: scanner picked up this planet, and I was coming through,
• 26:18
  Speaker 3: and then something blew. Next thing I knew, I was falling.
• 26:23
  Speaker 3: When I tried to make contact again, the scanner was gone.
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: And you found things here the same as back home,
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: said Morgan. The same. Your planet and mine are practically twins.
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: Similar cities, similar technology, everything. The people are the same,
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: with precisely the same anatomy and physiology, the same sort
• 26:44
  Speaker 3: of laws. the same institutions, even compatible languages. Can't you
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: see the importance of it? This planet is on the
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: other side of the universe from mind, with the first
• 26:55
  Speaker 3: intelligent life we've yet encountered anywhere. But when I try
• 26:59
  Speaker 3: to tell your people that I'm a native of another
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: star system, they won't believe me. Why should they, asked Morgan?
• 27:06
  Speaker 3: You look like a human being. You talk like one.
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: You eat like one. You act like one. What you're
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: asking them to believe is utterly incredible. But it's true.
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: Morgan shrugged. So it's true. I won't argue with you.
• 27:21
  Speaker 3: But as I asked before, even if I didn't believe you,
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: what do you expect me to do about it? Why
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: pick me, of all people you've seen? There was a
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: desperate light in Park's eyes. I was tired. Tired of
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: being laughed at. Tired of having people looking at me
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: as though I'd lost my wits when I tried to
• 27:39
  Speaker 3: tell them the truth. You were here. You were alone.
• 27:42
  Speaker 3: So I started talking. And then I found out you
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: wrote stories. He looked up eagerly. I've got to get back, Morgan, somehow.
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: My life is there, my family. And think what it
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: would mean to both our worlds. Contact with another human race.
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: Combine our knowledges, our technologies, and we could explore the galaxy.
• 28:02
  Speaker 3: He leaned forward, his thin face intense. I need money
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: and I need help. I know some of the mathematics
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: of the Warp Principle. I know some of the design,
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: some of the power and wiring principles. You have engineers
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: and physicists, technologists. They could fill in what I don't
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: know and build a guide beam. But they won't do
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: it if they don't believe me. Your government won't listen
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: to me. They won't appropriate any money. Of course they won't.
• 28:31
  Speaker 3: They've got a war or two on their hands. They
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: have public welfare and atomic bombs and rockets to the
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: moon to sink their money into. Morgan stared at the man.
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: But what can I do? You can write. That's what
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: you can do. You can tell the world about me.
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: You can tell exactly what has happened. I know how
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: public interest can be aroused in my world. It must
• 28:53
  Speaker 3: be the same in yours. Morgan didn't move. He just stared.
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: How many people have you talked to, he asked. A dozen,
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: a hundred, maybe a thousand. And how many believed you? None. None.
• 29:11
  Speaker 3: You mean nobody would believe you? Not one soul until
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: I talk to you. And then Morgan was laughing. Laughing bitterly.
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: Tears rolling down his cheeks. And I'm the one man
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: who couldn't help you if my life depended on it,
• 29:31
  Speaker 3: he gasped. You believe me? Morgan nodded sadly. I believe you. Yes, Morgan.
• 29:40
  Speaker 3: I think your warp brought you through to a parallel
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: universe of your own planet not to another star but
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: I think you're telling the truth then you can help
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: me I'm afraid not why not because I'd be worse
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: than no help at all Jefferson Parks gripped the table,
• 30:01
  Speaker 3: his knuckles white. Why? he cried hoarsely. If you believe me,
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: why can't you help me? Morgan pointed to the magazine
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: lying on the table. I write. Yes, he said sadly.
• 30:15
  Speaker 3: Ever read stories like this before? Parks picked up the magazine,
• 30:21
  Speaker 3: glanced at the bright cover. I barely looked at it.
• 30:25
  Speaker 3: You should look more closely. I have a story in
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: this issue. The readers thought it was very interesting. Morgan grinned.
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: Go ahead, look at it. The stranger from the stars
• 30:37
  Speaker 3: leafed through the magazine, stopped at a page that carried
• 30:40
  Speaker 3: Roger Morgan's name. His eyes caught the first paragraph and
• 30:43
  Speaker 3: he turned white. He set the magazine down with a
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: trembling hand. I see, he said, and the life was
• 30:52
  Speaker 3: gone out of his voice. He spread the pages viciously,
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: read the lines again. The paragraph said, Just suppose, said Martin,
• 31:03
  Speaker 3: that I did believe you, just for argument. He glanced
• 31:07
  Speaker 3: up at the man across the table. Where do we
• 31:11
  Speaker 3: go from here? I still have the dollar bill.
• 31:15
  Speaker 7: It's in my box at the bank, and I think
• 31:17
  Speaker 7: that's where it will stay. I simply won't destroy it,
• 31:28
  Speaker 7: but I can think of nobody to whom I'd be
• 31:30
  Speaker 7: willing to show it, certainly nobody at the college, my
• 31:33
  Speaker 7: history department colleagues least of all. Merely to tell the
• 31:36
  Speaker 7: story would brand me irredeemably as a crackpot, but crackpots
• 31:39
  Speaker 7: are tolerated, even on college faculties. It's only when they
• 31:42
  Speaker 7: begin producing physical evidence that they get themselves actively resented.
• 31:47
  Speaker 7: When I went into the club car for the nightcap,
• 31:49
  Speaker 7: before going back to my compartment to turn in, there
• 31:51
  Speaker 7: were five men there, sitting together. One was an army officer,
• 31:55
  Speaker 7: with the insignia and badges of a staff intelligence colonel.
• 31:58
  Speaker 7: Next to him was a man of about my own age,
• 32:00
  Speaker 7: with sandy hair and a bony Scottish-looking face, who sat
• 32:03
  Speaker 7: staring silently into a highball, which he held in both hands.
• 32:07
  Speaker 7: Across the aisle, an elderly man, who could have been
• 32:09
  Speaker 7: a lawyer or a banker, was smoking a cigar over
• 32:12
  Speaker 7: a glass of port. and beside him sat a plump
• 32:14
  Speaker 7: and slightly too well-groomed individual who had a tall, colorless drink,
• 32:18
  Speaker 7: probably gin and tonic. The fifth man, separated from him
• 32:21
  Speaker 7: by a vacant chair, seemed to be dividing his attention
• 32:23
  Speaker 7: between a book on his lap and the conversation, in
• 32:26
  Speaker 7: which he was taking no part. I sat down beside
• 32:29
  Speaker 7: the sandy-haired man. As I did so and rang for
• 32:31
  Speaker 7: the waiter, the colonel was saying, No, that wouldn't. I
• 32:34
  Speaker 7: can think of a better one. Suppose you have Columbus
• 32:37
  Speaker 7: get his ships from Henry VII of England and sail
• 32:39
  Speaker 7: under the English instead of the Spanish flag. You know,
• 32:42
  Speaker 7: he did try to get English backing before he went
• 32:44
  Speaker 7: to Spain, but King Henry turned him down. That could
• 32:46
  Speaker 7: be changed. I pricked up my ears. The period from
• 32:49
  Speaker 7: 1492 to the Revolution is my special field of American history,
• 32:54
  Speaker 7: and I knew at once the enormous difference that would
• 32:56
  Speaker 7: have made. It was a moment later that I realized
• 32:58
  Speaker 7: how oddly the colonel had expressed the idea, and by
• 33:01
  Speaker 7: that time the plump man was speaking. Yes, that would work,
• 33:04
  Speaker 7: he agreed. Those kings made decisions, most of the time,
• 33:07
  Speaker 7: on whether or not they had a hangover, or what
• 33:09
  Speaker 7: some court favorite thought. He got out a notebook and
• 33:12
  Speaker 7: pen and scribbled briefly. I'll hand that to the planning
• 33:14
  Speaker 7: staff when I get to New York. That's Henry VII,
• 33:17
  Speaker 7: not Henry VIII, right? We'll fix it so that Columbus
• 33:19
  Speaker 7: will catch him when he's in a good humor. That
• 33:22
  Speaker 7: was too much. I turned to the man beside me.
• 33:24
  Speaker 7: What goes on, I asked. Has somebody invented a time machine?
• 33:27
  Speaker 7: He looked up from the drink he was contemplating and
• 33:30
  Speaker 7: gave me a grin. Sounds like it, doesn't it?
• 33:32
  Speaker 3: Why, no.
• 33:33
  Speaker 7: Our friend here is getting up a television program. Tell
• 33:35
  Speaker 7: the gentleman about it. He urged the plump man across
• 33:38
  Speaker 7: the aisle. The waiter arrived at that moment. The plump man,
• 33:41
  Speaker 7: who seemed to need little urging, waited until I had
• 33:43
  Speaker 7: ordered a drink, and then began telling me what a
• 33:46
  Speaker 7: positively sensational idea it was. We're calling it Crossroads of Destiny,
• 33:50
  Speaker 7: he said. It'll be a serious, one-half-hour.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: Show a week.
• 33:53
  Speaker 7: In each episode, we'll take some historic event and show
• 33:56
  Speaker 7: how history could have been changed if something had happened differently.
• 33:59
  Speaker 7: We'll dramatize the event up to that point, just as
• 34:01
  Speaker 7: it really happened, and then a commentary voice comes on
• 34:04
  Speaker 7: and announces that this is the Crossroads of Destiny. This
• 34:07
  Speaker 7: is where history could have been completely changed. Then he
• 34:10
  Speaker 7: gives a resume of what really did happen, and then
• 34:12
  Speaker 7: he says, but suppose so-and-so had done this and that
• 34:16
  Speaker 7: instead of such-and-such. Then we pick up the dramatization at
• 34:19
  Speaker 7: that point, only we show it the way it might
• 34:21
  Speaker 7: have happened, like this thing about Columbus. We show how
• 34:24
  Speaker 7: it could have happened, and end with Columbus waiting ashore
• 34:26
  Speaker 7: with his sword in one hand and a flag in
• 34:28
  Speaker 7: the other, just like the painting. only it'll be the
• 34:31
  Speaker 7: English flag, and Columbus will shout, I take possession of
• 34:34
  Speaker 7: this new land in the name of His Majesty, Henry
• 34:37
  Speaker 7: VII of England. He brandished his drink to the visible
• 34:40
  Speaker 7: consternation of the elderly man beside him, and then the
• 34:43
  Speaker 7: sailors will all sing God Save the King, which wasn't
• 34:46
  Speaker 7: written until about 1745, I couldn't help mentioning.
• 34:49
  Speaker 5: Huh?
• 34:50
  Speaker 3: The plump man looked startled.
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: Are you sure?
• 34:52
  Speaker 7: Then he decided that I was, and shrugged, well, they
• 34:55
  Speaker 7: can all shout God Save King Henry, or St.
• 34:57
  Speaker 3: George for England, or something.
• 34:59
  Speaker 7: Then at the end, we introduce the program guest, some
• 35:01
  Speaker 7: history expert, a real name, and he tells how he
• 35:04
  Speaker 7: thinks history would have been changed if it had happened
• 35:06
  Speaker 7: that way. The conservatively dressed gentleman beside him wanted to
• 35:09
  Speaker 7: know how long he expected to keep the show running.
• 35:12
  Speaker 7: The crossroads will give out before long, he added. The
• 35:15
  Speaker 7: sponsor will give out first, I said. History is just
• 35:17
  Speaker 7: one damn crossroads after another. I mentioned in passing that
• 35:20
  Speaker 7: I taught the subject. Why, since the beginning of this century,
• 35:23
  Speaker 7: we've had enough of them to keep the show running
• 35:25
  Speaker 7: for a year. We have about twenty already written and
• 35:27
  Speaker 7: ready to produce, the plumb man said comfortably, and ideas
• 35:30
  Speaker 7: for twice as many that the planning staff is working
• 35:33
  Speaker 7: on now. The elderly man accepted that and took another
• 35:35
  Speaker 7: cautious sip of wine. What I wonder, though, is whether
• 35:38
  Speaker 7: you can really say that history can be changed. Well,
• 35:41
  Speaker 7: of course, the television man was taken aback. One always
• 35:44
  Speaker 7: seems to be when a basic assumption is questioned. Of course,
• 35:47
  Speaker 7: we only know what really did happen. But it stands
• 35:49
  Speaker 7: to reason if something had happened differently, the results would
• 35:52
  Speaker 7: have been different, doesn't it? But it seems to me
• 35:54
  Speaker 7: that everything would work out the same in the long run.
• 35:56
  Speaker 7: There'd be some differences at the time, but over the years,
• 35:58
  Speaker 7: wouldn't they all cancel out? Non, non, monsieur, the man
• 36:01
  Speaker 7: with the book, who had been outside the conversation until now,
• 36:04
  Speaker 7: told him earnestly. Make no mistake. I looked at him curiously.
• 36:10
  Speaker 7: The accent sounded French, but it wasn't quite right. He
• 36:13
  Speaker 7: was some kind of a foreigner, though. I'd swear that
• 36:15
  Speaker 7: he'd never bought the clothes he was wearing in this country.
• 36:17
  Speaker 7: The way the suit fitted, and the cut of it,
• 36:19
  Speaker 7: and the shirt collar, and the necktie. The book he
• 36:22
  Speaker 7: was reading was Langmuir's Social History of the American People.
• 36:25
  Speaker 7: Not one of my favorites, a bit too much on
• 36:26
  Speaker 7: the doctrinaire side, but what a bookshop clerk would give
• 36:29
  Speaker 7: a foreigner looking for something to explain America. What do
• 36:32
  Speaker 7: you think, Professor? The plump man was asking me. It
• 36:35
  Speaker 7: would work out the other way. The differences wouldn't cancel out.
• 36:38
  Speaker 7: They'd accumulate. Say something happened a century ago to throw
• 36:41
  Speaker 7: a presidential election the other way. You'd get different people
• 36:44
  Speaker 7: at the head of the government, opposite lines of policy taken,
• 36:47
  Speaker 7: and eventually we'd be getting into different wars with different
• 36:49
  Speaker 7: enemies at different times, and different batches of young men
• 36:52
  Speaker 7: killed before they could marry and have families, different people
• 36:55
  Speaker 7: being born or not being born. That would mean different ideas,
• 36:58
  Speaker 7: good or bad, being advanced, different books written, different inventions.
• 37:02
  Speaker 7: and different social and economic problems as a consequence. Look,
• 37:05
  Speaker 7: he's only giving himself a century, the colonel added. Think
• 37:08
  Speaker 7: of the changes if this thing we were discussing, Columbus
• 37:10
  Speaker 7: sailing under the English flag, had happened. Or suppose Leif
• 37:13
  Speaker 7: Erikson had been able to plant a permanent colony in
• 37:15
  Speaker 7: America in the 11th century. Or if the Saracens had
• 37:18
  Speaker 7: won the Battle of Tours. Try to imagine the world
• 37:21
  Speaker 7: today if any of those things had happened. One thing
• 37:23
  Speaker 7: you can be sure of, any errors you make in
• 37:26
  Speaker 7: trying to imagine such a world will be on the
• 37:27
  Speaker 7: side of over-conservatism. The sandy-haired man beside me, who had
• 37:31
  Speaker 7: been using his highball for a crystal ball, must have
• 37:34
  Speaker 7: glimpsed at what he was looking for. He finished the drink,
• 37:37
  Speaker 7: set the empty glass on the stand tray beside him,
• 37:39
  Speaker 7: and reached back to push the button. I don't think
• 37:42
  Speaker 7: you realize just how good an idea you have here,
• 37:44
  Speaker 7: he told the plump man abruptly. If you did, you
• 37:46
  Speaker 7: wouldn't ruin it with such timid and unimaginative treatment. I
• 37:50
  Speaker 7: thought he'd been staying out of the conversation because it
• 37:52
  Speaker 7: was over his head. Instead, he'd been taking the plump
• 37:55
  Speaker 7: man's idea apart. examining all the pieces, and considering what
• 37:58
  Speaker 7: was wrong with it and how it could be improved.
• 38:00
  Speaker 7: The plump man looked startled, and then angry. Timid and
• 38:03
  Speaker 7: unimaginative were the last things he'd expected his idea to
• 38:06
  Speaker 7: be called.
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: Then he became uneasy.
• 38:08
  Speaker 7: Maybe this fellow was a typical representative of his lord
• 38:11
  Speaker 7: and master, the facelift of abstraction called the public. What
• 38:14
  Speaker 7: do you mean, he asked. Misplaced emphasis. You shouldn't emphasize
• 38:17
  Speaker 7: the event that could have changed history. You should emphasize
• 38:20
  Speaker 7: the changes that could have been made. You're going to
• 38:22
  Speaker 7: end this show you were talking about with a shot
• 38:24
  Speaker 7: of Columbus waiting up to the beach with an English flag,
• 38:27
  Speaker 7: aren't you? Well, that's the logical ending. That's the logical beginning,
• 38:30
  Speaker 7: the sandy-haired man contradicted. And after that, your guest historian
• 38:34
  Speaker 7: comes on. How much time will he be allowed? Well,
• 38:37
  Speaker 7: maybe three or four minutes. We can't cut the dramatization
• 38:39
  Speaker 7: too short. and he'll have to explain, a couple of times,
• 38:42
  Speaker 7: and in words of one syllable, that what we have
• 38:44
  Speaker 7: seen didn't really happen. Because if he doesn't, the next morning,
• 38:47
  Speaker 7: half the 12-year-old kids in the country will be rushing
• 38:50
  Speaker 7: wild-eyed into school to slip the teacher the real insight
• 38:53
  Speaker 7: about the discovery of America. By the time he gets
• 38:55
  Speaker 7: that done, he'll be able to mumble a couple of
• 38:57
  Speaker 7: generalities about vast and incalculable effects, and then it'll be
• 39:01
  Speaker 7: time to tell the public about widgets that really save cigarettes,
• 39:04
  Speaker 7: all filtered and absolutely free from tobacco. The waiter arrived
• 39:07
  Speaker 7: at this point, and the sandy head man ordered another
• 39:10
  Speaker 7: rye highball. I decided to have another bourbon on the rocks,
• 39:13
  Speaker 7: and the TV impresario said gin and tonic absently, and
• 39:16
  Speaker 7: went into a reverie which lasted until the drinks arrived.
• 39:19
  Speaker 3: Then he came awake again.
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: I see what you mean, he said.
• 39:22
  Speaker 7: Most of the audience would wonder what difference it would
• 39:24
  Speaker 7: have made when Columbus would have gotten his ships, as
• 39:27
  Speaker 7: long as he got them and America got discovered. I
• 39:29
  Speaker 7: can see it would have made a hell of a
• 39:30
  Speaker 7: big difference, but how could it be handled any other way?
• 39:33
  Speaker 7: How could you figure out just what the difference would
• 39:35
  Speaker 7: have been? Well, you need a man who'd know the
• 39:37
  Speaker 7: historical background, and you need a man with a powerful
• 39:40
  Speaker 7: creative imagination, who's used to using it inside rigorously defined limits.
• 39:44
  Speaker 7: Don't try to get them both in one. A collaboration
• 39:47
  Speaker 7: would really be better. Then you work from the known
• 39:49
  Speaker 7: situation in Europe and in America in 1492, and decide
• 39:52
  Speaker 7: on the immediate effects. And from that, you have to
• 39:55
  Speaker 7: carry it along, step by step, down to the present.
• 39:58
  Speaker 7: It would be a lot of hard and very exacting work,
• 40:00
  Speaker 7: but the result would be worth it. He took a
• 40:02
  Speaker 7: sip from his glass and added, Remember, you don't have
• 40:04
  Speaker 7: to prove that the world today would be the way
• 40:06
  Speaker 7: you set it up. All you have to do is
• 40:08
  Speaker 7: make sure that nobody else will be able to prove
• 40:10
  Speaker 7: that it wouldn't. Well, how can you present that? As
• 40:13
  Speaker 7: a play, with fictional characters and a plot, time, the present,
• 40:17
  Speaker 7: Under the changed conditions, the plot, the reason the coward
• 40:20
  Speaker 7: conquers his fear and becomes a hero, the obstacle to
• 40:23
  Speaker 7: the boy marrying the girl, the reason the innocent man
• 40:25
  Speaker 7: is being persecuted, will have to grow out of this
• 40:27
  Speaker 7: imaginary world you've constructed and be impossible in our weird world.
• 40:31
  Speaker 7: As long as you stick to that, you'll be alright. Sure,
• 40:34
  Speaker 7: I get that. The plump man was excited again. He
• 40:36
  Speaker 7: was about half sold on the idea. But how will
• 40:38
  Speaker 7: we get the audience to accept it? We're asking them
• 40:41
  Speaker 7: to start with an assumption they know isn't true. Maybe
• 40:43
  Speaker 7: it is, in another time dimension, the colonel suggested. You
• 40:46
  Speaker 7: can't prove it isn't. For that matter, you can't prove
• 40:48
  Speaker 7: there aren't other time dimensions. Ha, that's it, the sandy-haired
• 40:52
  Speaker 7: man exclaimed. World of alternate probability. That takes care of that.
• 40:56
  Speaker 7: He drank about a third of his highball and sat
• 40:58
  Speaker 7: gazing into the rest of it in an almost yoga trance.
• 41:01
  Speaker 7: The plump man looked at the colonel in bafflement. Maybe
• 41:04
  Speaker 7: this alternate probability time dimension stuff means something to you,
• 41:07
  Speaker 7: he said. Be damned if it does to me. Well,
• 41:10
  Speaker 7: as far as we know, we live in a four-dimensional universe,
• 41:12
  Speaker 7: the colonel started. The elderly man across from him groaned.
• 41:15
  Speaker 7: Fourth dimension? Good God, are we going to talk about that?
• 41:18
  Speaker 7: It isn't anything to be scared of. You carry an
• 41:20
  Speaker 7: instrument for measuring in the fourth dimension all the time.
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: A watch.
• 41:24
  Speaker 7: You mean it's just time? But that isn't... We know
• 41:26
  Speaker 7: of three dimensions of space, the colonel told him, gesturing
• 41:29
  Speaker 7: to indicate them. We can use them for coordinates to
• 41:31
  Speaker 7: locate things. But we also locate things in time. I
• 41:35
  Speaker 7: wouldn't like to ride on a train or a plane
• 41:36
  Speaker 7: if we didn't. Well, let's call the time we know,
• 41:39
  Speaker 7: the time your watch registers, time A. Now, suppose the
• 41:42
  Speaker 7: entire infinite extent of time A is only an instant
• 41:45
  Speaker 7: in another dimension of time, which we'll call time B.
• 41:48
  Speaker 7: The next instant of time B is also the entire
• 41:50
  Speaker 7: extent of time A, and the next, and the next.
• 41:53
  Speaker 7: As in time A, different things are happening at different instants.
• 41:57
  Speaker 7: In one of these instances of Time B, one of
• 41:59
  Speaker 7: the things that's happening is that King Henry VII of
• 42:01
  Speaker 7: England is furnishing ships to Christopher Columbus. The man with
• 42:04
  Speaker 7: the odd clothes was getting excited again. This, you say,
• 42:08
  Speaker 7: this alternate probability, it is a theory generally accepted in
• 42:14
  Speaker 7: this country? Got it, the Sandy Hand Man said, before
• 42:17
  Speaker 7: anybody could answer. He set his drink on the sand
• 42:20
  Speaker 7: tray and took a jig-jack knife out of his pocket,
• 42:22
  Speaker 7: holding it unopened in his hand. How's this sound, he asked,
• 42:26
  Speaker 7: and hit the edge of the tray with the back
• 42:27
  Speaker 7: of the knife.
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: Bong.
• 42:29
  Speaker 7: Crossroads of destiny, he intoned, and hit the edge of
• 42:33
  Speaker 7: the tray again.
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: Bong.
• 42:35
  Speaker 7: This is the year 1959, but not the 1959 of
• 42:37
  Speaker 7: our world. for we are in a world of alternate probability,
• 42:42
  Speaker 7: and in another dimension of time, a world parallel to
• 42:45
  Speaker 7: and co-existent with, but separate from our own, in which
• 42:48
  Speaker 7: history has been completely altered by a single momentous event.
• 42:51
  Speaker 7: He shifted back to his normal voice.' Not bad. Only
• 42:54
  Speaker 7: twenty-five seconds,' the plumb man said, looking up from his wristwatch,
• 42:57
  Speaker 7: and a trained announcer could maybe shave five seconds off that.' Yes,
• 43:01
  Speaker 7: something like that, and at the end we'll have another
• 43:03
  Speaker 7: thirty seconds, and we can do it without the guest.'
• 43:06
  Speaker 7: But this alternate probability in another dimension, the stranger was insisting,
• 43:12
  Speaker 7: is this a concept original with you? He asked the colonel.
• 43:16
  Speaker 7: Oh no, that idea has been around for a long time.
• 43:19
  Speaker 7: I never heard of it before now, the elderly man said,
• 43:22
  Speaker 7: as though that completely demolished it. Then it is generally
• 43:25
  Speaker 7: accepted by the scientists? Um, no, the Sandy Hand Man
• 43:30
  Speaker 7: relieved the colonel. There's absolutely no evidence to support it,
• 43:33
  Speaker 7: and scientists don't accept unsupported assumptions unless they need them
• 43:36
  Speaker 7: to explain something, and they don't need this assumption for anything. Well,
• 43:40
  Speaker 7: it would come in handy to make some of these
• 43:41
  Speaker 7: reports of freak phenomena, like mysterious appearances and disappearances, or
• 43:45
  Speaker 7: flying object things. or reported falls of non-metaoric matter, theoretically respectable.
• 43:51
  Speaker 7: Reports like that usually get the ignore-and-forget treatment. Now, then
• 43:55
  Speaker 7: you believe that this other world of the alternate probability,
• 44:00
  Speaker 7: they exist? No, I don't disbelieve it either. I have
• 44:03
  Speaker 7: no reason to, one way or another. He studied his
• 44:05
  Speaker 7: drink for a moment, and lowered the level in the
• 44:07
  Speaker 7: glass slightly. I've said that once in a while things
• 44:10
  Speaker 7: get reported that look as though such other worlds and
• 44:13
  Speaker 7: another time dimension may exist. There have been whole books
• 44:15
  Speaker 7: published by people who collect stories like that. I must
• 44:18
  Speaker 7: say that academic science isn't very hospitable to them. You
• 44:21
  Speaker 7: mean things sometimes, how you say, leak in from one
• 44:25
  Speaker 7: of these other worlds? That has been known to happen?
• 44:29
  Speaker 7: Things have been said to have happened that might, if true,
• 44:32
  Speaker 7: be a case of things leaking through from another time world,
• 44:35
  Speaker 7: the Sandian Handed Man corrected. or leaking away to another
• 44:38
  Speaker 7: time world. He mentioned a few of the most famous
• 44:41
  Speaker 7: cases of unexplained mysteries. The English diplomat in Prussia who
• 44:44
  Speaker 7: vanished in plain sight of a number of people. The
• 44:47
  Speaker 7: ship found completely deserted by her crew. The lifeboats all
• 44:50
  Speaker 7: in place. Stories like that. And then there's this rash
• 44:53
  Speaker 7: of alleged sightings of unidentified flying objects. I'd sooner believe
• 44:57
  Speaker 7: that they came from another dimension than from another planet.
• 45:00
  Speaker 7: But as far as I know, nobody's seriously advanced the
• 45:02
  Speaker 7: other time dimension theory to explain them. I think the
• 45:05
  Speaker 7: idea is familiar enough, though. that we could use it
• 45:07
  Speaker 7: as an explanation or pseudo-explanation for the program, the television
• 45:10
  Speaker 7: man said. Fact is, we aren't married to this Crossroads
• 45:13
  Speaker 7: title yet. We could just as easily call it Fifth Dimension.
• 45:17
  Speaker 7: That would lead the public to expect something out of
• 45:19
  Speaker 7: the normal before the show started. That got the conversation
• 45:23
  Speaker 7: back onto the show, and we talked for some time
• 45:25
  Speaker 7: about it, each of us suggesting possibilities. The stranger even
• 45:28
  Speaker 7: suggested one. that the Civil War had started during the
• 45:31
  Speaker 7: Jackson administration. Fortunately, nobody else noticed that. Finally, a porter
• 45:35
  Speaker 7: came through and inquired if any of us were getting
• 45:37
  Speaker 7: off at Harrisburg, saying that they would be getting in
• 45:40
  Speaker 7: in five minutes. The stranger finished his drink hastily and
• 45:43
  Speaker 7: got up, saying that he would have to get his luggage.
• 45:45
  Speaker 7: He told us how much he had enjoyed the conversation,
• 45:48
  Speaker 7: and then followed the porter toward the rear of the train.
• 45:50
  Speaker 7: After he had gone out, the TV man chuckled. Was
• 45:53
  Speaker 7: that one an oddball, he exclaimed. Where the hell do
• 45:56
  Speaker 7: you suppose he got that suit? It was a tailored suit,
• 45:58
  Speaker 7: the colonel said. A very good one. And I can't
• 46:00
  Speaker 7: think of any country in the world in which they
• 46:02
  Speaker 7: cut suits just like that. And did you catch his accent? Phony,
• 46:06
  Speaker 7: the television man pronounced. The French accent of a Greek
• 46:09
  Speaker 7: waiter in a fake French restaurant in the Bronx.
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: Not quite.
• 46:13
  Speaker 7: The pronunciation was all right for French accent, but the cadence,
• 46:16
  Speaker 7: the way the word sounds were strung together, was German.
• 46:19
  Speaker 7: The elderly man looked at the colonel keenly. I see
• 46:22
  Speaker 7: your intelligence, he mentioned. Think he might be somebody up
• 46:24
  Speaker 7: your alley, Colonel? The Colonel shook his head.
• 46:27
  Speaker 3: I doubt it.
• 46:28
  Speaker 7: There are agents of unfriendly powers in this country, a
• 46:30
  Speaker 7: lot of them, I'm sorry to have to say, but
• 46:32
  Speaker 7: they don't speak accented English, and they don't dress eccentrically.
• 46:36
  Speaker 7: You know there's an enemy agent in a crowd. Pick
• 46:38
  Speaker 7: out the most normally American type in sight, and you
• 46:41
  Speaker 7: usually won't have to look further. The train ground to
• 46:43
  Speaker 7: a stop. A young couple with hand luggage came in
• 46:46
  Speaker 7: and sat at one end of the car, waiting until
• 46:48
  Speaker 7: other accommodations could be found for them. After a while,
• 46:51
  Speaker 7: it started again. I dallied over my drink, and then
• 46:53
  Speaker 7: got up and excused myself, saying that I wanted to
• 46:56
  Speaker 7: turn in early. In the next car behind, I met
• 46:58
  Speaker 7: the porter who had come in just before the stop.
• 47:01
  Speaker 7: He looked worried, and after a moment's hesitation, he spoke
• 47:03
  Speaker 7: to me. Pardon, sir, the man in the club car
• 47:06
  Speaker 7: who got off at Harrisburg, did you know him? Never
• 47:09
  Speaker 7: saw him before.
• 47:10
  Speaker 4: Why?
• 47:10
  Speaker 7: He tipped me with a dollar bill when he got off. Later,
• 47:12
  Speaker 7: I looked closely at it. I do not like it.
• 47:15
  Speaker 7: He showed it to me, and I didn't blame him.
• 47:17
  Speaker 7: It was marked one dollar, and United States of America.
• 47:20
  Speaker 7: But outside that, there wasn't a thing right about it.
• 47:23
  Speaker 7: One side was gray, all right, but the other side
• 47:24
  Speaker 7: was green. The picture wasn't the right one, and there
• 47:27
  Speaker 7: were a lot of other things about it, some of
• 47:28
  Speaker 7: them absolutely ludicrous. It wasn't counterfeit. It wasn't even an
• 47:32
  Speaker 7: imitation of the United States bill. And then it hit me,
• 47:35
  Speaker 7: like a bullet in the chest. Not a bill of
• 47:37
  Speaker 7: our United States. No wonder he had been so interested
• 47:40
  Speaker 7: in whether our scientists accepted the theory of other time
• 47:43
  Speaker 7: dimensions and other worlds of alternate probability. On an impulse,
• 47:47
  Speaker 7: I got out two ones and gave them to the porter.
• 47:49
  Speaker 7: Perfectly good United States bank gold certificates. You better let
• 47:52
  Speaker 7: me keep this, I said, trying to make it sound
• 47:54
  Speaker 7: the way he'd think a federal agent would say it.
• 47:56
  Speaker 7: He took the bill, smiling, and I folded his bill
• 47:58
  Speaker 7: and put it into my vest pocket. Thank you, sir,
• 48:01
  Speaker 7: he said. I have no wish to keep it. Some
• 48:03
  Speaker 7: part of my mind below the level of consciousness must
• 48:05
  Speaker 7: have taken over and guided me back to the right
• 48:07
  Speaker 7: car and compartment. I didn't realize where I was going
• 48:10
  Speaker 7: until I put down the light and recognized my own luggage.
• 48:13
  Speaker 7: Then I sat down, as dizzy as though the two
• 48:15
  Speaker 7: drinks I had had had been a dozen. For a moment,
• 48:18
  Speaker 7: I was tempted to rush back to the club car
• 48:20
  Speaker 7: and show the thing to the colonel and the sandy-haired man.
• 48:23
  Speaker 7: On second thought, I decided against that. The next thing
• 48:25
  Speaker 7: I banished from my mind was the adjective incredible. I
• 48:28
  Speaker 7: had to credit it. I had the proof in my
• 48:30
  Speaker 7: vest pocket. The coincidence arising from our topic of conversation
• 48:34
  Speaker 7: didn't bother me too much either. It was the topic
• 48:36
  Speaker 7: which had drawn him into it. And, as the sandy-haired
• 48:39
  Speaker 7: man had pointed out, we know nothing, one way or another,
• 48:42
  Speaker 7: about these other worlds. We certainly don't know what barriers
• 48:45
  Speaker 7: separate them from our own. or how often those barriers
• 48:47
  Speaker 7: may fail. I might have thought more about it if
• 48:50
  Speaker 7: I'd been in physical science.
• 48:51
  Speaker 1: I wasn't.
• 48:52
  Speaker 7: I was in American history. So what I thought about
• 48:54
  Speaker 7: was what sort of a country that other United States
• 48:56
  Speaker 7: must be, and what its history must have been. The
• 48:59
  Speaker 7: man's costume was basically the same as ours. Same general style,
• 49:02
  Speaker 7: but many little differences of fashion. I had the impression
• 49:05
  Speaker 7: that it was a costume of a less formal and
• 49:07
  Speaker 7: conservative society than ours, and a more casual way of life.
• 49:10
  Speaker 7: It could be the sort of costume into which ours
• 49:12
  Speaker 7: would evolve in another 30 or so years. There was
• 49:15
  Speaker 7: another odd thing. I noticed him looking curiously at both
• 49:18
  Speaker 7: the waiter and the porter. as though something about them
• 49:20
  Speaker 7: surprised him. The only thing they had in common was
• 49:23
  Speaker 7: their race, the same as every other passenger car attendant,
• 49:26
  Speaker 7: but he wasn't used to seeing Chinese working.
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: In railway cars.
• 49:29
  Speaker 7: And there had been that remark about the Civil War
• 49:31
  Speaker 7: and the Jackson administration. I wondered what Jackson he'd been
• 49:34
  Speaker 7: talking about, not Andrew Jackson, the Tennessee Militia General who
• 49:38
  Speaker 7: who got us into war with Spain in 1810, I hoped.
• 49:41
  Speaker 7: And the Civil War, that about me completely. I wondered
• 49:43
  Speaker 7: if it had been a class war or a sectional conflict.
• 49:46
  Speaker 7: We'd had plenty of the latter during our first century,
• 49:49
  Speaker 7: but all of them had been settled peacefully and constitutionally. Well,
• 49:52
  Speaker 7: some of the things he'd read in Lingmore's social history
• 49:54
  Speaker 7: would be surprises for him, too. And then I took
• 49:57
  Speaker 7: the bill out for another examination. It must have gotten
• 50:00
  Speaker 7: mixed with his spendable money. It was about the size
• 50:03
  Speaker 7: of ours, and I wondered how he had acquired enough
• 50:05
  Speaker 7: of our money to pay his train fare. Maybe he'd
• 50:07
  Speaker 7: had a diamond and sold it, or maybe he'd had
• 50:09
  Speaker 7: a gun and held somebody up. If he had, I
• 50:12
  Speaker 7: didn't know that I blamed him, under the circumstances. I
• 50:15
  Speaker 7: had an idea that he had some realization of what
• 50:17
  Speaker 7: had happened to him, the book and the fake accent,
• 50:19
  Speaker 7: to cover any mistakes he might make. Well, I wished
• 50:22
  Speaker 7: him luck, and then I unfolded the dollar bill and
• 50:24
  Speaker 7: looked at it again. In the first place, it had
• 50:26
  Speaker 7: been issued by the United States Department of Treasury itself,
• 50:30
  Speaker 7: not the United States Bank or one of the state banks.
• 50:32
  Speaker 7: I'd have to think over the implications of that carefully.
• 50:35
  Speaker 7: In the second place, it was a silver certificate. Why,
• 50:38
  Speaker 7: in this other United States, silver must be an acceptable
• 50:40
  Speaker 7: monetary metal. Maybe equally so with gold, though I could
• 50:43
  Speaker 7: hardly believe that. Then I looked at the picture on
• 50:46
  Speaker 7: the gray, obverse side, and had to strain my eyes
• 50:48
  Speaker 7: on the fine print under it to identify it. It
• 50:51
  Speaker 7: was Washington, all right, but a much older Washington than
• 50:53
  Speaker 7: any of the pictures of him I had ever seen.
• 50:55
  Speaker 7: Then I realized that I knew just where the crossroads
• 50:58
  Speaker 7: of destiny for his world and mine had been. As
• 51:00
  Speaker 7: every schoolchild among us knows, General George Washington was shot
• 51:04
  Speaker 7: dead at the Battle of Germantown in 1777 by an English,
• 51:08
  Speaker 7: or rather Scottish, officer, Patrick Ferguson, the same Patrick Ferguson
• 51:12
  Speaker 7: who embedded the breech-loading rifle that smashed Napoleon's armies. Washington
• 51:16
  Speaker 7: today is one of our lesser national heroes. because he
• 51:19
  Speaker 7: was our first military commander-in-chief. But in another world, he
• 51:22
  Speaker 7: must have survived to lead our armies to victory and
• 51:25
  Speaker 7: become our first president, as was the case for the
• 51:27
  Speaker 7: man who took his place when he was killed. I
• 51:30
  Speaker 7: folded the bill and put it away carefully among my
• 51:32
  Speaker 7: identification cards, where it wouldn't a second time get mixed
• 51:35
  Speaker 7: with the money I spent. And as I did, I
• 51:37
  Speaker 7: wondered what sort of a president George Washington had made,
• 51:39
  Speaker 7: and what part in the history of that other United
• 51:42
  Speaker 7: States had been played by the man whose picture appears
• 51:44
  Speaker 7: on our dollar bills, General and President Benedict Arnold.
• 51:49
  Speaker 5: Recording by Eleanor Matheson. Egocentric Orbit by John Corey Near
• 51:57
  Speaker 5: the end of his fiftieth orbit, as Greenland slipped by
• 52:00
  Speaker 5: noiselessly below, he made the routine measurements that tested the
• 52:04
  Speaker 5: operation of his space capsule and checked the automatic instruments
• 52:08
  Speaker 5: which would transmit their stored data back to Earth on
• 52:10
  Speaker 5: his next pass over control. Everything normal. All mechanical devices
• 52:15
  Speaker 5: were operating perfectly. This information didn't surprise him. In fact,
• 52:20
  Speaker 5: he really didn't even think about it. The previous orbits,
• 52:24
  Speaker 5: and the long simulated flights on Earth during training, had
• 52:27
  Speaker 5: made such checks routine, and perfect results expected. The capsules
• 52:32
  Speaker 5: were developed by exhaustive testing, both on the ground and
• 52:36
  Speaker 5: as empty satellites before entrusting them to carry animals, and
• 52:39
  Speaker 5: then the first human. he returned to contemplation of the
• 52:43
  Speaker 5: panorama passing below and above, although, as he noted idly,
• 52:48
  Speaker 5: above and below had lost some of their usual meaning.
• 52:51
  Speaker 5: Since his capsule, like all heavenly bodies, was stable in
• 52:55
  Speaker 5: position with respect to the entire universe, and thanks to
• 52:58
  Speaker 5: Sir Isaac Newton and his laws, never changed, the earth
• 53:02
  Speaker 5: and the stars alternated over his head during each orbit.
• 53:06
  Speaker 5: Up now meant whatever was in the direction of his head.
• 53:10
  Speaker 5: He remembered that even during his initial orbit, when the
• 53:12
  Speaker 5: Earth first appeared overhead, he accepted the fact as normal.
• 53:16
  Speaker 5: He wondered if the other two had accepted it as easily.
• 53:20
  Speaker 5: For there had been two men hurled into orbit before
• 53:23
  Speaker 5: he ventured into space, two others who had also passed
• 53:26
  Speaker 5: the rigorous three-year training period and were selected on the
• 53:29
  Speaker 5: basis of overall performance to precede him. He had known
• 53:33
  Speaker 5: them both well, and wondered again what had happened on
• 53:36
  Speaker 5: their flights. Of course they had both returned, depending upon
• 53:40
  Speaker 5: what your definition of return was. The capsules in which
• 53:43
  Speaker 5: they had ventured beyond Earth had returned them living, but
• 53:46
  Speaker 5: this was to be expected, for even the considerable hazards
• 53:49
  Speaker 5: of descent through the atmosphere and the terrible heating which
• 53:52
  Speaker 5: occurred were successfully surmounted by the capsules. Naturally, it had
• 53:56
  Speaker 5: not been expected that the satellites would have to be
• 53:58
  Speaker 5: brought down by command from the ground. But this, too,
• 54:01
  Speaker 5: was part of the careful planning. Radio control of the
• 54:04
  Speaker 5: retro rockets would move the satellite out of orbit by
• 54:06
  Speaker 5: reducing its velocity. Of course, ground control was to be
• 54:10
  Speaker 5: used only if the astronaut failed to ignite the retro
• 54:12
  Speaker 5: rockets himself. He remembered everyone's surprise and relief when the
• 54:17
  Speaker 5: first capsule was recovered and its occupant found to be alive.
• 54:21
  Speaker 5: They had assumed that, in spite of all precautions, he
• 54:23
  Speaker 5: was dead because he had not fired the rockets on
• 54:26
  Speaker 5: his 50th orbit and it was necessary to bring him
• 54:28
  Speaker 5: down on the 65th. Recovery alive only partially solved the mystery,
• 54:33
  Speaker 5: for the rescuers and all others were met by a haughty,
• 54:36
  Speaker 5: stony silence from the occupant. Batteries of test confirmed an
• 54:40
  Speaker 5: early diagnosis, complete and utter withdrawal, absolute refusal to communicate.
• 54:46
  Speaker 5: Therapy was unsuccessful. The second attempt was similar in most respects,
• 54:52
  Speaker 5: except that command return was made on the 31st orbit
• 54:56
  Speaker 5: after the astronaut's failure to de-orbit at the end of
• 54:58
  Speaker 5: the 30th. His incoherent babble of moons, stars, and worlds
• 55:02
  Speaker 5: was no more helpful than the first. Test after test
• 55:06
  Speaker 5: confirmed that no obvious organic damage had been incurred by
• 55:10
  Speaker 5: exposure outside of Earth's protective atmosphere. Biopsy of even selected
• 55:14
  Speaker 5: brain tissues seemed to show that microscopic cellular changes due
• 55:18
  Speaker 5: to prolonged weightlessness or primary cosmic ray bombardment, which had
• 55:22
  Speaker 5: been suggested by some authorities, were unimportant. Somewhat reluctantly, it
• 55:27
  Speaker 5: was decided to repeat the experiment a third time. The
• 55:31
  Speaker 5: launching was uneventful. he was sent into space with the
• 55:34
  Speaker 5: precision he expected. The experience was exhilarating, and although he
• 55:39
  Speaker 5: had anticipated each event in advance, he could not possibly
• 55:43
  Speaker 5: have foreseen the overpowering feeling that came over him. Weightlessness
• 55:47
  Speaker 5: he had experienced for brief periods during training, but nothing
• 55:50
  Speaker 5: could match the heady impression of continuous freedom from gravity.
• 55:54
  Speaker 5: Earth passing overhead was also to be expected from the
• 55:57
  Speaker 5: simple laws of celestial mechanics, but his feeling as he
• 56:00
  Speaker 5: watched it now was inexpressible. It occurred to him that
• 56:04
  Speaker 5: perhaps this was indeed why he was here, because he
• 56:07
  Speaker 5: could appreciate such experiences best. He had been told the
• 56:11
  Speaker 5: stars would be bright, unblinking, and in infinitude and extent,
• 56:15
  Speaker 5: but could mere descriptions or photographs convey the true seeing?
• 56:20
  Speaker 5: On his twenty-first orbit, he completed his overseeing the entire
• 56:23
  Speaker 5: surface of the planet in daylight. He had seen more
• 56:26
  Speaker 5: of the earth than anyone able to tell about it,
• 56:29
  Speaker 5: but only he had the true feeling of it. The
• 56:32
  Speaker 5: continents were clearly visible, as were the oceans in both
• 56:35
  Speaker 5: polar ice caps. The shapes were familiar, but only in
• 56:39
  Speaker 5: a remote way. A vague indistinctness born of distance served
• 56:43
  Speaker 5: to modify the outlines and he alone was seeing and understanding.
• 56:47
  Speaker 5: On the dark side of the planet, large cities were
• 56:50
  Speaker 5: marked by indistinct light areas which paled to insignificance compared
• 56:53
  Speaker 5: to the stars and his sun. He speculated about the
• 56:58
  Speaker 5: others who had only briefly experienced these sights. Undoubtedly, they
• 57:02
  Speaker 5: weren't as capable of fully grasping or appreciating any of
• 57:05
  Speaker 5: these things as he was. It was quite clear that
• 57:08
  Speaker 5: no one else but he could encompass the towering feeling
• 57:11
  Speaker 5: of power and importance generated by being alone in the universe.
• 57:16
  Speaker 5: At the end of the 25th orbit, he disabled the
• 57:19
  Speaker 5: radio control of the retro rockets and sat back with
• 57:22
  Speaker 5: satisfaction to await the next circuit of his Earth around him.
• 57:26
  Speaker 3: A Matter of Magnitude by Al Sevchuk When you're commanding
• 57:33
  Speaker 3: a spaceship over a mile long and armed to the teeth,
• 57:37
  Speaker 3: you don't exactly expect to be told to get the
• 57:40
  Speaker 3: hell out. The ship, for reasons that had to do
• 57:44
  Speaker 3: with the politics of appropriations, was named Senator Joseph L. Holloway,
• 57:49
  Speaker 3: but the press and the public called her Big Joe.
• 57:53
  Speaker 3: Her captain, six-star Admiral Hessleton, thought of her as Great
• 57:58
  Speaker 3: Big Joe, and never fully got over being awestruck at
• 58:02
  Speaker 3: the size of his command. She's a mighty big ship, Rogers,
• 58:06
  Speaker 3: he said proudly to the navigator, ignoring the latter's rather
• 58:10
  Speaker 3: vacant stare and fixed smile. More than a mile long
• 58:14
  Speaker 3: and wider than hell, he waved his hands expansively. She's
• 58:18
  Speaker 3: never touched down on Earth, you know. Never will. Too
• 58:22
  Speaker 3: big for that. They built her on the moon. The cost? Well,
• 58:27
  Speaker 3: swiveling his chair around, Hessleton slowly surveyed the ship's control
• 58:30
  Speaker 3: room with a small, satisfied smile. The two pilots sitting
• 58:34
  Speaker 3: far forward, almost hidden by their banks of instruments, the
• 58:38
  Speaker 3: radar operators idly watching their scopes, the three flight engineers
• 58:42
  Speaker 3: sitting intently at their enormous control consoles, and just behind...
• 58:47
  Speaker 3: the radio shack, its closed door undoubtedly hiding a game
• 58:51
  Speaker 3: of cards. For weeks now, as Big Joe moved across
• 58:55
  Speaker 3: the galaxy's uncharted fringe, the radio bands had been completely dead, except,
• 59:00
  Speaker 3: of course, for the usual star static hissing and burbling
• 59:03
  Speaker 3: in the background. Turning back again to his navigator, Heselton
• 59:07
  Speaker 3: smiled modestly and noted that Big Joe was undisputedly the largest,
• 59:12
  Speaker 3: most powerful, most feared, and most effective spaceship in the
• 59:17
  Speaker 3: known universe. As always, Rogers nodded agreement. The fact that
• 59:21
  Speaker 3: he'd heard it a hundred times... didn't make it any
• 59:24
  Speaker 3: less true. Big Joe, armed with every weapon known to
• 59:28
  Speaker 3: Terran technology, was literally the battleship to end all battleships.
• 59:33
  Speaker 3: Ending battleships, and battles, was in fact her job, and
• 59:38
  Speaker 3: she did it well. For the first time, the galaxy
• 59:41
  Speaker 3: was at peace. With a relaxed sigh, Heselton leaned back
• 59:45
  Speaker 3: to gaze at the stars and contemplate the vastness of
• 59:48
  Speaker 3: the universe. compared to which even Big Joe was an
• 59:52
  Speaker 3: insignificant dot. Well, said Rogers, time for another course check.
• 59:57
  Speaker 3: I'll jump back, barely avoiding the worried lieutenant who exploded
• 1:00:01
  Speaker 3: upon them from the radio shack. A signal, sir. Damn
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 3: close on the VHF band. Their transmission is completely overriding
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 3: the background noise. He waved excitedly to someone in the
• 1:00:13
  Speaker 3: radio shack and an overhead speaker came to life, emitting
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 3: a distinct clacking, grunting sound. It's audio of some sort, sir,
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 3: but there's a lot more to the signal than that.
• 1:00:24
  Speaker 3: In one motion, Heselton's chair snapped forward, his right fist
• 1:00:28
  Speaker 3: hit the red emergency alert button on his desk, and
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 3: his left snapped on the ship's intercom. Lights dimmed momentarily
• 1:00:36
  Speaker 3: as powerful emergency drive units snapped into action and the
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 3: ship echoed with the sound of 2,000 men running to
• 1:00:43
  Speaker 3: battle stations. Bridge to radar. Report. Radar to bridge. All clear.
• 1:00:49
  Speaker 3: Hesselton stared incredulously at the intercom.
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 1: What?
• 1:00:53
  Speaker 3: Radar to bridge. Repeating. All clear. Admiral, we've got two
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 3: men on every scope. There's nothing anywhere. A new voice
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 3: cut in on the speaker. Radio track to bridge. Frowning,
• 1:01:05
  Speaker 3: Hesselton answered. Bridge. Come in, radio track. We're listening. Sir,
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 3: the crisp voice of the radio track section commander had
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 3: an excited tinge.
• 1:01:14
  Speaker 1: Sir. Sir.
• 1:01:15
  Speaker 3: Doppler calculations show that the source of those signals is
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 3: slowing down somewhere to our right. It's acting like a spaceship, sir,
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 3: that's coming to a halt. The Admiral locked eyes with
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 3: Rogers for a second, then shrugged. Slow the ship and
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 3: circle right. Radio track, can you keep me posted on
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 3: the object's position? No can do, sir. Doppler effect can't
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 3: be used on a slow-moving source. It's still off to
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 3: our right, but that's the best I can say. Sir,
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 3: another voice chimed in, this is fire control. We've got
• 1:01:46
  Speaker 3: our directional antennas on the thing. It's either directly right
• 1:01:50
  Speaker 3: or directly left of the ship, matching speed with us exactly.
• 1:01:54
  Speaker 3: Either to our right or left? That's the best we
• 1:01:57
  Speaker 3: can do, sir, without radar help. Admiral, sir, the lieutenant
• 1:02:01
  Speaker 3: who had first reported the signal came running back. Judging
• 1:02:04
  Speaker 3: from the frequency and strength, we think it's probably less
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 3: than a hundred miles away. Less than a hun- Of
• 1:02:10
  Speaker 3: course we can't be positive, sir. Hessleton whirled back to
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 3: the intercom. Radar. That thing is practically on our necks.
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 3: What the hell's the matter with that equipment? The radar
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 3: commander's voice showed distinct signs of strain. Can't help it, Admiral.
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 3: The equipment is working perfectly. We've tried the complete range
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 3: of frequencies. Twenty-five different sets are in operation- We're going
• 1:02:35
  Speaker 3: blind looking. There is absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. For
• 1:02:41
  Speaker 3: a moment, the bridge was silent, except for the clacking
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 3: grunting from the overhead speaker, which, if anything, sounded louder
• 1:02:48
  Speaker 3: than before. It's TV, sir. The radio lieutenant came running
• 1:02:52
  Speaker 3: in again. We've unscrambled the image. Here. The communication screen
• 1:02:56
  Speaker 3: on Hessleton's desk glowed for a moment, then flashed into life.
• 1:03:01
  Speaker 3: The figure was clearly alien, though startlingly humanoid. at least
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 3: from the waist up, which was all that showed in
• 1:03:08
  Speaker 3: the screen. A large mouth and slightly bulging eyes gave
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 3: it a somewhat jovial, frog-like demeanor. Seated at a desk
• 1:03:16
  Speaker 3: similar to Hesselton's, wearing a gaudy uniform profusely strewn with
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 3: a variety of insignia, it was obviously Hesselton's counterpart, the
• 1:03:25
  Speaker 3: commander of an alien vessel. Hmm, looks like we've contacted
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 3: a new race. Let's return the call, Lieutenant. A tiny
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 3: red light glowed beneath a miniature camera on Hesselton's desk,
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 3: and almost at once the alien's face registered obvious satisfaction.
• 1:03:41
  Speaker 3: It waved a six-fingered hand in an unorthodox but friendly greeting.
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 3: Hesselton waved back. The alien then pointed to his mouth,
• 1:03:50
  Speaker 3: made several clacking grunting sounds, and moved a hand on
• 1:03:53
  Speaker 3: his desk. The scene switched to another alien sitting in
• 1:03:57
  Speaker 3: front of what looked like a blackboard with a piece
• 1:03:59
  Speaker 3: of chalk in his hand. The meaning was clear. Lieutenant,
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 3: have this transmission switched to the linguistics section. Maybe those
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 3: guys can work out some sort of language. The screen
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 3: blanked out. Hessleton leaned back, tense, obviously worried. Hesitantly, he
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 3: reached out and touched a button on the intercom. Astronomy? Professor,
• 1:04:20
  Speaker 3: there's a ship right next door somewhere that should stand
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 3: out like King Kong in a kindergarten. I know, Admiral.
• 1:04:26
  Speaker 3: I've been listening to the intercom. Our optical equipment isn't
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 3: designed for close-range work, but we've been doing the best
• 1:04:33
  Speaker 3: we can. Tried everything from infrared through ultraviolet. If there
• 1:04:37
  Speaker 3: is a ship out there, I'm afraid it's invisible. Beads
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 3: of sweat sprinkled Hasselton's forehead. This is bad, Rogers. Mighty bad. Nervously,
• 1:04:46
  Speaker 3: he walked across to the right of the bridge and stood,
• 1:04:49
  Speaker 3: hands clasped behind his back, staring blankly out at blackness
• 1:04:52
  Speaker 3: and the scattered stars. I know there's a ship out there,
• 1:04:56
  Speaker 3: and I know that a ship simply can't be invisible.
• 1:05:00
  Speaker 3: Not to radar and optics. What makes you sure there's
• 1:05:04
  Speaker 3: only one, sir? Hesselton cracked his fist together. My God, Rogers,
• 1:05:09
  Speaker 3: you're right. There might be... The intercom clacked again. This
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 3: is fire control again, sir. I think we've got something
• 1:05:16
  Speaker 3: on the radiation detectors. Good work. What did you find?
• 1:05:20
  Speaker 3: Slight radioactivity, typical of interstellar drive mechanisms. somewhere off to
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 3: our right. Can't tell exactly where, though. How far away
• 1:05:28
  Speaker 3: is it? I don't know, sir. Hesselton's hands dropped to
• 1:05:32
  Speaker 3: his sides. Thanks, he said, for the help. His desk
• 1:05:36
  Speaker 3: TV flashed into life with a picture of the smiling
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 3: alien commander. This is the linguistics section, Admiral. The aliens
• 1:05:43
  Speaker 3: understand a fairly common galactic symbology. I believe we can
• 1:05:47
  Speaker 3: translate simple messages for you now. Ask him where the
• 1:05:51
  Speaker 3: hell he is, Hesselton snapped without thinking. then instantly regretted
• 1:05:56
  Speaker 3: it as the alien's face showed unmistakable surprise. The alien's
• 1:06:01
  Speaker 3: smile grew into an almost unbelievable grin. He turned sideways
• 1:06:05
  Speaker 3: to speak to someone out of sight of the camera
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 3: and suddenly burst into a series of roaring cackles. He's laughing, sir,
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 3: the translator commented, unnecessarily. The joke was strictly with the aliens.
• 1:06:18
  Speaker 3: Hessleton's face whitened in quick realization. Rogers... They didn't know
• 1:06:23
  Speaker 3: that we can't see them. Look, sir, the navigator pointed
• 1:06:26
  Speaker 3: to the TV screen and a brilliantly clear image of
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 3: Big Joe shimmered against the galaxy, lit by millions of stars.
• 1:06:34
  Speaker 3: Every missile port, even the military numerals along her nose,
• 1:06:38
  Speaker 3: were clearly visible. They're rubbing it in, Rogers, showing us
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 3: what we look like to them. Hesselton's face was chalk.
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 3: They could blast Big Joe apart, piece by piece. The
• 1:06:50
  Speaker 3: most powerful ship in the galaxy. Maybe, said Rogers, the
• 1:06:54
  Speaker 3: second most powerful. Without answering, Hesselton turned and looked out
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 3: again at empty space and millions of steady, unwinking stars.
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 3: His mind formed the image of a huge, ethereal spaceship.
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 3: Missile ports open. Weapons aim directly at Big Joe. The
• 1:07:13
  Speaker 3: speaker interrupted his nightmare. This is Fire Control, Admiral. With
• 1:07:17
  Speaker 3: your permission, I'll scatter a few C-bombs. Hessleton leaped for
• 1:07:20
  Speaker 3: the microphone. Are you out of your mind? We haven't
• 1:07:24
  Speaker 3: the slightest idea of the forces that guy has. We
• 1:07:27
  Speaker 3: might be in the center of a whole blooming fleet.
• 1:07:30
  Speaker 3: Ever think of that? The alien's face, still smirking, appeared
• 1:07:34
  Speaker 3: again on the screen. He says, said the interpreter, that
• 1:07:38
  Speaker 3: he finds the presence of our armed ship very annoying.
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 3: Heselton knew what he had to do. Tell him, he said,
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 3: swallowing hard, that we apologize. This part of the galaxy
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 3: is strange to us. He says he is contemplating blasting
• 1:07:56
  Speaker 3: us out of the sky. Heselton said nothing, but he
• 1:07:59
  Speaker 3: longed to reach out and throttle the grinning alien face. However,
• 1:08:04
  Speaker 3: the interpreter continued, He will let us go safely if
• 1:08:07
  Speaker 3: we leave immediately. He says to send an unarmed diplomatic
• 1:08:12
  Speaker 3: vessel next time, and maybe his people will talk to us.
• 1:08:16
  Speaker 3: Thank him for his kindness. Heselton's jaws clenched so tightly
• 1:08:22
  Speaker 3: they ached. He says, said the interpreter, to get the
• 1:08:26
  Speaker 3: hell out. The grinning face snapped off the screen, but
• 1:08:30
  Speaker 3: the cackling laughter continued to reverberate in the control room
• 1:08:33
  Speaker 3: until the radio shack finally turned off the receiver. Reverse course,
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 3: the Admiral ordered quietly. Maximum drive. A thousand missile launchers
• 1:08:44
  Speaker 3: designed to disintegrate solar systems were deactivated. Hundreds of gyros
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 3: swung the mile-long ship end for end and stabilized her
• 1:08:54
  Speaker 3: on a reverse course. Drive units big enough to power
• 1:08:57
  Speaker 3: several major cities wind into opposition. operation. Antigrav generators with
• 1:09:02
  Speaker 3: the strength to shift small planets counterbalanced the external acceleration,
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 3: and the ship moved away, with the speed approaching that
• 1:09:11
  Speaker 3: of light. Well, muttered Hessleton, that's the very first time
• 1:09:16
  Speaker 3: Big Joe has ever had to retreat. As if it
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 3: were his own personal failure, he walked slowly across the
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 3: control room and down the corridor towards his cabin.
• 1:09:27
  Speaker 1: Admiral!
• 1:09:28
  Speaker 3: Lost in thought, Heselton barely heard the call. Admiral, look!
• 1:09:32
  Speaker 3: Pausing at the door to his cabin, Heselton turned to
• 1:09:35
  Speaker 3: face the ship's chief astronomer, running up, waving two large photographs. Look, sir,
• 1:09:41
  Speaker 3: the professor gasped for breath. We thought this was a
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 3: spot on the negative, but one of the men got
• 1:09:46
  Speaker 3: curious and enlarged it about a hundred times. He held
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 3: up one of the photos. It showed a small, fuzzy,
• 1:09:53
  Speaker 3: but unmistakable spaceship. No wonder we couldn't spot it with
• 1:09:58
  Speaker 3: our instruments. Hesselton snatched it out of his hand. I
• 1:10:02
  Speaker 3: see what you mean. This ship must have been thousands
• 1:10:04
  Speaker 3: of miles. The professor shook his head. No, sir. As
• 1:10:08
  Speaker 3: a matter of fact, it was quite close by.
• 1:10:09
  Speaker 5: But.
• 1:10:11
  Speaker 6: we figure that the total length of the alien ship
• 1:10:14
  Speaker 6: was roughly an inch and a half. Quiet, please, by
• 1:10:25
  Speaker 6: Kevin Scott Groverbs knew what he wanted, peace and quiet.
• 1:10:32
  Speaker 6: He was willing to scream his head off for it.
• 1:10:37
  Speaker 6: The big man eased the piano off his back and
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 6: stood looking at Groverbs. You ain't gonna like it here.
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 6: He mopped his face. Boy, will I ever be glad
• 1:10:47
  Speaker 6: to get off this cockeyed planet. Groverbs pushed at his spectacles, sniffed,
• 1:10:51
  Speaker 6: and said, Quite. The big man said, Ain't no native
• 1:10:56
  Speaker 6: here over three feet tall, and they got some crazy
• 1:10:59
  Speaker 6: kind of communication.
• 1:11:00
  Speaker 1: They don't talk.
• 1:11:02
  Speaker 6: Groverbs said, Quiet.
• 1:11:05
  Speaker 3: Huh?
• 1:11:06
  Speaker 6: Precisely why I am here, said Groverbs, sniffing again. Loathe conversation.
• 1:11:13
  Speaker 2: Oh, well.
• 1:11:14
  Speaker 3: He left.
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 6: Alone, Groverbs surveyed his realm. The house was the shell
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 6: of what had formerly been a little people apartment building. Ceilings, floors,
• 1:11:24
  Speaker 6: and walls had been removed to form one large room.
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 6: The tiny doors and windows had been sealed, and a
• 1:11:29
  Speaker 6: single window and door had been cut into the shell
• 1:11:32
  Speaker 6: for Groverbs' use. Crude, but serviceable. Groverbs walked to the
• 1:11:37
  Speaker 6: window and looked down the slope. Little people buildings dotted
• 1:11:40
  Speaker 6: the landscape. and the people themselves scurried silently about. Yes,
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 6: thought Groverbs, it would do nicely. He had brought an
• 1:11:48
  Speaker 6: adequate food-tablet supply. He would finish, without the distraction of voices,
• 1:11:53
  Speaker 6: his beautiful concerto. He would return to earth famous and happy.
• 1:11:59
  Speaker 6: Armed with paper and pencils, he went to the piano,
• 1:12:02
  Speaker 6: having decided to enlarge upon the theme in the second movement.
• 1:12:05
  Speaker 6: His mind knew exactly how the passage should run, and
• 1:12:08
  Speaker 6: he swiftly covered the paper with sharp angular notes, Then
• 1:12:11
  Speaker 6: he triumphantly lifted his hands and began to play what
• 1:12:14
  Speaker 6: he had written. He jerked back from the keyboard, his
• 1:12:18
  Speaker 6: hair on end, his teeth on edge, his ears screaming
• 1:12:21
  Speaker 6: with the massive sounds he had produced. He looked at
• 1:12:24
  Speaker 6: his hands, peered at the score, adjusted his spectacles, and
• 1:12:27
  Speaker 6: tried again. I'm tired, he thought, recoiling in horror from
• 1:12:32
  Speaker 6: the racket. A food tablet and a nap will remedy
• 1:12:35
  Speaker 6: the situation. When he awoke, Groverbs walked to the window, refreshed.
• 1:12:40
  Speaker 6: A violet glow had replaced the harsh yellow light of
• 1:12:43
  Speaker 6: the day. At the foot of the slope, the little
• 1:12:45
  Speaker 6: people dashed to and fro, but no voice broke the
• 1:12:48
  Speaker 6: peaceful quiet of the evening. With a sigh of satisfaction,
• 1:12:52
  Speaker 6: Groverbs went to the piano. Gently, he struck the keys. Blatant,
• 1:12:57
  Speaker 6: jumbled noise filled the room. Breathing hard, Groverbs rose and
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 6: gingerly lifted the spinet's lid. No, nothing amiss there.
• 1:13:06
  Speaker 3: Good felts?
• 1:13:07
  Speaker 6: Free hammers? Solid sounding board? Must be out of tune.
• 1:13:11
  Speaker 6: Groverbs closed the lid, sat down, and struck a single note.
• 1:13:15
  Speaker 6: A clear tone sang out. He moved chromatically up and
• 1:13:18
  Speaker 6: down the scale, definitely not out of tune. He shifted
• 1:13:22
  Speaker 6: the score, glanced uneasily at the keys, and began to play.
• 1:13:26
  Speaker 6: Discord immediately pierced his eardrums. He clapped his hands over
• 1:13:30
  Speaker 6: his ears and leaped wildly from the piano bench.' The trip,'
• 1:13:34
  Speaker 6: he decided frantically.' It must have affected my hearing.' He
• 1:13:39
  Speaker 6: flung himself from the house and down the slope. THE
• 1:13:41
  Speaker 6: LITTLE PEOPLE SCATTERED, STARING. HE CHARGED INTO THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
• 1:13:46
  Speaker 6: AND CLUTCHED THE LAPELS OF A UNIFORMED OFFICIAL. A DOCTOR,
• 1:13:50
  Speaker 6: HE GASPED. NO, THIS MINUTE. THE OFFICIAL RAISED HIS EYEBROWS
• 1:13:56
  Speaker 6: AND REMOVED TROVERB'S HANDS WITH DISTASTE. IT'S A LITTLE LATE
• 1:13:59
  Speaker 6: IN THE DAY, HE DRAWLED, BUT MAYBE THE DOCK UP
• 1:14:02
  Speaker 6: ON THE TOP FLOOR. TROVERB'S FLEW UP THE STAIRS AND
• 1:14:06
  Speaker 6: INTO THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE. THE DOCTOR'S FACE LIT UP. A PATIENT,
• 1:14:10
  Speaker 6: HE EXCLAIMED.
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 1: Capital!
• 1:14:12
  Speaker 6: What seems to be the trouble? Food poisoning? Shouldn't eat
• 1:14:15
  Speaker 6: the food here.
• 1:14:16
  Speaker 1: Garbage.
• 1:14:17
  Speaker 6: Appendix?
• 1:14:18
  Speaker 1: Heart attack?
• 1:14:20
  Speaker 6: Stop talking, you idiot. It's my ears. Obviously disappointed, the
• 1:14:25
  Speaker 6: doctor nevertheless poked and peered at Grover's ears.
• 1:14:28
  Speaker 1: No?
• 1:14:29
  Speaker 3: He said finally.
• 1:14:30
  Speaker 6: A trifle big, yes, but nothing wrong with them.
• 1:14:34
  Speaker 3: You're sure?
• 1:14:35
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. A pity.
• 1:14:37
  Speaker 6: I'm getting a bit rusty. With a groan, Groverbs staggered
• 1:14:42
  Speaker 6: out of the building, back through town, and up the
• 1:14:44
  Speaker 6: slope to his house. Seating himself firmly on the bench,
• 1:14:47
  Speaker 6: he began to play. He shuddered. The noise was abominable.
• 1:14:52
  Speaker 6: Suddenly his door burst open and a crowd of little
• 1:14:54
  Speaker 6: people rushed in. They pulled him off the bench and
• 1:14:57
  Speaker 6: slapped angrily at his hands. Then, with cutters, they attacked
• 1:15:00
  Speaker 6: the piano. Yeah, stop that, Groverbs screeched. What do you
• 1:15:05
  Speaker 6: think you're doing? The little people pushed and dragged him
• 1:15:09
  Speaker 6: out of the house, down the slope, through the town,
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 6: and into the launching bowl at the space strip. The
• 1:15:15
  Speaker 6: launching agent took one look and yelled, Get the interpreter!
• 1:15:18
  Speaker 3: On the double!
• 1:15:20
  Speaker 6: The interpreter ran up and whipped something from his pocket.
• 1:15:23
  Speaker 6: It looked like a miniature piano skeleton.
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 3: He tripped a hammer.
• 1:15:27
  Speaker 6: There was a faint tinkle. Instantly, one of the little
• 1:15:30
  Speaker 6: people produced a single miniature hammer and tapped it rapidly
• 1:15:33
  Speaker 6: against his skull. The interpreter tripped another hammer. A second
• 1:15:38
  Speaker 6: little one responded. Suddenly one of the little people ran
• 1:15:41
  Speaker 6: over and tripped all the interpreter's hammers simultaneously. The little
• 1:15:45
  Speaker 6: people winced. Oh, well, it's their planet. He hustled Groverbs
• 1:15:51
  Speaker 6: out to a freight ship that was warming up for takeoff.
• 1:15:55
  Speaker 6: Is everyone insane?
• 1:15:56
  Speaker 1: Groverbs croaked.
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 6: Not a man to know what this is all about.
• 1:16:01
  Speaker 6: The interpreter shoved Groverbs into the ship. They say you
• 1:16:04
  Speaker 6: talk too much, he yelled as he slammed the door.
• 1:16:09
  Speaker 3: Summit by Mack Reynolds. Almost anything, if it goes on
• 1:16:14
  Speaker 3: long enough, can be reduced to first a routine and
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 3: then to a tradition. At that point, it is obviously necessary.
• 1:16:26
  Speaker 3: Two king-size bands blared martial music, the Internacional and the
• 1:16:32
  Speaker 3: Star-Spangled Banner. each seemingly trying to drown the other in
• 1:16:37
  Speaker 3: a gutter damrung of acoustics. Two lines of troops, surfacely
• 1:16:42
  Speaker 3: differing in uniforms and in weapons, but basically so very
• 1:16:47
  Speaker 3: much the same, so evenly matched, came to attention. A
• 1:16:52
  Speaker 3: thousand hands slapped a thousand submachine gun stocks. Marshal Vladimir
• 1:16:58
  Speaker 3: Ignatov strode stiff-kneed down the long march. the stride of
• 1:17:04
  Speaker 3: a man for years used to Calvary boots. He was
• 1:17:08
  Speaker 3: flanked by frozen-visaged subordinates, but none so cold of face
• 1:17:14
  Speaker 3: as he himself. At the entrance to the conference hall
• 1:17:18
  Speaker 3: he stopped, turned, and waited. At the end of the
• 1:17:22
  Speaker 3: corridor of troops a car stopped and several figures emerged,
• 1:17:26
  Speaker 3: most of them in civilian dress, several bearing briefcases. They,
• 1:17:31
  Speaker 3: in their turn, ran the gauntlet At their fore walked
• 1:17:35
  Speaker 3: James Warren Donlevy, sprightly, his eyes darting here and there, politician-like,
• 1:17:42
  Speaker 3: a half-smile on his face, as though afraid he might
• 1:17:45
  Speaker 3: forget to greet a voter he knew or was supposed
• 1:17:49
  Speaker 3: to know. His hand was out before that of Vladimir Ignatov's.
• 1:17:53
  Speaker 3: Your Excellency, he said. Ignatov shook hands stiffly, dropped that
• 1:17:59
  Speaker 3: of the others as soon as protocol would permit. The
• 1:18:02
  Speaker 3: field marshal indicated the door of the conference room. There
• 1:18:05
  Speaker 3: is little reason to waste time, Mr. President. Exactly, Don
• 1:18:10
  Speaker 3: Levy snapped. The door closed behind them and the two men,
• 1:18:14
  Speaker 3: one uniformed and bemettled, the other Natalie attired in his
• 1:18:19
  Speaker 3: business suit, turned to each other. Nice to see you again, Vovo.
• 1:18:23
  Speaker 3: How's Olga and the baby? The soldier grinned back in response.
• 1:18:27
  Speaker 3: Two babies now. You don't keep up on the real news, Jim.
• 1:18:31
  Speaker 3: How's Martha? They shook hands. Not so good, Jim said, scowling.
• 1:18:36
  Speaker 3: I'm worried. It's that new cancer. As soon as we
• 1:18:39
  Speaker 3: conquer one type, two more rear up. How are you
• 1:18:42
  Speaker 3: people doing on cancer research? Vovo was stripping off his tunic.
• 1:18:47
  Speaker 3: He hung it over the back of one of the chairs,
• 1:18:49
  Speaker 3: began to unwind. his high, tight military collar. I'm really
• 1:18:53
  Speaker 3: not up on it, Jim, but I think that's one
• 1:18:56
  Speaker 3: field where you can trust anything we know to be
• 1:18:58
  Speaker 3: in the regular scientific journals our people exchange with yours.
• 1:19:02
  Speaker 3: I'll make some inquiries when I get back home, though.
• 1:19:05
  Speaker 3: You never know. This new strain, I guess you'd call it,
• 1:19:09
  Speaker 3: Might be one that we're up on and you're not. Yeah,
• 1:19:12
  Speaker 3: said Jim. Thanks. A lot. He crossed to the small
• 1:19:15
  Speaker 3: portable bar. How about a drink? Whiskey? Vodka? Rum? There's ice.
• 1:19:22
  Speaker 3: Vovo slumped into one of the heavy chairs that were
• 1:19:24
  Speaker 3: arranged around the table. He grimaced. No vodka. I don't
• 1:19:29
  Speaker 3: feel patriotic today. How about one of those long, cold
• 1:19:32
  Speaker 3: drinks with the cola stuff? Cuba Libra, Jim said. Coming up. Look,
• 1:19:38
  Speaker 3: would you rather speak Russian? No, Vovo said. My English
• 1:19:42
  Speaker 3: is getting rusty. I need the practice. Jim brought the
• 1:19:46
  Speaker 3: glasses over and put them on the table. He began
• 1:19:48
  Speaker 3: stripping off his own coat and loosening his tie. God,
• 1:19:52
  Speaker 3: I'm tired, he said. This sort of thing wears me down.
• 1:19:55
  Speaker 3: Vovo sipped his drink. Now, there's as good a thing
• 1:19:58
  Speaker 3: to discuss as any in the way of killing time.
• 1:20:01
  Speaker 3: The truth now, Jim, do you really believe in a God?
• 1:20:05
  Speaker 3: After all that's happened to this human race of ours,
• 1:20:09
  Speaker 3: do you really believe in divine guidance? He twisted his
• 1:20:12
  Speaker 3: mouth sarcastically. The other relaxed. I don't know, he said.
• 1:20:18
  Speaker 3: I suppose so. I was raised in a family that
• 1:20:21
  Speaker 3: believed in God, just as I suppose you were raised
• 1:20:24
  Speaker 3: in one that didn't. He lifted his shoulders slightly in
• 1:20:28
  Speaker 3: a shrug. Neither of us seems to be particularly brilliant
• 1:20:32
  Speaker 3: in establishing a position of our own, Vovo snorted. Never
• 1:20:36
  Speaker 3: thought of it that way, he admitted. We're usually contentious
• 1:20:40
  Speaker 3: of anyone still holding to the old beliefs. There aren't
• 1:20:43
  Speaker 3: many left. More than you people admit, I understand. Vovo
• 1:20:48
  Speaker 3: shook his heavy head. No, not really. Mostly crackpots. Have
• 1:20:53
  Speaker 3: you ever noticed how it is the nonconformists in any
• 1:20:57
  Speaker 3: society that are usually crackpots? The people on your side
• 1:21:01
  Speaker 3: that admit belonging to our organizations are usually on the
• 1:21:06
  Speaker 3: wild-eyed and uncombed-hair side. I admit it. On the other hand,
• 1:21:10
  Speaker 3: the people in our citizenry who subscribe to your system,
• 1:21:14
  Speaker 3: your religion, that sort of thing, are crackpots too. Applies
• 1:21:19
  Speaker 3: to religion as well as politics. An atheist in your
• 1:21:22
  Speaker 3: country is a nonconformist. In mine, a Christian is. Both crackpots.
• 1:21:28
  Speaker 3: Jim laughed and took a sip of his drink. Vovo
• 1:21:31
  Speaker 3: yawned and said, How long are we going to be
• 1:21:33
  Speaker 3: in here? I don't know, Jim said. Up to us,
• 1:21:36
  Speaker 3: I suppose.
• 1:21:37
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 1:21:38
  Speaker 3: How about another drink? I'll make it. How much of
• 1:21:41
  Speaker 3: that cola stuff do you put in?' Jim told him,
• 1:21:45
  Speaker 3: and while the other was on his feet, mixing the drinks, said,'
• 1:21:48
  Speaker 3: You figure on sticking to the same line this year?''
• 1:21:51
  Speaker 3: Have to,' Volvo said over his shoulder.' What' s the alternative?'
• 1:21:56
  Speaker 3: I don't know. We're building up to a whale of
• 1:21:58
  Speaker 3: a depression as it is, even with half the economy
• 1:22:01
  Speaker 3: running full blast producing defense materials. Vovo chuckled. Defense materials.
• 1:22:08
  Speaker 3: I wonder if ever in the history of the human
• 1:22:10
  Speaker 3: race anyone ever admitted to producing offense materials. Well, you
• 1:22:16
  Speaker 3: call it the same thing. All your military equipment is
• 1:22:19
  Speaker 3: for defense. And of course, according to your press, all
• 1:22:23
  Speaker 3: of ours is for offense. Of course, Bobo said. He
• 1:22:27
  Speaker 3: brought the glasses back and handed one to the other.
• 1:22:30
  Speaker 3: He slopped back into his chair again and loosened two
• 1:22:32
  Speaker 3: buttons of his trousers. Jim, Bobo said, why don't you
• 1:22:36
  Speaker 3: divert more of your economy to public works? Better roads, reforestation, dams,
• 1:22:42
  Speaker 3: that sort of thing. Jim said wearily, you're a better
• 1:22:46
  Speaker 3: economist than that. Didn't your boy Marx, or was it Ingalls,
• 1:22:51
  Speaker 3: write a small book on the subject? We're already overproducing,
• 1:22:54
  Speaker 3: turning out more products than we can sell. I wasn't
• 1:22:58
  Speaker 3: talking about your government building new steel mills, but dams, roads,
• 1:23:03
  Speaker 3: that sort of thing. You could plow billions into such
• 1:23:07
  Speaker 3: items and get some real use out of them. We
• 1:23:10
  Speaker 3: both know that our weapons will never be used. They
• 1:23:13
  Speaker 3: can't be. Jim ticked them off on his fingers. We're
• 1:23:16
  Speaker 3: already producing more farm products than we know what to
• 1:23:19
  Speaker 3: do with. If we build more dams, it'll open up
• 1:23:22
  Speaker 3: new farmlands and increase the glut. If we build more
• 1:23:26
  Speaker 3: and better roads, it'll improve transportation, which will mean fewer
• 1:23:29
  Speaker 3: men will be able to move greater tonnage and throw
• 1:23:33
  Speaker 3: transportation employees into the unemployed. If we go all out
• 1:23:37
  Speaker 3: on reforestation, it'll eventually bring down the price of lumber,
• 1:23:42
  Speaker 3: and the lumber people are howling already. No, he shook
• 1:23:46
  Speaker 3: his head. There's just one really foolproof way of disposing
• 1:23:50
  Speaker 3: of surpluses and using up labor power, and that's war,
• 1:23:54
  Speaker 3: hot or cold. Bobo shrugged. I suppose so. It amounts
• 1:24:01
  Speaker 3: to building pyramids, of course. Jim twisted his mouth sourly.
• 1:24:07
  Speaker 3: And since we're asking questions about each other's way of life,
• 1:24:11
  Speaker 3: when is your state going to begin to wither away?
• 1:24:16
  Speaker 3: How was that? Vovo asked. According to your sainted founder,
• 1:24:20
  Speaker 3: once you people came to power, the state was going
• 1:24:23
  Speaker 3: to wither away. Class rule would be over and utopia
• 1:24:27
  Speaker 3: would be on hand. That was a long time ago,
• 1:24:31
  Speaker 3: and your state is stronger than ours. Vovo snorted. How
• 1:24:36
  Speaker 3: can we wither away the state as long as we're
• 1:24:39
  Speaker 3: threatened by capitalist aggression? Jim said, Ha! VOVA went on.'
• 1:24:46
  Speaker 3: You know better than that, Jim. The only way my
• 1:24:50
  Speaker 3: organization can keep in power is by continually beating the drums,
• 1:24:55
  Speaker 3: keeping our people stirred up to greater and greater sacrifices
• 1:25:00
  Speaker 3: by using you as a threat. Didn't the old Romans
• 1:25:04
  Speaker 3: have some sort of maxim to the effect that when
• 1:25:06
  Speaker 3: you're threatened with unease at home, stir up trouble abroad?'
• 1:25:12
  Speaker 3: You're being even more frank than usual, Jim said. But
• 1:25:16
  Speaker 3: that's one of the pleasures of these get-togethers. Neither of
• 1:25:19
  Speaker 3: us resorts to hypocrisy. But you can't keep up these
• 1:25:23
  Speaker 3: tensions forever. You mean we can't keep up these tensions forever, Jim?
• 1:25:29
  Speaker 3: And when they end? Well, personally, I can't see my
• 1:25:35
  Speaker 3: organization going out without a bloodbath. He grimaced sourly. And
• 1:25:40
  Speaker 3: since I'd probably be one of the first to be bathed,
• 1:25:44
  Speaker 3: I'd like to postpone the time. It's like having a
• 1:25:47
  Speaker 3: tiger by the tail, Jim. We can't let go. Happily,
• 1:25:53
  Speaker 3: I don't feel in the same spot, Jim said. He
• 1:25:56
  Speaker 3: got up and went to the picture window that took
• 1:25:58
  Speaker 3: up one entire wall. It faced out over a mountain vista.
• 1:26:04
  Speaker 3: He looked soberly into the sky. Vovo joined him, glass
• 1:26:08
  Speaker 3: in hand. Possibly your position isn't exactly the same as ours,
• 1:26:13
  Speaker 3: but there'll be some awfully great changes if that military-based
• 1:26:18
  Speaker 3: economy of yours suddenly had peace thrust upon it. You'd
• 1:26:23
  Speaker 3: have a depression such as you've never dreamed of. Let's
• 1:26:27
  Speaker 3: face reality, Jim. Neither of us can afford peace. Well,
• 1:26:32
  Speaker 3: we've both known that for a long time. They both
• 1:26:35
  Speaker 3: considered somberly the planet Earth. blazing away, a small sun
• 1:26:42
  Speaker 3: there in the sky. Jim said, I sometimes think that
• 1:26:48
  Speaker 3: the race would have been better off when man was
• 1:26:50
  Speaker 3: colonizing Venus and Mars if it had been a joint
• 1:26:54
  Speaker 3: enterprise rather than you people doing one and we doing
• 1:26:58
  Speaker 3: the other, if it had all been in the hands
• 1:27:01
  Speaker 3: of that organization. The United Nations, Volvo supplied, Then when
• 1:27:09
  Speaker 3: Bomb Day hit, perhaps these new worlds could have gone
• 1:27:12
  Speaker 3: on to, well, better things. Perhaps, Vovo shrugged. I've often
• 1:27:19
  Speaker 3: wondered how Bomb Day started. Who struck the spark? Happily,
• 1:27:24
  Speaker 3: there were enough colonists on both planets to start the
• 1:27:27
  Speaker 3: race all over again, Jim said. What difference does it make?
• 1:27:32
  Speaker 3: Who struck the spark? None, I suppose, Vovo began to
• 1:27:36
  Speaker 3: button his collar. readjust his clothes. Well, shall we emerge
• 1:27:41
  Speaker 3: and let the quaking multitudes know that, once again, we've
• 1:27:46
  Speaker 3: made a shaky agreement, one that will last until the
• 1:27:50
  Speaker 3: next summit meeting?
• 1:27:53
  Speaker 6: You can see it, you can watch it, but mustn't touch.
• 1:28:07
  Speaker 6: and what could possibly be more frustrating, when you need,
• 1:28:10
  Speaker 6: most violently, to get your hands on it for just
• 1:28:13
  Speaker 6: one second. The man finally entered the office of General
• 1:28:18
  Speaker 6: George Garvers. As the door closed behind him, he saw
• 1:28:21
  Speaker 6: the general, who sprang from his chair to greet him. Max,
• 1:28:25
  Speaker 6: you finally came. Got here as soon as I could.
• 1:28:29
  Speaker 6: A wager half my time was taken up by the
• 1:28:31
  Speaker 6: security checkpoints. You're certainly isolated in here. All of that,
• 1:28:36
  Speaker 6: agreed the general, Have a seat, won't you? he asked,
• 1:28:39
  Speaker 6: indicating a chair.' His friends sank into it gratefully.' Now
• 1:28:44
  Speaker 6: what's this vital problem you called me about?' You weren't
• 1:28:47
  Speaker 6: too specific.'' No,' said Garvers.' I wasn't.' This is a
• 1:28:52
  Speaker 6: security matter, after a fashion.' It' s vitally important that we
• 1:28:56
  Speaker 6: get technical help on this thing.' And since you and
• 1:28:58
  Speaker 6: I are friends, I was asked to call you in.
• 1:29:01
  Speaker 1: Well?
• 1:29:03
  Speaker 6: I'm afraid I'll have to make a story of it.
• 1:29:06
  Speaker 6: Quite all right by me, but don't mind if I
• 1:29:08
  Speaker 6: interject a question now and then. Mind if I smoke?
• 1:29:11
  Speaker 6: Go right ahead, said Garvers, fumbling out a lighter. Just
• 1:29:15
  Speaker 6: don't spill ashes on the rug. This all began on
• 1:29:19
  Speaker 6: the 3rd of May. I was working here on some
• 1:29:22
  Speaker 6: top security stuff. I had suddenly got the feeling of
• 1:29:25
  Speaker 6: being watched. I know, it seems silly. what with all
• 1:29:28
  Speaker 6: the checkpoints that a potential spy would have to go
• 1:29:30
  Speaker 6: through to get here. But that's just how I felt.
• 1:29:34
  Speaker 6: Several times I glanced around the office, but of course
• 1:29:36
  Speaker 6: it was empty. Then I began to think that it
• 1:29:39
  Speaker 6: was my nerves. You always were a bit of a hypochondriac,
• 1:29:42
  Speaker 6: observed his friend. Be that as it may, continued Garfurs,
• 1:29:47
  Speaker 6: it was the only explanation I had at the time.
• 1:29:50
  Speaker 6: Either someone was watching me, which seemed impossible, or I
• 1:29:53
  Speaker 6: was beginning to crack under the strain. Well, I put
• 1:29:57
  Speaker 6: my papers away and tried to take a short break.
• 1:30:00
  Speaker 6: I was reaching into my drawer where I keep magazines when,
• 1:30:03
  Speaker 6: so help me, a man stepped out of the wall
• 1:30:05
  Speaker 6: into my office.
• 1:30:07
  Speaker 1: What?
• 1:30:08
  Speaker 6: It seems as if you just said a guy stepped
• 1:30:09
  Speaker 6: out of the wall. That's just what I did say.
• 1:30:13
  Speaker 6: It sounds crazy, but let me finish, will you? I'm
• 1:30:15
  Speaker 6: not kidding, and I'll show you proof later if necessary. Anyway,
• 1:30:21
  Speaker 6: this bird stepped straight out of the wall as if
• 1:30:23
  Speaker 6: it had been a waterfall or something, but the wall
• 1:30:25
  Speaker 6: itself was undamaged. The only proof I had that he
• 1:30:28
  Speaker 6: had actually done it was the fact that he was
• 1:30:30
  Speaker 6: in my office, but that was proof enough. To put
• 1:30:34
  Speaker 6: it mildly, I was thunderstruck. After jumping to my feet,
• 1:30:37
  Speaker 6: I could only stand there like an idiot. I was
• 1:30:40
  Speaker 6: so shaken that I couldn't speak a word, but he
• 1:30:42
  Speaker 6: spoke first.' General Garvers?' he asked, just as if he
• 1:30:46
  Speaker 6: had run into me at a cocktail party or on
• 1:30:48
  Speaker 6: the street. I told him he was correct, and asked
• 1:30:51
  Speaker 6: him who he was and what he wanted, and how
• 1:30:53
  Speaker 6: he got into my office.' He identified himself as a
• 1:30:57
  Speaker 6: Henry Bush and explained that he was acting in behalf
• 1:30:59
  Speaker 6: of a good friend of his, the late Dr. Hyman Duvall.
• 1:31:02
  Speaker 6: Have you ever heard of Duvall, Max? His friend twisted
• 1:31:06
  Speaker 6: his face and thought, I can't say that I have offhand,
• 1:31:10
  Speaker 6: but the name seems to ring a bell somewhere. Well, anyway,
• 1:31:14
  Speaker 6: he said that Duvall had perfected an invention of great
• 1:31:16
  Speaker 6: national importance shortly before his death and asked Bush to
• 1:31:19
  Speaker 6: deliver it to the government if anything should happen to him.
• 1:31:23
  Speaker 6: Then Duvall died suddenly of a heart attack. And what
• 1:31:26
  Speaker 6: was this invention? Isn't it obvious? A machine that would
• 1:31:30
  Speaker 6: enable a man to walk through walls. And Bush has
• 1:31:33
  Speaker 6: no idea how the thing works, other than the general
• 1:31:36
  Speaker 6: explanation that Duvall gave him. And Bush was poles apart
• 1:31:39
  Speaker 6: from Duvall. They were friends from college, but not because
• 1:31:42
  Speaker 6: of professional interests. It seems they were both double-crossed by
• 1:31:46
  Speaker 6: the same girl. Duvall was a brilliant but obscure nuclear
• 1:31:50
  Speaker 6: and radiation physicist. He was one of those once-in-a-lifetime fellows
• 1:31:54
  Speaker 6: like Tesla. He was so shy that he didn't bring
• 1:31:56
  Speaker 6: himself to anybody's attention, save for a few papers he
• 1:31:59
  Speaker 6: published in the smaller physical society's magazines. It was only
• 1:32:03
  Speaker 6: because he had inherited a considerable amount of money that
• 1:32:06
  Speaker 6: he could do any research whatsoever. Hmm, I seem to
• 1:32:10
  Speaker 6: remember a paper about wave propagation in one of the quarterlies.
• 1:32:14
  Speaker 6: Quite unorthodox, as I recall, said Max. Could be. But anyway,
• 1:32:19
  Speaker 6: about Bush. Bush majored in psychology at college. but took
• 1:32:23
  Speaker 6: special courses after he graduated and took a master's in English.
• 1:32:27
  Speaker 6: He's written two novels and three collections of poems under
• 1:32:30
  Speaker 6: various pen names. At the time of Duval's death he
• 1:32:33
  Speaker 6: was working on the libretto of an opera. He has
• 1:32:36
  Speaker 6: no technical training, unless you want to count a year
• 1:32:38
  Speaker 6: of high school general science, so he wasn't too much
• 1:32:41
  Speaker 6: help in explaining how Duval's instrument works. And just to
• 1:32:44
  Speaker 6: make matters more juicy, Duval kept no notes. He had
• 1:32:47
  Speaker 6: total recall and a childlike fear of putting anything into
• 1:32:50
  Speaker 6: writing that had not been experimentally verified. and this machine.
• 1:32:56
  Speaker 6: How's it supposed to work? Garvers got up and began
• 1:32:59
  Speaker 6: to pace. According to Bush, Duvall devised the instrument after
• 1:33:03
  Speaker 6: stumbling into an entirely new branch of physics. This device
• 1:33:08
  Speaker 6: of Duvall's is a special case of a new theory
• 1:33:10
  Speaker 6: of matter and energy. Matter is made up of sub-nuclear particles, electrons, protons,
• 1:33:15
  Speaker 6: and the like. However, Duvall said that these particles are
• 1:33:19
  Speaker 6: in turn made up of much smaller particles grouped together
• 1:33:21
  Speaker 6: in aggregate clouds and The size ratio of these particles
• 1:33:25
  Speaker 6: to protons is something like the ratio of an individual
• 1:33:27
  Speaker 6: proton to a large star. They seem to be composed
• 1:33:30
  Speaker 6: of tiny clots of energy from a fantastically complex energy system,
• 1:33:35
  Speaker 6: in which electromagnetism is but a small part. Each energy
• 1:33:38
  Speaker 6: segment is represented by a different facet of each particle,
• 1:33:41
  Speaker 6: and the arrangement of the individual particles to each other
• 1:33:44
  Speaker 6: determines what superparticle they'll form, such as an electron. Duval
• 1:33:48
  Speaker 6: called these sub-particles LEMs. BUSH SAYS THAT HE WAS TOLD
• 1:33:53
  Speaker 6: THAT A FIELD OF A SPECIAL NATURE COULD BE GENERATED
• 1:33:55
  Speaker 6: SO AS TO MAKE THE INDIVIDUAL LEMMS OF THE PARTICLE
• 1:33:58
  Speaker 6: OF MATTER ROTATE IN A SPECIAL WAY THAT WOULD INTRODUCE
• 1:34:00
  Speaker 6: A POLARIZATION FIELD, AS DEVAUL CALLED IT. THIS FIELD SEEMS
• 1:34:04
  Speaker 6: TO BE CONNECTED SOMEHOW WITH GRAVITY, BUT BUSH DOESN'T KNOW HOW.
• 1:34:09
  Speaker 6: THE UPSHOT IS THAT MATTER IN THE INITIAL PRESENCE OF
• 1:34:11
  Speaker 6: THE FIELD IS AFFECTED SO THAT IT'S ABLE TO PASS
• 1:34:13
  Speaker 6: THROUGH ORDINARY MATTER. HOLD ON, INTERRUPTED MAX. IF A DEVICE
• 1:34:18
  Speaker 6: CAN DO THAT, THEN THE USER WOULD IMMEDIATELY FALL TOWARD
• 1:34:20
  Speaker 6: THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. Just you hold on. You
• 1:34:24
  Speaker 6: didn't let me finish. A single plane of atoms at
• 1:34:27
  Speaker 6: the base of the treated object is the point of contact.
• 1:34:30
  Speaker 6: It remains partially unaffected because it is the closest to
• 1:34:33
  Speaker 6: the gravitostatic field center, which I guess is the Earth's
• 1:34:36
  Speaker 6: center of attraction. This plane of semi-treated atoms can be
• 1:34:40
  Speaker 6: forced through an object if it's moved horizontally, but its
• 1:34:43
  Speaker 6: untreated aspect prevents the subject wearing the device from falling
• 1:34:46
  Speaker 6: to the floor. Bush demonstrated this device to me, turning
• 1:34:50
  Speaker 6: it on and strolling through various objects in the room,
• 1:34:53
  Speaker 6: Think of it. No soldiers could be killed or held prisoner, and... No,
• 1:34:57
  Speaker 6: hang on, objected Max. Let's not run away with ourselves.
• 1:35:01
  Speaker 6: He may have perfected a device that would enable a
• 1:35:03
  Speaker 6: soldier to avoid capture, but there would certainly be other
• 1:35:06
  Speaker 6: ways to kill him than by bullets.
• 1:35:08
  Speaker 1: Let's see now.
• 1:35:09
  Speaker 6: Suppose that the enemy shot a flamethrower at him. The
• 1:35:12
  Speaker 6: materials might pass through him, but he would be cooked anyway.
• 1:35:15
  Speaker 6: Or poison gas.
• 1:35:16
  Speaker 3: Hmm.
• 1:35:17
  Speaker 6: As far as gas goes, I suppose a gas mask
• 1:35:20
  Speaker 6: would be necessary. Bush doesn't know about the breathing mechanism,
• 1:35:23
  Speaker 6: except that he had to take breaths. But as far
• 1:35:26
  Speaker 6: as fire or radiation goes, the man's protected. If the
• 1:35:29
  Speaker 6: radiation is either harmful by nature or by amount, the
• 1:35:33
  Speaker 6: field merely reflects it. It's something called the lemic stress
• 1:35:36
  Speaker 6: of the field that causes the phenomenon. That's why we
• 1:35:39
  Speaker 6: need your help. Max scratched his head thoughtfully.
• 1:35:43
  Speaker 1: I don't understand.
• 1:35:46
  Speaker 6: Garvers looked pained. When Bush had finished his demonstration, he
• 1:35:49
  Speaker 6: carelessly tossed the device on my desk. The thing skidded
• 1:35:52
  Speaker 6: and hit my paperweight so that the switch was thrown
• 1:35:55
  Speaker 6: on again. So now the device and my desk are
• 1:35:57
  Speaker 6: both untouchable. Go over to the desk and try to
• 1:36:00
  Speaker 6: touch it, said Garvers dryly. His friend got up and
• 1:36:04
  Speaker 6: ambled over to the desk. There he saw a small
• 1:36:06
  Speaker 6: black box resting near a paperweight. Its toggle switch was
• 1:36:10
  Speaker 6: at the on position and it was lying on its side.
• 1:36:13
  Speaker 6: He tried to pick the box up, but his hand
• 1:36:16
  Speaker 6: slid effortlessly through it as if it were so much air. Well,
• 1:36:20
  Speaker 6: Max said, He passed his hand through the desk again. Well, Will,
• 1:36:25
  Speaker 6: are you sure Bush told you everything?
• 1:36:28
  Speaker 3: Bush.
• 1:36:29
  Speaker 6: He honestly wants to help and we have taken him
• 1:36:31
  Speaker 6: through the mill. Pentothal, scopolamine and the like, hypnotism and
• 1:36:36
  Speaker 6: the polygraph. We've dug that man deeper than we've ever
• 1:36:39
  Speaker 6: dug anybody before. And have you conducted any experiments of
• 1:36:43
  Speaker 6: your own?
• 1:36:44
  Speaker 1: Certainly.
• 1:36:45
  Speaker 6: That's what's so frustrating. We tried to x-ray the thing
• 1:36:48
  Speaker 6: and we didn't get a thing. We bombarded it with
• 1:36:51
  Speaker 6: every radiation we could think of, from radio to gamma,
• 1:36:54
  Speaker 6: and it just reflected them. We can detect no radiation
• 1:36:57
  Speaker 6: coming out of it. Magnetic fields don't affect it, nor
• 1:37:00
  Speaker 6: do heat and cold. Nuclear particles are ignored by it.
• 1:37:03
  Speaker 6: It just sits there, thumbing its nose at us, and
• 1:37:06
  Speaker 6: we can't even wait for it to run down. According
• 1:37:08
  Speaker 6: to Bush, the power requirements of the thing are funny,
• 1:37:11
  Speaker 6: and once the field is established, it takes no additional
• 1:37:13
  Speaker 6: energy to maintain it. And the collapsing power remains indefinitely
• 1:37:17
  Speaker 6: until it's time to turn the machine off. but it's
• 1:37:20
  Speaker 6: unreachable by any means we have. It's pure frustration. There's
• 1:37:25
  Speaker 6: no way we can analyze it until we can handle it,
• 1:37:27
  Speaker 6: and there's no way we can handle it until we
• 1:37:28
  Speaker 6: can turn it off, and there's no way we can
• 1:37:31
  Speaker 6: turn it off until we've analyzed it.
• 1:37:33
  Speaker 3: If it were alive, I'd.
• 1:37:34
  Speaker 6: Think that it was laughing at us. Do you have
• 1:37:37
  Speaker 6: any ideas? asked Garvers hopefully. Nothing that would help a
• 1:37:41
  Speaker 6: solution at present, said Max. But do you remember the
• 1:37:44
  Speaker 6: legend of King Tantalus?
• 1:37:46
  Speaker 3: Slightly. What about it?
• 1:37:49
  Speaker 6: Well, If he were here, said Max thoughtfully, he'd sympathize.
• 1:38:02
  Speaker 4: The ceremonious protocol of the Yills was impressive, colorful, and
• 1:38:10
  Speaker 4: in the long run, deadly. Part 1. James Retief, Vice
• 1:38:16
  Speaker 4: Consul and Third Secretary in the Diplomatic Corps. followed the
• 1:38:20
  Speaker 4: senior members of the terrestrial mission across the tarmac and
• 1:38:23
  Speaker 4: into the gloom of the reception building. The gray-skinned Yul
• 1:38:27
  Speaker 4: guide who had met the arriving embassy at the foot
• 1:38:29
  Speaker 4: of the RAMP HURRIED AWAY. THE COUNSELOR, TWO FIRST SECRETARIES,
• 1:38:34
  Speaker 4: AND THE SENIOR ATTACHÉS GATHERED AROUND THEIR AMBASSADOR, THEIR ORNATE
• 1:38:38
  Speaker 4: UNIFORMS BRIGHT IN THE VAST, DUN-COLORED ROOM. TEN MINUTES PASSED.
• 1:38:44
  Speaker 4: RATIF STROLLED ACROSS TO THE NEAREST DOOR AND LOOKED THROUGH
• 1:38:47
  Speaker 4: THE GLASS PANEL AT THE ROOM BEYOND. Several dozen yule
• 1:38:52
  Speaker 4: lounged in deep couches, sipping lavender drinks from slender glass tubes.
• 1:38:58
  Speaker 4: Black tunic servants moved about inconspicuously, offering trays. A party
• 1:39:03
  Speaker 4: of brightly dressed yule moved toward the entrance doors. One
• 1:39:07
  Speaker 4: of the party, a tall male, made to step before another,
• 1:39:11
  Speaker 4: who raised a hand languidly, fist clenched. The first yule
• 1:39:15
  Speaker 4: stepped back and placed his hands on top of his head.
• 1:39:19
  Speaker 4: Both Yul were smiling and chatting as they passed through
• 1:39:22
  Speaker 4: the doors. Retief turned away to rejoin the terrestrial delegation
• 1:39:27
  Speaker 4: waiting beside a mound of crates made of rough, greenish
• 1:39:30
  Speaker 4: wood stacked on the bare concrete floor. As Retief came up,
• 1:39:34
  Speaker 4: Ambassador Spradley glanced at his finger watch and spoke to
• 1:39:38
  Speaker 4: the man beside him. Ben, are you quite certain our
• 1:39:41
  Speaker 4: arrival time was made clear? Second Secretary Magnan nodded emphatically.
• 1:39:47
  Speaker 4: I stress the point, Mr.
• 1:39:48
  Speaker 1: Ambassador.
• 1:39:49
  Speaker 4: I communicated with Mr. Takakai just before the lighter broke orbit.
• 1:39:52
  Speaker 3: I specifically.
• 1:39:53
  Speaker 4: I hope you didn't appear truculent, Mr. Magnon, the ambassador
• 1:39:57
  Speaker 4: said sharply. No, indeed, Mr.
• 1:40:00
  Speaker 3: Ambassador.
• 1:40:00
  Speaker 4: I merely... You're sure there's no VIP room here? The
• 1:40:04
  Speaker 4: ambassador glanced around the cavernous room. Curious not even chairs
• 1:40:08
  Speaker 4: have been provided. If you'd care to sit on one
• 1:40:11
  Speaker 4: of these crates... Certainly not, the ambassador looked at his
• 1:40:14
  Speaker 4: watch again and cleared his throat. I may as well
• 1:40:18
  Speaker 4: make use of these few moments to outline our approach
• 1:40:20
  Speaker 4: to the more junior members of the staff. It's vital
• 1:40:23
  Speaker 4: that the entire mission work in harmony in the presentation
• 1:40:26
  Speaker 4: of the image. We terrestrials are a kindly, peace-loving race.
• 1:40:32
  Speaker 4: The ambassador smiled in a kindly, peace-loving way. We seek
• 1:40:37
  Speaker 4: only a reasonable division of spheres of the influence with
• 1:40:40
  Speaker 4: the yield. He spread his hands, looking reasonable. We are
• 1:40:45
  Speaker 4: a people of high culture... Ethical, sincere. The smile was
• 1:40:50
  Speaker 4: replaced abruptly by pursed lips. We'll start by asking for
• 1:40:55
  Speaker 4: the entire Cyrenian system and settle for half. We'll establish
• 1:40:59
  Speaker 4: a foothold on all the choicer worlds, and with shrewd handling,
• 1:41:02
  Speaker 4: in a century we'll be in a position to assert
• 1:41:05
  Speaker 4: a wider claim. The ambassador glanced around. If there are
• 1:41:09
  Speaker 4: no questions... Retief stepped forward. It's my understanding, Mr. Ambassador,
• 1:41:15
  Speaker 4: that we hold the prior claim to the Cyrenian system.
• 1:41:19
  Speaker 4: Did I understand your excellency to say that we are
• 1:41:22
  Speaker 4: ready to concede half of it to the ill without
• 1:41:25
  Speaker 4: a struggle? Ambassador Spradley looked up at Retief, blinking. The
• 1:41:30
  Speaker 4: younger man loomed over him. Beside him, Magnum cleared his
• 1:41:34
  Speaker 4: throat in the silence. Last counsel, Retief, merely means— I
• 1:41:38
  Speaker 4: can interpret Mr. Retief's remark, the ambassador snapped. He assumed
• 1:41:43
  Speaker 4: a fatherly expression. Young man, you're new to the service.
• 1:41:47
  Speaker 4: You haven't yet learned the team play, the give and
• 1:41:50
  Speaker 4: take of diplomacy. I shall expect you to observe closely
• 1:41:54
  Speaker 4: the work of the experienced negotiators of the mission. You
• 1:41:57
  Speaker 4: must learn the importance of subtlety.
• 1:42:01
  Speaker 3: Mr.
• 1:42:01
  Speaker 4: Ambassador, Magnan said, I think the reception committee is arriving.
• 1:42:06
  Speaker 3: He pointed.
• 1:42:07
  Speaker 4: Half a dozen tall, short-necked yule were entering through a
• 1:42:10
  Speaker 4: side door. The leading eel hesitated as another stepped in
• 1:42:14
  Speaker 4: his path. He raised a fist, and the other moved aside,
• 1:42:18
  Speaker 4: touching the top of his head perfunctorily with both hands.
• 1:42:22
  Speaker 4: The group started across the room, toward the terrestrials. Retief
• 1:42:26
  Speaker 4: watched as a slender alien came forward and spoke passable
• 1:42:30
  Speaker 4: Terran in a reedy voice. I am Patoy. Come this way.
• 1:42:36
  Speaker 4: He turned, and the group moved toward the door, the
• 1:42:38
  Speaker 4: ambassador leading. As he reached for the door, The interpreter
• 1:42:43
  Speaker 4: darted ahead and shouldered him aside. The other eel stopped, waiting.
• 1:42:49
  Speaker 4: The ambassador almost glared, and then remembered the image. He
• 1:42:53
  Speaker 4: smiled and beckoned the eel ahead. They milled uncertainly, muttering
• 1:42:58
  Speaker 4: in the native tongue, then passed through the door. The
• 1:43:01
  Speaker 4: Terran party followed. Give a great deal to know what
• 1:43:05
  Speaker 4: they're saying, Ratif overheard as he came up. Our interpreter
• 1:43:10
  Speaker 4: has forged to the van, the ambassador said. I can
• 1:43:12
  Speaker 4: only assume he'll appear when needed. A pity we have
• 1:43:16
  Speaker 4: to rely on a native interpreter, someone said. Had I
• 1:43:21
  Speaker 4: known we'd meet this rather uncouth reception, the ambassador said stiffly,
• 1:43:26
  Speaker 4: I would have audited the language personally, of course, during
• 1:43:29
  Speaker 4: the voyage out. Oh, no criticism intended, of course, Mr.
• 1:43:33
  Speaker 3: Ambassador.
• 1:43:35
  Speaker 4: Heavens, Magnan put in, who would have thought? Reteef moved
• 1:43:39
  Speaker 4: up behind the ambassador.
• 1:43:41
  Speaker 3: Mr.
• 1:43:42
  Speaker 4: Ambassador, he said.
• 1:43:43
  Speaker 3: Aye.
• 1:43:44
  Speaker 4: Later, young man, the ambassador snapped. He beckoned to the
• 1:43:47
  Speaker 4: first counselor, and the two moved off, heads together. Outside,
• 1:43:52
  Speaker 4: a bluish sun gleamed in a dark sky. Reteef watched
• 1:43:56
  Speaker 4: his breath form a frosty cloud in the chill air.
• 1:43:59
  Speaker 4: A broad, donut-wheeled vehicle was drawn up to the platforms.
• 1:44:03
  Speaker 4: The eel gestured the Terran party to the gaping door
• 1:44:06
  Speaker 4: at the rear, then stood back, waiting. Retief looked curiously
• 1:44:11
  Speaker 4: at the gray-painted van. The legend written on its side
• 1:44:15
  Speaker 4: in alien symbols seemed to read, The ambassador entered the vehicle,
• 1:44:22
  Speaker 4: the other terrestrials following. It was as bare of seats
• 1:44:26
  Speaker 4: as the terminal building. What appeared to be a defunct
• 1:44:30
  Speaker 4: electronic chassis lay in the center of the floor. Retief
• 1:44:34
  Speaker 4: glanced back. The eel were talking excitedly. None of them
• 1:44:39
  Speaker 4: entered the car. The door was closed, and the Terrans
• 1:44:42
  Speaker 4: braced themselves under the low roof as the engine started
• 1:44:45
  Speaker 4: up with a whine of worn turbos. The van moved off.
• 1:44:50
  Speaker 4: It was an uncomfortable ride. Retief put out an arm
• 1:44:54
  Speaker 4: as the vehicle rounded a corner, just catching the Ambassador
• 1:44:57
  Speaker 4: as he staggered.
• 1:44:58
  Speaker 3: Off balance.
• 1:45:01
  Speaker 4: The ambassador glared at him, settled his heavy tri-corner hat,
• 1:45:05
  Speaker 4: and stood stiffly until the car lurched again. Retief stooped,
• 1:45:09
  Speaker 4: attempting to see out through the single dusty window. They
• 1:45:13
  Speaker 4: seemed to be in a wide street lined with low buildings.
• 1:45:17
  Speaker 4: They passed through a massive gate, up a ramp, and stopped.
• 1:45:22
  Speaker 4: The door opened. Retief looked out at a blank gray façade,
• 1:45:26
  Speaker 4: broken by tiny windows at irregular intervals. A scarlet vehicle
• 1:45:31
  Speaker 4: was drawn up ahead, the Yule reception committee emerging from it.
• 1:45:35
  Speaker 4: Through its wide windows, Retief saw rich upholstery and caught
• 1:45:39
  Speaker 4: a glimpse of glasses clamped to a tiny bar. Petoy,
• 1:45:44
  Speaker 4: the Yule interpreter, came forward, gestured to a small door.
• 1:45:49
  Speaker 4: Magnin opened it, waiting for the ambassador. As he stepped
• 1:45:53
  Speaker 4: to it, a Yule thrust himself ahead, and hesitated. Ambassador
• 1:45:58
  Speaker 4: Spradley drew himself up, glaring. Then he twisted his mouth
• 1:46:02
  Speaker 4: into a frozen smile and stepped aside. The eel looked
• 1:46:07
  Speaker 4: at each other, then filed through the door. Retief was
• 1:46:11
  Speaker 4: the last to enter. As he stepped inside, a black-clad
• 1:46:15
  Speaker 4: servant slipped past him, pulled the lid from a large
• 1:46:18
  Speaker 4: box by the door, and dropped in a paper tray
• 1:46:21
  Speaker 4: heaped with refuse. There were alien symbols in flaking paint
• 1:46:26
  Speaker 4: on the box. They seemed, Retief noticed, to spell eggnog.
• 1:46:34
  Speaker 4: The shrill pipes and whining reeds had been warming up
• 1:46:37
  Speaker 4: for an hour when Retief emerged from his cubicle and
• 1:46:40
  Speaker 4: descended the stairs into the banquet hall. Standing by the
• 1:46:43
  Speaker 4: open doors, he lit a slender cigar and watched through
• 1:46:47
  Speaker 4: narrowed eyes as obsequious servants in black flitted along the low,
• 1:46:51
  Speaker 4: wide corridor. carrying laden trays into the broad room, arranging
• 1:46:56
  Speaker 4: settings on a great four-sided table, forming a hollow square
• 1:47:00
  Speaker 4: that almost filled the room. Rich brocades were spread across
• 1:47:04
  Speaker 4: the center of the side nearest the door, flanked by
• 1:47:07
  Speaker 4: heavily decorated white cloths. Beyond, plain white extended to the
• 1:47:13
  Speaker 4: far side, where metal dishes were arranged on the bare tabletop.
• 1:47:18
  Speaker 4: A richly dressed yule approached, stepped aside to allow a
• 1:47:22
  Speaker 4: servant to pass, and entered the room. Retief turned at
• 1:47:27
  Speaker 4: the sound of Terran voices behind him. The ambassador came up,
• 1:47:31
  Speaker 4: trailed by two diplomats. He glanced at Retief, adjusted his ruff,
• 1:47:36
  Speaker 4: and looked into the banquet hall.' Apparently we're to be
• 1:47:40
  Speaker 4: kept waiting again,' he muttered.' After having been informed at
• 1:47:44
  Speaker 4: the outset' that the ill have no intention of yielding
• 1:47:47
  Speaker 4: an inch,' one almost wonders—' Mr. Ambassador, Retief said, have
• 1:47:52
  Speaker 4: you noticed— However, Ambassador Spradley said, eyeing Retief, a seasoned
• 1:47:58
  Speaker 4: diplomatist mustn't take these little snubs in stride. In the
• 1:48:02
  Speaker 4: end— Ah, there, Magnon. He turned away, talking. Somewhere, a
• 1:48:08
  Speaker 4: gong clanged. In a moment, the corridor was filled with
• 1:48:13
  Speaker 4: chattering yule who moved past the group of terrestrials into
• 1:48:16
  Speaker 4: the banquet hall. Patoy, the yule interpreter— came up and
• 1:48:20
  Speaker 4: raised a hand. Wait here. More yule filed into the
• 1:48:25
  Speaker 4: dining room to take their places. A pair of helmeted
• 1:48:29
  Speaker 4: guards approached, waving the terrestrials back. An immense, gray-jowled yule
• 1:48:35
  Speaker 4: waddled to the doors and passed through, followed by more guards.
• 1:48:39
  Speaker 4: The chief of state! Reteve heard Magnan say. The Admiral
• 1:48:44
  Speaker 4: Fakau Kau Kau. I have yet to present my credentials,
• 1:48:50
  Speaker 4: Ambassador Spradley said. One expects some latitude in the observance's protocol,
• 1:48:55
  Speaker 4: but I confess, he wagged his head. The eel interpreter
• 1:48:59
  Speaker 4: spoke up. You now will high on your intestines and
• 1:49:05
  Speaker 4: creep to festive board there. He pointed across the room. Intestines?
• 1:49:12
  Speaker 4: Ambassador Spradley looked about wildly.
• 1:49:16
  Speaker 3: Mr.
• 1:49:16
  Speaker 4: Patoy means our stomachs, I wouldn't wonder, Magnin said. He
• 1:49:20
  Speaker 4: just wants us to lie down and crawl to our seats, Mr. Ambassador.
• 1:49:25
  Speaker 4: What the devil are you grinning at, you idiot? the
• 1:49:28
  Speaker 4: Ambassador snapped. Magnin's face fell. Spradley glanced down at the
• 1:49:33
  Speaker 4: metals across his punch.
• 1:49:36
  Speaker 1: This is.
• 1:49:37
  Speaker 3: I've never.
• 1:49:37
  Speaker 4: Homage to gods... THE INTERPRETER SAID. OH, OH, RELIGION, SOMEONE SAID. WELL,
• 1:49:48
  Speaker 4: IF IT'S A MATTER OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, THE AMBASSADOR LOOKED
• 1:49:51
  Speaker 4: DUBIOUSLY AROUND. GOLLY, IT'S ONLY A COUPLE OF HUNDRED FEET,
• 1:49:56
  Speaker 4: MAGNAN OFFERED. RATIF STEPPED UP TO PETOI. HIS EXCELLENCY THE
• 1:50:03
  Speaker 4: TERRESTRIAL AMBASSADOR WILL NOT CRAWL.
• 1:50:06
  Speaker 3: HE SAID CLEARLY. Here, young man, I said nothing.
• 1:50:09
  Speaker 4: Not to crawl, the interpreter wore an unreadable yield expression.
• 1:50:15
  Speaker 4: It is against our religion, Retief said. Against? We are
• 1:50:22
  Speaker 4: votaries of the snake goddess, Retief said. It is a
• 1:50:26
  Speaker 4: sacrilege to crawl. He brushed past the interpreter and marched
• 1:50:30
  Speaker 4: toward the distant table. The others followed.
• 1:50:34
  Speaker 1: Puffing.
• 1:50:35
  Speaker 4: THE AMBASSADOR CAME TO RATIF'S SIDE AS THEY APPROACHED THE
• 1:50:38
  Speaker 4: DOZEN EMPTY STOOLS ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE SQUARE,
• 1:50:41
  Speaker 4: OPPOSITE THE BROCADED POSITION OF THE ADMIRABLE FACOW-COW-COW.
• 1:50:47
  Speaker 1: MR.
• 1:50:47
  Speaker 4: RATIF, KINDLY SEE ME AFTER THIS AFFAIR, HE HISSED. IN
• 1:50:51
  Speaker 4: THE MEANTIME, I HOPE YOU WILL RESTRAIN ANY FURTHER RASH IMPULSES.
• 1:50:55
  Speaker 4: LET ME REMIND YOU I AM THE CHIEF OF MISSION HERE.
• 1:50:59
  Speaker 4: MAGNAN CAME UP FROM BEHIND. Let me add my congratulations, Retief,
• 1:51:04
  Speaker 4: he said. That was fast thinking. Are you out of
• 1:51:08
  Speaker 4: your mind, Magnon? the ambassador barked. I am extremely displeased. Why,
• 1:51:15
  Speaker 4: Magnon stuttered. I was speaking sarcastically, of course, Mr.
• 1:51:19
  Speaker 3: Ambassador.
• 1:51:20
  Speaker 4: Didn't you notice the kind of shocked little gasp I
• 1:51:23
  Speaker 4: gave when he did it? The terrestrials took their places,
• 1:51:27
  Speaker 4: Retief at the end. THE TABLE BEFORE THEM WAS OF
• 1:51:30
  Speaker 4: BARE GREEN WOOD WITH AN ARRAY OF SHALLOW PEWTER DISHES.
• 1:51:35
  Speaker 4: SOME OF THE YILL AT THE TABLE WERE IN PLAIN GRAY,
• 1:51:38
  Speaker 4: OTHERS IN BLACK. ALL EYED THEM SILENTLY. THERE WAS A
• 1:51:42
  Speaker 4: CONSTANT STIR AMONG THEM, AS ONE OR ANOTHER ROSE AND DISAPPEARED,
• 1:51:46
  Speaker 4: AND OTHERS SAT DOWN. THE PIPES AND REEDS WERE SHRILLING FURIOUSLY,
• 1:51:51
  Speaker 4: AND THE SUSURRATION OF YILLIAN CONVERSATION FROM THE OTHER TABLES
• 1:51:55
  Speaker 4: ROSE EVER HIGHER IN COMPETITION. A tall eel in black
• 1:52:00
  Speaker 4: was at the ambassador's side now. The nearby eel fell
• 1:52:03
  Speaker 4: silent as he began lading a whitish soup into the
• 1:52:06
  Speaker 4: largest of the bowls before the terrestrial envoy. The interpreter hovered, watching.
• 1:52:13
  Speaker 4: That's quite enough, Ambassador Spradley said as the bowl overflowed.
• 1:52:17
  Speaker 4: The eel servant rolled his eyes, dribbled more of the
• 1:52:20
  Speaker 4: soup into the bowl. Kindly serve the other members of
• 1:52:24
  Speaker 4: my staff, the ambassador said. The interpreter said something in
• 1:52:29
  Speaker 4: a low voice. The servant moved hesitantly to the next
• 1:52:32
  Speaker 4: stool and ladled more soup. Retief watched, listening to the
• 1:52:37
  Speaker 4: whispers around him. The eel at the table were craning
• 1:52:40
  Speaker 4: now to watch. The soup ladler was ladling rapidly, rolling
• 1:52:44
  Speaker 4: his eyes sideways. He came to Retief, reached out with
• 1:52:48
  Speaker 4: the full ladle for the bowl. No, Retief said. The
• 1:52:52
  Speaker 4: ladler hesitated. None for me, Retief said. The interpreter came
• 1:52:58
  Speaker 4: up and motioned to the servant, who reached again, ladle brimming.
• 1:53:02
  Speaker 4: I don't like it, Retief said, his voice distinct in
• 1:53:07
  Speaker 4: the sudden hush. He stared at the interpreter, who stared back,
• 1:53:11
  Speaker 4: then waved the servant away.
• 1:53:14
  Speaker 6: Mr.
• 1:53:14
  Speaker 4: Retief, a voice hissed. Retief looked down the table. The
• 1:53:20
  Speaker 4: ambassador was leaning forward, glaring at him, his face a
• 1:53:23
  Speaker 4: mottled crimson. I'm warning you, Mr. Retief, he said hoarsely.
• 1:53:29
  Speaker 4: I've eaten sheep's eyes in Sudan, Kaswe in Burma, hundred-year
• 1:53:35
  Speaker 4: coug on Mars, and everything else that have been placed
• 1:53:37
  Speaker 4: before me in the course of my diplomatic career, and
• 1:53:40
  Speaker 4: by the holy relics of St. Ignat's, you'll do the same.
• 1:53:44
  Speaker 4: He snatched up a spoon-like utensil and dipped it into
• 1:53:48
  Speaker 4: his bowl. Don't eat that, Mr. Ambassador, Retief said. The
• 1:53:53
  Speaker 4: ambassador stared, eyes wide. He opened his mouth, guided the
• 1:53:58
  Speaker 4: spoon toward it. Retief stood, gripped the table under its edge,
• 1:54:02
  Speaker 4: and heaved. The immense wooden slab rose and tilted, dishes sliding.
• 1:54:07
  Speaker 4: It crashed to the floor with a ponderous slam. Whitish
• 1:54:11
  Speaker 4: soup splattered across the terrazzo. A couple of odd bowls
• 1:54:15
  Speaker 4: rolled across the room. Cries rang out from the yell,
• 1:54:18
  Speaker 4: mingling with a strangled yell from Ambassador Spradley. Retief walked
• 1:54:23
  Speaker 4: past the wild-eyed members of the mission to the sputtering chief.
• 1:54:27
  Speaker 1: Mr.
• 1:54:27
  Speaker 4: Ambassador, he said, I'd like.
• 1:54:30
  Speaker 3: You'd like?
• 1:54:31
  Speaker 4: I'll break you, you young hoodlum. Do you realize? Please,
• 1:54:36
  Speaker 4: the interpreter stood at Retief's side. My apologies, Ambassador Spradley said,
• 1:54:42
  Speaker 4: mopping his forehead. My profound apologies. Be quiet, Retief said.
• 1:54:48
  Speaker 5: What?
• 1:54:49
  Speaker 4: Don't apologize, Retief said. Patois was beckoning. Please, I'll come.
• 1:54:57
  Speaker 4: Retief turned and followed him. The portion of the table
• 1:55:01
  Speaker 4: they were ushered to was covered with an embroidered white
• 1:55:04
  Speaker 4: cloth set with thin porcelain dishes. The yule, already seated there,
• 1:55:09
  Speaker 4: rose amid babbling and moved down the table. The black-clad
• 1:55:13
  Speaker 4: yule at the end of the table closed ranks to
• 1:55:16
  Speaker 4: fill the vacant seats. Retief sat down and found Magnin
• 1:55:19
  Speaker 4: at his side. What's going on here? the second secretary
• 1:55:23
  Speaker 4: said angrily. They were giving us dog food, Retief said.
• 1:55:28
  Speaker 4: I overheard a yill. They seated us at the bottom
• 1:55:31
  Speaker 4: of the servants' table. You mean you know their language?
• 1:55:34
  Speaker 4: I learned it on the way out. Enough, at least.
• 1:55:38
  Speaker 4: The music burst out with a clangorous fanfare, and a
• 1:55:41
  Speaker 4: throng of jugglers, dancers, and acrobats poured into the center
• 1:55:45
  Speaker 4: of the hollow square, frantically juggling, dancing, and backflipping. BLACK-CLAD
• 1:55:50
  Speaker 4: SERVANTS SWARMED SUDDENLY, HEEPING MOUNDS OF FRAGRANT FOOD ON THE
• 1:55:54
  Speaker 4: PLATES OF YIL AND TERRESTRIALS ALIKE, POURING A PALE, PURPLE
• 1:55:58
  Speaker 4: LIQUOR INTO SLENDER GLASSES. RATIF SAMPLED THE YIL FOOD. IT
• 1:56:03
  Speaker 4: WAS DELICIOUS. CONVERSATION WAS IMPOSSIBLE IN THE DIN. HE WATCHED
• 1:56:08
  Speaker 4: THE GAUDY DISPLAY AND ATE HEARTILY. RATIF LEANED BACK, GRATEFUL
• 1:56:15
  Speaker 4: FOR THE LULL IN THE MUSIC. The last of the
• 1:56:18
  Speaker 4: dishes were whisked away and more glasses filled. The exhausted
• 1:56:21
  Speaker 4: entertainers stopped to pick up the thick square coins the
• 1:56:25
  Speaker 4: diners threw. Retief sighed. It had been a rare feast. Retief,
• 1:56:31
  Speaker 4: Magnin said in the comparative quiet, what were you saying
• 1:56:35
  Speaker 4: about dog food as the music came up? Retief looked
• 1:56:38
  Speaker 4: at him. Haven't you noticed a pattern, Mr.
• 1:56:41
  Speaker 1: Magnin?
• 1:56:42
  Speaker 4: The series of deliberate affronts? Deliberate affronts? Just a minute, Retief.
• 1:56:48
  Speaker 4: They're uncouth, yes. Crowding into doorways and that sort of thing.
• 1:56:52
  Speaker 4: He looked at Retief uncertainly. They herded us into a
• 1:56:57
  Speaker 4: baggage warehouse at the terminal. They hauled us here in
• 1:57:01
  Speaker 4: a garbage truck. Garbage truck? Only symbolic, of course. They
• 1:57:06
  Speaker 4: ushered us in the tradesman's entrance and assigned us cubicles
• 1:57:10
  Speaker 4: in the servants' wings. Then we were seated with the
• 1:57:13
  Speaker 4: coolie-class sweepers at the bottom of the table.
• 1:57:17
  Speaker 1: You must be.
• 1:57:18
  Speaker 4: I mean, we're the terrestrial delegation. Surely these yule must
• 1:57:22
  Speaker 4: realize our power. Precisely, Mr.
• 1:57:26
  Speaker 1: Magnon.
• 1:57:26
  Speaker 4: But with a clang of cymbals, the musicians launched a
• 1:57:30
  Speaker 4: renewed assault. Six tall, helmeted yule sprang into the center
• 1:57:34
  Speaker 4: of the floor and paired off in a wild performance,
• 1:57:38
  Speaker 4: half dance, half combat. Magnin pulled at Retief's arm, his
• 1:57:43
  Speaker 4: mouth moving. Retief shook his head. No one could talk
• 1:57:47
  Speaker 4: against a eel orchestra in full cry. He sampled a
• 1:57:50
  Speaker 4: bright red wine and watched the show. There was a
• 1:57:54
  Speaker 4: flurry of action, and two of the dancers stumbled and collapsed,
• 1:57:58
  Speaker 4: their partner opponents whirling away off to pair off again,
• 1:58:01
  Speaker 4: described the elaborate pre-combat ritual, and abruptly set to, dulled
• 1:58:06
  Speaker 4: sabers clashing, and two more yule were down, stunned. It
• 1:58:11
  Speaker 4: was a violent dance. Retief watched, the drink forgotten. The
• 1:58:16
  Speaker 4: last two yule approached, and retreated, whirled, bobbed and spun,
• 1:58:20
  Speaker 4: fainted and postured, and on the instant clashed, straining chest
• 1:58:25
  Speaker 4: to chest, then broke apart, heavy weapons chopping, parrying, as
• 1:58:30
  Speaker 4: the music mounted to a frenzy. Evenly matched, the two hacked, thrust,
• 1:58:35
  Speaker 4: blow for blow across the floor, then back, defense forgotten,
• 1:58:39
  Speaker 4: slugging it out. And then, one was slipping, going down,
• 1:58:44
  Speaker 4: helmet awry. The other, a giant muscular yule, spun away,
• 1:58:49
  Speaker 4: whirled in a mad skirl of pipes as coins showered,
• 1:58:52
  Speaker 4: then froze before a gaudy table, raised the sabre, and
• 1:58:56
  Speaker 4: slammed it down in a resounding blow across the gay
• 1:58:59
  Speaker 4: cloth before a lace of bow-bedecked yule in the same
• 1:59:03
  Speaker 4: instant that the music stopped. In utter silence, the dancer-fighter
• 1:59:09
  Speaker 4: stared across the table at the seated yule. With a shout,
• 1:59:13
  Speaker 4: the yule leaped up, raised a clenched fist. The dancer
• 1:59:17
  Speaker 4: bowed his head, spread his hands on his helmet. Retief
• 1:59:21
  Speaker 4: took a deep gulp of pale yellow liqueur and leaned
• 1:59:24
  Speaker 4: forward to watch. The beribboned yule waved a hand negligently,
• 1:59:30
  Speaker 4: spilled a handful of coins across the table, and sat down.
• 1:59:34
  Speaker 4: The challenger spun away in a screeching shrill of music.
• 1:59:38
  Speaker 4: Retief caught his eye for an instant as he passed.
• 1:59:42
  Speaker 4: And then the dancer stood rigid before the brocaded table,
• 1:59:45
  Speaker 4: and the music stopped off short as the saber slammed
• 1:59:48
  Speaker 4: down before a heavy yule in ornate metallic coils. The
• 1:59:53
  Speaker 4: challenged yule rose and raised a fist, The other ducked
• 1:59:57
  Speaker 4: his head, put his hands on his helmet. Coins rolled,
• 2:00:01
  Speaker 4: and the dancer moved on. Twice more, the dancer struck
• 2:00:05
  Speaker 4: the table in a ritualistic challenge, exchanged gestures, bent his neck,
• 2:00:10
  Speaker 4: and passed on. He circled the broad floor, saber-twirling, arms
• 2:00:15
  Speaker 4: darting in an intricate symbolism. The orchestra blared shrilly, unmuffled
• 2:00:21
  Speaker 4: now by the surf-roar of conversation. The yule, Retief noticed suddenly,
• 2:00:26
  Speaker 4: were sitting silent, watching. The dancer was closer now, and
• 2:00:31
  Speaker 4: then he was before Retief, poised, towering, saber above his head.
• 2:00:36
  Speaker 4: The music cut, and in the startling instantaneous silence, the
• 2:00:40
  Speaker 4: heavy saber whipped over and down with an explosive concussion
• 2:00:44
  Speaker 4: that set dishes dancing on the tabletop. The eel's eyes
• 2:00:48
  Speaker 4: held on Retief's. In the silence, Magnin tittered drunkenly. Retief
• 2:00:54
  Speaker 4: pushed back his stool. Steady, my boy, Ambassador Spradley called.
• 2:00:59
  Speaker 4: Retief stood, the eel topping his six-foot-three by an inch.
• 2:01:04
  Speaker 4: In a motion almost too quick to follow, Retief reached
• 2:01:07
  Speaker 4: for the saber, twitched it from the eel's grip, swung
• 2:01:11
  Speaker 4: it in a whistling cut. The eel ducked, sprang back,
• 2:01:15
  Speaker 4: snatched up a saber dropped by another dancer.
• 2:01:19
  Speaker 3: Someone stop the madman.
• 2:01:21
  Speaker 4: Spradley howled. Retief leaped across the table, sending fragile dishes spinning.
• 2:01:28
  Speaker 4: The other danced back, and only then did the orchestra
• 2:01:31
  Speaker 4: spring to life with a screech and a mad tattoo
• 2:01:34
  Speaker 4: of high-pitched drums. Making no attempt to follow the weaving
• 2:01:38
  Speaker 4: pattern of the Yule Bolero, Retief pressed the other, fending
• 2:01:42
  Speaker 4: off vicious cuts with the blunt weapon, chopping back relentlessly.
• 2:01:47
  Speaker 4: Left hand on hip, Retief matched blow for blow, driving
• 2:01:50
  Speaker 4: the other back. Abruptly, the eel abandoned the double roll.
• 2:01:55
  Speaker 4: Dancing forgotten, he settled down in earnest, cutting, thrusting, parrying,
• 2:02:00
  Speaker 4: and now the two stood toe-to-toe, sabers clashing in a
• 2:02:04
  Speaker 4: lightning exchange. The eel gave a step, two, then rallied,
• 2:02:09
  Speaker 4: drove Retief back, back, and the eel stumbled. His saber clattered,
• 2:02:15
  Speaker 4: and Retief dropped his point as the other wavered past
• 2:02:18
  Speaker 4: him and crashed to the floor. The orchestra fell silent
• 2:02:22
  Speaker 4: in a descending wail of reeds. Retief drew a deep
• 2:02:27
  Speaker 4: breath and wiped his forehead. Come back here, you young fool,
• 2:02:32
  Speaker 4: Spradley called hoarsely. Retief hefted the saber, turned, eyed the
• 2:02:37
  Speaker 4: brocade-draped table. He started across the floor. The yule sat
• 2:02:43
  Speaker 4: as if paralyzed.
• 2:02:44
  Speaker 3: Retief!
• 2:02:45
  Speaker 5: No!
• 2:02:46
  Speaker 4: Spradley yelped. RATRIEF WALKED DIRECTLY TO THE ADMIRABLE FACOW-COW-COW, STOPPED,
• 2:02:54
  Speaker 4: RAISED THE SABER. NOT THE CHIEF OF STATE, SOMEONE IN
• 2:02:58
  Speaker 4: THE TERRESTRIAL MISSION GROANED. RATRIEF WHIPPED THE SABER DOWN. THE
• 2:03:03
  Speaker 4: DULL BLADES SPLIT THE CLOTH AND CLOVED THE HARDWOOD TABLE.
• 2:03:06
  Speaker 4: THERE WAS UTTER SILENCE. THE ADMIRABLE FACOW-COW-COW ROSE, SEVEN FEET
• 2:03:13
  Speaker 4: OF OBESE GRAY YIELD, BROADFACE EXPRESSIONLESS TO ANY TERRAN EYES,
• 2:03:18
  Speaker 4: He raised a fist like a jewel-studded ham. Retief stood
• 2:03:23
  Speaker 4: rigid for a long moment. Then, gracefully, he inclined his head,
• 2:03:28
  Speaker 4: placed his fingertips on his temples. Behind him, there was
• 2:03:32
  Speaker 4: a clatter as Ambassador Spradley collapsed. Then the admirable Foucault-Coucault
• 2:03:38
  Speaker 4: cried out and reached across the table to embrace the terrestrial,
• 2:03:43
  Speaker 4: and the orchestra went mad. Gray hands helped Retief across
• 2:03:47
  Speaker 4: the table. Stools were pushed aside to make room at
• 2:03:50
  Speaker 4: Fakau-Kau-Kau's side. Retief sat, took a tall flagon of coal-black
• 2:03:56
  Speaker 4: brandy pressed on him by his neighbor, clashed glasses with
• 2:04:00
  Speaker 4: the admirable, and drank. Part Four Retief turned at the
• 2:04:06
  Speaker 4: touch on his shoulder. The ambassador wants to speak to you, Retief,
• 2:04:10
  Speaker 4: Magnan said. Reteef looked across to where Ambassador Spradley sat
• 2:04:15
  Speaker 4: glowering behind a plain tablecloth.' Under the circumstances,' Reteef said,'
• 2:04:21
  Speaker 4: you' d better ask him to come over here.'' The Ambassador?'
• 2:04:25
  Speaker 4: Magnan's voice cracked.' Never mind the protocol,' Reteef said.' The
• 2:04:30
  Speaker 4: situation is still delicate.' Magnan went away.' The feast ends,'
• 2:04:36
  Speaker 4: Fakaukaukau said. NOW YOU AND I, RATIF, MUST STRADDLE THE
• 2:04:41
  Speaker 4: COUNCIL STOOL. I'LL BE HONORED, ADMIRABLE, RATIF SAID. I MUST
• 2:04:47
  Speaker 4: INFORM MY COLLEAGUES. COLLEAGUES, FACAU-CAU-CAU SAID. IT IS FOR CHIEFS
• 2:04:54
  Speaker 4: TO PARLEY. WHO SHALL SPEAK FOR A KING WHILE HE
• 2:04:57
  Speaker 4: YET HAS TONGUE FOR TALK? THE YILL WAY IS WISE,
• 2:05:02
  Speaker 4: RATIF SAID. FACOW-COW-COW EMPTIED A SQUAT TUMBLER OF PINK BEER.
• 2:05:09
  Speaker 4: I WILL TREAT WITH YOU, RETIEF, AS VICEROY, SINCE, AS
• 2:05:13
  Speaker 4: YOU SAY, YOUR KING IS OLD AND THE SPACE BETWEEN
• 2:05:17
  Speaker 4: WORLDS IS FAR. BUT THERE SHALL BE NO SCHEMING UNDERLINGS
• 2:05:21
  Speaker 4: PRIVY TO OUR DEALINGS. HE GRINNED A YIELD GRIN. AFTERWARDS
• 2:05:27
  Speaker 4: WE SHALL CAROUSE, RETIEF. THE COUNCIL'S STOOL IS HARD AND
• 2:05:32
  Speaker 4: THE WAITING HANDMAIDEN'S DELECTABLE. THIS MAKES FOR QUICK AGREEMENT. RATIEF SMILED.
• 2:05:39
  Speaker 4: THE KING IS WISE.
• 2:05:42
  Speaker 1: OF COURSE.
• 2:05:43
  Speaker 4: A BEING PREFERS WENCHES OF HIS OWN KIND, THE COW-COW-COW SAID.
• 2:05:48
  Speaker 1: HE BELCHED.
• 2:05:50
  Speaker 4: THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE HAS IMPORTED SEVERAL TERRY, EXCUSE ME, RATIEF,
• 2:05:55
  Speaker 4: TERRESTRIAL JOY-GIRLS, SAID TO BE TOP-NOTCH SPECIMENS. AT LEAST THEY
• 2:06:02
  Speaker 4: HAVE VERY FAT, WHATCHAMACALLITES. THE KING IS MOST CONSIDERATE, RATIFE SAID.
• 2:06:09
  Speaker 4: LET US DO IT, THEN, RATIFE. I MAY HAZARD A
• 2:06:13
  Speaker 4: FLING WITH ONE OF YOUR TERRIES MYSELF. I FANCY AN
• 2:06:17
  Speaker 4: OCCASIONAL PERVERSION. FACAU-CAU-CAU DUG AN ELBOW INTO RATIFE'S SIDE AND
• 2:06:22
  Speaker 4: BELLOWED WITH LAUGHTER. AMBASSADOR SPRADDLY HURRIED TO INTERCEPT RATIFE AS
• 2:06:28
  Speaker 4: HE CROSSED TO THE DOOR AT FACAU-CAU-CAU'S SIDE. RETIEF, KINDLY
• 2:06:33
  Speaker 4: EXCUSE YOURSELF, I WISH A WORD WITH YOU. HIS VOICE
• 2:06:37
  Speaker 4: WAS ICY. MAGNAN STOOD BEHIND HIM, GOGGLING.
• 2:06:41
  Speaker 3: MR.
• 2:06:42
  Speaker 4: AMBASSADOR, FORGIVE MY APPARENT RUDENESS, RETIEF SAID. I DON'T HAVE
• 2:06:46
  Speaker 4: TIME TO EXPLAIN NOW. RUDENESS, SPRADLEY BARKED. DON'T HAVE TIME, EH?
• 2:06:53
  Speaker 3: LET ME TELL YOU.
• 2:06:55
  Speaker 4: LOWER YOUR VOICE, MR. AMBASSADOR, RETIEF SAID. SPRADLEY QUIVERED, MOUTH OPEN, SPEECHLESS.
• 2:07:02
  Speaker 4: If you sit down and wait quietly, Retief said.
• 2:07:05
  Speaker 3: I think.
• 2:07:06
  Speaker 4: You think... Spradley spluttered. Silence, Retief said. Spradley looked up
• 2:07:13
  Speaker 4: at Retief's face. He stared for a moment into Retief's
• 2:07:16
  Speaker 4: gray eyes, closed his mouth, and swallowed. The ill seem
• 2:07:21
  Speaker 4: to have gotten the impression I'm in charge, Retief said.
• 2:07:24
  Speaker 4: We'll have to keep it up.
• 2:07:26
  Speaker 1: But... but.
• 2:07:28
  Speaker 4: Spradley stuttered. Then he straightened. That is the last straw,
• 2:07:33
  Speaker 4: he whispered hoarsely. I am the Terrestrial Ambassador Extraordinary and
• 2:07:37
  Speaker 4: Minister Planet Potentiary. Magnon has told me that we've been
• 2:07:41
  Speaker 4: studiedly insulted, repeatedly, since the moment of our arrival. Kept
• 2:07:46
  Speaker 4: waiting in baggage rooms, transported in refuse lorries, herded about
• 2:07:51
  Speaker 4: with servants, offered swill.
• 2:07:53
  Speaker 1: At the table.
• 2:07:55
  Speaker 4: Now I and my senior staff are left COOLING OUR
• 2:07:58
  Speaker 4: HEELS WITHOUT SO MUCH AS AN AUDIENCE WHILE THIS MULTIPLE-COW-PERSON
• 2:08:03
  Speaker 4: HOBNOBS WITH.
• 2:08:06
  Speaker 4: SPRADLEY'S VOICE BROKE. I MAY HAVE BEEN A TRIFLE HASTY, RATIF,
• 2:08:11
  Speaker 4: IN ATTEMPTING TO RESTRAIN YOU. BLASPHEMING THE NATIVE GODS AND
• 2:08:14
  Speaker 4: DUMPING THE BANQUET TABLE ARE RATHER EXTREME MEASURES. but your
• 2:08:18
  Speaker 4: resentment was perhaps partially justified. I am prepared to be
• 2:08:22
  Speaker 4: lenient with you. He fixed a choleric eye on Retief.
• 2:08:27
  Speaker 4: I am walking out of this meeting, Mr.
• 2:08:29
  Speaker 3: Retief.
• 2:08:30
  Speaker 4: I'll take no more of these deliberate, personal... That's enough,
• 2:08:34
  Speaker 4: Retief snapped. You're keeping the king waiting. Get back to
• 2:08:38
  Speaker 4: your chair and sit there until I come back. Magnon
• 2:08:42
  Speaker 4: found his voice. What are you going to do, Retief?
• 2:08:46
  Speaker 4: I'm going to handle the negotiations, Retief said. He handed
• 2:08:51
  Speaker 4: Magnon his empty glass. Now go sit down and work
• 2:08:55
  Speaker 4: on the image. At his desk in the VIP suite
• 2:09:00
  Speaker 4: aboard the orbiting core vessel, Ambassador Spradley pursed his lips
• 2:09:05
  Speaker 4: and looked severely at Vice Consul Retief.
• 2:09:08
  Speaker 3: Further, he said.
• 2:09:10
  Speaker 4: You have displayed a complete lack of understanding of core discipline,
• 2:09:14
  Speaker 4: the respect due a senior agent, and even the basic courtesies.
• 2:09:18
  Speaker 4: Your aggravated displays of temper, ill-timed outbursts of violence, and
• 2:09:23
  Speaker 4: almost incredible arrogance in the assumption of authority make your
• 2:09:27
  Speaker 4: further retention as an officer agent of the diplomatic corps impossible.
• 2:09:33
  Speaker 4: It will therefore be my unhappy duty to recommend your immediate...
• 2:09:38
  Speaker 4: There is a muted buzz from the communicator. The Ambassador
• 2:09:41
  Speaker 4: cleared his throat.
• 2:09:42
  Speaker 6: Well?
• 2:09:44
  Speaker 4: A signal from Sector HQ, Mr. Ambassador, a voice said. Well,
• 2:09:49
  Speaker 4: read it, Spradley snapped. Skip the preliminaries. Congratulations on the
• 2:09:56
  Speaker 4: unprecedented success of your mission. The Articles of Agreement transmitted
• 2:10:00
  Speaker 4: by you embody a most favorable resolution of the difficult
• 2:10:03
  Speaker 4: Serenian situation. and you will form the basis of continued
• 2:10:07
  Speaker 4: amicable relations between the terrestrial states and the ill empire.
• 2:10:12
  Speaker 4: To you and your staff, full credit is due for
• 2:10:14
  Speaker 4: a job well done. Signed, Deputy Assistant Secretary Spradley cut
• 2:10:19
  Speaker 4: off the voice impatiently. He shuffled papers and eyed Retief sharply. Superficially,
• 2:10:26
  Speaker 4: of course, an uninitiated observer might leap to the conclusion
• 2:10:30
  Speaker 4: that the results that were produced in spite of these
• 2:10:35
  Speaker 4: irregularities justify the latter. The ambassador smiled a sad, wise smile.
• 2:10:42
  Speaker 4: This is far from the case, he said. The communicator
• 2:10:47
  Speaker 4: burped softly. Confound it, Spradley muttered, yes.
• 2:10:51
  Speaker 1: Mr.
• 2:10:52
  Speaker 4: Takai Kai has arrived, the voice said. Shall I send
• 2:10:56
  Speaker 4: a man at once? Spradley glanced at Retief. Only a
• 2:11:00
  Speaker 4: two-syllable man, but I shall attempt to correct these false
• 2:11:03
  Speaker 4: impressions and make some amends. The two terrestrials waited silently
• 2:11:09
  Speaker 4: until the Yield Protocol chief tapped at the door. I hope,
• 2:11:14
  Speaker 4: the ambassador said, that you will resist the impulse to
• 2:11:17
  Speaker 4: take advantage of your unusual position. He looked at the door.
• 2:11:22
  Speaker 1: Come in.
• 2:11:23
  Speaker 4: T'Kai Kai stepped into the room, glanced at Spradley, turned
• 2:11:27
  Speaker 4: to greet Retief in voluble yield. He rounded the desk
• 2:11:31
  Speaker 4: to the ambassador's chair, motioned him from it, and sat down.
• 2:11:36
  Speaker 4: I have a surprise for you, Retief, he said in terror.
• 2:11:41
  Speaker 4: I myself have made use of the teaching machine you
• 2:11:45
  Speaker 4: so kindly lent us. That's fine, T'Kai Kai, Retief said.
• 2:11:51
  Speaker 4: I'm sure Mr. Spradley will be interested in hearing what
• 2:11:54
  Speaker 4: we have to say. Never mind, the eel said. I
• 2:11:59
  Speaker 4: am here only socially, he looked around the room. So
• 2:12:04
  Speaker 4: plainly you decorate your chamber, but it has a certain
• 2:12:09
  Speaker 4: austere charm, he laughed a eel laugh. Oh, you are
• 2:12:15
  Speaker 4: a strange breed, you terrestrials. You surprised us all, you know.
• 2:12:21
  Speaker 4: When here's such outlandish stories, I tell you in confidence
• 2:12:26
  Speaker 4: we had expected you to be over-pushes. Push-overs, Spradley said tonelessly.
• 2:12:34
  Speaker 4: Such restraint! What pleasure you gave to those of us,
• 2:12:38
  Speaker 4: like myself, of course, who appreciated your grasp of protocol!
• 2:12:44
  Speaker 4: Such finesse! How subtly you appeared to ignore each overture!
• 2:12:50
  Speaker 4: while neatly avoiding actual contamination. I can tell you there
• 2:12:55
  Speaker 4: were those who thought, poor fools, that you had no
• 2:12:59
  Speaker 4: grasp of etiquette. How gratified we were, we professionals, who
• 2:13:05
  Speaker 4: could appreciate your virtuosity when you placed matters on a
• 2:13:10
  Speaker 4: comfortable basis by spurning the cat's meat. It was sheer pleasure, then,
• 2:13:16
  Speaker 4: waiting to see what form your compliment would take. The
• 2:13:21
  Speaker 4: eel offered orange cigars and stuffed one in his nostril.
• 2:13:26
  Speaker 4: I confess, even I had not hoped that you would
• 2:13:30
  Speaker 4: honor our admirable so signally. Oh, it is a pleasure
• 2:13:35
  Speaker 4: to deal with fellow professionals who understand the meaning of protocol.
• 2:13:42
  Speaker 4: Ambassador Spradley made a choking sound. This fellow has caught
• 2:13:47
  Speaker 4: a chill, T'Kai Kai said. He eyed Spradley dubiously. Step back,
• 2:13:53
  Speaker 4: my man. I am highly susceptible. There is one bit
• 2:13:58
  Speaker 4: of business I shall take pleasure in attending to, my
• 2:14:01
  Speaker 4: dear Retief, T'Kai Kai went on. He drew a large
• 2:14:05
  Speaker 4: paper from his reticule. The admirable is determined that none
• 2:14:09
  Speaker 4: other than yourself shall be accredited here. I have here
• 2:14:14
  Speaker 4: my government's executor confirming you as terrestrial consul general to Yil.
• 2:14:20
  Speaker 4: We shall look forward to your prompt return. Retief looked
• 2:14:25
  Speaker 4: at Spradley. I'm sure the Corps will agree, he said.
• 2:14:29
  Speaker 4: Then I shall be going, T'Kai Kai said.
• 2:14:32
  Speaker 3: He stood up.
• 2:14:34
  Speaker 4: Hurry back to us, Retief. There is much that I
• 2:14:37
  Speaker 4: would show you of Yil. I'll hurry, Retief said. And,
• 2:14:42
  Speaker 4: with a yield wink, together we shall see many high
• 2:14:46
  Speaker 4: and splendid things.