The Colonists Read online

metallic mirror and hung it from the post near thebed. He turned up the broken table against the wall. Then, with the airof one who has not been on the premises for a long time he begansearching through the long unused chests stacked in the corner. Thecontents were for the most part in a state of decay, but he found hisstraight edged razor in the oiled pouch where he had last placed it.

  There should have been shaving detergent, but he couldn't find it. Hecontented himself with preparing hot water, then slowly and painfullyhacked the thick beard away and scraped his face clean. He found a comband raked it through his tangled mat of hair, arranging it in some vagueresemblance to the cut he used to wear.

  From the chests he drew forth the dress uniform he had put away so longago. Fortunately, it had been in the center, surrounded by otherarticles so that it was among the best preserved of his possessions. Hedonned it in place of the rags he wore. The shoes were almost completelyhard from lack of care, but he put them on anyway and brushed the toeswith a scrap of cloth.

  From underneath his bed he took his one possession which he had kept inmeticulous repair, his service pistol. Then he stood up, buttoning andsmoothing his coat, and smiled at himself in the little mirror. But hisgaze shifted at once to something an infinity away.

  "'Do not, above all, betray that honor.' At least you gave us one goodpiece of advice, fatty," he said.

  Carefully, he raised the pistol to his head.

  * * * * *

  Hull number four was erect and self-supporting. Its shell enclosure wascomplete except for necessary installation openings. And in Number Onethe installations were complete and the ship's first test flight wasscheduled for tomorrow morning.

  John Ashby looked from the third story window of his office toward thedistant assembly yards on the other side of the field. The four hullsstood like golden flames in the afternoon sunlight. Ashby felt defeatedby the speed with which the ships were being completed. It was almost asif the engineers had a special animosity toward him, which theyexpressed in their unreasonable speed of construction. This wasnonsense, of course. They had a job to do and were proud if they couldcut time from their schedule.

  But there was no cutting time from _his_ schedule, and without thecompletion of his work the ships would not fly. He had to find mencapable of taking them on their fantastic journeys. To date, he hadfailed.

  He glanced down at the black car with government markings, which haddriven in front of the building a few moments before, and then he heardMiss Haslam, his secretary, on the interphone. "The ColonizationCommission, Dr. Ashby."

  He turned from the window. "Have them come in at once," he said.

  He strode to the door and shook hands with each of the men. Only four ofthem had come: Mr. Merton, Chairman; General Winthrop; Dr. Cowper; andDr. Boxman.

  "Please have seats over here by the window," Ashby suggested.

  They accepted and General Winthrop stood a moment looking out. "Abeautiful sight, aren't they, Ashby?" he said. "They get more beautifulevery day. You ought to get over more often. Collins says you haven'tbeen around the place for weeks, and Number One is going up tomorrow."

  "We've had too much to occupy us here."

  "_My_ men are ready," said the General pointedly. "We could supply adozen crews to take those ships to Serrengia and back, and man the basethere."

  Ashby turned away, ignoring the General's comment. He took a chair atthe small conference table where the three Commissioners had seatedthemselves. Winthrop followed, settling in his chair with a smile, as ifhe had scored a major point.

  "Number One is ready," said Merton, "and still you have failed to offerus a single man, Dr. Ashby. The Commission feels that the time is verynear when definite action will have to be taken. We have your reports,but we wanted a personal word with you to see if we couldn't come tosome understanding as to what we can expect."

  "I will send you the men when I find out what kind of man we need," saidAshby. "Until then there had better be no thought of releasing thecolonization fleet. I will not be responsible for any but the rightanswers to this problem."

  "We are getting to the point," said Boxman, "where we feel forced toconsider the recommendations of General Winthrop. Frankly, we have neverbeen able to fully understand your objections."

  "There'll never be a time when I cannot supply all the men needed toestablish this base," said Winthrop. "We spend unlimited funds and yearsof time training personnel for posts of this kind, yet you insist onlooking for unprepared amateurs. It makes no sense whatever, and onlybecause you have been given complete charge of the personnel programhave you been able to force your views on the Commission. But no oneunderstands you. In view of your continued failure, the Commission isgoing to be forced to make its own choice."

  "My resignation may be had at any time," said Ashby.

  "No, no, Dr. Ashby." Merton held up his hand. "The General is perhapstoo impulsive in his disappointment that you have failed us so far, butwe do not ask for your resignation. We do ask if there is not some wayin which you might see fit to use the General's men in manning thebase."

  "The whole answer lies in the erroneous term you persist in applying tothis project," said Ashby. "It is not a base, and never will be. Wepropose to set up a colony. It makes an enormous difference with respectto the kind of men required. We've been over this before--"

  "But not enough," snapped Winthrop. "We'll continue to go over it untilyou understand you can't waste those ships on a bunch of half-bakedidealists inspired by some noble nonsense about carrying on the torch ofhuman civilization beyond the stars. We're putting up a base, to gatherscientific data and establish rights of occupancy."

  "I don't think I agree with your description of my proposed party ofcolonists," said Ashby mildly.

  "That's what they'll be! Were colonists ever anything but psalm singingrebels or cutthroats trying to escape hanging? You're not going toestablish a cultural and scientific base with such people."

  "No, you're quite right. That's not the kind."

  "What is it you're looking for?" said Merton irritably. "What kind ofmen do you want, if you can't find them among the best and the worsthumanity offers."

  "Your terms are hardly accurate," said Ashby. "You fail to recognize thefact that we have never known what kind of man it takes to colonize. Youignore the fact that we have never yet successfully colonized theplanets of our own Solar System. Bases, yes--but all our colonies havefailed to date."

  "What better evidence could you ask for in support of my argument?"demanded Winthrop. "We've _proved_ bases are practical, and thatcolonies are not."

  "No matter how far away or how long the periods of rotation, a manassigned to a base expects to return home. Night or day, in theperformance of any duty, there is in his mind as a working backgroundthe recognition that at some future time he can go home. His base isnever his home."

  "Precisely. That is what makes the base successful."

  Ashby shook his head. "No base is ever successful from the standpoint ofpermanent extension of a civilization. By its very nature it istransitory, impermanent. That is not what we want now."

  "We have the concept of permanent bases in military thinking," saidWinthrop. "You can't generalize in that fashion."

  "Name for me a single military or expeditionary base that continued itspermanency over any extended period of history."

  "Well--now--"

  "The concept is invalid," said Ashby. "Extensions of humanity from onearea to another on a permanent basis are made by colonists. Men who donot expect to rotate, but come to live and establish homes. This is whatwe want on Serrengia. Humanity is preparing to make an extension ofitself in the Universe.

  "But more than this, there are limitations of time and distance in theestablishment of bases, which cannot be overcome by any amount oftraining of personnel. Cycles of rotation and distances from home can belengthened beyond the capacity of men to endure. It is only when they goout with _no_ expectation of return that time
and distance cease tocontrol them."

  "We do not know of any such limitations," said Winthrop. "They have notbeen met here in the Solar System."

  "We know them," said Ashby. "The thing we have not found and which wemust discover before those ships depart is the quality that makes itpossible for a man to ignore time and distance and his homeland. We knowa good deal about the successful colonists of Earth's history. We knowthat invariably they were of some minority group which felt itselfpersecuted or limited by conditions surrounding it, or else they werefleeing the results of some crime."

  "If that is what you are looking for, it is no wonder you have failed,"said Dr. Cowper. "We have no such minority groups in our society."

  "Very true," Ashby replied. "But it is not the condition of fleeing orbeing persecuted that generates the qualities of a perfect colonist byany means! We have examples enough of adequately persecuted groups whofailed as colonists. But there is some quality, which seems to appear,if at all, only in some of those who have courage enough to flee theiroppression or limiting conditions. This quality makes them successful intheir colonization.

  "We are looking first, therefore, for individuals who would have thecourage to resist severe limitations to the extent of flight, if suchlimitations existed. And among these we hope to find the essence of thatwhich makes it possible for a man to cut all ties with his homeland."

  "So you are making your search," said Merton, "among the potentiallyrebellious and criminal?"

  Ashby nodded. "We have confined our study to these individuals as aresult of strict historical precedent so that we might narrow the searchas much as possible. You must understand, however, that to choose merelythe rebellious and staff our ships with these would be foolhardy. Itwould be a ridiculous shotgun technique. _Some_ of them would succeed,but we would never know which it would be. We might send twenty or athousand ships out and establish one successful colony.

  "We have to do much better than that. Our consumption of facilities onthis project is so great that we have to _know_, within a negligiblemargin of error, that when these groups are visited in eight or fiftyyears from now we will find a community of cooperative, progressivehuman beings. We cannot be satisfied with less!"

  "I'm afraid the majority of sentiment in the Commission is not inagreement with you," said Mr. Merton. "To oppose General Winthrop'strained crews with selected cutthroats and traitors may have historicalprecedent, but it scarcely seems the optimum procedure in this case!

  "We are willing to be shown proof of your thesis, Dr. Ashby, but we havecertain realities of which we are sure. If we can do no better, we shalltake the best available to us at the time the ships are ready. If youcannot supply us with proven crews and colonists by then we shall beforced to accept General Winthrop's recommendations and choose personnelwhose reactions are at least known and predictable to a high degree. I'msorry, but surely you can understand our position in this matter."

  For a long time Ashby was silent, looking from one to the other of thefaces about the table. Then he spoke in a low voice, as if havingreached the extremity of his resources. "Yes--the reactions ofWinthrop's men are indeed known. I suggest that you come with me and Iwill show you what those reactions are."

  He stood up and the others followed with inquiring expressions on theirfaces. Winthrop made a short, jerky motion of his head, as if hedetected a hidden sting in Ashby's words. "What do you mean by that?" hedemanded.

  "You don't suppose that our examinations would neglect the men on whomyou have spent so much time and effort in training?"

  The General flushed with rage. "If you've tampered with any of my men--!You had no right--!"

  The other Commission members were smiling in faint amusement at theGeneral's discomfiture.

  "I should think it would be to your advantage to check the results ofyour training," said Mr. Merton.

  "There is only one possible check!" exclaimed General Winthrop. "Putthese men on a base for a period of eight years and at a distance offorty seven light years from home and see what they will do. That is theonly way you can check on them."

  "And if you know anything about our methods of testing, you willunderstand that this, in effect, is what we have done. Your best man isabout to be released from the test pit. He can't have more than an hourto go."

  "Who have you got in your guinea pig pen?" the General demanded. "Ifyou've ruined him--"

  "Captain Louis Carnahan," said Ashby. "Shall we go down, gentlemen?"

  * * * * *

  It had been a grisly business, watching the final minutes of Carnahan'sdisintegration. General Winthrop's face was almost purple when he sawthe test pit in which Carnahan was being examined. He tried to tear outthe observation lens with his bare hands as he saw the Captain lift theloaded pistol to his head in the moment before the safety beam cut in.

  And now Ashby kept hearing Winthrop's furious, scathing voice: "You havedestroyed one of the best men the Service has ever produced! I'll haveyour hide for this, Ashby, if it's the last act of my life."

  Merton and the others had been shocked also by the violence anddegradation of what they saw, but whether he had made his point or not,Ashby didn't know. Carnahan, of course, would be returned to the Servicewithin twenty four hours, all adverse effects of the test completelyremoved. He would be aware that he had taken it and had not passed, butthere would be no trace of the bitter emotions generated during thosedays of examination.

  Ashby looked out again at the four hulls now turning from gold to red asthe sun dropped lower in the sky. He had not asked Merton if theultimatum was going to stick. He wondered how they could insist on itafter what they had seen, but he didn't _know_.

  Impatiently, he turned from the window as Miss Haslam's voice came onthe intercom once more. "Dr. Ashby, Mr. Jorden is still waiting to seeyou."

  Jorden. He had forgotten. The man had been waiting during his conferencewith the Commissioners. Jorden was the one who had been rejected forexamination two weeks ago and insisted he had a _right_ to be examinedfor colonization factors. He had been trying to get in ever since. Hemight as well get rid of the man once and for all, Ashby decidedreluctantly.

  "Show him in," he said.

  Mark Jorden was a tall, blond man in his late twenties. Shaking handswith him, Ashby felt thick, strong fingers and glimpsed a massive wristat the edge of the coat sleeve. Jorden's face was a pleasantScandinavian pink, matched by blue eyes that looked intently intoAshby's face.

  They sat at the desk. "You want to be a colonist," said Ashby. "You sayyou want to settle forty seven light years from Earth for the rest ofyour life. And our preliminary psycho tests indicate you have scarcely avestige of the basic qualities required. Why do you insist on the fullexamination?"

  Jorden smiled and shook his head honestly. "I don't know exactly. Itseems like something I'd enjoy doing. Maybe it's in my people--theyliked to move around and see new places. They were seamen in the dayswhen there weren't any charts to sail by."

  "It's certain that this is a situation without charts to sail by," saidAshby, "but I hardly think the word 'enjoy' is applicable. Have youthought at all of what existence means at that distance from Earth, withno communication whatever except a ship every eight years or so?Qualifications just a trifle short of insanity are required for aventure of that kind."

  "I'm sure you don't mean that, Dr. Ashby," said Jorden reprovingly.

  "Perhaps not," said Ashby. His visitor's calm assurance irritated him,as if _he_ were the one who knew what a colonist ought to be. "I see byyour application you're an electrical engineer."

  Jorden nodded. "Yes. My company has just offered me the head of thedepartment, but I had to explain I was putting in an application forcolonist. They think I'm crazy, of course."

  "Does taking the examination mean giving up your promotion?"

  "I'm not sure. But I rather think they will pass me up and give it toone of the other men."

  "You want to go badly enough to risk givi
ng up that chance in order totake an examination which will unquestionably show you have noqualifications whatever to be a colonist?"

  "I think I'm qualified," said Jorden. "I insist on being given thechance. I believe I have the right to it."

  Ashby tried to restrain his irritation. What Jorden said was perhapstrue. No one had ever raised the point before. Those previously rejectedby the preliminary tests had withdrawn in good grace. It seemedsenseless to waste the time of a test pit and its large crew on anobviously hopeless applicant. On the other hand, he couldn't afford tohave Jorden stirring up trouble with the Colonization Commission at thiscritical time--and he could guess that was exactly what Jorden's nextmove would be if he were turned down again.

  "Our machines will find out everything about you later," said Ashby,"but I'd like you to tell me about yourself so that I may feelpersonally acquainted with you."

  Jorden shrugged. "There's not much to tell. I had the usual schooling,which wasn't anything impressive. I had my three year hitch in theService, and I suppose that's where I began to feel there was somethingavailable in life which I had never