The Unlearned Read online

presence was like the sudden appearance of athundercloud, his face seemed to reflect the dark turbulence of a summerstorm.

  He said nothing, however, to anyone but strode over and sat besideHockley, who was alone at the moment smoking the next to last of hisEarthside cigars. Hockley felt the smouldering turmoil inside themathematician. He extended his final cigar. Silvers brushed it away.

  "The last one," said Hockley mildly. "In spite of all their abilitiesthe Ryke imitations are somewhat less than natural."

  Silvers turned slowly to face Hockley. "I presented them with theLegrandian Equations today," he said. "I expected to get astraightforward answer to a perfectly legitimate scientific question.That is what we were led to expect, was it not?"

  Hockley nodded. "That's my impression. Did you get something less than astraightforward answer?"

  The mathematician exhaled noisily. "The Legrandian Equations will leadto a geometry as revolutionary as Riemann's was in his day. But I wastold by the Rykes that I 'should dismiss it from all furtherconsideration. It does not lead to any profitable mathematicaldevelopment.'"

  Hockley felt that his heart most certainly skipped a beat, but hemanaged to keep his voice steady, and sympathetic. "That's too bad. Iknow what high hopes you had. I suppose you will give up work on theEquations now?"

  "I will not!" Silvers exclaimed loudly. Nearby groups who had returnedhesitantly to their own conversations now stared at him again. Butabruptly he changed his tone and looked almost pleadingly at Hockley. "Idon't understand it. Why should they say such a thing? It appears to beone of the most profitable avenues of exploration I have encountered inmy whole career. And the Rykes brush it aside!"

  "What did you say when they told you to give it up?"

  "I said I wanted to know where the development would lead. I said it hadbeen indicated that we could have an answer to any scientific problemwithin the range of their abilities, and certainly this is, from whatI've seen.

  "The instructor replied that I'd been given an answer to my question,that 'the first lesson you must learn if you wish to acquire our pace inscience is to recognize that we have been along the path ahead of you.We know which are the possibilities that are worthwhile to develop. Wehave gained our speed by learning to bypass every avenue but the mainone, and not get lost in tempting side roads.'

  "He said that we've got to learn to trust them and take their word as towhich is the correct and profitable field of research, that 'we willshow you where to go, as we agreed to do. If you are not willing toaccept our leadership in this respect our agreement means nothing.'Wouldn't that be a magnificent way to make scientific progress!"

  The mathematician shifted in his chair as if trying to control aninternal fury that would not be capped. He held out his hand abruptly."I'll take that cigar after all, if you don't mind, Hockley."

  With savage energy he chewed the end and ignited the cigar, then blew amammoth cloud of smoke ceilingward. "I think the trouble must be in ourlecturer," he said. "He's crazy. He couldn't possibly represent theconventional attitude of the Rykes. They promised to give answers to ourproblems--and this is the kind of nonsense I get. I'm going to seesomebody higher up and find out why we can't have a lecturer who knowswhat he's talking about. Or maybe you or Markham would rather take itup--through official channels, as it were?"

  "The Ryke was correct," said Hockley. "He _did_ give you an answer."

  "He could answer _all_ our questions that way!"

  "You're perfectly right," said Hockley soberly. "He could do exactlythat."

  "They won't of course," said Silvers, defensively. "Even if thisparticular character isn't just playing the screwball, my question isjust a special case. It's just one particular thing they consider to bevalueless. Perhaps in the end I'll find they're right--but I'm going todevelop a solution to these Equations if it takes the rest of my life!

  "After all, they admit they have no solution, that they have notbothered to go down this particular side path, as they put it. If wedon't go down it how can we ever know whether it's worthwhile or not?How can the Rykes know what they may have missed by not doing so?"

  "I can't answer that," said Hockley. "For us or for them, I know of noother way to predict the outcome of a specific line of research exceptto carry it through and find out what lies at the end of the road."

  * * * * *

  Hockley didn't sleep very well after he finally went to bed that night.Silvers had presented him with the break he had been expecting andhoping for. The first chink in the armor of sanctity surrounding theRykes. Now he wondered what would follow, if this would build up to theimpassable barrier he wanted, or if it would merely remain a soreobstacle in their way but eventually be bypassed and forgotten.

  He did not believe it would be the only incident of its kind. Therewould be others as the Earthmen's stunned, blind acceptance gave waycompletely to sound, critical evaluation. And in any case there was onedelegate who would never be the same again. No matter how he eventuallyrationalized it Dr. Forman K. Silvers would never feel quite the sameabout the Rykes as he did before they rejected his favorite piece ofresearch.

  Hockley arose early, eager but cautious, his senses open for furtherevidence of disaffection springing up. He joined the group of chemistsonce more for the morning lecture. The spirit of the group was markedlyhigher than when he first met with them. They had been inspired by whatthe Rykes had shown them, but in addition their own sense of judgmenthad been brought out of suspension.

  The Ryke lecturer began inscribing on the board an enormous organicformula, using conventions of Earth chemistry for the benefit of hisaudience. He explained at some length a number of transformations whichit was possible to make in the compound by means of high intensityfields.

  Almost at once, one of the younger chemists named Dr. Carmen, was on hisfeet exclaiming excitedly that one of the transformation compounds was achemical on which he had conducted an extensive research. He hadproduced enough to know that it had a multitude of intriguingproperties, and now he was exuberant at the revelation of a method ofproducing it in quantity and also further transforming it.

  At his sudden enthusiasm the lecturer's face took on what they had cometo recognize as a very dour look. "That series of transformations has nointerest for us," he said. "I merely indicated its existence to show oneof the possibilities which should be avoided. Over here you see thedirection in which we wish to go."

  "But you never saw anything with properties like that!" Carmenprotested. "It goes through an incredible series of at least threecrystalline-liquid phase changes with an increase in pressure alone. Butwith proper control of heat it can be kept in the crystalline phaseregardless of pressure. It is closely related to a drug series withanesthetic properties, and is almost sure to be valuable in--"

  The Ryke lecturer cut him off sharply. "I have explained," he said, "thedirection of transformation in which we are interested. Your concern isnot with anything beyond the boundaries which our study has proven to bethe direct path of research and study."

  "Then I should abandon research on this series of chemicals?" Carmenasked with a show of outward meekness.

  The Ryke nodded with pleasure at Carmen's submissiveness. "That is itprecisely. We have been over this ground long ago. We know where theareas of profitable study lie. You will be told what to observe and whatto ignore. How could you ever hope to make progress if you stopped toexamine every alternate probability and possibility that appeared toyou?" He shook his head vigorously and his plume vibrated with emotion.

  "You must have a plan," he continued. "A goal. Study of the Universecannot proceed in any random, erratic fashion. You must know what youwant and then find out where to look for it."

  Carmen sat down slowly. Hockley was sure the Ryke did not notice thetense bulge of the chemist's jaw muscles. Perhaps he would not haveunderstood the significance if he had noticed.

  * * * * *

  Hockley was a trifle late in
getting to the dining room at lunch timethat day. By the time he did so the place was like a beehive. He wasalmost repelled by the furor of conversation circulating in the room ashe entered.

  He passed through slowly, searching for a table of his own. He paused amoment behind Dr. Carmen, who was declaiming in no mild terms hisopinions of a system that would pre-select those areas of research whichwere to be entered and those which were not. He smiled a little as hecaught the eye of one of the dozen chemists seated at the table,listening.

  Moving on, he observed that Silvers had also cornered a half dozen or soof his colleagues in