Gone Fishing
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years--be strong enough to overcomethose dangers?"
"And there," Simms said dryly, "we have two rather large questions."He cleared his throat. "The fact remains, however, that Oliver B.McAllen is a good practical psychologist--as he demonstrated at themeeting."
"I expected Ollie would score on the motions," Fredericks said. "Howdid that part of it come off?"
"Not too badly. The first motion was passed unanimously. A vote ofcensure against Dr. McAllen."
Fredericks looked thoughtful. "His seventeenth--I believe?"
"Yes. The fact was mentioned. McAllen admitted he could do no less thanvote for this one himself. However, the next motion to receive a majoritywas, in effect, a generalized agreement that men with such ... ah ...highly specialized skills as Barney Chard's and with comparableintelligence actually would be of great value as members of theassociation, if it turned out that they could be sufficiently relieved oftheir more flagrant antisocial tendencies. Considering the qualification,the psychology department could hardly avoid backing that motion. The samewith the third one--in effect again that Psychology is to make anunprejudiced study of the results of Dr. McAllen's experiment on BaseEighteen, and report on the desirability of similar experiments when thepersonality of future subjects appears to warrant them."
"Well," Fredericks said, after a pause, "as far as the associationgoes, Ollie got what he wanted. As usual." He hesitated. "The othermatter--"
"We'll know that shortly." Simms turned his head to listen, added in alowered voice, "They're coming now."
* * * * *
Dr. Stephen Spalding said to Simms and Fredericks: "Dr. McAllen agreeswith me that the man we shall be looking for on Base Eighteen may bedead. If this is indicated, we'll attempt to find some evidence of hisdeath before normal ecological operations on Eighteen are resumed.
"Next, we may find him alive but no longer sane. Dr. Simms and I areboth equipped with drug-guns which will then be used to render himinsensible. The charge is sufficient to insure he will not wake upagain. In this circumstance, caution will be required since he wasleft on the Base with a loaded gun.
"Third, he may be alive and technically sane, but openly or covertlyhostile to us." Spalding glanced briefly at each of the others, thenwent on, "It is because of this particular possibility that ourcontact group here has been very carefully selected. If such has beenthe result of Dr. McAllen's experiment, it will be our disagreeableduty to act as Chard's executioners. To add lifelong confinement orfurther psychological manipulation to the five solitary years Chardalready has spent would be inexcusable.
"Dr. McAllen has told us he did not inform Chard of the actual reasonhe was being marooned--"
"On the very good grounds," McAllen interrupted, "that if Chard hadbeen told at the outset what the purpose was, he would have preferredkilling himself to allowing the purpose to be achieved. Any otherhuman being was Chard's antagonist. It would have been impossible forhim to comply with another man's announced intentions."
Simms nodded. "I'll go along on that point, doctor."
Spalding resumed, "It might be a rather immaterial point by now. Inany event, Chard's information was that an important 'five-year-plan'of the association made it necessary to restrict him for that lengthof time. We shall observe him closely. If the indications are that hewould act against the association whenever he is given theopportunity, our line will be that the five-year-plan has beenconcluded, and that he is, therefore, now to be released and willreceive adequate compensation for his enforced seclusion. As soon ashe is asleep, he will, of course, receive euthanasia. But up to thattime, everything must be done to reassure him."
He paused again, concluded, "There is the final possibility that Dr.McAllen's action has had the results he was attempting to bringabout.... Ollie, you might speak on that yourself."
McAllen shrugged. "I've already presented my views. Essentially, it'sa question of whether Barney Chard was capable of learning that hecould live without competing destructively with other human beings. Ifhe has grasped that, he should also be aware by now that Base Eighteenis presently one of the most interesting spots in the known universe."
Simms asked: "Do you expect he'll be grateful for what has occurred?"
"We-e-ll," McAllen said judiciously, turning a little pale, "that, ofcourse, depends on whether he _is_ still alive and sane: But if he hassurvived the five years, I do believe that he will not be dissatisfiedwith what has happened to him. However"--he shrugged again--"let's getahead with it. Five years has been a long time to find out whether ornot I've murdered a man."
In the momentary silence that followed, he setted himself in the chairFredericks had vacated, and glanced over at Simms. "You stay seated,Mel," he said. "You represent Psychology here. Use your chair scanner.The plate's still showing no indications of clearing, John?"
"No," said Fredericks. "In another two hours we might have a goodpicture there. Hardly before."
McAllen said, "We won't wait for it. Simms and I can determine throughthe scanners approximately what has been going on." He was silent afew seconds; then the blurred red globe in the plate expanded swiftly,filled two thirds of the view space, checked for a moment, then grewonce more; finally stopped.
McAllen said irritably, "John, I'm afraid you'll have to take over. Myhands don't seem steady enough to handle this properly."
* * * * *
A minute or two passed. The big plate grew increasingly indistinct,all details lost in a muddy wash of orange-brown shades. Greenintruded suddenly; then McAllen muttered, "Picking up the cabin now."
There was a moment of silence, then Fredericks cleared his throat. "Sofar so good, Oliver. We're looking into the cabin. Can't see your manyet--but someone's living here. Eh, Simms?"
"Obviously," the psychologist acknowledged. He hesitated. "And at aguess it's no maniac. The place is in reasonably good order."
"You say Chard isn't in the cabin?" Spalding demanded.
Fredericks said, "Not unless he's deliberately concealing himself. Theexit door is open. Hm-m-m. Well, the place isn't entirely deserted,after all."
"What do you mean?" asked Spalding.
"Couple of squirrels sitting in the window," Simms explained.
"In the window? Inside the cabin?"
"Yes," said Fredericks. "Either they strayed in while he was gone, orhe's keeping them as pets. Now, should we start looking around outsidefor Chard?"
"No," Spalding decided. "The Base is too big to attempt to cover atpin-point focus. If he's living in the cabin and has simply gone out,he'll return within a few hours at the most. We'll wait and see whatwe can deduce from the way he behaves when he shows up." He turned toMcAllen. "Ollie," he said, "I think you might allow yourself to relaxjust a little. This doesn't seem at all bad!"
McAllen grunted. "I don't know," he said. "You're overlooking onething."
"What's that?"
"I told Chard when to expect us. Unless he's smashed the clock, heknows we're due today. If nothing's wrong--wouldn't he be waiting inthe cabin for us?"
Spalding hesitated. "That is a point. He seems to be hiding out. Mayhave prepared an ambush, for that matter. John--"
"Yes?" Fredericks said.
"Step the tubescope down as fine as it will go, and scan that cabin asif you were vacuuming it. There may be some indication--"
"He's already doing that," Simms interrupted.
There was silence again for almost two minutes. Forefinger and thumbof Fredericks' right hand moved with infinite care on a set of dialson the side of the scanner; otherwise neither he nor Simms stirred.
"Oh-hoo-hoo-HAW!" Dr. John Fredericks cried suddenly. "Oh-hoo-hoo-HAW!A message, Ollie! Your Mr. Chard has left you a ... hoo-hoo ...message."
For a moment McAllen couldn't see clearly through the scanner.Fredericks was still laughing; Simms was saying in a rapid voice,"It's quite all right, doctor! Quite all right. Your man's sane, quitesane. In fact you've made, one might
guess, a one hundred per centconvert to the McAllen approach to life. Can't you _see_ it?"
"No," gasped McAllen. He had a vague impression of the top of the deskin the main room of the cabin, of something white--a white card--tapedto it, of blurred printing on the card. "Nothing's getting _that_ boyunduly excited any more," Simms' voice went on beside him. "Not eventhe