Starswarm

by Jerry Pournelle

  "Well, not much," Mrs. Harriman had said. "Not here. You would in the city, but that's not really the point. Think ahead. What will you do when you graduate?"

  "Go to college," several of them said in bored tones. "More school."

  "Yes, but which one?" Mrs. Harriman demanded. "Think about it. The community college in Cisco? What will you learn to do there? Nothing that does you any good, that's for sure. Every one of you could get into Paradise U at Pearly Gates, that takes work but you can do it, but that's not much either."

  "So what should we do?" Lara asked.

  "I'd try for an Earth school," Mrs. Harriman said.

  "Sure," Marty said. "Sign up with GWE. Five years of college and you work for Generous Western the rest of your life. And you take whatever they want to pay you, and go where they send you. That's how we got out here."

  There were murmurs of agreement.

  Mrs. Harriman smiled. "And my husband and I asked to be sent here. The point is, we had a choice. You can have choices too, but you have to earn them. For instance, a GWE contract isn't the only way to go to an Earth university."

  "I don't know what they pay you, but we sure don't make enough to send me to Earth for school," Mary Wilton said. "Even if my folks save every credit they make they couldn't afford that."

  "Probably not, but there are scholarships," Mrs. Harriman said. "You know this colony was sponsored by Liechtenstein."

  They all agreed. "Yeah, sure, so what?" someone asked.

  The teacher smiled again. "See, you didn't really think about that. Liechtenstein isn't technically part of the Swiss Confederation, but it might as well be. They have all kinds of cooperative agreements. One of them lets Liechtenstein citizens go to Swiss universities. The Swiss have some of the best universities in the world. All you have to do is get admitted to one. Think about it."

  Sometimes she just wanted to get them to talk to her. She explained that what she said then wasn't so important. "What's important," she'd told them, "is that you learn to sit still, be quiet, and pay attention. And learn to talk to adults. Computers are wonderful things, but you have to learn to get along with people too. We call that socializing."

  "Like socialism?" Marty asked.

  "No, like society, Marty. But you know that." She grinned. "Think of it as your university admission interview. Sometimes I'll say something that is important, and you never know when that will be, so you have to know how to listen. Otherwise you won't know when important things are being said."

  Everyone had laughed, because they liked Mrs. Harriman.

  On his first afternoon Mr. Kettering smiled and tried to make a joke. No one laughed. "Hey, I didn't ask for this assignment," he said. "But I'm here, and we have to get along."

  "Why should we?" Marty Robbins asked. "We were doing fine with Mrs. Harriman."

  "Way to go," Lara said, but she said it under her breath so only Kip and Bernie would hear.

  "I'm sure you were doing just fine, but Mrs. Harriman is required for a new geological survey and won't be here. The Minister of Education decided to replace her with a qualified teacher, and like it or not, that's me."

  "I bet you won't like it here," Marty said.

  "That doesn't matter," Kettering said. "What you and I like isn't all that important. That's a lesson you'd better learn, and you may as well learn it now. Incidentally, next time you're at your computer you may want to look at the Paradise Education Code signed by the Governor last month. Chapter Four, Section Thirty-three, Paragraph Seven on corporal punishment should be particularly interesting to you, Mr. Robbins." Kettering smiled again, but Kip thought the smile was cold and thin.

  "Now. I see that many of you bring dogs to school. That's going to stop."

  "Why?" Lara demanded. "Lil isn't doing any harm! None of them are."

  "Dogs do not belong at school."

  "He's an idiot."

  "HE WOULD BE CORRECT IN MOST CASES. DOGS ARE NOT USUALLY ALLOWED AT SCHOOL. HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THE UNUSUAL SITUATION AT STARSWARM STATION."

  "Should I tell him?"

  "IT WOULD BE AN ACT OF KINDNESS TO DO SO."

  Kip raised his hand.

  "Yes. Mr. Flynn, I believe?"

  "Yes, sir. Sir, I know most places aren't like this, but we need the dogs. This is a dangerous place—"

  "You are in no danger going from your homes to the school."

  "We aren't this time of year, but that's not always true," Kip said. "When the haters are swarming it can be very dangerous to be outside without the dogs. If they didn't tell you that yet, they will, and you'll want your own dog too. And firebrighters can dig in under the fence anytime of year. They're always dangerous if you don't know about them."

  "Surely it is not all that dangerous inside the fence."

  The other boys began to talk. "It sure is," Bernie said. "Gee, you don't know?"

  "I know enough to know when my leg is being pulled," Kettering said.

  "Maybe a little," Kip said. "But it can be dangerous, and besides, there's another reason. Mr. Kettering, the dogs always come with us when we go out, and if they don't come with us, we'll have to leave them at home, and they'll howl. People at home won't like it. Uncle Mike sure won't like it. Neither will Mrs. Henderson."

  "You can discipline the dogs."

  "I can tell Silver not to howl," Kip said. "And he'll remember for about an hour, but he's a dog, Mr. Kettering, and our dogs are real smart but even our dogs don't remember as well as people. Then he'll get lonesome, and start howling, and all the other dogs at the station will howl, and—"

  "Don't tell him," Marty said just loud enough for Kip to hear. "Let him find out when he's in trouble—"

  But Mr. Kettering must have heard that. "And why are the dogs so special here?" he demanded.

  All the students began to talk at once. "Because they live with us. . ."

  "Because our dogs are different. . ."

  "Because. . ."

  "Enough!" Kettering said. "I'll ask Dr. Henderson tonight."

  Kettering never again mentioned leaving the dogs at home.

  The same helicopter that brought Gilbert Kettering also brought a prefab housing shelter that would be his home. It was set up in the lot next to the geology lab. Kettering stayed in the school building until long after all the children had left, then walked the ten meters to his house and went inside. The next day was the same. Kettering was in the school when the students arrived, and stayed until after they left; and every day was like that. He cooked his own meals and stayed to himself, and never visited anyone or went anywhere except to the company store. Lara said he didn't believe in socializing.

  Kip often ate lunch with the Hendersons on Saturdays. After lunch he and Lara would go upstairs to play war games on her computer. The Saturday after Kettering arrived they were just sitting down at her console.

  "I'm tired of being humans. Let's tell Joe and Ellen we want to play Orcs this time," Lara said.

  "IT WOULD BE ADVISABLE FOR YOU TO LISTEN TO DR. AND MRS. HENDERSON."

  "Why? Lara doesn't like for me to listen to her parents when they're alone. What can I tell her?"

  "I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU SHOULD TELL HER, BUT THE MATTER COULD BE IMPORTANT."

  Kip thought about that. "Before we start the game—they were talking about Mr. Kettering downstairs," Kip said. Lara looked at him.

  "Do you like him?"

  She shrugged. "He's all right."

  "Did you look up that section on corporal punishment?" Kip asked.

  "No—"

  "It says he can whale the daylights out of us with a paddle and nobody can do anything about it," Kip said. "Don't you want to know more about him? What your folks really think about him, not just what they said at lunch?"

  She giggled nervously. "Well, maybe—"

  Kip didn't wait. He went into Lara's closet.

  "Eric, do I invite him or not?" Mrs. Henderson was saying.

  "Harriet, I suppose it's the polite thing to do. Not tha
t I really want to be polite."

  "I still don't understand why you resent him so," Mrs. Henderson said. "I mean, isn't he a good teacher?"

  "No better than Rachel Harriman," Dr. Henderson said. "But that's not the point."

  "What is the point?"

  "The order to resume geological surveys came from the Starswarm Foundation Board. So did the instruction to return Dr. Harriman to her primary specialty. I think Bernie's been talking to them. And for what? Sending her down to the coast to tool around in a speedboat taking water samples? We have water samples and there's nothing she's doing that couldn't be automated."

  "I thought you lost some of your automatic water sampling systems."

  "Well, it's inevitable that we lose some. They're cheap enough, just some sensors and radio telemetry. And we don't have funding for a real geology expedition, so why send Dr. Harriman and her assistants down to the coast? It's expensive to keep her supplied, and she's not going to learn anything we wouldn't learn by replacing the automated stations."

  "Eric, didn't something happen to those stations?"

  "Yes, the centaurs destroyed them. Cleaned out everything, metals, electronics, the whole works. But that just means we need a more secure fence."

  "What did they do with all that stuff?"

  "Beats me," Dr. Henderson said. "We never found any of it."

  "That's odd. But surely Rachel will learn something? Eric, she probably never told you, but she didn't really like teaching school."

  "What? She certainly never told me that—I thought she liked the kids."

  "Sure she likes the kids, but she didn't get a Ph.D. in geology to teach grade and high school! I'm sure Rachel would rather be down on the coast doing real geology."

  "She's not doing real geology."

  "Eric, you're not being fair. You've wanted a coastal station for years! Now you have one."

  "I wanted a biology station. The Starswarm down at the coast is unusually large—"

  "So you ask Rachel to collect biology data along with her other samples. She's smart. She can do it. Why is that a problem?"

  "Oh, I suppose you're right. Make the best of it. But I didn't ask for this replacement teacher. Trent sent him—"

  "I thought he was sent out by the Department of Education when they learned that Rachel wouldn't be doing the job."

  "Technically, but I talked with Larry in the Education Administrator's office, and they said they never heard anything about us needing a teacher until GWE headquarters sent Kettering over with credentials and orders that he be sent here. They never heard of him, and all of a sudden he's got to come here. Harriet, I'm sure he's a spy for Bernie Trent. First there were those fake biology students. Now it's Kettering. You'll note that the school is in the geology lab building, and Kettering spends all his time there. When he's not being a recluse in his quarters. And he has a direct connection to the GWE network."

  "And how do you know that?"

  "Well—"

  "You tried to read his mail?"

  "No, I just wanted to see who he sends mail to. But I can't find out because it doesn't go through our mail server like everyone else's does."

  "Can you find out who he sends mail to?"

  IS THEN FORWARDED TO GWE HEADQUARTERS. THE MAIL IS ENCODED."

  "Can you read it?"

  "IT DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE SIGNIFICANT, WHICH MEANS THAT IT IS PROBABLY ENCODED RATHER THAN ENCRYPTED. I CANNOT INTERPRET THE MESSAGES BECAUSE I DO NOT HAVE THE CODE BOOKS. AT ANOTHER TIME I WILL EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CODE AND CIPHER."

  "Don't half the children have direct net connections?" Mrs. Henderson asked.

  "Well, yes—"

  "And they use them to send messages. Some they don't want us to know about, and some because that's how they're logged on. But why would Mr. Trent want to spy on us anyway?" Harriet Henderson demanded.

  "Look, I thought I explained all that—"

  "You explained about the proxies and the mineral finds. Come to that, Eric, if anyone is going to make new mineral discoveries around here, I'd rather it was Rachel Harriman than someone from headquarters."

  "Well, that's true enough—"

  "And Trent knows everything we know, so what else is there for Kettering to find out?"

  "Nothing I know of—"

  "Well, then. Suppose he is a spy for Mr. Trent," Mrs. Henderson said. "What harm can he do? There's nothing for him to learn, so you might as well treat him like one of the staff—"

  "That's just it, he's not one of the staff. He doesn't even work for me."

  "So that's what the problem is."

  "Eh?"

  "Never mind. Look, does that make a difference? Is he doing something you don't like?"

  "No—"

  "Then for heaven's sake, Eric, find something else to worry about! Gilbert Kettering isn't causing you any trouble so why are you acting like he is? Relax!"

  "Well—" Dr. Henderson laughed. "I guess you're right. Only—"

  "Only what?"

  "I sure don't know much about him. I can't find anyone who knows him—"

  "Didn't he just get here from Earth? Who's to know him? He has all his credentials, doesn't he?"

  "The computer says they're all right."

  "Well there you are. So. I'll invite him to dinner with the Harrimans. Rachel should be home for the weekend. Who else? Larry and Susan Robbins, I think. And Annette Kane as his dinner partner."

  "She's not going to like that much—"

  "Sure she will."

  "I thought she liked Mike Flynn."

  "She wants to, but she says he acts like she's his kid sister."

  "Well, I guess I don't blame him—"

  "Eric!"

  "Sorry."

  "It would be nice if someone had a few words with Annette," Mrs. Henderson mused. "Sure you don't want me to talk to her?"

  "It's not our place to arrange the social lives of the staff," Dr. Henderson said. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to suggest something about her hair—"

  "I'll think about how to do that. Anyway, Annette and Gilbert Kettering have to meet sometime. May as well be here. Now help me clear this table, we've both got work to do."

  Chapter Twenty

  The Primary Instruction Table Cannot Be Changed

  KIP got up from his cramped position by the ventilator and stretched. "Did you learn anything?"

  "POSSIBLY. WHEN THE FRANCONIA ARRIVED IN PEARLY GATES THERE WAS NO RECORD OF A PASSENGER NAMED GILBERT KETTERING. NOW HE IS SHOWN ON THE PASSENGER MANIFEST. RECORDS SHOW HE WAS EMPLOYED BY THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION SHORTLY AFTER THE ARRIVAL OF FRANCONIA, BUT THERE ARE NO OTHER RECORDS AVAILABLE, AND THERE IS NO RECORD OF EITHER AN APPLICATION FROM HIM OR A REQUEST TO EARTH FOR A PERSON OF HIS QUALIFICATIONS. CONCLUSION: THIS IS NOT HIS REAL NAME. I FIND NO EVIDENCE OF A PREVIOUS IDENTITY, SO IT IS POSSIBLE HE IS A RECENT ARRIVAL FROM EARTH."

  "You're very quiet," Lara said.

  "Huh? Oh, I'm thinking about what we heard. There's something funny about our schoolmaster—"

  "Daddy sure doesn't like him, but so what?" Lara asked. "He told us about that corporal punishment thing, but he hasn't actually threatened anyone but Marty. And he's very polite."

  "Except all that stuff about rare earths and integrated circuits makes my head hurt," Kip said.

  "What stuff about rare earths?"

  "MY APOLOGIES. I CAUSED THAT MATERIAL TO BE INSERTED INTO YOUR LESSON SYLLABUS. I BELIEVE IT IMPORTANT THAT YOU BE AWARE OF IT."

  "I'll be darned—"

  "What?"

  "Oh. Nothing, Lara." Kip frowned. "Is it important that we find out who Mr. Kettering really is?"

  "INSUFFICIENT DATA. THE PROBABILITY IS NON-ZERO."

  "Is there any sure "way to find out who he is?"

  "THERE IS NO CERTAIN WAY."

  "I meant a high probability." Kip was getting used to the way Gwen thought.

  "IF WE COULD SUBMIT BLOOD OR TISSUE SAMPLES FOR ANALYSIS, I HAVE BLOOD SAMPLES OF EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER
BEEN ADMITTED TO A HOSPITAL ON PARADISE. WHILE WE DO NOT HAVE DNA ANALYSES ON ALL THOSE SAMPLES, WE CAN ORDER A FEW SUCH ANALYSES WITHOUT ATTRACTING UNWANTED ATTENTION. IT IS LIKELY THAT BY ELIMINATING IMPOSSIBLE MATCHES WE COULD NARROW THE SEARCH SUFFICIENTLY. THE STARSWARM INFIRMARY DOES NOT ROUTINELY COLLECT AND ANALYZE BLOOD SAMPLES BUT THE HOSPITAL IN CISCO DOES. THE PROBABILITY IS REASONABLE THAT IF KETTERING WERE ADMITTED TO THE CISCO HOSPITAL WE WOULD BE ABLE TO DETERMINE HIS PREVIOUS IDENTITY ON PARADISE."