The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack

by Isaac Asimov

  We don’t know. We don’t know very much at all. We breathe this air, and it was only in the last century that we first began to find out how many different elements and gases made it up, and we don’t know for sure yet.

  I think it’s possible that living things may exist that are made of gas only. We’re protoplasm, you know, but do you know that we’re not solid matter—we’re liquid? Protoplasm is liquid. Flesh is liquid arranged in suspension in cells of dead substances. And most of us is water, and water is the origin of all life. And water is composed of two common gases, hydrogen and oxygen. And those gases are found everywhere in the universe, astronomers say.

  So I say that if the elements of our life can be boiled down to gases, then why can’t gases combine as gases and still have the elements of life? Water is always present in the atmosphere as vapor; then why not a life as a sort of water-vapor variant?

  I think it makes sense. I think it might smell odd if we accidentally inhaled such a vapor life. Because we could inhale it as we do water vapor. It might smell, say, for example, like burning rubber and zinc ointment.

  Because in that last moment when the storm was at its height and the area of unearthly air was compressed to its smallest, I noticed that at one point a definite outline could be seen against the black clouds and. the blue-white glare of the lightning. A section of the smelly air had been sort of trapped and pinned off from the main section. And it had a definite shape under that terrible storm pressure.

  I can’t say what it was like, because it wasn’t exactly like anything save maybe a great amoeba being pushed down against the ground. There were lots of arms and stubby, wiggly things sticking out, and the main mass was squashy and thick. And it flowed along the ground sort of like a snail. It seemed to be writhing and trying to slither away and spread out.

  It couldn’t, because the storm was hammering at it. And I definitely saw a big black mass, round like a fist, hammer at one section of the thing’s base as it tried to spread out.

  Then the storm smashed down hard on the odd outline, and it squashed out flat and was gone.

  I imagine there were others, and I think that when they aren’t being compressed they could have spread out naturally about a hundred yards along the ground and upwards. And I think we have things like that, only of earthly origin, right in the atmosphere now. And I don’t think that our breathing and walking and living right through them means a thing to them at all. But they objected to the invaders from space. They smelled differently, they were different, they must have come from a different sort of planet, a planet cooler than ours, with deserts and vegetation different from our own. And they would have tried to remake our atmosphere into one of their own. And our native air dwellers stopped them.

  That’s what I think.

  THE APPLICATION OF DISCIPLINE, by Jason Andrew

  “You are deeply troubled by this, Robert.”

  Cade unconsciously flinched. He had never learned to feel completely comfortable with Professor Gavin’s thought-speech. “Yes, I am. The treatment that Doctor Mayes has developed could disrupt society and further damage this institution.”

  The ancient orangutan wrinkled his massive brow. Professor Gavin paced across the office using a pair of specially made crutches. The movement caused shards of pain to escape the Professor’s mental shields. “I think I’m quite familiar with the dangers of experimental treatments, Robert.”

  Cade reflexively boosted his own shielding. “Sir, that is why I am confused as to your stand on this issue.”

  The Professor snorted derisively. He spoke aloud for the first time since entering the room. “Apologies, Robert. The doctors insist upon these exerizes each day.” The resistance training helps keep me mobile. I fear orangutan took another pass of the office. “My discipline is lax this day. I should have waited until later to speak to you.”

  Cade couldn’t help but feel a bit of shame in Professor Gavin’s presence. He had been one of the first telepaths allowed to directly communicate with him after the experiment that altered his genetic and skeletal structure. The broadcast waves of pain and anguish had driven three scientists to kill themselves. Cade had managed to calm the simian and teach him to use his abilities to monitor and control his abilities and pain. It had been a traumatic experience for the both of them. There was no point in shielding this.

  The orangutan smiled, flipping up his enormous lips. It had taken several years for Cade to fully understand the nuances of simian facial expressions. The Professor knew a secret. “Mr. Cade, do you think I am unable to look past personal regrets to see something that could be good for the entire system?”

  “To be honest, Professor Gavin, I’m confused as to why you aren’t as worried as I am. Do you see something that I don’t?”

  Professor Gavin grunted approvingly and tapped the wooden floor with one of his crutches. “I am certain of the outcome because I am aware that you are the opposing council and that you rarely lose such encounters. You won my freedom.”

  Cade waved away the compliment. “That was different. From your pain waves, it was obvious to anyone listening that you were sentient. I was merely first to hear them. And now, you are revered through out the system for your work in teleportation.” Cade shook his head, frustrated. “The experiment will take education out of our hands. This entire institution will be obsolete.”

  Professor Gavin grunted softly. He poked Cade with one of his canes. “If you wish to defeat the rather tempting amendment, you will have to think of a better argument. I’m certain that a man with such disciplined mind will come up with a solution. Good day.”

  The simian professor disappeared with a loud pop. Cade pondered the advice. Professor Gavin rarely made personal visits to his office or anywhere else. His altered bone structure made any travel, except via teleportation, difficult and painful. Translocating your body took an enormous amount of energy and control. It was the mental equivalent of running a marathon with lead weights tied around the ankles. Professor Gavin would not have taken such a journey unannounced unless he had something important to say.

  It was not easy for Cade to acknowledge a superior intellect, but he knew that the simian saw things that he did not. Professor Gavin had seen a solution to the problem, but was forbidden ethically from sharing this solution as one of the judges. He ran his body through the standard breathing and mediation techniques until he received a meek thought-call.

  “Professor Cade?”

  It was Stephanie Williams, one of his ethics students. Cade checked the time and was quite disturbed to discover that he was ten minutes late for his ethics class. If he hurried, class was fifteen minutes away near the athletics field. Arriving late dripping with perspiration was hardly the way to maintain awe amongst the next generation of sentinels. “Inform your classmates that I will be there in a moment.”

  Translocation teleportation involved a complex combination of farsight and matter rearranging. Most of his students mastered some levels of farsight early in their days at the institute. Matter manipulation was more strenuous. Translocation involved seeing yourself in two places at once. The concept is relatively simple, but the practice required the discipline to allow yourself for one brief moment to be cast into oblivion. It was painful willing your atoms to dissolve, but pain could be overcome with discipline.

  Relative time the process felt like an hour. From the student’s prospective, only a few seconds passed. He reassembled himself in front of the podium. The students gasped and whispered to each other. Cade smiled warmly, knowing that he had captured their attention and they would pay special attention this session. “Who can tell me why the Augments lost the Earth Unification War? They had superior firepower and armament.”

  Several of the students raised their hands eagerly. Cade scanned the crowd looking for his problem pupil. “Ms. Williams, enlighten us.”

  A number of the students craned their necks to the back of the room where Stephanie was visibly ducking behind the students i
n front of her. Blushing, she sat straight in her chair. “Professor, the Augments had less numbers and their resources were diminished early in the war.”

  “A classic textbook answer, Ms. Williams,” Cade announced with a bit of disappointment. He glanced around the room taking note of the number of nodding students that agreed with her statement. “It is, however, completely incorrect.”

  Stephanie waved her arm wildly, hoping to be called upon. Cade nodded, giving her permission. “Professor, the text clearly outlines that as the defining reasons the Augments lost the war.”

  Cade smiled warmly. Stephanie was one of the top students in her class. He imagined that this class must have frustrated her more than all of the others combined. He had felt the same way as a student here. “I am well aware of what the textbook outlines, Ms. Williams.”

  Her cheeks burned crimson. She hated it when the Professor decided that the text material was incorrect. “How are we supposed to learn, if the textbook is wrong?”

  Stephanie was a thin girl, not yet a woman. Cade could sense her frustration building like a storm. In two years, she would graduate and receive advanced training. As a PSI-10, Stephanie was dangerous. She could melt steel when angered. He waited until she reinforced her mental shields to continue. “You learn by experience and adapting to new circumstances. What is the first principle of power?”

  According to her file, Stephanie had somehow slipped through the testing cracks until she accidentally saved her parents during a transit accident. She had to work very hard to catch up with the rest of her class. “The first principle of power is that power without discipline to properly utilize that power is worthless.”

  “Apply that principle to this historic scenario.”

  Stephanie thought for a moment or two. “The Augments were given their power via cybernetics. They didn’t earn their power and they didn’t understand the limits of it. They assumed they would win by the very nature of their power. The non-augments were disciplined and were able to use the proper tactics to disable their superior enemies.”

  Cade nodded approvingly. Now he understood why Professor Gavin chose that moment to come to him and what he wanted him to learn.

  * * * *

  The Friday forums were usually sparsely attended. Decades of debate and experimentation had crafted the current curriculum and teaching methods to their present state and radical innovation was becoming increasingly rare. The news of the discovery had brought Professors from across the system to witness the debate. There were so many planned attendees, Professors past and present, that the regular Friday forum had been moved to the Emporium Amphitheater in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

  The Emporium Amphitheater was a large white room centered on a small stage. The glass ceiling was curved so that aquatic telepaths could swim comfortably while monitoring the proceedings. Cade had hoped that this matter could be handled quietly, but Doctor Mayes had invited everyone on the voting council to witness his miracle treatment.

  As the guests began to filter to their seats, Cade took the podium. “Professors and distinguished alumni, please take your seats. I’d like to say a few words before I introduce Doctor Mayes. First, thank you for attending. This is the largest Friday forum in nearly thirty years. In fact, the last time so many of us were in the same room was the forum that accepted Professor Gavin into our noble ranks. I hope that we show equal wisdom on this day.”

  Cade’s words were met with enthusiastic applause. Professor Gavin nodded briskly from his seat. “Second, I’d like to introduce the august Doctor Mayes. Although not a professor at the Institute, he has been consulted several times when students and facility have required assistance. As a student, he passed his finals with honors. Doctor Mayes would like to present to you a new discovery and a proposal.”

  The crowd was less generous this time, but still clapped enough to be polite. It was a polite, but weak introduction. Cade had subtly made his feelings on the subject known. Doctor Mayes took the stand. He was tall, husky man with oily black hair tied into a ponytail. “Esteemed colleges, thank you for your warm welcome. I’ve come here with a discovery that can alter the foundations of this fine institution. I’ve discovered a process that combines nanites and a chemical treatment that alters the brain chemistry of a human with a psi-rating resulting in a dramatical increase in the potency of his or her Psi-rating. In addition, this process allows the subject to master difficult tasks in mere moments.”

  Doctor Mayes activated the holo-display sharing the critical formula. “This process takes less than three days to complete and then as long as the student continues to take the supplemental pills, their power will be increased exponentially.”

  The room erupted into a confused babble of conversations mentally and vocally. Cade slammed his gavel until the room returned to order. “Questions will be answered at the end of the presentation!”

  “I discovered the formula quite by accident.” Doctor Mayes smiled with false humility at the assembly. “As a matter of course, I perform many of the autopsies on students at the Institute. There was a training accident three years ago that lead to a cranial combustion.”

  Doctor Mayes pushed a couple of buttons upon the podium and skipped to the next holo-slide. A rotating three dimensional display of Annisa May, age 18, flashed before the audience. “Annisa May discovered her abilities at age twelve, which is three years later than most of the human applicants to the Institute. Ms. May had no visible health problems, except for periodic headaches. Such headaches are often quite normal for a developing telepath. Ms. May was quite the athlete and achieved medals in both track and swimming. During a training exercise, she attempted to block a PSI-12 rated mental probe. Ms. May was used to stressing her body during her athletic trials and so pushed beyond her endurance against a superior trainer. The brain aneurism caused her to turn her energies inward.”

  With a few clicks of his keypad, Doctor Mayes switched the hologrid to the training tapes. Cade bit his lip and narrowed his eyes. He didn’t need to see the replay of the accident.

  * * * *

  “Sir, may I ask you a question?”

  As a professor, Robert Cade strove to avoid having favorite students. Annisa May was one of the best students of her generation and quite pleasant to teach. “Of course, Ms. May.”

  “You served thirty years as a sentinel. Was it worth it?” Annisa asked nerviously.

  “Without question,” Cade replied proudly. He sensed her motives in asking this question. “Those years were spent defending the System and helping others. I can’t think of a higher calling.”

  Annisa nodded, satisfied. “I’m planning on taking the testing when I turn eighteen next month. I’ve been rated a PSI-8 and I believe I can pass the physical requirements. While it is not required, I’ve been told I have a better chance at making it into the program if I have a mentor.”

  Cade was careful to intensify his mental shields to block his feeling of pride. “If I agreed to sign on as your mentor, I’d be putting my own reputation on the line. I’d have to insist that we engage in practice sessions before your testing.”

  Annisa’s brown eyes widened intensely and she bit her lip to keep from smiling. “Of course, sir.”

  Cade raised his eyebrow affectionately. “I have time during fourth period, Ms. May. I shall reserve a training room. I expect you there Mondays and Wednesdays during that time.”

  “Thank you, sir!”

  Annisa hugged the Professor. Physical contact was unusual between telepaths as it was more difficult to maintain thought shields. Cade caught glimpses of her excitement, her worry about the future, and her crush for her favorite teacher. Knowing that she had broadcast private thoughts, she blushed. “Excuse me, sir. I have studying before my biology finals.”

  Cade tried to rememeber when he last felt that excitement.

  Annisa arrived at the fourth period training session a minute early. Cade had prepared a safe environment. The walls and floors were matted. He
was sitting inside a circle on one end of the room. There was another circle on the other end.

  “The first test is the blocking test. I’ll attempt to pierce your shields slowly until they break. I’ve had years of training, so you aren’t expected to keep me out. Just try your best.”

  Annisa sat down into the lotus position in the opposite circle. “Yes, sir!”

  The traditional approach to shattering a mind shield is to strike hard and fast like hitting it with a mental sledgehammer. This was a test of Annsia’s endurance. He pictured her mental shield like a balloon and instead of popping it with a tack; he began to apply subtle pressure to it.

  Across the room, Annisa smiled at the slight mental contact. Slowly, Cade added additional psionic pressure to his attack. Annisa was resisting quiet well, above her last rating even.

  “Are you doing well enough to continue, Ms. May?”

  Annisa gritted her teeth and nodded.

  * * * *

  “During the training session with Professor Cade, Annisa ignored the pain in her head. As an athlete, she was used pushing beyond her normal limits,” Doctor Mayes explained. Images of her brain flashed on the screens. “As a result, she suffered from an internal brain aneurysm that triggered an acute stroke. This stroke made it difficult for her to stop and caused the accident.”

  Doctor Mayes pressed a button and the holo-grid displayed the image of Annisa’s head exploding. Several of the audience members gasped. There was a dull telepathic roar across the room. “The inquiry showed that Annisa May had a unique condition, which was unknown to the staff. Professor Cade was vindicated of any negligence.”