The Guardians

by Irving E. Cox

Mryna had the whole truth. She knew the motivation for their madnessof self-destruction. It was not insanity, but the sublime courage of afew human beings sacrificing themselves to save the rest of theircivilization. They smashed the Guardian Wheel to keep the Sicknessthere. And Mryna had already escaped before that happened! She wasbeing hurled through space toward Earth and she would destroy that, too.

  If she killed herself, that would in no way alter the situation. Theship would still move in its appointed course. Her body would be aboard;perhaps the very furnishings in the cabin were now infected with thegerm of the Sickness. When the ship touched Earth, the fatal poisonwould escape.

  Dully Mryna turned up another frame on the film, and she read what theEarthmen had done to help Rythar. They built the Guardian Wheel toisolate the Sickness. Sealed in metal immunization suits, volunteers haddescended to the plague world and reared the surviving children of thecolonists until they were old enough to look out for themselves. Theanswer house had been set up as an instructional device.

  "As nearly as possible, the scientists in charge attempted to create anormal social situation for the plague carriers. They could never beallowed to leave Rythar, but when they matured enough to know the truth,Rythar could be integrated into the colonial system. Rytharian uraniumis already a significant trade factor in the colonial market. Anincidental by-product of the Guardian Wheel is the hospital facility,where advanced cases of certain cancers and lung diseases have beencured in a reduced gravity or by exposure to cosmic radiation."

  Mryna shut off the projection. The words made sense, but the results didnot. And she knew precisely why Earth had failed. When they matured--inthose three words she had her answer.

  And now it didn't matter. There was nothing she could do. Her ship was apoisoned arrow aimed directly at the heart of man's civilization.

  Mryna had slept twice when the auto-pickup lurched out of the time driveand she was able to see the stars again. Directly ahead of her she sawan emerald planet, bright in the sun. And she knew instinctively that itwas Earth.

  A speaker under the viewport throbbed with the sound of a human voice.

  "Auto-shuttle SC 539, attention. You are assigned landing slotseven-three-one, Port Chicago. I repeat, seven-three-one. Dial thatdestination. Do you read me?"

  Three times the message was repeated before Mryna concluded that it wasmeant for her. She found three small knobs close to the speaker and aplastic toggle labeled "voice reply." She snapped it shut and found thatshe could speak to the Chicago spaceport.

  Her problem was easily solved, then. She could say she came from Rythar.Without hesitation, Earth ships would be sent to blast her ship out ofthe sky before she would be able to land. But she knew she had toaccomplish more than that; the same mistake must not be repeated again.

  "How much time do I have?" she asked.

  "Thirty-four minutes."

  "Can you keep this shuttle up here any longer than that?"

  "Lady, the auto-pickups are on tape-pilot. Come hell or high water, theyland exactly on schedule."

  "What happens if I don't dial the slot destination?"

  "We bring you in on emergency--and you fork over a thousand buck fine."

  Mryna asked to be allowed to speak to someone in authority in thegovernment. The Chicago port manager told her the request was absurd.For nine minutes Mryna argued, with a mounting sense of urgency, beforehe gave his grudging consent. Her trouble was that she had to skateclose to the truth without admitting it directly. She could not--exceptas a last resort--let them kill her until they knew why the isolation ofRythar had failed.

  It was thirteen minutes before landing when Mryna finally heard anolder, more dignified voice on the speaker. By then the green globe ofEarth filled the sky; Mryna could make out the shapes of the continentsturning below her. The older man identified himself as a senator electedto the planetary Congress. She didn't know how much authority herepresented, but she couldn't afford to wait any longer.

  She told him frankly who she was. She knew she was pronouncing her owndeath sentence, yet she spoke quietly. She must show the same couragethat the Earthmen had when they sacrificed themselves in the GuardianWheel.

  "Listen to me for two minutes more before you blast my ship," she asked."I rode the god-car up from Rythar--I am coming now to spread theSickness on Earth--because I wanted to know the truth about somethingthat puzzled me. I had to know what was above the rain mist. In theanswer house you would not tell us that. Now I understand why. We werechildren. You were waiting for us to mature. And that is the mistake youmade; that blindness nearly destroyed your civilization.

  "You will have to build another Guardian Wheel. This time don't hideanything from us because we're children. The truth makes us mature, notillusions or taboos. Never forget that. It is easier to face a fact thanto have to give up a dream we've been taught to believe. Tell yourchildren the truth when they ask for it. Tell us, please. We can adjustto it. We're just as human as you are."

  Mryna drew a long breath. Her lips were trembling. Did this manunderstand what she had tried to say? She would never know. If shefailed, Earth--in spite of its generosity and its courage--would one daybe destroyed by children bred on too many delusions. "I'm ready," Mrynasaid steadily. "Send up your warships and destroy me."

  She waited. Less than ten minutes were left. Her shuttle began to movemore slowly. She was no more than a mile above Earth. She saw thesoaring cities and the white highways twisting through green fields.

  Seven minutes left. Where were the warships? She looked anxiouslythrough the viewport and the sky was empty.

  Desperately she closed the voice toggle again. "Send them quickly!" shecried. "You must not let me land!"

  No reply came from the speaker. Her auto-shuttle began to circle a largecity which lay at the southern tip of an inland lake. Three minutesmore. The ship nosed toward the spaceport.

  "Why don't you do something?" Mryna screamed. "What are you waitingfor?"

  The shuttle settled into a metal rack. The lock hissed open. Mrynashrank back against the wall, looking out at what she woulddestroy--what she had already destroyed. A dignified, portly man camepanting up the ramp toward her.

  "No!" she whispered. "Don't come in here."

  "I am Senator Brieson," he said shortly. "For ten years Dr. Jameson hasbeen telling us from the Guardian Wheel that we should adopt a differenteducational policy toward Rythar. Your scare broadcast was clever, butwe're used to Jameson's tricks. He'll be removed from office for this,and if I have anything to say about it--"

  "You didn't believe me?" Mryna gasped.

  "Of course not. If a plague carrier escaped from Rythar, we would haveheard about it long before this. The trouble with you scientists is youdon't grant the rest of us any common sense. And Jameson's the worst ofthe lot. He's always contended that the sociologists should determineour Rytharian policy, not the elected representatives of the people."

  Mryna broke down and began to cry hysterically. The senator put his handunder her arm--none too gently. "Let's have no more dramatics, please.You don't know how fortunate you are, young lady. If the politicianswere as addle-witted as you scientists claim we are, we might havebelieved that nonsense and blasted your ship out of the sky. Youscientists have to give up the notion that you're our guardians; we'requite able to look out for ourselves."

  FIN]