Flight of the Maita Supercollection 3: Solving Galactic Problems Collector's Edition

by Moulton, CD

  I ran it on. Next was the Vendan, Ape. He was large – possibly two and a half meters, had pointed ears, was covered in a brownish-red fur that seemed quite thick, had ten toes and fingers, each of which ended in very sharp and strong- appearing claws. Flann explained Ape didn't speak directly, but there was a way provided so we would know what he wanted.

  The Mentan drew my attention. It was less than a meter, sort of a squarish globe with four tentacles and eyes that were on short stalks atop the globe. Flann explained it and Ape wouldn't take part in the debate, but would observe.

  I ran it forward until there was a sudden voice from nowhere. Flann jumped and asked what it was.

  It was the machine that keeps the records and reports for the aliens. I immediately saw how the churches were made to appear as ridiculous as they, in reality, are. The machine stated that as all had agreed to hold a debate the rules should be reviewed before they began their discussion or questionings. Flann became rather flustered and stuttered about, then asked the machine to state the rules. I decided right there was the point where the churches lost the debate. One thing I know about debates is that one concedes any point starting into the arguments. That is defeat before the battle is joined. I saw right then how this broadcast was designed to be a debacle for the churches. I would think those priests would have better sense. They had many centuries of practice in those same tactics.

  I ran the tape on. Everyone could ask and answer questions, including the alien, Z, and Erl Flann. Each must wait his natural turn and no personal attacks were to be permitted. The broadcast was to run without interruption until they were through. Not bad. I expected a clever trick in the rules, but it hadn't materialized. My respect for these aliens grew.

  Flann introduced the people from the churches, Gu Verdeen from the Church of the Great and True Vision, Gu Needja (Idiot!) of the Church of the Fundamental Truth, Gui Veltree (I've heard of her punishment when she spitefully brought charges against others and was shown to have maliciously lied) of the old Church of the True Believers, Gu Ipth represented the Foes of Grumm and Gui Imtree represented the Church of the Sciencers.

  This was designed to be a fiasco! Before we went one word into it I was ready to say nothing would happen except that each of the leaders of the basic churches of the land would spit and claw at one another and the aliens would be ignored. All Kroons would appear to be stupid. Now I could see the cleverness of the aliens in stating those rules before the debate began.

  I was happy to see such tactics in fact would NOT be allowed. Needja started a tirade and the alien's machine called for a point of order, stating this was a questioning session and was neither the time nor place for cheap theatrical personal attacks. I literally applauded! Again, my respect increased. For the first time I wished I'd been there to see the original broadcast!

  Flann cut Needja off then and went on to Veltree, who thoroughly enjoyed Needja's great discomfort, but was having trouble restraining herself from doing the same. She called the alien "Gu Z," but he said he wasn't a priest so "Z" would do.

  Ipth asked about Grumm, whereupon the alien replied that on his home world they called the adversary of the principle god Satan.

  Imtree asked about lightspeed, to which Z replied the ship doesn't actually exceed lightspeed, though it could. It wasn't necessary! (?)

  Flann then again went to Needja, whereupon Z interrupted to say he was permitted questions, too. Flann stuttered a bit, then told the alien he could proceed. Z asked Gui Imtree how she correlated our science with the worship of Soolinn, then really destroyed the bunch of them when Imtree answered that she didn't understand the question. I'll quote exactly what transpired for this record.

  Z: "Soolinn said we, my friends and I, do not exist. Your science told you even BEFORE we appeared that we DO exist – and we are now HERE! How do you correlate the facts with the belief?"

  All Imtree could think of to say was she hadn't thought about it, quite frankly. That showed how much science was utilized by the Sciencer sect.

  It passed for a few moments, but as the alien obviously had read the Vision of Soolinn, the debate was over. The churches were dead. The questioning passed around for awhile longer, then everyone passed time to Needja, making it obvious to the stupidest watcher the priests had agreed before the debate to make plans to work together to defeat this alien. That just added to the victory of the otherworlders, though getting that stupid bunch to do ANYTHING together was an unusually difficult task for which I again applauded the aliens.

  Needja was stupid enough to say the aliens were a trick and weren't really there, that they had hypnotized the Gus. I laughed when Z stated that it was possible he had hypnotized them all, but no one could hypnotize a television camera so people would be calling by the thousands to tell them they were sitting in midair asking questions of no one, besides which if he wasn't really there who or what hypnotized them?

  Z made them suggest the vision of Soolinn had been misinterpreted when it declared there were no other intelligences. He threw in their faces the fact the words were clear and explicit, stating within themselves they weren't subject to other interpretations. "No intelligences" meant no intelligences, period, yet there were three very different ones right there staring at them and they were staring back.

  Verdeen had been overlooked until that time. Flann suddenly apologized and suggested the Gu could then ask several questions. His questions buried the churches of Soolinn and Pinneestees forever. He tried to be clever and to suggest the aliens had twisted his words. Z replied it was permitted in the stated rules that any statement that was twisted could be straightened again by any of them. Verdeen shut up and glared, then Flann minced about and said no harm had been done because transmission was stopped right at the first. The aliens' machine replied it had carried the whole thing, having burned out the jamming equipment the churches tried to use. The alien told the people they had seen exactly what the churches and the Gus were and wished everyone good fortune.

  I find myself liking these aliens! Now I must determine what I am to say about this, but there really isn't much TO say. It's really rather obvious. All they did was point out the obvious to us. Anything we don't see immediately is due to the fact we don't wish to see.

  Bad News

  * Enn Far

  "Verily I say unto you, suffer not the infidels to live for I, Soolinn, have so decreed. Let those who would follow Grumm know of his defeat. Yea, he is defeated.

  "I say unto you now there are no others. You alone exist in all the universe for all the worlds and I say unto you there are many worlds for I have prepared these places for you. They are as rooms in my palaces. Verily I say unto you I have prepared these rooms for my beloved Kroon alone. The Kroon are my perfect act of creation. I have made no others. There are those plants and those animals I have created for the delight of the Kroon. They are only as the furniture in those rooms I have prepared for you and are patiently awaiting the true believers' occupation. There are no others who would be masters of these rooms for I have come before you to prepare this place. The Kroon alone have the free mind and reason in all of creation, for I, Soolinn, have created all things and all places and this is my word. What I speak is truth. Only Soolinn speaks only truth.

  "I give then unto you this warning: Do not suffer the infidels to live! I, Soolinn, will not permit that infidels and followers of Grumm enter into my kingdom! Destroy the unbelievers and their evil!"

  From The Words of the Vision

  I was in my den studying the Words of the Great and True Vision of the Followers of Soolinn and was comparing them with the words and the television transmissions of the aliens.

  This was the first time the words seemed so silly and childish to me, though they had never taken my attention before so that was as good an explanation as any. When a child is raised hearing nothing else it is as much as imprinted and remembered as rote.

  The alien, Z, had been so right. All the religions on Kroon except the Ithians
were proved to be false by the existence of those very aliens. The words were plain and were unmistakable.

  "The Kroon alone in all of creation have the free minds and reason..." was not a thing open to interpretation nor were the words of the vision "for I have created no other" open to any other interpretation. The Vision of Soolinn, witnessed by four thousand trusting people, was proved to be a fraud and a trickery. It was done by some fakery to give the priests more power. There was simply no other reasonable explanation.

  Those scrolls, supposedly written by Soolinn to be read and presented at the Great Vision by Soolinn, were equally a fraud and a trick.

  SOOLINN was a trick!

  I am a leader and student of these things and can see easily how it was done, but that isn't important here. Our society is falling apart and chaos reigns. The council of a hundred are trying to pull things together and the Ithians are, at least, not saying "I told you so," regardless of the opportunity. They certainly have been given the right on a crystal tray!

  I personally never believed in the Vision. The race has been bogged down in silly wars for all of its recorded history. These priests have always preached love and understanding, mercy and true forgiveness in one paragraph followed by hate and murder in the next. That fact was pointed out by the Mentan, too.

  Strange how blind even such a scholar as I could have been all this time. It was there to see, but I, as others, WOULD NOT see it! Looking back even from a perspective of only a halfyear I can't understand how or why anyone ever fell into the trap of those things. For thousands of years – four thousand since the Vision – poor people have been tithing twelve percent of all they earn to support the priests, increasing the luxury of those socalled leaders and the wealth of the churches.

  The priests grabbed political power to fight their wars among the various cults to further their own wealth and power and the world had known no real peace since. To even read speeches made by those priests and politicians now it becomes obvious it has always been a fraud perpetrated upon the people of Kroon by a sordid greedy priesthood for personal power. I know shame that such was seen and known by our visitors.

  Now they were gone, after exposing the falsity of the Vision. The council has a truly impossible task ahead or some new and equally ridiculous religion will come along and nothing here will change even for a small time. I greatly fear that nothing will ever change here and we will very deservedly be excluded from congress, as the Mentan said, with the other members of the empire. If there was truth in what they said – and I believe that to be shown – there are thousands of races living together in harmony.

  The Kroon can't even live with the Kroon!

  I have to come up with some kind of speech to try to change something here. It really is my duty to do what I can to change this society for the better. I am a TEACHER, thus I have a duty to all people. It comes with the job.

  Such a muddle to come at such a time.

  Well, onward with it! A project never started is a job never completed! I do have the reputation of finishing anything I start and will have to try to retain that, at least!

  How did I ever let myself get pulled into this morass? What strange and malicious turn of fate made me the one?

  I met and liked the aliens, as anyone with any sense whatever would – and sense is in very short supply these days. They DID expose those phony religions to be what they are. They DID show me where the right thing should be and they DID rightfully say it must be a Kroon who did these things, but why ME? Why did I have to agree to set up this governing council?

  The great Enn Far! The one who will lead us from the dark ages!

  I am not qualified and I know it but, as the Mentan, Thing, said to me, "No one is qualified, but at least you aren't so directly influenced by the fall of the false gods. You have said all along that the system was wrong and the churches were merely oppressing the people. You aren't held in thrall by those old ideas."

  I'm not? Ithianism is as old as any of them!

  Now everyone's jumping on the Ithian platform and I AM the nominal leader of the cult. I AM the one who's looked to for guidance and council. I AM considered the expert.

  I can be proud of one thing! I was able to force Clah Meen to disarm. The threat of that is no longer hanging over the head of every Kroon alive. I may have had help from the aliens, but they used my ideas and the words of our enemies against themselves. This is the first time in the entire history of Kroon no major power has been armed against its neighbors and that's the one thing I intend to see stays as it is. If I can leave that as my legacy existence is worthwhile. Very few can ever say that!

  A halfyear until the open elections and I just KNOW they'll elect me president of the council! I have to do something to stop it, but I don't want to discredit myself or to disgrace my name. It may be true that no one else is qualified for the position, but I'm not either. This is the wrong time!

  That historian teacher, Hal Korr, is quite the outspoken sort of person. I've managed to finagle him into a position where he'll have to become the orator for the council's positions. He IS very good so maybe I can make him the logical choice for the leader. I can possibly switch my own popularity to him and leave through the side door when all eyes are upon him. I'll certainly have to try! I want out! I'm not even vaguely prepared for this kind of responsibility. I can't stand up to the pressure of always having to be right when I don't know what I'm doing! I'm blundering around in the dark and am bound to stumble over something.

  This is the time when Kroon needs leadership more than at any other time in history. Failure of all of this will be disastrous for years or even centuries. I don't want that on my head.

  Thank whatever gods may be for the good people on this world! They have – so far – kept their pledges and are truly working for the good of the entire race. After the elections that pressure will be gone from me, at the very least. I selected the whole council so I am responsible if any of them act in a manner that's not proper or honest. After the coming election it's the peoples' choice, not mine. I will again finally be able to sleep and wake up rested, I hope. I can still dream!

  This constitution thing the Terran suggested seems a wonderful idea, but I see the traps in it. It will take more than what he called "eternal vigilance" to make it work. Each branch will attempt to gain the major powers to themselves. The old call of personal greed won't change. If there's one constant in the Kroon race it's that. I can see that fact lurking in the shadows down the path a ways. After the patriotism and statesmanship wear off it will be the old story of "What does it put in my vault?" and the old corruption will creep back in. The chairman will eventually try to rearrange the responsibilities if for no other reason than to pass blame when something goes wrong, the courts will certainly try to interpret the constitution itself, though the document will pointedly state they can only interpret other laws to make them comply with the constitution and the legislative bodies will try to pass laws to give themselves all the power and, therefore, all the funds. It will work for awhile, but something better will have to be found.

  Perhaps time will prove me wrong. I can but hope. I can but dream.

  What a mess!

  Well, it's probably better than letting things settle by themselves for the simple reason they wouldn't, I suppose. Without controls we'd be back where we were a year ago in short time. We can try to save the race. Our history doesn't give me much faith, but that's one reason I think the historian, Hal Korr, will be the best man to handle things. He can't be lulled so easily by smooth speeches and winning smiles. He should be more pragmatic than that.

  Again, I can but hope.

  I wish we had a machine to run things like the aliens do. That was quite a revelation. It's the one area where they made me seem ridiculous in my prejudices, though they were diplomatic enough to say many peoples didn't trust machines so I was no rarity. Through all of the changes they wrought here they tried to spare the sensitivities of those who were really tryin
g to help our people, however misguided.

  That Mentan asked me the right questions. It had the ability to cut through the nonsense and to make me see a thing as it was. I think that of all of them I respected it most, though I liked the huge Vendan most. I think I trusted the Terran most.

  How strange!

  I asked the Mentan what the people of their empire did when some super-powerful machine decided it wanted something that wasn't a good thing for the people and it asked me when I ever heard of a machine WANTING anything. That made me think! It also made me see that unless we change the way we think we are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.

  They have retained the right to ignore the advice or orders of the machines if they don't agree, thus it's a simple thing to agree to use the machines and to follow their advice, but to not give them the power to enforce anything. All enforcement must come from the governed through a system they choose. If one doesn't like what the machine says, do what he likes.

  "If you don't do as I say I won't do a damned thing about it!" is hardly a position to fear!

  I wish we had the technology to build those machines. It would make life a lot easier for a lot of people and, also as Thing said, "Who ever heard of a corrupt machine?" That's the same thing as the part about a machine not wanting anything. Corruption is caused from wanting what isn't rightfully yours, then doing something to get it – greed again. Z was right, too, when he said the desire to go into politics should be reason enough to deny that person office because of the simple fact that a desire to enter politics is a desire for power over your fellow beings. The ones who want it are the worst possible choices to give it to.

  I shouldn't be taking that point of view because I certainly don't want the job! He IS rather cynical, but I see his point.

  I'll ask the historian about it, but it seems to me no true statesman in our history actually sought the job. They had it thrust upon them.