A Thousand Ages

by D. E. Ellis

  “Beyond membership of a dissentient group, we accept that you had now knowledge or part in the events which let to the breakdown of the Tube. Also, in spite of the fact that you were associated with he Gabblers, we believe you had nothing to do with their act of aggression. Therefore we will dismiss the case against you.

  “However, your lack of desire to become a responsible member of the community has been noticed. Accordingly we have some difficulty in deciding what to do with you. For those reasons, we are letting the matter rest, until we have dealt with the other cases present.”

  With mixed feeling, Bruce sat down again. The prospect of death had not particularly upset him, but he wondered what fate was in store for him now. The ghastly thought occurred to him that they might apply some mind therapy treatment, similar to that applied to criminals. Someone had told him about it and also mentioned that, while it worked reasonably well with Klaatans it left Gabblers mindless idiots. What effect would it have on him, who was neither one nor the other?

  He had expected Wormald to stand after himself; but to his surprise, and that of many others present, the trial proceeded with the cases of leading members of the Group.

  There were no rules commanding that all of the Klaatan society had to think alike. It was no crime to belong to any organisation which did not support the government. An offence was not committed until the Group actively plotted the downfall of the Government. Since, in the Council’s opinion, this was not in the best interests of the Klaatan society, punishment had to be metered out to offenders.

  Case after case was dismissed as the persons concerned proved their lack of knowledge that any offence had been planned, by allowing the Council to examine their minds. Rona was not present, having cast in her lot with Hamer, thereby cutting herself off from her own people. She felt hopeless now that there would never be any understanding allowing free inter-mixing of the two races.

  Finally, there remained only Griff Rama and Wormald to be tried. Knowing themselves to be guilty of the crimes from which the others had been exonerated, they had little hope of a favourable verdict. Nevertheless, each faced the Council with courage and a spirit which proved them not to be beaten yet.

  “I helped the young people, and I will not say I regret doing it. I must take the blame for the trouble of my action in stopping the Tube caused, but I could not possibly foresee that the Gabblers would act as they did. I must stress that the idea of stopping the Tube was entirely my own, and neither Griff Rama nor anyone else is to blame. I claim that what I did was in the best interests of Klaata.”

  “In your unreasoning fear of fission weapons, you have tried to stifle all interest in anything mechanical. I respect you r motives and agree with all the uncomplimentary ideas you have of my era. Your reasoning is faulty, however, due to your lack of knowledge of the type of mind that allowed fission weapons to be made. We had no real knowledge of the way in which our minds worked ourselves.

  “With your gifts of thought-perception, the mind is an open book to you. You know what is in each others’ minds, so you have no need to prove to each other how great you are. Thus, the kind of ambition that makes a man strive for power for its own sake, is lacking in your characters.

  “Knowing that, in general, your minds contain love and goodwill towards one another, you are vastly different from the race who met the fate you fear. And I fail to see how scientific research can lead to the evils you suppose.”

  Having concluded his defence, Wormald was allowed to sit down. It was clear that he was guilty of the kind of offence for which it was customary to mete out the supreme punishment. He was surprised that the sentence was not announced immediately, but deferred until after the judgement of Griff Rama.

  While his own fate seemed to be certain, Griff was determined to make one last plea for his followers:

  “Youth, in any society, needs some form of expression. Bottle up one kind and it will burst out again in some other form. We admit we live in a well-regulated, happy community, and ought to be contented, but we seem to have lost our individuality. Because we can commune with our minds, there is a danger of those minds becoming too much alike. On the whole, we are safe, both mentally and physically, in this society. This was not always so. Until recently, our people had the task of forming a new civilisation in the face of formidable odds. The resultant danger and hard work kept the young people from craving any extra excitement, or interests. Perhaps things are just a little bit too easy, and too static, for this generation. Science and engineering would give them a new interest in life. It was only one of our aims. I admit that we have shown ourselves to be too irresponsible for any of the others to be considered, but this one would surely be an advantage to the community.”

  “If you have said all you have to say, you may sit down,” the Head announced. It was as though he was dismissing a naughty child. His next words surprised all those on trial:

  “It is obvious that if we are to remove this canker of unrest from our midst, and make reasonably certain the disease does not sprout elsewhere, some unorthodox measures will have to be taken. You will notice I said ‘remove’. The Council has already given much thought to the problem and, while they refrained from pre-judging the cases, various solutions were proposed. Finally, we found one upon which we were all agreed.

  “Griff Rama and Urik Wormald we could send over, but this would not solve the problem of those found ‘not guilty’. It is quite possible that they might become involved in a similar situation some time in the future. Here the answer could be mental treatment; but so many young people would eventually have to be treated, in order to make them fit into the pattern of our society, that it seems easier to change that pattern and make the society fit the people.

  “Griff Rama and Urik Wormald, we give you an alternative to euthanasia—that, accompanied by such members of the Group as are willing to form a crew, and Bruce Kenton—whom we hope will find it possible to captain the ship—you shall depart in the Unisphere on voyage of exploration, to discover the fate of the settlers on Mars. There has been no communication with them since the Disaster; and but for records of them discovered in the Tube, we should have been unaware of their existence. The Unisphere brought reports that there was no sign of activity in the towns. It may be, however, that some descendants survive.”

  “If the present unrest is due to the causes surmised, we expect no lack of volunteers for the crew. Since the Unisphere can only take a certain number, we are proposing to send other exploration parties to find out more about our own planet. It seems that , having consolidated our own position, the time for isolation is past. We must branch out and, at the risk of making mistakes, take an active interest in what is going on elsewhere. Since we propose to investigate the living conditions of the Gabblers and assist them a little along the path of progress, if it be possible.

  “As for science, we will dabble a little in that too, but slowly, beginning at the beginning, and trying no short cuts through our fiends of the machine age. James Thursfield may be able to assist here with some mathematics and the fundamental principles of science, although we have in mind another task for him. With the need to reorganise our society, and its representation on the Council, in view of the new requirements, we need the detached view he can bring to bear on the problem.

  “Of course, all this will take time. But we trust that the preparations and training of the crew will occupy you sufficiently to keep you out of mischief for some months. In any case, there’s always the alternative—I leave you to choose!”

  Stunned into silence, it slowly dawned on Griff Rama that the Council had conceded nearly every important point for which his Group had asked. They had gone the wrong way about obtaining the concessions, and deserved to fail, but the Council had once more proved themselves worthy of the office which they held. Neither was his punishment as bad as he expected; although, as yet, he cold not adjust his ideas to the future imposed upon him.

  Wormald, on the other hand, was d
elighted. The Unisphere was his baby and whole family combined. He asked for nothing better than to return to her.

  Chapter 19

  Thane felt a stirring of jealousy as Bruce was asked to pilot the ship. He thought of saying that it was impossible, and that only he was sufficiently qualified to handle the controls. However, he knew that this was not true. Some subjects, such as navigation had been compulsory to both courses. Bruce had been able to pick up a lot more in the long hours they spent on their journey, with nothing much to do. With a little co-operation on Thane’s part, the knowledge he lacked could be taught him in a few months. Why should he cooperate in handing over his ship? he thought belligerently.

  Then he realised that he was behaving like a small child. He was too reluctant to pull up the roots he was beginning to grow in this new world, and the Elders knew it. He was trying to stop anyone else having the cake he did not want to eat himself.

  He thought affectionately of Mury, who would scarcely leave his side now that the real man had emerged from his disguise. Mury, who might shortly be able to hear if the operation Courton was about to perform on her succeeded. With expert tuition, and aided by being able to receive thoughts, she was no able to pronounce quite a lot of words. Thane felt he could entirely accept this new world, if she would marry him.

  Feeling better, his thoughts returned to the Unisphere. It really was a marvellous opportunity for Bruce, Rikky and all those who decided to go, and who had more right to caption the ship than had Bruce Kenton. But for his friendship with Bruce, Thane, himself, might never have had the opportunity of being her captain. Friendship! It suddenly struck Thane that he was about to lose two more friends for quite a long time.

  Bruce came searching for him, more than anxious to put things back on to their old footing. Even before the outcome of the trial, he had thought wistfully of the old days, when his flirtations had been a joke, and he had not taken exception to any remarks Thane might make. Here was a legitimate reason for them to come into contact again. Envying Thane his good fortune to have found his place in this world—and his luck in falling in love with someone capable of loving him in return—it did not occur to him that Thane might resent him taking over the Unisphere. Luckily, by the time he reached him, Thane had worked his jealousy out of his system. He was equally glad to have the chance to return to their former happy relationship.

  Thane grinned as he approached. “The Klaatans have certainly thought of a nice method of getting rid of Public Enemy Number One. Poor old Mac would be horrified if he could see his beloved Unisphere being given over to his reckless protégé. Watch out you don’t get pinched for dangerous driving.”

  Laughter soon put the friendship back on its old terms again.

  “How is Mury?” asked Bruce. “Has she had the operation yet?”

  “Grant said it would be in about an hour’s time. I’m going over to the hospital in a little while, so that I can be there when she comes round.”

  “The poor kid is bound to be frightened. It will do her no end of good to see you there. I mean, she’s hardly used to civilisation yet, is she?”

  “It’s surprising how quickly she has taken up the Klaatan way of life. You should haves seen her when she lived with the tribesmen. Perhaps you did though, before they put you in that cave. If it hadn’t been for her, we would not have reached you in time.”

  “You too, old man. From what they told me later, you didn’t spare yourself, getting us out of there. How you did it, I can’t imagine—unless it was that, because we were so dehydrated, we weighted much less than usual. Mury must conceal tremendous strength in that slight figure of hers.

  “It’s difficult to find the right kind of words to thank you. Until the trial, it didn’t seem to matter whether I lived or died. Now I realise that, even though I’m not worth much, life is pretty good. When I found out how many friends I had, I wasn’t quit so keen to die. And, when I also found there was still a life of adventure ahead, I thought it was high time to thank the saviour of that ungrateful life. Don’t say a word, old boy; it’s my turn to do the talking. just ell me one thing though—will Mury be able to hear right away?”

  “I suppose she could. But Grant warned me that they would have to protect the ears until they had healed. Then they would proceed to introduce her to sound very cautiously. It must be quite a shock to hear things for the first time.”

  “You’ll be wanting to get along now, so I’ll come and see you in your apartment later on. We’ll have to discuss the organisation of this training lark. Wish Mury the best of luck from me.”

  “I’ll be free this evening. It will be like old times, working together on a project. I only wish I was coming too.”

  “Why don’t you? we should be back within the year. Mury is so devoted that I’m sure she would wait for you. And I’ll gladly step aside for you to take command.”

  “That was a stupid thing for me to say, but thanks for your offer all the same. Mury needs me more now than she will in a year’s time. Even in the old days, I should have had to settle down some time. This seems to be my chance.”

  As he departed, Thane realised that the last shred of jealousy was gone. He could now whole-heartedly help Bruce to step into his shoes.

  At the hospital, everyone was very kind. The nurses were more than usually touched by this romance; their sympathises natures, quickly to see the difficulties of both Mury and Thane in adjusting to a new life, led them to relax the rules they had for visitors. Thane was allowed to sit at Mury’s bedside, waiting for her to come round.

  Looking at her, lying there unconscious, he could see no trace of her tribal background. She was so like his own race that, even if she were to remain deaf, he was sure they would have a natural understanding for each other. “Had I met her amongst a million other girls at home, I should still have fallen in love with her,” he thought.

  Mury awoke, saw him, smiled, then promptly fell into a natural sleep. Thane told a nurse, who was pleased to hear it.

  “She will probably miss all the nasty after-effects of the anaesthetic, if she sleeps now. Doctor Courton is trying to provide us with the kind of anaesthetic with which he was familiar before the Disaster. But it is difficult to obtain the materials he needs.”

  “If anyone can do it, he can. He used to be our top man in that field of research, that’s how he came to be with us in the Unisphere. It would have been intolerably boring and have meant carrying an awful lot of food supplies, if we had been conscious all the time. He perfected a drug which induced a state of suspended animation. It worked so well that he was able to accurately estimate the exact dosage—so that, about five years later we recovered on the very day he supposed we would …”

  “Can I hear someone talking about me?” interrupted the doctor, coming to look at his patient.

  “Is she all right? Will she be able to hear?” asked Thane, hardly giving him time to reach the bedside.

  “The operation was completely successful, but we shall have to wait a few days to see if it has had the desired effect. There may be other factors preventing her from hearing.”

  “May I stay till she wakes up—or will that be too long?”

  “Well, it might help if you’re around when she does. But meantime, come and have something to eat with me. She’s sure to be asleep for several hours yet. How long can you stay?”

  “I promised to see Bruce this evening, but I expect I can put him off, if necessary.”

  It was not necessary. Mury finally awoke in the late afternoon. Thereafter, Thane was in a daze, as he remembered how she looked at him. There was no doubt where her heart lay. Love had completely overcome fear of strange surroundings, and events. Actually, after the misery of her former life, Mury was ready to accept any minor discomfort that went with her new life, without complaint.

  Thane and she talked in their own weird language—a mixture of signs, lip-reading and simple words—and, here and there, just a shadow of mind reading or, more correctly, intuit
ion.

  It was with difficulty that Thane parted from his daydreams as the time for Bruce’s visit approached. When at last he come, however, Thane was ready to get down to the serious business of suggesting methods of selection and training of the crew.

  “Just look at the numbers who have volunteered already,” said Bruce. “Over two hundred—and this is only the first day. How on earth are we going to sort them all out?”

  “Well, for a start, we could get them to attend lectures on mathematics, elementary physics and chemistry, given by Thursfield. He could then set them a test. We could pick out about twenty-five of the most promising from that.”

  “We can’t take all that lot!”

  “I know, fathead, but they won’t all be physically suitable. Then you’ve got to allow for replacements—those that drop out at the last minute for some reason or other. In fact, it might be better to make the first selection higher than twenty-five. Actually, for a short journey like this one will be, I suppose it would be practical to take half-a-dozen besides you, Wormald and Griff Rama.”

  “Certainly no more. It will take quite a lot of room to store the food—particularly since the Klaatans don’t seem to have discovered the art of canning dehydrated foods. I don’t really see how we can take mountains of those glass jars they seem to use for preserving foods.

  “Something will turn up now that so many are anxious to cooperate. We can absorb some of those who wish to work in scientific research into a team to investigate other methods of preserving food. Even those who see nothing but doom in the advancement of science can hardly object to that type of research. While Thursfield takes the candidates through the first stages, I suppose I might as well do my part and teach you the little you don’t already know about the Unisphere. I suppose we can dispense with that part of a captain’s training which used to cover ‘Rules for conduct in planetary ports’. I doubt if any survivors on the planets will know that space-ships ever existed.”