by E. C. Tubb
The question others would be asking as they counted the hours, conscious of the critical period, the shortening time in which to complete exodus.
Koenig looked around the cavern. Helena and Bergman were with Rowland, Frieda and a cluster of others. Tanner weaved among the Thulians, whispering, grimacing, acting the fool with his own purpose. Some who listened to him laughed, others frowned, a few turned away from him, too impatient to pay attention to his babbling.
‘Commander?’
Carter was waiting tor an answer and Koenig realized that his question had been serious.
He said, ‘It’s not as simple as that, Alan. There are quite a few here who would rather move to Alpha than spend their lives on Ultima Thule.’
‘They must be crazy.’ Carter shrugged, casually indifferent to local problems. ‘In any case they can’t affect us. Let them go to Alpha if they want to. They’re welcome to it. We’ll take over down here.’
For him it was decided—for others too, Bergman among them.
‘John, do you realize that we may be on the threshold of a new step in the evolution of Man? Thuhans and Alphans may be the forerunners of a new race of humans which will be as different from ourselves as we are from our remote ancestors.’
‘Or maybe we could be stepping into a blind alley,’ said Koenig. ‘The extended treatment brings sterility, don’t forget.’
‘A problem which Doctor Rowland is certain we can overcome given time.’
‘Even so, it requires consideration.’
‘Why, Commander?’ Carter frowned. ‘What have you got against it?’
‘Can’t you guess?’ Rowland’s voice was loud, rising above the hum of conversation to echo from the crystals studding the roof and give rise to sympathetic vibrations which quivered the air like the hum of plucked strings. ‘On Alpha John Koenig is the commander and supreme head. A dictator who holds absolute authority over those in his little world. Naturally he is reluctant to yield his power. Once on Ultima Thule every man and woman now under his command will be free to do exactly as they please. He has no desire to see the base evacuated.’
Helena said, flatly, ‘I don’t believe that is true. In fact I know that it isn’t. I am surprised that you should even think it, Doctor Rowland.’
‘You, obviously, know the commander better than I, Doctor Russell, and if I have made a false accusation I apologize.’
Yet the damage had been done as Koenig knew, the seed of doubt planted in receptive minds. Those present were loyal, but even Carter was frowning, unable to understand the reluctance to evacuate, and the Thulians would be quick to accept Rowland’s explanation.
Koenig said, ‘You are asking me to make a serious decision which will affect the lives of others. I need time to make it. Once the thing is decided it cannot be reversed.’
‘Because Alpha is passing this world,’ said Rowland. ‘I understand, Commander, at least I understand the logistics of the situation, but I cannot follow your line of reasoning as to why you should make the decision. I should have thought this was a matter for individual choice. All of you could come here if you wish. Those of you who prefer an early death and the remote chance of bumping into a pleasant planet can stay on Alpha.’
‘That sounds reasonable to me, John,’ said Helena.
‘A democratic choice.’ Bergman nodded. Neither he nor the woman had thought the thing through and Carter was equally blind.
‘That sounds fair enough to me, Commander. Give everyone a free, individual choice.’
‘No,’ said Koenig. I can’t.’ Quickly he explained. ‘Alpha cannot function without the trained people to operate the base so individual freedom of choice is out of the question. What would we do without our doctors? Our atomic engineers? Our chemists? We must act as a unit in order to survive. Evacuation must be total or not at all. I’m not prepared to make the decision. It must be left to the vote and the majority will decide.’
‘But your people must be given all the facts,’ said Rowland sharply. ‘They must be told what living on Thule will mean to them. I must tell them about our way of life, the hopes we have, the golden promise of a wonderful future which will be theirs once they join us. You will permit me to visit them?’
‘Of course.’
‘The Alphans have the right to hear another point of view,’ said Frieda. ‘There’s a snake in this paradise and they must be warned about it. Jack, you’re our man! You’ll speak for us!’
‘No!’ Tanner spun, gibbering, his eyes glaring, hands lifted to twitch beside his ears. ‘I shan’t go and neither should you, Cabot. You claim to have destroyed the realm of death, but by all the dishevelled wandering stars I swear to you—death has dominion!’
‘I’ll put the case,’ said Koenig. ‘Now let’s get to the Eagle and on with the job!’
The wind was bad, the static almost solid with electronic noise, but Carter lifted the ship with deft hands.
‘We’ll have to design atmospheric filters,’ he said cheerfully. ‘Use the ultra-violet part of the spectrum and key down so as to get a direct visual image. Or we could adapt a sonic scanner to do the job. Ted Foster might think of something, he’s one smart engineer.’
‘He’s had a long time in which to learn,’ said Koenig dryly.
‘Centuries.’ Carter stretched in the pilot’s seat and thought about it. ‘It seems hard to plan so far ahead. You could start a project now and think of it being finished in a couple of hundred years or so. You know, Commander, once when I was a boy I wanted to grow some trees. We only had a scrap of garden and it was pretty bare and so I wanted to grow trees. Then they told me how long it would take to grow an oak I could climb—hell, I would be old before I could enjoy it. Now that wouldn’t apply. A few dozen years, a few decades, what does it matter?’
Koenig said nothing, leaning forward instead to check the instruments.
‘Sandra’s going to like it on Thule,’ continued Carter. ‘We’ll find a nice, snug little cave and I’ll get some fire-crystals and we’ll set up a real nice home. It’ll be good to go walking for as long as you want without having to worry about air and all that. And we can build—’
‘For what, Alan?’
‘For the future.’ Carter echoed his surprise. ‘What else, Commander?’
‘A future without children,’ said Koenig quietly. ‘That’s what it means, despite Rowland’s promises. Once you adapt to Thule you’ll be sterile. That’s what Frieda was talking about. She doesn’t want us to leave Alpha.’
Carter shrugged. ‘She’s in no position to talk. She doesn’t know what life is like on the Moon.’
‘But she knows what it’s like on Ultima Thule. That’s why she—!’ Koenig broke off as Helena screamed from where she sat in the passenger compartment. ‘What the hell’s that?’
She was sitting, face strained, eyes incredulous, one hand extended, the fingers filled with skeletal bone filmed with slime. More bone as fragile as sun-bleached straw lay on the floor among a litter of furs.
‘John! It was—’ Helena’s voice rose to hover on the edge of hysteria. ‘God! Horrible!’
‘Steady!’ His voice was as effective as a slap across the cheek. ‘What happened?’
‘I—I touched him, John! I touched him!’
‘Victor?’
‘It was Rowland,’ said Bergman. He sat facing Helena and looked physically ill. ‘I saw it happen. We were talking and he had caught hold of Helena’s hand and then, suddenly, he simply dissolved.’
Nine centuries of age catching up all at once. An adapted metabolism collapsing as it left the aura-field of the planet. Life forced to take an alien path breaking down as it moved from the only world on which it could survive.
The hidden snake in Rowland’s lost paradise.
The Alphans had yet to find a home.
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