"Crewmen," Rexroad said, "make poor reporters."
The _Weblor I_ had taken off on the first trip to Antheon five years
before with a thousand families, reached the planet with less than five
hundred surviving colonists. Upon the return to Earth a year later, the
crew's report of suffering and chaos during the year's outgoing voyage
was twisted, distorted and fragmentary. Ellason remembered it well. The
decision of Interstellar was that the colonists started a revolution
far out in space, that it was fanned by the ignorance of Captain
Sessions in dealing with such matters.
"Space affects men in a peculiar way," Phipps said. "We have conquered
the problem of small groups in space--witness the discovery of
Antheon, for example--but when there are large groups, control is more
difficult."
"Sessions," Rexroad said, "was a bully. The trouble started at about
the halfway point. It ended with passengers engaging in open warfare
with each other and the crew. Sessions was lucky to escape with his
life."
"As I recall," Ellason said, "there was something about stunners."
Phipps rubbed his chin. "No weapons were allowed on the ship, but you
must remember the colonists were selected for their intelligence and
resourcefulness. They utilized these attributes to set up weapon shops
to arm themselves."
"The second trip is history," Rexroad said. "And a puzzle."
* * * * *