Herlak slept on a couch near me that night. I called him the death
watch, and he was polite enough to seem to enjoy my little joke.
Ero Shan, Herlak and I breakfasted together the next morning. The girl
who had summoned us to dinner the night before waited on us. She was
so radiantly beautiful that it was almost embarrassing; I felt that I
should be waiting on her. She was young, but then every one I had seen
in Havatoo appeared young.
Of course I was not greatly surprised by this, for I knew of the
longevity serum developed by the scientists of Amtor. I myself had been
inoculated against old age, but I remarked on it casually to Ero Shan.
"Yes," he said, "we could live forever if the Sanjong so decreed. At
least we would never die of old age or disease, but they have decreed
otherwise. Our serum gives immunity for two or three hundred years,
depending upon the natural constitution of the individual. When it
ceases to be effective death comes quickly. As a rule we anticipate it
when we see that the end is coming."
"But why not live forever if you can?" I asked.
"It was quite apparent that if we lived forever the number of
children that could be permitted would be too small to result in
any considerable improvement of the race, and so we have refused
immortality in the interest of future generations and of all Amtor."
As we were finishing breakfast word was brought to Ero Shan directing
him to bring me before the examining board immediately; and a short
time later, with Herlak accompanying us, we entered Ero Shan's car and
drove down the Korgan Lat, or Avenue of Warriors, toward the Central
Laboratories that stand in the civic center of Havatoo.
Both Ero Shan and Herlak were unusually quiet and grave during the
drive, and I sensed that they anticipated that the worst was about to
befall me. Nor can I say that I was particularly blithe though the
least of my worries was occasioned by what lay in store for me; it was
Duare I was thinking of, Duare and Nalte.
The stately government buildings, the Sera Tartum or Central
Laboratories as they call them, looked very beautiful in the gorgeous
setting of Mankar Pol, the park that is named for the great last jong
of Havatoo, as we drove in and stopped before the building in which I
had been examined the day before.
We did not have to wait after we entered the building, but were
immediately ushered into the presence of the examining board. Their
grave faces portended bad news, and I prepared myself for the worst.
Through my mind raced plans for escape, but something told me that
these people did things so well and were so efficient that there would
be no escape from whatever fate they decreed for me.
Kantum Shogan, chief of the board, invited me to be seated; and I took
a chair facing the august five. Ero Shan sat at my right, Herlak at my
left.
"Carson Napier," commenced Kantum Shogan, "our examination of you
shows that you are not without merit. Physically you approach that
perfection toward which our race is constantly striving; intellectually
you are alert but ill trained--you have no culture. While that
might be remedied, I regret to advise you that you possess inherent
psychological faults that, if transmitted to progeny or allowed to
contaminate others through association with you, would work inestimable
wrong on future generations.
"You are the unfortunate victim of inherited repressions, complexes,
and fears. To a great extent you have risen above these destructive
characteristics but the chromosomes of your germ cells are replete
with these vicious genes, constituting a potential menace to
generations yet unborn.
"With deep regret, therefore, we, could but conclude that it would best
serve the interests of humanity were you destroyed."
"May I ask," I inquired, "by what right you elect to say whether or not
I shall live? I am not a citizen of Havatoo. I did not come to Havatoo
of my own free will. If--"
Kantum Shogan raised his hand in a gesture that enjoined silence. "I
repeat," he said, "that we regret the necessity, but there is nothing
more to be said upon the subject. Your accomplishments are not such as
to outweigh your inherited defects. This is unfortunate, but of course
Havatoo cannot be expected to suffer because of it."
* * * * *
So I was to die! After all that I had passed through it verged upon
the ridiculous that I should die thus tamely simply because one of my
ancestors failed to exercise a little intelligence in the selection of
his bride. And to come all this long way just to die! It made me smile.
"Why do you smile?" inquired a member of the board. "Does death seem
an amusing thing to you? Or do you smile because you expect to escape
death through some ruse?"
"I smile," I replied, "when perhaps I should weep--weep at the thought
of all the toil and knowledge and energy that were wasted to transport
me twenty-six million miles just to die because five men of another
world believe that I have inherited some bad genes."
"Twenty-six million miles!" exclaimed a member of the board; and a
second:
"Another world! What do you mean?"
"I mean that I came here from another world twenty-six million miles
from Amtor," I replied. "A world much further advanced in some respects
than yours."
The members of the board stared at each other. I heard one of them
remark to another: "This bears out the theory that many of us have long
held."
"Most interesting, and not improbable," said another.
"You say that Amtor is not the only world?" demanded Kantum Shogan;
"that there is another?"
"The heavens are filled with countless worlds," I replied. "Your world
and mine and at least eight other worlds revolve around a great ball
of flaming gases that we call a sun, and this sun with its worlds or
planets is called a solar system. The illimitable void of the heavens
is starred with countless other suns, many of which are the centers of
other solar systems; and no man knows how many worlds there are."
"Wait!" said Kantum Shogan. "You have said enough to suggest that our
examination of you may have been faulty in that it presumed that we
possessed the sum total of available human knowledge. Now it appears
that you may possess knowledge of such vast importance as to outweigh
the biological inadequacies inherent in you.
"We shall question you further upon the subject of this theory which
you have propounded, and in the meantime the execution of our sentence
is postponed. Our final decision as to your future will depend upon the
outcome of this further questioning. Science may ignore no possible
source of knowledge, and if your theory is sound and opens a new field
to science, you shall be free to enjoy Havatoo for life; nor shall you
go unhonored."
Although I had graduated with honors from a college of high scholastic
standing I realized as I stood in the presence of these super-men of
science that what Kantum Shogan had said of me was true. By comparison
with them I was poorly trained and uncultured--my degrees meaningless,
my diploma a mere scrap of paper. Yet in one field of science I
surpassed them, and as I explained the solar system and drew diagrams
of it for them I saw the keen interest and the ready understanding with
which they grasped all I said.
Now, for the first time, they were listening to an explanation of
the phenomena of the transition from day to night and from night to
day, of the seasons, of the tides. Their vision restricted by the
cloud envelopes that constantly enshroud Venus, they had been able to
see nothing upon which to base a planetary theory; and so it is not
strange that astronomy was an unknown science to them, that the sun
and the stars did not exist insofar as they were concerned.
* * * * *
For four hours they listened to me and questioned me; then they
instructed Ero Shan and Herlak to withdraw to an anteroom with me and
wait there until we were again summoned.
We did not have long to wait. In less than fifteen minutes we were
recalled before the board.
"It is our unanimous opinion," announced Kantum Shogan, "that your
value to humanity far outweighs the danger that it incurs from your
inherited defects. You are to live and enjoy the freedom of Havatoo.
Your duties will consist of instructing others in that new science
which you call astronomy and in applying it for the welfare of humanity.
"As you are now the only member of your class you may live in any
section of the city you choose. Your requisitions for all that you
require for your personal needs and the advancement of your department
will be honored by the Sera Tartum.
"For the time being I recommend you to the guidance of Korgan Sentar
Ero Shan as you are a stranger to Havatoo and will wish to become
familiar with our customs and our manners."
With that he dismissed us.
"Before I go may I ask what is to become of the girl, Nalte, who was
taken with me yesterday?" I inquired.
"She was considered fit to remain in the yorgan section of Havatoo,"
he replied. "When her duties have been definitely determined and her
living quarters assigned her I will let you know where you may find
her."
It was with a feeling of relief that I left the Sera Tartum with Ero
Shan and Herlak. Nalte was safe, and so was I. Now if I could only find
Duare!
I spent the following several days familiarizing myself with the city
and purchasing such things as I required, all of which were suggested
by Ero Shan. Among them was a car. It was very easy--all I had to do
was sign a voucher.
"But what check have they on my expenditures?" I asked my friend. "I do
not even know how much has been placed to my credit."
"Why should they check what you spend?" he asked.
"But I might be dishonest. I might buy things for which I had no need
and resell them."
Ero Shan laughed. "They know you will not do that," he assured me.
"If the psychologist who examined you had not known that you are an
honorable man, not even your knowledge of astronomy would have saved
you; that is one vice we will not tolerate in Havatoo. When Mankar
destroyed the corrupt and the vicious he almost completely eradicated
the breeds in Havatoo, and during the many generations of men that have
followed him we have succeeded in completing the work he inaugurated.
There are no dishonest men in Havatoo."
* * * * *
I often talked with Ero Shan about Duare. I wanted to cross the river
to Kormor and search for her, but he convinced me that it would be
suicidal to attempt it. And in view of the fact that I had no reason to
believe that she was there I reluctantly put the idea away from me.
"If I had an airplane," I said, "I would find a way to search Kormor."
"What is an airplane?" asked Ero Shan, and when I explained it he
became very much interested, as flying has never been developed in
Amtor, at least in those portions with which I am familiar.
The idea intrigued my companion to such an extent that he could
scarcely talk of anything else. I explained the various types of both
heavier and lighter than air ships and described the rocket in which
I had traversed space from Earth to Venus. In the evening he had me
sketch the several types I had explained. His interest seemed to be
becoming an obsession.
One evening when I returned to the house I now shared with Ero Shan I
found a message awaiting me. It was from an under-clerk of the board of
examiners and it gave the address of the house in which Nalte lived.
As I was now familiar with the city I started out in my car after the
evening meal to visit Nalte. I went alone as Ero Shan had another
engagement.
I found the house in which Nalte lived in the yorgan section on a quiet
street not far from the Korgan Lat, the Avenue of Warriors. The house
was occupied by women who cleaned the preparatory schools on the Korgan
Lat near-by. One of their number admitted me and said that she would
call Nalte; then she conducted me to a living room in which were eight
or ten women. One of them was playing a musical instrument, the others
were painting, embroidering, or reading.
As I entered, they stopped what they were doing and greeted me
pleasantly. There was not one among them that was not beautiful, and
all were intelligent and cultured. These were the scrub women of
Havatoo! Breeding had done for the people of Havatoo what it has done
for our prize-winning dairy herds; it has advanced them all toward
perfection.
Nalte was glad to see me, and as I wished to visit with her alone I
asked her to come for a ride with me.
"I am glad that you passed your examination successfully," I said as we
started toward the Korgan Lat.
Nalte laughed joyously. "I just squeezed through," she admitted. "I
wonder what they would say back in Andoo if they knew that I, the
daughter of their jong, was considered fit only to scrub floors in
Havatoo!" and again she laughed happily. It was plain to be seen that
her pride had not suffered by reason of her assignment. "But after
all," she continued, "it is a high honor to be considered fit to remain
on any footing among such a race of super-men.
"And you! I am very proud of you, Carson Napier, for I have been told
that you were elevated to a high place among them."
It was my turn to laugh now. "I did not pass the examination at all,"
I admitted. "I would have been destroyed but for my knowledge of a
science that is unknown to Amtor. It was rather a jolt to my self
esteem."
We drove along the Korgan Lat, through the great public park and
parade ground in the center of which stands a magnificent stadium, and
thus to the Avenue of the Gates which forms a great arc nearly eight
miles long just inside the outer wall on the land side of Havatoo.
Here are the factories and the shops in the district included between
the Avenue of Gates and the Yorgan Lat, a wide avenue a third of a mile
inside the wall, all the principal shops being located along the Avenue
of Gates. The avenue and the shops were brilliantly lighted, the street
swarmed with vehicles, and the walkways at the level of the second
stories were crowded with pedestrians.
We drove twice the full length of the avenue, enjoying the life and
beauty of the scene; then we drove into one of the parking places, to
which all of the ground floors on the main arteries are devoted, and
were lifted by an escalator to the walkway on the level above.
Here shops displayed their wares in show windows, much as is the custom
in American cities, though many of the displays aimed solely to please
the eye rather than to call attention to the goods for sale within.
The scientists of Havatoo have developed a light that is brilliant and
at the same time soft with which they attain effects impossible of
achievement by our relatively crude lighting methods. At no place is
the source of the light apparent; it casts soft shadows and gives forth
no heat. Ordinarily it resembles sunlight, but it can also produce
soft, pastel shades of various hues.
After we had enjoyed the spectacle for an hour, mingling with the happy
crowd upon the walkway, I made a few small purchases, including a gift
for Nalte; then we returned to my car, and I took my companion home.
* * * * *
The next morning I was busy organizing my classes in astronomy, and so
numerous were those wishing to enroll that I had to organize several
large classes, and as only four hours a day are ordinarily devoted to
work of any nature it was evident that I should have to devote my time
at first to the training of instructors if the new science was to be
expounded to all the inhabitants who were interested.
I was greatly flattered by the personnel of the first matriculants. Not
only were there scientists and soldiers from the first five classes of
Havatoo, but every member of the Sanjong, the ruling quintumvirate of
Havatoo, enrolled. The thirst of these people for useful knowledge is
insatiable.
Shortly after noon, my work for the day having been completed, I
received a summons to call upon Korgan Kantum Mohar, the warrior
physicist who had arranged for the examination of Nalte and myself the
day Ero Shan brought us to the city.
I could not but wonder what he wanted of me. Could it be that I must
undergo another examination? Always, I presume, I shall connect Mohar's
name with examinations.
As I entered his office on the Sera Tartum he greeted me with the same
pleasant demeanor that had marked his attitude the day he had told me I
was to be examined to ascertain whether or not I should be permitted to
live; so his graciousness was not entirely reassuring.
"Come over here and sit down near me," he said. "I have something here
that I should like to discuss with you."
As I took a chair beside him I saw spread on his desk the sketches of
airships that I had made for Ero Shan.
"These," he said, pointing to the sketches, "were brought to me by
Ero Shan who explained them as best he could. He was quite excited
and enthusiastic about them, and I must confess that he imparted some
of his enthusiasm to me. I am much interested, and would know more
concerning these ships that sail through the air."
For an hour I talked to him and answered his questions. I dwelt
principally on the practical achievements of aëronautics--the long
flights, the great speed, the uses to which ships had been put in times
of peace and in times of war.
Korgan Kantum Mohar was deeply interested. The questions that he asked
revealed the trained, scientific mind; and the last one that of the
soldier, the man of action.
"Can you build one of these ships for me?" he demanded.
I told him that I could but that it might require long experimentation
to adapt their motors and materials to the requirements of a successful
airplane.
"You have two or three hundred years," he said with a smile, "and the
resources of a race of scientists. Materials that we do not now possess
we can produce; nothing is impossible to science."