Chang smiled back. This discipline of his facial muscles was amazing;
a bystander would not think that Chang was a haberman, controlling his
eyes, cheeks, and lips by cold intellectual control. The expression
had the spontaneity of life. Martel felt a flash of envy for Chang
when he looked at the dead cold faces of Parizianski and the others.
He knew that he himself looked fine: but why shouldn't he? he was
cranched. Turning to Parizianski he said,
"Did you see what Chang said about his father? The old boy uses an
airplane."
Parizianski made motions with his mouth, but the sounds meant nothing.
He took up his tablet and showed it to Martel and Chang.
_Bzz bzz. Ha ha. Gd ol' boy._
At that moment, Martel heard steps out in the corridor. He could not
help looking toward the door. Other eyes followed the direction of his
glance.
Vomact came in.
The group shuffled to attention in four parallel lines. They scanned
one another. Numerous hands reached across to adjust the
electrochemical controls on chestboxes which had begun to load up. One
Scanner held out a broken finger which his counter-Scanner had
discovered, and submitted it for treatment and splinting.
Vomact had taken out his Staff of Office. The cube at the top flashed
red light through the room, the lines reformed, and all Scanners gave
the sign meaning
_Present and ready!_
Vomact countered with the stance signifying, _I am the Senior and take
Command._
Talking fingers rose in the counter-gesture, _We concur and commit
ourselves._
Vomact raised his right arm, dropped the wrist as though it were
broken, in a queer searching gesture, meaning: _Any men around? Any
habermans not tied? All clear for the Scanners?_
Alone of all those present, the cranched Martel heard the queer rustle
of feet as they all turned completely around without leaving position,
looking sharply at one another and flashing their beltlights into the
dark corners of the great room. When again they faced Vomact, he made
a further sign:
_All clear. Follow my words._
Martel noticed that he alone relaxed. The others could not know the
meaning of relaxation with the minds blocked off up there in their
skulls, connected only with the eyes, and the rest of the body
connected with the mind only by controlling non-sensory nerves and the
instrument boxes on their chests. Martel realized that, cranched as he
was, he expected to hear Vomact's voice: the Senior had been talking
for some time. No sound escaped his lips. (Vomact never bothered with
sound.)
"...and when the first men to go Up and Out went to the Moon, what did
they find?"
"Nothing," responded the silent chorus of lips.
"Therefore they went further, to Mars and to Venus. The ships went out
year by year, but they did not come back until the Year One of Space.
Then did a ship come back with the First Effect. Scanners, I ask you,
what is the First Effect?"
"No one knows. No one knows."
"No one will ever know. Too many are the variables. By what do we
know the First Effect?"
"By the Great Pain of Space," came the chorus.
"And by what further sign?"
"By the need, oh the need for death."