God bless Adam Stone?
Martel could not help feeling a little sorry for himself. No longer
would the high keen call of duty carry him through two hundred or so
years of the Other's time, two million private eternities of his own.
He could slouch and relax. He could forget High Space, and let the
Up-and-Out be tended by Others. He could cranch as much as he dared.
He could be almost normal--almost--for one year or five years or no
years. But at least he could stay with Luci. He could go with her
into the Wild, where there were Beasts and Old Machines still roving
the dark places. Perhaps he would die in the excitement of the hunt,
throwing spears at an ancient Manshonjagger as it leapt from its lair,
or tossing hot spheres at the tribesmen of the Unforgiven who still
roamed the Wild. There was still life to live, still a good normal
death to die, not the moving of a needle out in the silence and pain of
Space!
He had been walking about restlessly. His ears were attuned to the
sounds of normal speech, so that he did not feel like watching the
mouthings of his brethern. Now they seemed to have come to a decision.
Vomact was moving to the rostrum. Martel looked about for Chang, and
went to stand beside him. Chang whispered.
"You're as restless as water in mid-air! What's the matter?
De-cranching?"
They both scanned Martel, but the instruments held steady and showed no
sign of the cranch giving out.
The great light flared in its call to attention. Again they formed
ranks. Vomact thrust his lean old face into the glare, and spoke:
"Scanners and Brothers, I call for a vote." He held himself in the
stance which meant: "_I am the Senior and take Command_."
A beltlight flashed in protest.
It was old Henderson. He moved to the rostrum, spoke to Vomact,
and--with Vomact's nod of approval--turned full-face to repeat his
question:
"Who speaks for the Scanners Out in Space?"
No beltlight or hand answered.
Henderson and Vomact, face to face, conferred for a few moments. Then
Henderson faced them again:
"I yield to the Senior in Command. But I do not yield to a Meeting of
the Confraternity. There are sixty-eight Scanners, and only
forty-seven present, of whom one is cranched and U.D. I have therefore
proposed that the Senior in Command assume authority only over an
Emergency Committee of the Confraternity, not over a Meeting. Is that
agreed and understood by the Honorable Scanners?"
Hands rose in assent.
Chang murmured in Martel's ear, "Lot of difference that makes! Who can
tell the difference between a meeting and a committee?" Martel agreed
with the words, but was even more impressed with the way that Chang,
while haberman, could control his own voice.
Vomact resumed chairmanship: "We now vote on the question of Adam Stone.
"First, we can assume that he has not succeeded, and that his claims
are lies. We know that from our practical experience as Scanners. The
Pain of Space is only part of Scanning" (_But the essential part, the
basis of it all_, thought Martel.) "and we can rest assured that Stone
cannot solve the problem of Space Discipline."
"That tripe again," whispered Chang, unheard save by Martel.
"The Space Discipline of our Confraternity has kept High Space clean of
war and dispute. Sixty-eight disciplined men control all High Space.
We are removed by our oath and our haberman status from all Earthly
passions.
"Therefore, if Adam Stone has conquered the Pain of Space, so that
Others can wreck our Confraternity and bring to Space the trouble and
ruin which afflicts Earths, I say that Adam Stone is wrong. If Adam
Stone succeeds, Scanners live in Vain!
"Secondly, if Adam Stone has not conquered the Pain of Space, he will
cause great trouble in all the Earths. The Instrumentality and the
Subchiefs may not give us as many habermans as we need to operate the
ships of Mankind. There will be wild stories, and fewer recruits and,
worst of all, the Discipline of the Confraternity may relax if this
kind of nonsensical heresy is spread around.
"Therefore, if Adam Stone has succeeded, he threatens the ruin of the
Confraternity and should die.
"I move the death of Adam Stone."
And Vomact made the sign, _The Honorable Scanners are pleased to vote_.
4
Martel grabbed wildly for his beltlight. Chang, guessing ahead, had
his light out and ready; its bright beam, voting No, shone straight up
at the ceiling. Martel got his light out and threw its beam upward in
dissent. Then he looked around. Out of the forty-seven present, he
could see only five or six glittering.
Two more lights went on. Vomact stood as erect as a frozen corpse.
Vomact's eyes flashed as he stared back and forth over the group,
looking for lights. Several more went on. Finally Vomact took the
closing stance:
_May it please the Scanners to count the vote_.
Three of the older men went up on the rostrum with Vomact. They looked
over the room. (Martel thought: _These damned ghosts are voting on the
life of a real man, a live man! They have no right to do it. I'll
tell the Instrumentality!_ But he knew that he would not. He thought
of Luci and what she might gain by the triumph of Adam Stone: the
heartbreaking folly of the vote was then almost too much for Martel to
bear.)
All three of the tellers held up their hands in unanimous agreement on
the sign of the number: Fifteen against.
Vomact dismissed them with a bow of courtesy. He turned and again took
the stance, _I am the Senior and take Command_.
Marvelling at his own daring, Martel flashed his beltlight on. He knew
that anyone of the bystanders might reach over and twist his Heartbox
to _Overload_ for such an act. He felt Chang's hand reaching to catch
him by the aircoat. But he eluded Chang's grasp and ran, faster than a
Scanner should, to the platform. As he ran, he wondered what appeal to
make. It was no use talking commonsense. Not now. It had to be law.
He jumped up on the rostrum beside Vomact, and took the stance:
Scanners, an Illegality!
He violated good custom while speaking, still in the stance: "A
Committee has no right to vote death by a majority vote. It takes
two-thirds of a full Meeting."
He felt Vomact's body lunge behind him, felt himself falling from the
rostrum, hitting the floor, hurting his knees and his touch-aware
hands. He was helped to his feet. He was scanned. Some Scanner he
scarcely knew took his instruments and toned him down.
Immediately Martel felt more calm, more detached, and hated himself for
feeling so.
He looked up at the rostrum. Vomact maintained the stance signifying:
_Order!_
The Scanners adjusted their ranks. The two Scanners next to Martel
took his arms. He shouted at them, but they looked away, and cut
themselves off from communication altogether.
Vomact spoke again when he saw the room was quiet: "A Scanner came here
cranched. Honorable Scanners, I apologize for this. It is not the
fault of our great and worthy Scanner and friend, Martel. He came here
under orders. I told him not to de-cranch. I hoped to spare him an
unnecessary haberman. We all know how happily Martel is married, and
we wish his brave experiment well. I like Martel. I respect his
judgment. I wanted him here. I knew you wanted him here. But he is
cranched. He is in no mood to share in the lofty business of the
Scanners. I therefore propose a solution which will meet all the
requirements of fairness. I propose that we rule Scanner Martel out of
order for his violation of rules. This violation would be inexcusable
if Martel were not cranched.
"But at the same time, in all fairness to Martel, I further propose
that we deal with the points raised so improperly by our worthy but
disqualified brother."
Vomact gave the sign, _The Honorable Scanners are pleased to vote_.
Martel tried to reach his own beltlight; the dead strong hands held him
tightly and he struggled in vain. One lone light shone high: Chang's,
no doubt.
Vomact thrust his face into the light again: "Having the approval of
our worthy Scanners and present company for the general proposal, I now
move that this Committee declare itself to have the full authority of a
Meeting, and that this Committee further make me responsible for all
misdeeds which this Committee may enact, to be held answerable before
the next full Meeting, but not before any other authority beyond the
closed and secret ranks of Scanners."
Flamboyantly this time, his triumph evident, Vomact assumed the vote
stance.
Only a few lights shone: far less, patently, than a minority of
one-fourth.
Vomact spoke again. The light shone on his high calm forehead, on his
dead relaxed cheekbones. His lean cheeks and chin were half-shadowed,
save where the lower light picked up and spotlighted his mouth, cruel
even in repose. (Vomact was said to be a descendant of some Ancient
Lady who had traversed, in an illegitimate and inexplicable fashion,
some hundreds of years of time in a single night. Her name, the Lady
Vomact, had passed into legend; but her blood and her archaic lust for
mastery lived on in the mute masterful body of her descendent. Martel
could believe the old tales as he stared at the rostrum, wondering what
untraceable mutation had left the Vomact kith as predators among
mankind.) Calling loudly with the movement of his lips, but still
without sound, Vomact appealed:
"The Honorable Committee is now pleased to reaffirm the sentence of
death issued against the heretic and enemy, Adam Stone." Again the
_vote_ stance.
Again Chang's light shone lonely in its isolated protest.
Vomact then made his final move:
"I call for the designation of the Senior Scanner present as the
manager of the sentence. I call for authorization to him to appoint
executioners, one or many, who shall make evident the will and majesty
of Scanners. I ask that I be accountable for the deed, and not for the
means. The deed is a noble deed, for the protection of Mankind and for
the honor of the Scanners; but of the means it must be said that they
are to be the best at hand, and no more. Who knows the true way to
kill an Other, here on a crowded and watchful earth? This is no mere
matter of discharging a cylindered sleeper, no mere question of
upgrading the needle of a haberman. When people die down here, it is
not like the Up-and-Out. They die reluctantly. Killing within the
Earth is not our usual business, O brothers and Scanners, as you know
well. You must choose me to choose my agent as I see fit. Otherwise
the common knowledge will become the common betrayal whereas if I alone
know the responsibility, I alone could betray us, and you will not have
far to look in case the Instrumentality comes searching." (_What about
the killer you choose? thought Martel. He too will know unless--unless
you silence him forever._)
Vomact went into the stance, The Honorable Scanners are pleased to vote.
One light of protest shone; Chang's, again.
Martel imagined that he could see a cruel joyful smile on Vomact's dead
face--the smile of a man who knew himself righteous and who found his
righteousness upheld and affirmed by militant authority.
Martel tried one last time to come free.
The dead hands held. They were locked like vises until their owners'
eyes unlocked them: how else could they hold the piloting month by
month?