According to Eylan, Group Two had at least one serious flaw: the men who
composed it were, for the most part, past their physical prime. There
were some younger members, of course; but they had had little contact
with violence, and little chance to develop traits of self-sufficiency.
Secure in the underground, most of them had never fired a beamer in
anger, had never been forced to run for their lives, had never
encountered the make-or-break situations through which Barrent had
lived. They were brave but unproven. They would willingly undertake the
expedition to Earth; but they would have little chance of success.
"And you think I would have a chance?" Barrent asked.
"I think so. You're young and strong, reasonably intelligent, and
extremely resourceful. You have a high survival quotient. If any man
could succeed, I believe you could."
"Why one man?"
"Because there's no sense in sending a group. The chance of detection
would simply be increased. By using one man, we get maximum security and
opportunity. If you succeed, we will receive valuable information about
the nature of the enemy. If you don't succeed, if you are captured, your
attempt will be considered the action of an individual rather than a
group. We will still be free to start a general uprising from Omega."
"How am I supposed to get back to Earth?" Barrent asked. "Do you have a
starship hidden away somewhere?"
"I'm afraid not. We plan to transport you to Earth aboard the next
prison ship."
"That's impossible."
"Not at all. We've studied the landings. They follow a pattern. The
prisoners are marched out, accompanied by the guards. While they're
assembled in the square, the ship itself is undefended, although loosely
surrounded by a cordon of guards. To get you aboard, we will start a
disturbance. It should take away the guards' attention long enough for
you to get on board."
"Even if I succeed, I'll be captured as soon as the guards return."
"You shouldn't be," Eylan said, "The prison ship is an immense structure
with many hiding places for a stowaway. And the element of surprise will
be in your favor. This may be the first time in the history of Omega
that an escape has been attempted."
"And when the ship reaches Earth?"
"You will be disguised as a member of the ship's personnel," Eylan said.
"Remember, the inevitable inefficiency of a huge bureaucracy will be
working for you."
"I hope so," Barrent said. "Let's suppose I reach Earth safely and get
the information you want. How do I send it back?"
"You send it back on the next prison ship," Eylan said. "We plan to
capture that one."
Barrent rubbed his forehead wearily. "What makes you think that any of
this--my expedition or your uprising--can succeed against an
organization as powerful as Earth?"
"We have to take the chance," Eylan said. "Take it or go down in a
bloody shambles with the rest of Omega. I agree that the odds are
weighted against us. But our choice is either to make the attempt or to
die without making any attempt at all."
Moera nodded at this. "Also, the situation has other possibilities. The
government of Earth is obviously repressive. That argues the existence
of underground resistance groups on Earth itself. You may be able to
contact those groups. A revolt both here _and_ on Earth would give the
government something to think about."
"Maybe," Barrent said.
"We have to hope for the best," Eylan said. "Are you with us?"
"Certainly," Barrent said. "I'd rather die on Earth than on Omega."
"The prison ship lands in six days," Eylan said. "During that time, we
will give you the information we have about Earth. Part of it is memory
reconstruction, part has been skrenned by the mutants, and the rest is
logical constructs. It's all we have, and I think it gives a reasonably
accurate picture of current conditions on Earth."
"How soon do we start?" Barrent asked.
"Right now," Eylan said.
* * * * *
Barrent received a general briefing on the physical make-up of Earth,
its climate and major population centers. Then he was sent to Colonel
Bray, formerly of the Earth Deep Space Establishment. Bray talked to him
about the probable military strength of Earth as represented by the
number of guardships around Omega and their apparent level of scientific
development. He gave estimates of the size of the Earth forces, their
probable divisions into land, sea, and space groups, their assumed level
of efficiency. An aide, Captain Carell, lectured on special weapons,
their probable types and ranges, their availability to the general Earth
population. Another aide, Lieutenant Daoud, talked about detection
devices, their probable locations, and how to avoid them.
Then Barrent was turned back to Eylan for political indoctrination. From
him, Barrent learned that Earth was believed to be a dictatorship. He
learned the methods of a dictatorship, its peculiar strengths and
weaknesses, the role of the secret police, the use of terror, the
problem of informers.
When Eylan was finished with him, Barrent went to a small, beady-eyed
man who lectured on Earth's memory-destroying system. Using the premise
that memory-destruction was regularly employed to render opposition
ineffective, the man went on to construct the probable nature of an
underground movement on Earth given those circumstances, and how Barrent
might contact them, and what the underground's capabilities might be.
Finally he was given the full details of Group Two's plan for getting
him on board the ship.
When Landing Day came, Barrent felt a definite sense of relief. He was
heartily sick of day and night cramming. Any sort of action would seem
an improvement.