Jack Lewis

“ Then he smiled and held up both hands.
"Welcome to Centifor," he said. "My name is Leon Stubbs, and I am the Director of Colonization."
He waited till the undercurrent of muttering had died down, and went on: "I know how anxious you all are to settle on your own land, but because immediate transportation is unavailable, there will be a slight delay. During this time you will be quartered here at the reception center."
Claude Marshall leaned close to his wife's ear. "We're lucky, Joan," he whispered. "We don't have to worry about transportation. We can walk to our land if we have to." ”

“ Carl reached over clamping his gloved hands on Edgerton's shoulders. Quickly, he raked the steel-tipped fingers of both hands down the man's back. There was a tearing noise, as the open-collared shirt ripped apart at the seams, revealing a broad fleshy back—smooth-looking except for where an angry gash dipped in a deep U between the shoulder blades.
He jerked his thumb back to where the chowls were chattering restlessly in their cages. "In case you don't know it," he said, "chowls are humanoid. They're the only things on this planet with any sign of intelligence. ”

“ Leon Stubbs shuffled through some papers on the desk, indicating dismissal. The two men joined their families in the anteroom.
After an awkward silence, Bruce Whiting and his family excused themselves, leaving the Marshall's alone.
"What did he say, Claude? Tell me! What did he say?"
"He doesn't know yet, honey. He's checking the claims. We're supposed to come back in an hour."
"But it will be all right, won't it. It's got to be all right!"
"I don't know, Joan. So help me, I don't know.... We can't both have the land. That's for sure. One of us will have to settle for someplace else." ”

“ Claude looked at his wife; watched her nod, and answer his smile. "All right," he said. He raised his arm over the foam-cushion seat-back till it rested on the boy's shoulder.
"You see, Billy, things back on Earth are pretty bad—have been for over a hundred years now. There's too many cities, too many wars, and too many people—it's mostly too many people. They don't have room to move around any more the way they used to....
"To make it worse there are always some people who figure that someone else has a little more room than they have, so they try to take it away from them by starting a war. ”

“ Keating. There's a widely recognized theory that the very air which gives us life, also gives us death. In fact, one of the chief reasons for the high migration to Mars is the fact that man's life expectancy on that planet is almost thirty percent greater than on our own. Now let's suppose that the three men who deserted the first Venus expedition had in some way found a way to breathe the air of that planet. Is it so inconceivable that the atmospheric content might be conducive to extremely high longevity—perhaps even immortality? ”

“ Marshall adjusted the knapsack across his shoulders with an air of finality. "Let's go, Joan," he said. "Stay close, Billy. We have a long walk ahead of us."
They started into the valley.
Two hours later they stopped to rest. They stopped on a patch of rich, green turf in the shadow of a broad-leaf tree. The spaceport, flanked by its low-slung buildings was still visible, but from seven miles away the buildings looked incredibly tiny. Like miniatures out of a Christmas kit. ”

“ In the end, I just hid behind a clump of saroo trees and took the pictures."
Carl let his gaze wander about the room. He had to think. Then, almost as if it had been prearranged, he found himself looking into a full-length mirror on the far wall. The reflection he saw wasn't old—the hair, while slightly lighter at the temples, was still for the most part dark-brown. He had a good build too, and except for a few creases radiating from the corners of his eyes, his skin had the smooth sort of thickness that many men in their middle-thirties would have envied. He'd kept himself well. ”

“ I know it won't, but wouldn't it be nice if it did."
"It will, Claude. It will for as long as we live anyhow, and for as long as Billy lives. That's what's important. We're very lucky, Claude."
"I can't help thinking of the people back on Earth. I feel sorry for them."
"They could do what we did. They could take the tests."
"I know. But even if they did, what would they have? Who'd want to homestead the other side of this planet? Who'd want to live out there anyway?" ”

“ Carl shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe the story's true. Sometimes I find myself wondering what it would be like to be immortal—I mean after all the willful-wishing's over with, and you get down to thinking about it in terms of 'what's-in-it-for-me.' Most of us think of immortality as being something we could have on our own terms. But suppose everyone were immortal, the way they'll be—or could be—after this so-called migration starts. How much will people have really changed. ”

“ How can you explain the sheer mental fatigue of waiting for a needle-nosed scorpion to puncture your space jumper, knowing that the atmosphere right on the other side of your face-plate can kill you in thirty seconds. ”

“ Marshall," he said. "I'll be blunt. It's occurred to me that if the date on your claim were changed, the land would naturally be yours. The difficulty of course lies in the fact that there are duplicate records on Terra and we'd have to take care of the man who handles them. Otherwise the discrepancy would show up eventually. Actually, I want nothing for myself but these people in Washington—"
"Yeah, I know," Claude interrupted. "It's someone else who's getting the money. It's always someone else who's getting the money." ”

“ How do you explain an atmosphere of chlorine and ammonia for that matter—or a color. I say purple-brown to you and it don't mean a thing. But look at the angry purple-brown landscape of Venus for two years like I did and you'd know what I mean.
"It's a primitive planet, Dr. Hamlin. Right now, according to the geologists, Venus is just like the earth was ten million years ago. Life is forming on it—primitive life. Take the chowls, for example—you see replicas of them in every department store window. They look a little like teddy-bears, especially when they walk. ”

“ Now that you've passed, I'm driving you out to your homestead site."
Claude looked back at the newly-arrived spaceship and the tiny figures who were huddled at its base.
"All those people," he said. "You mean they still have to go through what we did?"
The driver shook his head.
"No. Those people are going back to Earth. You see, Mr. Marshall, those are the people who offered Leon Stubbs the bribe." ”

“ The voice had originated from the control room at the far end of the building. He flinched when something touched the sleeve of his jumper, then relaxed when he saw Diane peering at him through a mud-stained face-plate. The men had joined him, too, looking at him and shifting from one foot to the other.
The squawk-box was silent now. Impulsively, Carl allowed his gloved hand to brush against the butt of the needle pistol holstered in the webbed-belt of his jumper.
"The gun won't be necessary, I assure you. I'm unarmed!" ”

“ Claude remained silent, regarding the conversation carefully. A pattern was beginning to form now—a familiar pattern. He walked over to where the Director was standing.
"Perhaps you could make a suggestion, Mr. Stubbs. Surely there must be opportunities on this side of the planet for a man with six-thousand credits?"
"I'm not quite sure what you're getting at," Leon Stubbs said.
"I think you do, Mr. Stubbs," Claude retorted. "I think we're both getting at the same thing. Suppose we dispense with the subtleties and get down to cases."
The Director sat down at the desk pyramiding his fingertips. ”

“ Carl dropped his hand inside his pocket, allowing his grip to tighten around the butt of the needle gun. "What makes you so sure I won't kill you?" he said. "I could, you know. The fact you know where Edgerton and his cronies are wouldn't stop me. I could probably find them myself if I wanted to. And I'm not even sure that I want to."
Spero took a drag on the cigarette and derricked himself to his feet. "I wasn't thinking of that," he said quietly. "I just happen to know that you haven't got it in you to kill a man in cold blood, Keating. I could do it but not you. You got too many principles. ”

“ Claude said. "The ships go back practically empty. A return berth will be no trouble at all. We're returning on the first ship out."
"Perhaps we could make a better deal," Stubbs said. "Perhaps five thousand is too much. Perhaps—"
"No. No deals! Let's go Joan."
They went outside, into the fresh warm sunshine, staring at the torpedo shaped spaceship standing in the clearance area half-a-mile away.
They'd just started toward it, when a jeep squealed up alongside them. Bruce Whiting was at the wheel.
"Hi," he said. "Hop in. I'll give you a lift."
"Thanks," Claude said without bitterness. ”

“ Ferguson's financing the trip, and Spero is the Ponce de Leon who knows where to look. All you need is a pilot. Right?"
"Think it over carefully, Mr. Keating," Hamlin said. "Don't be hasty in your answer."
Spero too had noticed the note of rejection in his voice. "You'd better grab the chance, Keating," he said. "Right now I'll admit I don't like Venus anymore than you. But we're going to change all that. Right after the migration starts there'll be cities, and parks and railroads. And we'll be the ones responsible for all of it. We'll be heroes—not just for ten or twenty years, but forever!" ”

“ Maybe in another two million years they'll be living in houses instead of thatched hovels and pointing guns at people instead of running like a star-bound flame-buggy every time they hear a noise. But right now they're scared. They're out of their natural element and they're scared, the same way our own Neanderthal man was scared before he found out how to fashion a rock-hammer. ”

“ Marshall. You can't make the trip after dark. Why don't you and your family camp here for the night.... Alice has supper nearly ready and there's more than enough to go around...."
"We have our own rations," Claude said.
Bruce Whiting spread out his hands. "Look, Mr. Marshall. I know how you feel. I know, because it's the same way I feel. I guess a man can't help the way he feels when something threatens the thing he's been dreaming about all his life. ”

“ But military men are schooled and conditioned for space, and while complete and mutual understanding seldom exists, there is usually, even as there was between Spero and himself, an unwritten live-and-let-live policy among crew members.
But they weren't in the army anymore, and no one seemed more aware of it than Paul Spero. Never a model officer, Spero in his new-found freedom, had become almost unbearably obnoxious. Nor could he expect any cooperation from Stewart Ferguson. He could handle him, he hoped. All of which brought him to the big question. What about Diane? ”

“ And now that you're here you'll all be facing another test.... The test of practical application.
"Some of you are fortunate in the respect that you've been awarded land reasonably close to the spaceport area. Some of you are not so fortunate, and will have to travel several hundred miles. Perhaps those of you in this latter category will find some consolation in the fact that since you left Terra, the government has started a movement to populate the other side of the planet. As a matter of fact, all future applications will be assigned to that area."
Claude looked at his wife. ”

“ Carl felt a warm flush rising to his cheekbones. "We've been in space," he said. "The pilot of a ship is responsible for the actions of everyone aboard."
Spero jerked a thumb at the blister port. "I've got news for you, Keating," he said. "We're not IN space anymore, so you may consider yourself relieved of your authority. For five weeks now we've watched you swagger around the ship like the hero of a grade-B space-opera, and frankly I think we're all a little sick of it!"
"Aren't you dramatizing this a little heavy," Diane said suddenly. ”

“ Nor were they alone in their eagerness to begin a new way of life. Other settlers—some of them burdened-down with supplies that almost equalled their own weight—had already started a trek over the virgin landscape. ”

“ Edgerton?" Diane asked pointedly. "Why is it that you can breathe this air when it kills everyone else?"
Edgerton's eyes narrowed when he heard the voice. Then he leaned over and peered into the mud-stained face-plate. He smiled. "I'll be damned," he said. "A woman. A real live woman! Pretty too."
"How is it done?" Diane persisted.
Edgerton's grin faded. He turned to Carl. "You mean you don't know?"
Carl eyed the man, his lips set in an aggravating silence. Then: "Yes, I know. Or at least I think I know. Furthermore, Dr. Hamlin knows too. He's known all the time. ”

“ Actually the only communication we have with Terra short of space travel, is by short wave radio, and radio waves as you may know travel at approximately the speed of light. Since we are approximately 4.4 light-years away from Earth, a round trip message to Washington would take about nine years. This of course does not take into consideration the time needed to process your case."
Claude kept watching the Director's face while he spoke. He looked like an honest man. ”

“ That's where we're going to live. And there isn't a better piece of land anywhere.... I know!"
At the gentle urging of the attendant, they moved off the ramp and melted into the group of passengers drifting toward the ranch-type building at the edge of the area. A sign over the building said: RECEPTION CENTER, and a man was standing in front of it. The man wasn't old by Earth standards, but leathery skin, and steel-grey patches of hair around his temples made him look very ancient alongside the composite youth of the newly-arrived settlers. ”

“ Spero said harshly.
Stewart Ferguson sat down, folding his hands in his lap. "My, my," he said. "A real live mutiny, just like one reads about. Tell me, when does Jack Jupiter come crashing through the lock-door?"
"I wasn't aware that anyone in particular was in command," Diane persisted, "but if you think we need someone, I'd suggest we take a vote."
Spero grinned. "No, honey. We all know who your money's riding on. That's why you can forget all those dreams about you and Keating settling down in a saroo covered cottage for the next three or four thousand years. ”

“ The trip, less than one hour old, was already a hotbed of smoldering emotions. Worst of all, was the fact that things were almost sure to get worse before they got better. Under the best of conditions, space does strange things to individuals cramped together in the confines of a ship. Army records are crammed full of case histories where men, failing to adjust themselves to existing conditions, have reacted in ways which are probably best left in the files. ”

“ Marshall. Don't be bitter. It isn't my fault."
Claude got up placing his palms on the edge of the metal desk. He leaned forward till his face was only inches away from the Director's cigar, and said: "Isn't it?"
The Director didn't answer. Instead he got up and walked over to the open window. For ten full seconds he stared out at the lush valley that flanked the spaceport. Then he turned.
"You want my advice, Mr. Marshall?"
Claude shrugged his shoulders.
"Go home," Leon Stubbs said. "You can't bring up a boy on the cold-side. It just wouldn't work." ”

“ Norman Hamlin braced his bony elbows on the table and leaned toward him. "Mr. Keating, in the course of the three trips you made to Mars with the military, what was it that stood out foremost in your mind?"
"Men's emotions vary," Carl said carefully. "An architect would probably admire the beauty of the Martian cities, while a gourmet would savor the taste of candied encoms. ”

“ Keating," she said.
Carl was aware of mumbling something polite. Across the room, Stewart Ferguson had derricked himself out of the chair. Spero remained seated, caressing the girl with his sultry brown eyes.
Diane flicked an imaginary wisp of hair back from behind her ear. "Have you decided to join us, Mr. Keating?" she said.
"Us?"
She searched his face. "Why, yes. Didn't Dad tell you there'd be five of us. After all, who'd want a slice of immortality more than a woman."
"Immortality for a goddess," Ferguson said blandly. ”

“ When you've been here a while, you'll realize that because of our relatively small numbers, and comparative inexperience in economic matters, we're a tightly-knit group.... We have to be.
"There is one thing however that works in our favor. There are no irrationals or psychological deviants on Centifor. ”

“ Carl said, "it's not all like this. That's the trouble. This is one of the more livable spots. That's why it was chosen by the military. Roughly ten percent of the planet lies above water, but out of that, only five percent of the terrain is in the visual belt." ”

“ Carl said.
The smile on Spero's face broadened. "Oh, come Keating. How corny can you get? I have gotten away with it. Since I'm the only one who can lead you to immortality, what's more natural than for me to take command? My first official act will be to detail you, Ferguson, and Dr. Hamlin to go outside and activate the blister. You'll find space jumpers in the airlock. Diane and I will stay here and figure out a plan of action." ”

“ Carl led the way, shouting instructions through the speaker-unit encased in his helmet. Once when Diane fell, he went back and helped her to her feet. Through the helmet glass, he could see her face for a moment. Then she jerked her arm free and plodded on. Behind him he heard Stewart Ferguson swear.
It took a full twenty minutes to reach the building. It was big. Two hundred feet in diameter at the base, it sloped out of the sea of mud like a giant stemless mushroom. Carl led the party around the base to the far side where the lock-door was situated. Then he stopped. ”

“ Awkwardly, Carl grasped the bare hand with the thick glove of his jumper. "I know," he said. He was suddenly at a loss for words. What DID one say at a time like this? Certainly not the time-worn Dr. Livingston cliche.
Stewart Ferguson said it anyhow.
Carl studied the man carefully, watching the rise and fall of his breathing. The man WAS breathing—breathing the lethal gases that should kill him in thirty seconds.
"You find it hard to believe, don't you?" Edgerton said suddenly.
Carl nodded. "I have a nephew who collects stamps," he heard himself saying. "He has one with your picture on it. ”

“ My tastes run to sandy beaches and women with real eyelashes. That's just my personal opinion you understand. There's almost eighty-thousand people who disagree with me—I believe that was the latest migration figures."
Hamlin thumped his pipe against the edge of the table. "I understand you've just returned from Venus, Mr. Keating. Can you give us a short briefing concerning your reactions to that planet?"
Carl eyed the man warily. "I'll be as brief as possible. There's been four landings on Venus in almost forty years. All these have been made by the military. ”