Sam Moskowitz

“ The old must bow before the new, and the world must fight on toward its distant dream of tomorrow.
Funny how a man could become so completely lost. But he had plenty of time to look for the right avenue back to his world. Plenty of time, patience, fuel and food. And he would find it—though it take him the rest of his life.
So Michel Drawers roared away from a tiny, lonely little rock in a strange distant universe, and, with his seemingly inexhaustible patience explored the sky ways for the section of the milky way in which his solar system might be located. ”

“ During the next week, thousands crammed the streets to watch a fierce-looking Griff, generation-old enemy of their race, proceeding docilely along the streets of the city, pulling enormous quantities of stone and other supplies with no sign of rebellion. Its once terrible teeth had been blunted and replaced by flat-headed golden caps. A little golden man sat unafraid upon its back directing it with deft prods of his feet. Man had again displayed his superiority over other forms of life.
Everywhere Michel Drawers went he was hailed with enthusiasm by the golden people. ”

“ If you can imagine the emotions of a man unjustly sentenced and finally released from prison after six years of hell; if you can imagine what it would mean to have each of your faults become instead an additional virtue. If you can imagine the joy of having all of your fondest dreams come true—then, and only then, may you comprehend for one fleeting instant, the pounding chaos, the indescribable joy, the interminable relief that permeated Michel Drawers' being at that moment. ”

“ But with the golden people he was not simply a useless hulk of a man. He was Michel Drawers, the man who had introduced the most startling innovations the golden people had known in thousands of years! A man who could hold his head high and look another person squarely in the face. The only man who might rid the planet of the dread Griffs and restore a beleaguered people to their rightful heritage. ”

“ Men like him were pushed by invisible, relentless pressures into the only thing open for them. To operate one of these tiny star-ships and comb the universe for more Roxite—to keep the interplanetary liners blasting. ”

“ Drawers stopped suddenly.
"There is nothing but a mass of bleeding pulp beneath you."
Drawers started to get off the Griff's back. He staggered erratically. The world began to turn around and round, around and round.
Someone was leading him. He followed blindly. The next he knew he was lying back amid a mass of billowy perfumed cushions. Someone was forcing a sweet, golden liquid between his lips. He drank greedily, some of the liquid spilling down his shirt. He wiped his lips with his hand and settled back, relaxed.
Through half-closed eyelids he peered out at the small golden people. ”

“ Forgotten were thoughts of Roxite and riches. Forgotten was his heartbreaking longing for Earth. Only one instinct possessed him. A desire to set foot upon real soil again. To tread agilely forward—to breath in natural air—to view natural, though alien sights. To see streams of liquids bubble past.
He settled the "Star-Struck" with unprecedented clumsiness down upon the surface of the world—saved from a bad shock by the light gravitational pull of the planet. ”

“ As the days progressed, Michel Drawers became more and more impressed by the utopian way in which this society of golden people was maintained. No man was assigned any work. It was up to the individual to make himself as useful as he possibly could whenever his services were required. His leisure time was left to himself.
Drawers had seen how these golden people had volunteered for heavy physical labor even before his introduction of the labor-saving pulley wheel, wagon and beast of burden, and the manner in which they had performed, without complaining, this toilsome labor. ”

“ Centuries ago men had searched for gold. Now gold was merely another metal. Today, men searched for Roxite—a few ounces of which commanded fabulous prices from the great interplanetary corporations on Earth.
And as gold had eluded the best efforts of most men in past years, so Roxite eluded all but the luckiest prospectors today. There was plenty of Roxite in the universe. But most of it was buried deep within the cores of tremendous suns. Suns that had a surface temperature that made the hottest things on Earth seem like a bitter arctic blast by comparison. ”

“ Michel Drawers gazed after her in perplexity, then turned with a puzzled frown to Persum.
Persum shook his head in the manner of a man who thinks, "Well, here's something else that's got to be attended to."
"It is against our custom to attempt to read the thoughts of another person," he explained. "If we did, no one would have any privacy. But I will explain to Trajores your ignorance of our laws and extend an apology by proxy. I'm sure she will forgive you. She was momentarily embarrassed. Her thoughts were of a somewhat personal nature." ”

“ I am not beautiful like your race. I am big and rough and hairy. How can she love a man like me? I could not even communicate by mental telepathy before I came here. I am just a man from another civilization, away because there was no place for me. How can she love me?"
There was mute appeal in Drawers' voice. He didn't know that he was crying like a child. He didn't know that he had unconsciously fallen to his knees. He didn't know anything except that Persum had said that this beautiful, adorable, heavenly little creature loved him. ”

“ Here, in my city, all men speak by thought—that is the purpose of this radiance which surrounds me—to help pick up and to transmit thoughts. Apparently your race is not so gifted. I wondered why you writhed your lips peculiarly when you questioned me! Your brain must be a very powerful one indeed to transmit thoughts without any natural aid."
Drawers laughed inwardly at the unexpected compliment. Men had often told him that he possessed a marvelous physique, but no one had ever attempted to hint that his brain was other than passably mediocre, even poor. ”

“ Drawers side-stepped the charge, and then his right fist descended with crushing force alongside of the Griff's ribs. There was a cracking noise as its ribs stove in like papier-mache.
It was squealing terrifiedly, and now Drawers knew his own power and illimitable strength. These Griffs, big and brutal, were hardly a match for him. Born to resist a gravity of more than twice that of his planet his bones were heavier, more compact. His muscles harder, his speed dazzling. ”

“ A throw-back to the days when men pushed back new frontiers, blazed new trails for civilization to follow. When brawn had been the equal, if not the superior of brains. But this was a new world. It was built for the many, not the few. Simply because there was a few thousand of misfits among a population of millions was no creditable reason for revamping an entire way of life to the satisfaction of a minor group of disgruntled men. ”

“ These people were not made for hard physical tabor. It took a heavy toll. He questioned Persum as to the absence of beasts of burden.
Persum thought a moment and then said, "There has never been anything but very small animals on our planet as far as we know. Nothing we might use for beasts of burden. Anyway," he concluded, "why should the animals perform our tasks for us? Why place any poor beast in bondage?"
"And why not?" asked Drawers. "It would be poetic justice to place the Griffs in bondage and force them to pull your wagons for you." ”

“ Persum mentally replied to the question.
"Here, in this city, Ronir, which is what you call Iron is the rarest of all metals. We use it only in the construction of vital instruments and tools. All other uses, because of its extreme scarcity, are forbidden."
"Well, you can have all I have on the ship, if you want it," Drawers offered generously. "It's nothing more than trimmings on the inside of the ship. Iron and steel haven't been of much value since the invention of much superior alloys which have an infinitely greater resistance to heat and cold." ”

“ Drawers kicked the creature in the ribs. It did not respond.
Drawers removed the blossoms from the animal's nostrils. Then he took his rope and securely tied up its great jaws. With the happy whistle of a boy released from school, he made his way back to the city of Saeve, dragging the great beast behind him.
He almost laughed aloud as he saw the perplexity of the guards at the gate of the wall. They seemed uncertain whether to run as fast as they could or maintain their posts in shivering fright. At all costs they refused to allow Drawers to drag the beast into the city. ”

“ Six years in a space-ship—it was easy to forget.
"I am honored," was all he could think of.
Nervously he juggled a small meter, for the determining of the purity of Roxite, in his hands.
One of the golden people took note of the instrument, and turned to the others with an unmistakable air of excitement. In an instant the entire assembly was crowded about him examining the meter with feverish interest.
One asked: "This metal—have you any more of it?"
"Why that's nothing very much," Drawers replied. "That's only common iron. The ground is filthy with this back on Earth. Why do you ask?" ”

“ While divesting himself of these objects he took opportunity to examine the golden people more carefully.
The men were attired only in what seemed to be a glorified pair of trunks—although a few of them wore a crepe-like cloak. Their entire bodies were of a deep golden hue as was their hair. The pronounced aura about each of them, he decided, must be due to the peculiar, unknown gas in the atmosphere. In some way it must affect the radiations thrown off by the body and make them visible to the naked eye. ”

“ Today he was just one of millions of others, all of whom could do the same things he could—and some of them could do better.
What an incomparable paradox he presented. Physically he was more than a match for ninety-nine per cent of all Earth men. His great height and weight, his brutal strength—those thick hairy arms of his could crush the average man in a few minutes. Gigantic muscles didn't count any more. Of what use sixteen inch biceps when the frailest child could operate the buttons necessary to perform most of the menial duties of life? ”

“ These people strictly maintained the ideal that a man's home is his castle.
His mind was surging with many thoughts. These Griffs, if he remembered correctly, though fiercely armed, had showed definite evidences of cowardice. He remembered the way they squealed when hurt. Their furious attempts to escape when soundly beaten. There was a possibility they could be trained. By force, if need be, but surely it would not hurt to try.
Then, too, those strange blossoms that acted as an anesthetic upon the golden people—perhaps they might act similarly upon the Griffs? ”

“ If man had not discovered it by accident, it might never have been known at all. Then, too, he began to understand the utter lack of mechanical equipment. The wheel was one of the fundamental and most vital of parts in all moving machinery. Without the wheel, it would be difficult to construct a usable pulley, or a feasible vehicle.
There was another thing he accomplished. He constructed the first wagon these people had ever seen. They viewed it with insatiable curiosity.
But the sight of the golden men happily pulling their loads through the streets on wagons irked him. ”

“ The human pride and joy in beauty amply compensates us for any loss in efficiency."
Drawers did not reply. He was gazing in astonishment at the long curved walks that stretched between the taller buildings. Some of them must have been two hundred feet from the ground, with no noticeable railing for safety, and they were hardly more than three feet in width. Dozens of the golden people at this very moment could be seen moving leisurely across these shaky bridges, seeming to take no notice of the great chasm that yawned beneath. ”

“ Drawers rumbled enthusiastically.
"We take delight in the development of our cities," Persum continued. "There are seven cities, all constructed along the lines of this one. These seven cities contain the total populations of our people; about one hundred thousand people to a city. They are built with great care. The smaller buildings form the general limits of the city, and then we construct the buildings taller toward the center of the city. They are all unlike in structure for we try to give each and every one a distinct artistic touch. ”

“ Even without a door there was infinitely more privacy in these apartments than any man had ever known on Earth. The golden men never entered without first telepathizing their intentions in advance. Nor did anyone ever gaze into another's apartment or home. ”

“ Drawers drew back aghast. Just how precious were these small amounts of iron that he had offered these people, if they were willing to entrust him with their entire government in return.
Persum must have read his thoughts for he again explained.
"At the base of the skull of every new born babe of our race there lies a dormant gland. What use this gland once had we do not know. Through thousands of years of disuse it has atrophied, and the slightest mental exertion causes its inflammation. In almost every case the pressure exerted upon the brain by this swollen gland has resulted in death. ”