Betsy Curtis

“ Samuel Wyckoff was sitting on the edge of the bunk. Not a short man, but thin like all the healthy old ones: wispy white hair and faded blue eyes and a tremulous look about the mouth made him seem fragile. He was half-dressed; his thin long hands gripped the edge of the bunk; and he was staring at the floor a foot or two his side of the door.
"Going to bed early?" Elbert Avery was politely apologetic.
"No."
"Changing, then. It doesn't matter. Captain Daneshaw is having me ask around to find out how you people enjoyed the party last night. ”

“ Slipping on his officer's braidjac, he nodded curtly to the Second Astrogator and went out into the corridor.
Twenty feet up the dark passage was the first of the eight rearward porthole stations. Avery slipped into the niche beside the observer's chair, and the watcher, sensing the astrogator's presence, shook his head vigorously against the hypnotic glitter of the stars and looked up. "How's it go?" from Avery.
"Go? Who's going anyplace? Stars sit still, we sit still just looking." Watcher Peters' voice was flat. "You sure anybody's going somewhere?" ”

“ Tim Daneshaw raised his hand, unnecessarily, for silence. Avery spoke.
"With your assistance, we shall land on Venus on schedule."
A great sigh from hundreds of lips.
Avery continued, "We are off course because of a factor that was overlooked in building the Colonia. But there is no reason why we can't meet our new home when she gets there. There is no reason why we can't do a better job than the engineers and Space Commission expected of us." No reason. There were more ways of outsmarting young fools than tying their feet with high tension wire. He gestured at Sam Wyckoff. ”

“ We could threaten to commit suicide en masse and blackmail the government into backing us for fear of one of those social breakdown investigations by the United Assembly, and we could fix the Assembly by threatening to flood the international publications with articles about the mental horrors of old age and break down the whole socialized medicine convention at the international level. ”

“ The passengers are rioting!"
"Not rioting—praying more likely," corrected the man at the door.
"That'll keep 'em out of trouble," Avery flipped back, his pencil moving feverishly across a scratch pad.
Wyckoff called across the clatter of the spitter, now operating with a ferocious din, "What'll we tell 'em, Avery? They've got to know something or there will be a riot or worse. Is there really any danger?"
"There's always danger," Avery was growling again, "when some unmitigated unweaned engineers on an unmentionable planet cook up a foolproof system of astrogation." ”

“ To be quite frank, then, the subjects in Block Nineteen are getting restless. I don't think we could keep them here more than ten years longer, no matter how many diversions we tried. They want to do something, be something. And yet I don't believe they could be any more miserable than back in a world which has been growing away from them for a hundred years, a world which doesn't want or understand them any more than you want Avery in your company. ”

“ The light in the cabin was off, but in the dim reflection from the corridor walls, Tim could see Wyckoff was lying in the bunk, which faced the door, on his back with the covers pulled up under his chin. "Asleep so soon, Sam?" asked Tim in a low voice.
"Not quite. What is it?"
"El Avery was just up. Said you looked exhausted and naturally I was a little worried. Had a check-up with the doctor recently?"
"No ... no ... don't worry about me," faintly.
"That's part of my job. We want everybody to get to Venus ready for a hard pull. Have you been studying too hard on the trip?" ”

“ Brill was slow to hope. "The Company certainly has the organization to put it through. But you'd never get them to go. Why, Avery thinks the whole Colonia enterprise is financially unsound. He says it's the duty of every thinking man to do all he can to stop such ruinous nonsense. Colonization is expensive, but it is undoubtedly best for the people of the world!... But that old Avery doesn't give a hang for the Assembly's making a gift of Venus to the people." ”

“ The bridal of the earth and sky, The dews shall weep thy fall tonight, For thou must die. No one would have to weep for him. He wasn't going to die. He would walk on the lawns today and enjoy the burgeoning of spring without pain, without fear. He would read Wordsworth and plan a vacation walking trip.
The bell next to his ear pinged—the machine had finished his daily metabolic record—he pressed the button that raised the heavy case to the ceiling. ”

“ There isn't anybody in Block Nineteen that doesn't know I ran out when the government began hemming in big corporations with thousands of petty restrictions on mansized business so that a company president was nothing more than a yes-man to a regiment of lawyers and government accountants. ”

“ Brill's tones were rich with wounded innocence. "The Company only wants to know what are the probabilities of mental breakdown at different ages, say a hundred and sixty, a hundred and eighty, two hundred. If we had some assurance of even a slight but definite tendency to, shall we say, mental erosion, with an increase in age above a hundred and fifty, The Company might find it possible to continue some such annuity plan as is now in operation." The man talked like an annual report, it seemed to Dr. Farrar, but with the difference that it had something to do with him. ”

“ His office door now flew open with a crash against the 50-year file case, then was banged shut again and Bob Warner's white-jacketed body was leaning toward him over his desk.
"Two suicides at once, Dr. Farrar!" Dr. Warner was almost shouting at him, "and one last week and four others in the past year! They'll investigate us and upset the subjects and everybody. They'll get out of Block Nineteen and go poking around in genetics and new diseases and want to know where and why every cent is being spent and wind up trying to cut the staff or change the diets or some other stupidity." ”

“ Why, our officers receive psychotesting every six months to assure the policy-holders that they have no personal power ambitions. I tell you, Doctor, that such men as Elbert Avery are a threat to our national democracy. He seems perfectly capable of going back into business at the drop of a hat. The Company may have to send a man to Washington to work out some sort of control to prevent such men from re-entering business. ”

“ I wouldn't be surprised if Avery'd make a good top man—more autocratic, less tolerant than you, but there are more ways of killing a cat ... and I'll assign you nurses in six hour shifts. It'll keep some of the girls out of mischief."
"Frank ... have a heart!"
"You have one—and hang onto it." Doc Keighley gathered up his bag and left the cabin.
Outside the door he almost bumped into Jack White, Second Astrogator, and Steward Loomis. "Loo, get El Avery up here right away before the hypo hits him. Jack, you go in and sit with him till Avery gets here. ”

“ The ping-ping-ping of a tiny bell indicated pilot-room intercom and Tim flipped a switch.
A plasticoid box on the wall spoke in Elbert Avery's dry tones. "Off duty now, Tim. You want to see me?"
Daneshaw spoke to the box on his desk, "Forsberg's here," he said. "You might come up and give us your opinion on the party. Were you there?"
"No, I was here. What happened, Arnie? The little ladies and gentlemen get rough over their grog?"
The recreation director twisted guiltily in his chair and muttered, "Wish they had!"
"No, El. Party seems to have been rather unpopular. ”

“ He sat down with a thump and bent back over the calculator keyboard. "Those babies don't care what they lose or how!"
He set to work again with White's eighth set of solutions forming them into factors of equations of his own. Powell, passing around the welter of paper, was the first to notice the observers and yelled at them, "You boys round up the engine room crew, quick. Get them into the boom room and tell 'em to stand by for intermittent rocket and main tube fire! Beat it!"
Jack White looked up from his keyboard, "And get the passengers into bed for turnover, too!" ”

“ Nobody knows what you were and nobody cares what you are and there's not one damn thing worth spending ten minutes on that they don't say, 'Take it easy, don't strain yourself, don't get worked up, why don't you take a rest or play a nice relaxing game of checkers.' I don't like pet mice and I think raffia baskets are an abomination. You're right about suicide not being noble—it's just common sense! ”

“ I rather lose track of world news in my job here."
"She'd be ready to blast in fourteen months if they could decide about passengers and crew. Every nation in the Assembly and every bloc from farm and free-lifers to commists wants to be the first to start the colony, mostly from distrust of the others, but no particular individuals seem to want to be the first to cut the ties. The crew has to stay with the colony for months, you know, until they're settled and know what else they need. The Colonia's the only large ship under construction. ”

“ Avery turned to Samuel Wyckoff. "Guess you get right into harness. This is for you." Then to Loomis, "Sam's my righthand man for just this sort of thing. Give him all the help you can," and back to Wyckoff: "We'll see you up nose-side as soon as you're through. We've got to plan fast so's not to upset the whole crowd. You take the elevator down: we'll walk up. We're in no hurry."
As the elevator glided down out of sight past the transplast door, and Loomis returned along the corridor, Avery and White turned into the narrow winding stair to climb slowly to the fourth floor above. ”

“ Some architect must have decided that it was the custom for old men not to be over five feet eight and installed accordingly. Old men should be bowed down with years, but Tim Daneshaw was still six feet three in spite of four inches shrinkage since his thirties, his tall body still unbowed by years or habit. ”

“ You know how nurses gossip. But we'd better talk to Daneshaw first. He's always sound on what's going on in Block Nineteen."
"But Dr. Farrar, Daneshaw can't bring them back. He's just another subject. You could swear the nurses to secrecy for the good of the hospital. It's not as if it were anything strange or exciting. If we get an investigation, the subjects will run amok. Blood pressures will go up and some of them won't eat and others won't sleep thinking up fancy stories to tell the investigating commission and the smooth curve charts will be all shot to...." ”

“ After the shot, he took out a bottle of capsules, closed his bag and drew up the chair from the desk.
"You know, Tim," he began softly, "we're both old men. We can keep going indefinitely as long as the rate is slow and steady. Acceleration is mighty dangerous. Now you're going to rest."
"... could stand a few days of taking it easy...."
"Not a few days—months. Flat in bed."
"But the ship ... the people...." The vision of Samuel Wyckoff rose again.
"The crew and the Lord can take care of the ship; we people will have to take care of ourselves. ”

“ The United Assembly didn't mean us to work ourselves to death."
"What did they mean us to do?" Wyckoff asked with the first sign of interest.
Avery let loose one of his rare chuckles. "Who knows? They don't. Something impractical, you can be sure. But they didn't send us out to die. We cost 'em too much."
"More than we're worth." A statement.
"Of course. Billions, actually, and on some fool thing like this. You can't teach 'em. Government generations are too short. The only administration they care about is the last one and how to talk it down. ”

“ Brill, I think the Assembly could do worse than send us."
"Us?"
"Us old duffers. Economically speaking, we're nobodies, our local ties are the weakest, we are of no particular value to anybody except Dr. Farrar here," he waved a hand, "and we're obviously of no political danger to the Chinese or the commists or the insulars either. We're not even a bloc. But of course we wouldn't please anybody especially as colonists, either. It's only an academic suggestion, you understand."
He grinned first at Brill, and at Farrar. "We couldn't put the good Jules out of a job, of course." ”

“ Farrar laughed, "Intriguing thought, a thousand near-200-year-oldsters running amok. But seriously, if they kill themselves off this way, it will mess things up. Don't worry about your job yet, Doctor. Daneshaw will think of something. On your way out, ask Miss Herrington to get in touch with him. Now you get back to Block Nineteen and see that everything stays quiet for a while. ”

“ But what could you do with a superannuated book reviewer like Wyckoff? Old people ought to make good book reviewers and teachers. But naturally nobody'd listen to them. Those smart alecs in Washington wouldn't recognize a bear till it bit them. Only way to batter anything into their heads....
The elevator door opened and Avery swaggered truculently along the corridor to the headquarters anteroom, his fists clenched.
The captain and recreation director looked up at his entrance.
Captain Daneshaw greeted him. "Sorry to call you up here when you're off duty. This isn't really very serious." ”

“ I'm no recreation director."
"Not bad!" Arnold Forsberg roared and slapped the table. "The man's a wizard, Captain!" He turned back to Avery. "You think I can't do it? The After Turnover Party theme is going to be New Personality. That's perfect! Well announce it all over the ship the first thing tomorrow. Everybody's got eleven weeks to develop a new personality to wear on our new home, Venus. It's never too late to be somebody new. Be the man you've always wanted to be for the next hundred years. ”

“ Avery seated himself in the swivel chair beside the tremendous desk that made his room look much smaller than Daneshaw's.
"Got out?"
"They were both found dead this morning at breakfast time. I just heard about it. Saul cut his wrist with his razor and Clarice fiddled with the autometab so it wouldn't raise and then went to sleep in it. Some people are just born with more nerve than others!" Avery sounded actually envious.
"This is no joke, El." Tim Daneshaw leaned against the high white bed. ”

“ Farrar settled himself back in his chair. "I have a plan, Mr. Brill; and perhaps you might be able to help me." (Brill sat forward.) "I would like to see Block Nineteen emptied completely—I would like to see its present occupants migrate to Venus on the Colonia. I don't think they'd ever come back. That would give your company several years to work out its new policy scheme and would remove what you call a dangerous menace to a safe distance. The next generation of Old Ones will be better schooled in ridding themselves of 'personal power ambition.' Do you think it could be done?" ”