Fox B. Holden

“ Angelo said.
"Both sides have come to absolute stalemate. But not, regrettably, the kind of stalemate that means cessation of activity. In a conflict to the death, stalemate simply means battle without victory; battle until neither side has a living man left to fight. ”

“ But quite quickly they became well-behaved images again.
"Both sides have equally effective weapons and defenses," the leader went on, "and so it has become a disastrous war of attrition. To win, we must have something they do not have, obviously."
"To bring your Side into Dominance, of course," said Angelo sagely. "To prevent your Subordination, as it were...." Ojar had a sudden, violent fit of coughing.
"Yes," the leader said. There was a momentary blankness in his eyes, and Angelo decided that enough was enough. Unfairness was unfairness, after all. They must hear the man out. ”

“ Yes of course, thought Maler, the Philosopher. It is the Others, always, who must be defeated....
"And so we have," the leader was saying, "come to you for help."
He stopped speaking then, for a moment, waiting for Angelo's reply. Waiting simply for him to ask "what kind of help could we Artists possibly give you...."—waiting for, and prepared to take unflinchingly, the searing taunt that could not help but be in the question ... "—you who can fly ships through Space, who have at your computer-tips the hard-won miracles of science and engineering?" But wordlessly, the leader waited. ”

“ His teeth were almost clenched as he made the admission, and Angelo easily sensed the pain in the man at having to make it to the Artists of Ste. Catherine, of all people in the universe. "Out of control," the leader was continuing, "to the point where, in fact, and according to the unimpeachable findings of our actuarial computers, human life on Earth is threatened with complete extinction." The leader hesitated, interpreted the looks in the eyes of the men whom he faced, and found himself not quite able to meet them with his own. ”

“ We certainly cannot prevent its landing. We certainly do not have the means to present a hostile front when it does. Therefore, we shall go to the Dell and greet it. I would estimate—" Angelo turned his massive, white head slowly for another glance above the low, alabaster walls of the mosaic-tiled court-yard, "that they will effect a landing within another ten minutes or so. If you'll send an apprentice to go fetch Maler, the Philosopher, and Ghezi, the Semanticist, and—and I think Ojar, the Orator, with word to meet us by the Lesser Amphitheater there, we can be on our way directly. ”

“ Artists in their own way, of course—and some practical work had to be put up with to satisfy the more mundane requirements of existence. As long as they took true pride in the beauty of their work, the artisans would always be very welcome members of the colony—as well, to be sure, as necessary.
And seated in a semi-circle behind Angelo were the other Elders, and two or three advanced Students to cater to whatever needs might arise during the conference. ”

“ The Ancestors had, of course, been called dreamers, ivory-towerists, alarmists, fools. They had been called madmen who lived in the unenlightened past, believers in some foolishness called artistic integrity; schizoids who were afraid to face Reality. ”

“ Both sides are perfectly matched from the technological aspect, of course. The so-called 'secrets' of science cannot be kept 'secret' at all, at least not by men. They exist everywhere in the universe, for any man to seek and to exploit as he sees fit. ”

“ There must be a victor, or Earth is lost entirely. One more mass strato-attack with L-bombs and.... Well, at any rate—there must, as you can readily understand, be a victor, and soon. Obviously, the Others must be defeated. ”

“ Some apprentices I've got, and some apprentices you'll get—and only because Dean Angelo here says so."
The three men from Earth strode with military precision back toward their ship. The leader was in the center, and his subordinates, each with bulging briefcases in both hands, were on either side. A large group from the colony walked at a slower pace behind. Angelo, as usual, was at their head, and flanking him were Tharn and Forsyth. ”

“ As I said, both Sides are in perfect technological and therefore military balance—"
"Balance is so important," interrupted Angelo. Behind him, Ojar, the Orator was having a difficult time repressing a yelp of pure mirth. It was unfair, of course, to bait these stumble-witted fellows like this, but it was amusing—especially when Angelo did it, who, though a Painter, was well up on his word-play. "... Perhaps you have already noticed," Angelo was going on, quite oblivious to the perspiration on the leader's high forehead, and exactly as Ojar had expected, "how well we of Ste. ”

“ They took pains to point out carefully that it is a healthy sign for the developing child to become intrigued with movement, sound, and color—that it was normal for a child to spend hours observing, examining, operating, even building a new mechanical toy. ”