Frank Belknap Long

“ They were deep in subspace, a hundred light years from the little green world; and, in the warm security of the pilot-room, its menacing shadows seemed immeasurably remote.
"Happy?" Ned laughed harshly. "Kids who'll never grow up. Adults cut off from all further growth. The same today, tomorrow and forever."
"Their minds may change," Cynthia said. "Their minds may grow, Ned. Tommy said that bright pupils could go far."
"As catalysts, caught in a ghastly trap."
"How can you be so sure, Ned? A wild guess, you called it. How do you know the Druids and the Sweeneys don't learn from one another? ”

“ If human beings aged and changed they would cease to be catalysts. They would become valueless to the Druids. And when the Romans discovered the truth—"
Agreement was clearly in Cynthia's eyes. She moved closer to the viewport, her face pale.
"Fear, and a merciless hatred," Ned said. "Pursuing the Druids, driving them from Earth. And dim, fearful legends remaining of a dark magic older than the human race."
"Ned, they've stopped dancing!" Cynthia's voice rang out sharply in the silence. "They're coming toward the ship!" ”

“ A long pause, and then Ned said: "As unaging as the forests of oak where they served as human catalysts for the Druids before the Druids left Earth forever?"
He suddenly seemed to be thinking aloud rather than addressing his wife.
"Well—and why not? The Druids must change, for change is the first law of life. But perhaps they can only find complete fulfillment, can only grow in wisdom and strength, by using human beings as little hard grains of chemical substance which must remain forever bright and shining.
"Human catalysts, imprisoned in a horrible little test tube of a house. ”

“ Cynthia exclaimed, catching hold of Ned's arm. Then, in a stunned whisper: "Oh, but it can't be! She'd be a grown woman!"
The child straightened at the sound of the voice, looking about. She saw Ned and Cynthia, and blank amazement came into her eyes. ”

“ Tommy said. "Some of the pupils are bright. Some are just good students who work hard at their homework. Some are stupid and dull. If you let them stay together the bright ones, the really bright ones, get held back."
Tommy seemed suddenly to realize he was seeing Ned and Cynthia for the first time in ten years. His good friends, Ned and Cynthia. A Cynthia who was as beautiful as ever, though deathly pale now, and a Ned who was just a little older and grayer. ”

“ Tommy Sweeney said, coming through the pilot-room wall in a blaze of light. He grinned. "I asked mom and dad to try real hard this time and here they are!"
All of the Sweeneys came into the pilot-room as Tommy spoke, their faces incredibly radiant.
"I never really believed Tommy until this minute!" Clifton Sweeney said. "If you just forget about walls you're where you want to be!"
"Sure you are!" Tommy said. "It's as easy as skinning a chipmunk."
"Ned, Cynthia," Helen Sweeney said. "Come back!" ”

“ Ned took a deep breath.
"Man fears the unknown, and knowledge is a source of danger. Maybe the Druids were never really native to Earth. What if this were their home planet—"
"Ned, you can't really believe—"
"Listen!" Ned said.
The sound was clearly audible through the thin walls of the rocket-ship. It was a steady, dull droning—an eerie, terrifying sound.
Ned got up and walked to the viewport. ”

“ Why do men and women who surrender themselves to sorcery remain, in legend, eternally young? Young, unchanging. It's a belief as old as prehistory and all the ages since. Only in the Middle Ages were witches pictured as shrunken, hideous old women. The ancient world pictured witches as eternally youthful, unaging. ”

“ The trip was a long one—eight months—but the Central Colonization Bureau had to make sure that anarchy did not take the place of law on worlds where teeming jungles encouraged the free exercise of man's best qualities—and his worst. ”