Joseph Samachson

“ What would have been an act of betrayal in someone else was only a mistake in judgment in George Everson, and this despite the fact that for almost thirty years she had maintained proudly that her husband never made mistakes. ”

“ Arthur said, in a voice he couldn't control, "And all the time, everyone was calling you a traitor—even I. How can you ever forgive us?"
"No forgiveness is necessary. That was a necessary part of the plan, which helped convince the Hops that we had nothing up our sleeves." He put his arms around his wife, and then said sharply, "Come, Arthur, don't you collapse!" ”

“ They've been deliberately bred to diminish their size, so that more of them might be supported at a given standard of nutrition. But overpopulation has always been a problem nonetheless, and has driven them on continually to look for new planets. That's why they're so interested in our system."
"And that," said Arthur, "is also why, once we've handed over everything we have, they'll exterminate us, and proceed to colonize as if they had never signed an agreement." ”

“ The Hops, in their countless numbers, were unconquerable, and the human race, despite all its weapons, had no choice but to surrender unconditionally.
The Hop Supreme Three had observed all the customary formalities. They had signed the agreement for humane treatment of the surrendering race, and given their most solemn promises to live up to the agreement in every detail; although from what he had seen of them, Everson knew that their idea of what was humane differed from his. ”

“ Don't think our decision to surrender was an easy one, Arthur. During the entire period of negotiation, we've had our spies out. We've managed, with difficulty, to learn a few things about them.
"The Hops have come out of another galaxy. For a great many centuries they've been able to move their entire planet, to attach it as a temporary satellite to some star, and to release it again, without expending too much energy, when conditions became unfavorable for a longer stay.
"Wherever they have come across a planet suitable for Hop habitation, they've left sizable colonies. ”

“ I don't dare to look people in the eye."
"You'll get over it."
"I'm afraid not," said Arthur. "I'll never get over being the son of a traitor. At first, when I heard of the plans for surrender, I thought they were intended as a maneuver, to throw the Hops off their guard. I never believed that you could intend them seriously."
"The Hops aren't to be thrown off their guard so easily. Don't you know anything about them?"
"I know a great deal. I've seen several of your secret reports."
Everson frowned. ”

“ There's nothing elfin or pixielike about them, and on their own planet, compared to the other animal life, they're really big.
"Moreover, they're heavy. The adults average no more than ten inches high, but they run to about forty pounds. They're as strong as human beings, not to speak of being quicker and more active. Pit a wildcat against an unarmed man, and what chance do you think the man has? Well, a Hop is more dangerous than a wildcat, even without taking into consideration his superior intelligence." ”

“ Even those who had accepted the numerous vacant posts had no heart in the work, and whether through carelessness or through deliberate sabotage, many of the minor points of the agreement with the Hops were in danger of being violated. If Everson could help it, there were going to be no violations that would give the Hops an excuse to use military force. He checked over the details of what was being done in the asteroid belt, and found, as he had suspected would happen, that the largest asteroid base of all had been left out of the list to be turned over to the Hops. ”

“ They'd have to attack—"
"Good Lord, Arthur, don't you see that if they did, they'd have a still greater advantage? The moment they close in on us, and nuclear weapons are out, we don't stand a chance. As individuals they're too small to make good targets, and too tenacious to be easily killed even if they are hit."
"And they have no weaknesses?"
The bell tinkled again, and the secretary's voice said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Everson, but there's a report that requires your attention. With regard to the surrender on Venus—"
"Go ahead." ”

“ It would have intensified all the problems of overpopulation, and started a civil war. They're stuck with their five-year lives.
"The consequences have been tremendous. During the three years of adulthood it is no longer possible to master any reasonably broad and complicated field of knowledge, let alone advance it. Despite their application of what had previously been learned in psychology, and their attempt to substitute machine calculation for brainwork as much as possible, they are no longer able to train any large body of research scientists. ”

“ Instead of developing, their science has deteriorated. Entire branches they had formerly mastered have now been relegated to the museums and libraries. They don't have time for philosophy or logic, or other such luxuries. All their science is, one way or another, military science. ”

“ But the shorter their lives, the less pressing the problem of overpopulation. And at a time when they were engaged in continual wars, they preferred to have replacements made as quickly as possible—which meant a shorter period of infancy, and again a shorter total life. ”

“ As the Hops shrank in size from generation to generation, they became shorter-lived. At present, they live on an average only five of our years, of which at most three can be considered years of maturity, with full adult powers. ”