Joseph Shallit

“ Baker walked in. His eyes made a quick circuit of the room, stopped briefly at the box, then turned to them.
"What's the gun for?" Harvey said bitterly.
Baker smiled. "You didn't trust me, hence I didn't trust you. Mistrust begets mistrust. Now, gentlemen," he said briskly, "explain this invention you told me about."
"Before we do any explaining, we want you to know what we want."
"Go right ahead." Baker pulled a chair to the doorway and sat down. "Name your price."
"We'll take the gun."
Baker's eyebrows rose. "Impossible. This is the only weapon on the planet." ”

“ This is the moment I always wait for—the moment when the settlers get off the ship and verify for themselves all the things I told them. You see, my friends, when I go on my lecture tours around the Earth, the scepticism I run into makes me feel like a very lonely man. I tell my story—about a place where things grow five to seven times as big as anything Earth ever saw in her best days, a place where one gets three or four harvests in what would be a single growing season on Earth—I tell the story and find that quite a lot of people don't believe it. ”

“ Harvey's heart pounded. "You mean there's no oxygen out there?"
"The oxygen content of our atmosphere is seven percent," Carsing said, his voice falling to a weary monotone. "Seven percent is equivalent to the oxygen content you find when you travel 27,000 feet above Earth. You know you can't exist at 27,000 feet unless you have an artificial supply of oxygen. Very well. The same condition applies here—on the ground. You will wear your oxygen packs at all times. The only exception is this building. We have oxygen pumped into it." ”

“ If we work together, if we keep our eyes on the distant horizon, and ignore the advocates of spite, the petty minds that spin their miserable webs in the dark, I am sure we can all look forward to a bright and glowing future. ”

“ This seemed preposterous to Colonel Baker, who always thought himself to be a very relaxed person, but there was no denying the dyspepsia—it was there all the time—and he was willing to try anything that might ameliorate it.
When the gentle buzzer sounded and the red light glowed on the communications set, Colonel Baker went over to it, flipped the switch and leaned back in his reclining chair.
"Yes?" said Baker pleasantly. He was rather tickled with the arrangement that permitted him to watch the faces of people who were unaware of the television camera focused on them. ”

“ Lurie in a strained voice, "there has been—there is—a good deal of dissatisfaction in our group. This system of credits doesn't seem equitable. Some of us find it extremely difficult to amass a hundred credits a day, and yet that is the amount we are charged for our daily tube of oxygen. Now, sir, we believe it would be fair if you reduced the charge for the oxygen, to, shall we say, eighty credits?" ”

“ Baker screamed at the pitilessly closed doors.
"This is what he was leading up to for ten years," said Brace.
Harvey looked at the purple box. "A jack-in-the-box," he said softly. "Ruth where in the world did this thing ever come from?"
"I brought it with me," Ruth said defiantly. "I thought maybe it might be hard to get toys here—and maybe we might want toys someday ... for somebody."
Carsing stirred and groaned. "That's a relief—we're going to need the man to show us how to run the oxygen works," Harvey said. "Okay, kids, let's go to work. There's a lot to be done." ”

“ Of course, it wasn't economically feasible to send this produce to Earth—although one of these days I think it will be. As the blight gets worse people will get so sick of subsisting on dehydrated plankton they will be willing to pay the enormous transportation costs to get our fruits and vegetables. But meanwhile, by the greatest good fortune, an economic base for our agriculture did develop with the discovery of radioactive minerals on our neighboring planet. It's a perfect arrangement: we feed the miners, and they pay us with the earnings from their mines. ”

“ Harvey caught him, but didn't have the strength to hold him, and both sagged to the floor. "Quick, Ruth," Harvey said, gasping.
She was waiting with the oxygen packs. Red Brace was with her. They fitted the masks quickly over the faces of the two men on the floor, and anxiously watched their rapid, intense breathing.
In a little while, Harvey and Dr. Lurie were breathing at a normal rate. They got up and sat at the table, where Ruth had breakfast ready.
"Do you think he'll come?" Dr. Lurie said.
"He has to," Harvey said. "He can't afford to let anybody spread a new gospel among his people." ”

“ Harvey said. "Remember—Colonel Baker never said you'd get innersprings on this planet. The man never told you a lie."
The toilets were tiny out-houses, a hundred yards away in the field. "Oh, dear," Ruth said.
"Well, you can't expect the man to transport sewer pipe to Paradise," Harvey said grimly.
He stood in the doorway and waited until the guides had deposited the last of the settlers and were started on their return trip. Harvey called to them as they came by. They glanced at him blankly, said something to each other, and kept on walking. ”

“ Dr. Lurie's voice came over in a tense whisper. "He'll cut off our oxygen!"
"He wouldn't dare," Brace snarled. "Nobody goes and kills a couple of hundred people."
Baker chuckled loud enough for the settlers to hear. "If that is all, gentlemen, good day," he said, and flicked a switch. But it was only a one-way switch, shutting off sound from his direction but permitting him to see and hear the settlers. Their talk didn't go on very long before Baker could see that Brace had lost—the thought of not seeing the oxygen wagons come along in the evening was too frightening. ”

“ Excited, high-hearted talk frothed up from the immigrants as they moved down the ramp. After being confined for ten months in the narrow, dreadfully sound-proofed rooms and corridors of the spaceship, every sound, every bit of motion was an intense delight. ”

“ Harvey got some irritated looks in return. "Hell, we're here, ain't we?" somebody growled.
"Harvey," Dr. Lurie said, "I'd suggest we avoid conclusions until we've given this a fair trial."
A murmured chorus of approval rose around him. At that moment, Carsing reappeared on the stage. "All right, everybody," he said briskly, "go back and finish loading up, and pick up your oxygen packs. Everybody's eager to see their homesteads, so let's not anybody hold us up. Let's go." With a surge of relief, the homesteaders flowed down the aisles to the exits. ”

“ With him were two men, both gray-haired and darkly tanned.
"These are your guides," Carsing announced. "Go get your carts and move out."
"Hey!" shouted Red Brace. "What pulls these carts?"
"You do," Carsing said coldly.
"You mean there aren't any horses—or trucks?"
Carsing's mouth twisted. "No—no horses or trucks. Or tractors or washing machines. You'd better make up your minds to that right now. Transporting any large mechanical equipment all the way out here would be impossibly expensive. Outside of the few small devices we absolutely had to have, we've imported nothing. ”

“ What seems basic to one person may seem merely incidental to another. Every man to his own opinion—and I assure you, my friend, you have a perfect right to yours. If you feel you were misled, then I am deeply and humbly sorry. ”

“ Red Brace said impatiently. "We go up there, knock off Baker and Carsing, and take over the oxygen factory."
"It's not that simple," Harvey said. "I imagine the old boy has a way of keeping strangers out. The story I get is that he's got some sort of electronic telescope, and he sits up there all day watching everything that's going on. You're not going to sneak up on him, exactly."
Brace stood up. "The longer we sit and talk, the more time he has to get set for us. Anybody coming with me?" He looked around. "Frankly, I don't give a damn if anybody comes or not. ”

“ We stand, my friends, on the threshold of a brave new world. Let us all go forward with hope and faith. Under such banners, I know we cannot fail."
Slowly, Martin Baker walked off the stage. Harvey looked around helplessly at the faces of his fellow-voyagers who were staring at the stage in half-dazed fascination. ”

“ Harvey said. "I also did some personal scouting, and everything they said seems to be true. Here's the setup:
"Our idea of raiding the commissary for a lot of oxygen tanks is out. They don't keep any stock; there's never more than a single day's supply for the settlement. Of course, we can't make off with that, unless we want to kill off everybody else.
"The oxygen plant itself is right up there on the hill, next to Baker's house. That's the key to his control, and he keeps it right under his thumb. Nobody—I mean nobody—except Carsing ever goes up there. ”

“ Oxygen and food—isn't there any possibility of our earning anything more?"
"There have been settlers who have amassed enough credits to import some things from Earth. It's all a matter of the rate of work. Incidentally, I've noticed your production figures, Dr. Lurie. I wouldn't keep on this way, if I were you. Deficits pile up. The situation can become dangerous faster than you imagine."
Even over the televiewer, Baker could see Dr. Lurie's face pale. A hand suddenly appeared, pushing Dr. Lurie aside. The big face of the redhead, Brace, appeared on the screen. ”

“ Every evening a caravan of Baker's men, pulling carts, came down the road, collected what the settlers had harvested during the day, and marked the credits in their books. Those who worked from dawn to dusk usually managed to achieve 100 credits. ”

“ A few went over 100—three, four, or five credits over—and were told that if they kept this rate up, why, in six months or so, they'd have enough credits to buy some clothes at the central commissary. Several settlers fell short each day. They got particular attention from the man who collected the depleted oxygen tanks from the settlers and handed each a new one.
"We're not cutting anybody's oxygen off—not right away," he said. "But if I were you, I'd get working—fast. The Colonel looks these accounts over every night. He doesn't like anybody getting far in arrears." ”