Mark Reinsberg

“ I craved the protection of darkness. We already had passed two police cars headed eastward, and each time I cringed helplessly, and Celia and Freddie ducked down out of sight. Possibly the red sunset tones were falsifying the green of our car. Otherwise, I can't see how they overlooked us.
Traffic was starting to thin out as we arrived over the Mendota district of Chicago. This was kind of a marginal area—no longer desirable, not yet slum—where respectable poor people maintained some semblance of pride in their old dilapidated solar-heated homes. ”

“ The Mendelsohns exchanged glances.
"I don't know," said Solly. "Truthfully. Let me think about it a few minutes."
"Since you've told us the truth about yourselves," said Dolly, "do you mind hearing some things you don't know about us?"
"All cards might as well be face up," I replied.
"Well listen, you two. It isn't easy to emigrate to another system. If you're a shlub, yes. But not if you're a soil chemist, or any other kind of scientist or advanced technician. Earth won't let the boys with know-how get out of its clutches." ”

“ It's wedding presents when they grow up. It's—it's funeral wreaths!"
Celia started to cry, and Dolly started to cry, and they hugged each other and started to cry even more, and the tears rolled down their cheeks. And the tears rolled down my cheeks, and Solly's too, I guess, and we shook hands very solemnly. And Celia stuffed the envelope into Dolly's hand. And then all of us really cut loose and bawled—I covering my face with my hands, and Solly burying his face in a handkerchief. Only Freddie wasn't crying at first. ”

“ I personally think competition is the mainspring of progress—"
Solly started to protest.
"—material progress," I added.
"Well, maybe," said Celia, and in a flash I could see what had gone wrong with Freddie's home-life, from the school principal's point of view. "But I can't see what competitiveness has to do with creative art, or the pure sciences, or philosophy. I think it's positively destructive in those areas. The real struggle there is internal, not external. To me, competition is only a part of life not the whole of it." ”

“ She and Celia and Freddie went into the kitchen.
I hated to be left alone with Solly, and I suppose the feeling was reciprocal.
"Are you glad to be going?" I inquired neutrally.
"Very."
"How long does it take to get there?"
"Two and a half years."
"That's a long time!"
"Not considering the distance. Primus Gladus is nine-tenths of a light-year away."
"Funny," I said, "a star being that close, undiscovered until this century."
"It's not a bright star. Half the luminosity of our sun. For all we know, there may be others just as close." Solly meditated on the idea. ”

“ Poor kid! He's weary of looking at pictures, and so am I."
"Freddie," I asked, "why didn't you like to play games with the other children at school?" Celia glanced at me disapprovingly.
"Oh, I like to play games. But ... it just seems that when everyone's trying so hard to win ... it spoils the fun. ”

“ It's a terrible thing for a father, a Top Competitor, to be told he has a non-competitive son. You momentarily lost control of yourself. Bring him to the school voluntarily. Say you thrashed him within an inch of his life. Say you've been too busy competing to pay much attention to your son's upbringing. ”

“ Celia was tearfully, bitterly sarcastic. "You extended us the favor—"
I was trembling with rage. "We are taking Freddie with us."
"You can't."
"You just try to stop me."
The principal smiled, again disdainfully. "He has already left with the STARS officer. There is nothing you can do. Except leave my office."
I was stunned. That blue car we parked next to. I was paralyzed. I wanted to smash the principal's face—even if it meant going to jail.
His desk buzzer sounded. He flicked a switch. ”

“ Solly looked down for a moment, then threw back his head. "Look, that's still your money, even if you did give it to us. Dolly and I are willing ... would be happy to pay Freddie's fare. And take care of him as our own if you and Celia can't get on."
"My son has no future on Earth," I said. "If Celia's willing, I am. Go talk to her."
Solly went to Celia. She did not once look in my direction and I was glad. In the end, Freddie went with Solly, and I could tell what the lie was. Solly was going to show Freddie the insides of the wonderful ship. ”

“ But of course you can't get to know your son very well that way.
"Just what is this trouble Freddie's involved in?" I asked as we descended. "Why don't you keep me better informed on the boy?"
"I try to, but when have you had time to listen? I usually see you at our cocktail parties for clients, or else at three in the morning when you drop into bed too exhausted to get into pajamas."
"Well, this matter with the principal. Are you sure it's so serious?"
"They never ask for both parents unless it is," Celia assured me, glancing soberly at the school buildings as we came to earth. ”

“ Intellectually, he won't exert himself against his classmates. Financially, he refuses to earn bonus points selling magazine subscriptions in his leisure time. This, as you know, goes against the very principles on which our democracy is based. It's subversive in its influence on the other children. If he were not so young, if he did not come from a well-known competitive family, one would almost be tempted to think Edmund an Australian spy!"
"Come now!" said Celia indignantly. "Expel Freddie from your school if you wish, but don't slander him." ”

“ School is a powerful influence, but home is the decisive influence in the molding of a child's character and outlook. The plain and simple fact is that your home—Edmund's home—has been an anti-competitive influence! No school can counterbalance it. ”

“ I could see a puzzled expression at the window as I glided away and became lost in pedestrian cross-traffic.
In a mood of self-congratulation, I headed for the Art Institute. The mood vanished as I passed the first newsstand. Boldly on its display screen was a front page story about the fugitive Sponsor family. There were pictures, of course. They didn't have a very good one of Celia. College graduation shot. She had nothing to worry about. The photo of Freddie was better, but the city is full of skinny seven-year-olds with sensitive features. No great risk of recognition there. ”

“ Sponsor, that aggressive non-competitiveness is carried on the statute books as a misdemeanor."
Scorn and ridicule were in Celia's voice. "But Freddie is a seven-year-old!"
"Quite. But our concern as educators is with the future adult. And unless the child's habits of thought are corrected in the early, formative years, all of his aberrations are magnified by maturity. Would you want your son to grow up a criminal, a seditionist?"
"You need not worry about that," I answered firmly. "I'll take Freddie in hand. He'll learn the value of competition if I have to beat it into him!" ”

“ Solly and Dolly walked us out to our car. There really wasn't much left to say. We had found each other in friendship again, and would never again be nearer than nine-tenths of a light-year.
"A pity!" said Solly, and I knew what he meant.
The evening was very cool. Celia began to shiver. We took off, and the cabin heater warmed up the thermometer, but still we felt cold. Freddie sat in the front seat between us, dozing lightly.
Our Cad Super roared through the night. Even at full power, Spaceport, Nevada, was thirty minutes away. The moon set rapidly. The night grew darker. ”

“ No wonder that teller made such a fuss."
"Dear, I thought you might have to use a little bribery. I knew Freddie was in trouble, and that was my fault, of course. I'm the villain in his home-life!" She smiled ruefully, then looked at the Pericles, her eyes brimming with tears. "But I had no idea they'd try to take him away from us!"
My thoughts pulsed wildly. "Look, Celia! We can both get aboard! Give me the money!" I took her purse and ran over to the huddle of colonizers.
"I've got ninety-thousand cash credits! Who'll give up his place on the Pericles?" ”

“ Solly, Dolly, and Celia smiled. That irritated me but I let the matter drop.
"Let's consider what's to be done," I said.
"Yes," said Solly very seriously. "I can tell you this about the star-ship. On a voyage of two and a half years, nothing can be done haphazardly, at the last minute. Every berth has to be accounted for long in advance. Our baggage has been calculated down to the last ounce. The number of farming implements, the number of livestock—even the number of children you may have en route!—are strictly allocated." ”

“ I gunned our car like fury and we rocketed into the air so fast that Celia, holding Freddie tightly in her arms, moaned at the terrible acceleration.
We were far above Chicago's islands. Nothing, not even a police car, could catch our Cad Super.
I turned to my son. "You're a bright boy, Freddie. I'm proud of you." A real competitor at heart. ”

“ She thought. "The Art Institute. They have a private lot and we're members."
"Ridiculous!" I started to say, then checked myself. "That's good. That's cultural. The cops would never think we'd go looking at pictures."
There would be people there, a crowd in which we could lose ourselves. A big building where we could remain all day, if necessary, without attracting suspicion. A place where I could think. I desperately needed to think.
"I don't want to go to the Art Institute," Freddie whined. "I want to go home."
Celia tried to comfort him. ”

“ I approached the Pericles warily. We were all supposed to meet by the livestock gate. Dozens of people were milling about, some ranchers, some colonizers, bargaining at the last minute over a sheep or a goat or a horse or a cow to replace a dead or sick animal. That some of the men were detectives I did not doubt. I saw Celia close to the entrance with Freddie. We exchanged glances of recognition, but kept widely separated.
Solly came up. "I checked with the captain about Dolly and me waiving our right to have a child during the voyage, and taking Freddie with us instead. You were right. ”

“ Solly is a poor competitor, Celia. Let's face up to it. He has brains. He once showed signs of being a brilliant soil chemist, but he washed out of school. And then he became a fertilizer salesman, and he couldn't make a go of that. ”

“ No wonder he wants to try another planet!"
"Solly has had a lot of personal misfortunes."
"That's an excuse all the shlubs use. No. The fact is, he just can't compete. And unless you compete in this world, you're dead."
Below on its own crescent-shaped island lay Chicago Classical School. I put our ship into a fast elevator dive. "My sympathies," I added, "go to Dolores. She's a bright, attractive kid. Keen competitor. She didn't deserve a shlub for a husband." ”

“ I could just about read the cabbie's mind. "These damn Competitors! So busy and so loaded they have to spend money to kill time." We wafted towards the lakefront. My own thoughts were swirling chaotically. I felt as though someone had turned off the degravity device just as I was stepping into the elevator shaft. ”

“ She couldn't compete with our robot steno, but customers like to deal with a human being. And she was loyal.
She let me in and handed me my shoes.
I sat down, put them on. "Those men outside are not to know I'm here." This was the real test of her loyalty.
Claire nodded tersely. She was not a dumb girl.
"I'm in serious trouble, Claire. The less you know about it the better, but it's all tied up with the crisis on Venus. Were you able to book passage for me?"
"Yes, you've a reservation on the midnight rocket."
"Good! When's your lunch hour?"
"I'm on it now, Mr. Sponsor." ”

“ Spacker is no fool either. He hesitated. "Well sure, Bart, if we have it. But you know, with this Venus crisis we're running pretty close."
I exploded. "What do you mean, 'if we have it'! Our assets top thirty million."
"You weren't in the pit this morning, Bart. The way Venus commodities are going, we'll be damn lucky to cover our commitments."
"That bad? Well, it's a good thing I'm leaving for Venus tonight." I paused. "All right, Charlie, then make me a personal loan."
"I'd be glad to, Bart. But ... considering the circumstances, how can I be sure you'll come back from Venus?" ”

“ Then we have to get into our ship and fly somewhere. Wherever we go there'll be police looking for a green Cad Super with Iowa license plates."
"We have one advantage at that time," said Celia. "Rush hour. If you can stay in the thick of traffic ... and not hedge-hop."
"Don't worry!"
"The real crisis, I think, is when we board the Venus ship," said Celia. "The police will be watching all departures, checking identities, just as a matter of routine."
"That's true, but we don't go aboard as a threesome. You and Freddie earlier. ”

“ Sponsor and I are willing and eager to cooperate."
"I hope," said the principal, "that you will remember what you have just said when I propose the remedy. As to the problem itself, I must put it bluntly—your son Edmund refuses to compete."
If any other man had said this to me I would have smashed his face in. Celia looked at me warningly. Again I masked my feelings.
"This is a terrible thing to hear," I said sweetly. "But surely it can't be as stark and simple as that. Freddie must be ill or emotionally disturbed. Have your doctors given him a checkup? Have your psychoanalysts examined him?" ”

“ He's locked himself in an aircar. Who owns that Cad Super?"
I staggered the principal with a straight hard punch in the mouth. I threw another to his jaw and another in his solar plexus. I leaped onto his desk and seized him by the throat and battered his head against the desk top. Then I drove my fist into his face again and again until he lost consciousness.
Celia had had the presence of mind to turn off the microphone. I flicked it on.
"Masefield?" I was trusting the phone to depersonalize my voice.
"Yes."
"The owner will be right out to open it. Is there anyone by the car now?" ”

“ I reach our car, jump in, slam the door, open the throttle. We ascend. Circle into the lowest, slowest, most congested local traffic lane, westward bound over Chicago.
I didn't much like Celia's suggestion. But I couldn't think of a better one. And we had to spend the next five or six hours somewhere.
"So why not the Mendelsohns?" said Celia. "It's a little early for their party, but I'm sure we'll be welcome."
"All right. But we've got to keep quiet about our ... troubles. I don't want that shlub to have the last laugh on me." ”

“ How akin the awareness of danger and awareness of sex!
She opens the car door, turns the ignition key, idles the engine.
Next, Freddie, as well coached as possible. Unhurried, lackadaisical. Taking a slow, wandering path, oblivious of the peril, curious about the other cars, taking his time.
He reaches our car and Celia scoops him up, and I see him clamber over the front seat and bury himself in the back.
Then I, striding heavily, hastily. Briefcase in hand. Looking neither right nor left. Lowering chin almost onto chest. Waiting for a voice behind me. Expecting a shout: 'Wait! ”