Psi-High And Others

Epilogue

Somewhere within the Watcher’s ship a gentle alarm began to chime, more of a dreamlike echo than a sound. The Old One stirred, turned again to the space scanner, as his young companion hurried into the cabin.

“Is it Kadar? At last?”

“Look for yourself,” the Old One said.

In the blackness of space between Mars and Jupiter something had appeared on the screen, a faint fluorescent glow that shimmered and faded and then returned more strongly. Soon it was nearer, and the tiny scooter ship seemed to materialize before their eyes. Then, in a deft maneuver, the scooter came abreast and was engulfed by the mother ship, and Kadar had returned to them.

At last.

“No problems?” the Old One asked later, after Kadar had refreshed himself. “Nothing new to add? We can really go?”

“Nothing new,” said Kadar. “It was a graceful exit, I might say; no fanfare, no suspicions. And we can go—although I’ll miss them, I suppose, after spending so long among them.”

“And your final impression?”

“The same as before, of course, for a favorable decision. I’ve known that for decades, just as you have. But even so, we have to go. After all, they don’t need us any more.”

The Young One, listening dubiously, frowned. “Don’t need us? I don’t understand.”

“You reviewed the records again?” the Old One asked.

“Of course—but I thought we were Watchers only. How could they have needed us if we were merely watching? And why was Kadar there so long, posing as one of them in their own Hoffman Center? Have we in fact been doing more than watching? The Covenant forbids contact or interference.”

The Old One smiled. “Of course. But guidance could be something else again. Especially when a people show such frightening promise. These Earthmen could qualify as Watchers, one day! But the smallest choices now could mean so much, the balance between the right move and the wrong so very delicate. Can a gentle nudge at precisely the right point in time be condemned as interference?”

“Maybe not,” the Young One said angrily, “but color it as you will, we still have violated the Covenant. We have been more than Watchers here. We have been teachers and guides as well.”

“Not quite,” the Old One said. “Protectors, if you insist, seeking now and then to shield them from themselves until no shield was needed. What is their quaint term, Kadar? Guardian angels. Every child has one, some of them believe, until he learns to find his way.”

“And now?” the Young One said.

“We will be back,” replied the Old One, turning to the ship’s controls with finality. “But not as guardian angels. Merely to watch the child grow strong and healthy. He has already learned to find his way.”