The Werewolf Principle

33

Earth wanted to get rid of him, perhaps afraid of him, perhaps merely disgusted by him, a loathsome product of its own ambitions and imagination that must be quickly swept underneath the rug. For there was no place for him on the Earth or in humanity, and yet he was a human product and had been made possible by the nimble brains and the weasel understanding of Earth's scientists.

He had wondered at this and thought of it when he first had gone into the chapel and now, standing at the window of his room, and looking out at the streets of Washington, he knew he had been right, that he had judged accurately the reaction of humanity.

Although how much of this attitude was the actual attitude of the people of the world, how much the official attitude of Space Administration, there was no way of knowing. To Space he was an old mistake, a planning gone far wrong, and the quicker he could be got rid of, the better it would be.

There had been, he remembered, a crowd on the hillside outside the cemetery — a crowd that had gathered there to pay homage to what they thought he stood for. Crackpots, certainly, cultists, more than like — the kind of people who leaped at any new sensation to fill their empty lives, but still people, still human beings, still humanity.

He stood and stared out at the sun-drenched streets of Washington, with the few cars moving up and down the avenue, and the lazy strollers who sauntered on the pavements underneath the trees. The Earth, he thought, the Earth and the people living on it — people who had their jobs and a family to go home to, who had chores and hobbies, their worries and their little triumphs, and their friends. But people who belonged. Even if he could belong, he wondered, if by some circumstance beyond imagining, he should be made acceptable to humanity, could he consider it? For he was not himself alone. He could not consider himself alone, for there were the other two and they held with him, in joint right, this mass of matter which made up his body.

That he was caught up in an emotional trap was no concern of theirs, although back there in the chapel they had made it concern of theirs. That they, themselves, were incapable of such emotion was beside the point — although, thinking of it, he wondered if Quester might not hold as great an emotional capacity as he.

But to become an outcast, to be ejected out of Earth, to roam the universe a pariah out of Earth, seemed more than he could face.

The ship was waiting for him, almost ready now, and it was up to him — he could go or stay. Although Space had made it quite apparent it was preferred that he should go.

And there was, actually, nothing to be gained by staying, only the faint hope that some day he might become a human once again.

And if he could — if he only could — would he want it?

His brain hummed with the absence of an answer and he stood, looking dully out the window, only half seeing what lay out on the street.

A knock on the door brought him around.

The door came open and through it he saw the guard, standing in the hallway.

Then a man was coming in and for a moment, half blinded from looking out the window at the bright glare of the street, Blake did not recognize him. Then he saw who it was.

'Senator, he said, moving towards the man, 'it was kind of you to come. I hadn't thought you would.

'Why shouldn't I have come? asked Horton. 'Your message said you'd like to talk with me.

'I didn't know if you would want to see me, Blake told him. 'After all, I probably contributed to the outcome of the referendum.

'Perhaps, Horton agreed. 'Yes, perhaps you did. Stone was most unethical in his use of you as a horrible example. Although I must give the man his due — he used it most effectively.

'I'm sorry, said Blake. 'That's what I want to tell you. I would have come to see you, but it seems that, for the moment, I am under a mild sort of detention.

'Well, now, said Horton, 'I would think there'd be more to talk about than that. The referendum and its consequences are, as you may guess, a rather painful subject for me. I sent in my resignation just the other day. It will take a little time, quite frankly, to get used to not being a senator.

'Won't you have a seat? asked Blake. 'The chair over there, perhaps. And I can find some brandy.

'That is an idea, said the senator, 'that I can heartily subscribe to. It's late enough in the afternoon to begin one's drinking for the day. That time you came to the house, you may recall, we had brandy then. If I remember, it was a rather special bottle.

He sat down in the chair and looked around the room.

'I must say, he declared, 'they're doing well for you. Officer's quarters, no less.

'And a guard at the door, said Blake.

'They're a bit afraid of you, more than likely.

'I suppose they may be. But there's no need of it.

Blake went to the liquor cabinet and got out a bottle and two glasses. He came back across the room and sat down on a sofa, facing Horton.

'I understand, said the senator, 'that you're on the point of leaving us. The ship, I'm told, is almost ready.

Blake nodded, pouring out the brandy. He handed the senator a glass.

'I've been doing some wondering about the ship, he said. 'No crew. Just me, alone in it. Entirely automatic. To accomplish all of this in just one year's time…

'Oh, not a year's time, the senator protested. 'Hasn't anyone taken the time to tell you about the ship?

Blake shook his head. 'They've briefed me. That's the word — briefed. I've been told what levers to push and what dials to spin to take me where I want to go. How the food processors work. The housekeeping of the ship. But that is all they've told me. I asked, of course, but there seemed to be no answers. The main point seemed to be to give me the bum's rush off the Earth.

'I see, said the senator. 'The old military game. A holdover from the old days. Channels and things like that, I would imagine. And a bit, as well, of their ridiculous security.

He swirled the brandy in his glass, looked up at Blake. 'You needn't be afraid of it, if that's what's in your mind. It isn't a trap. It'll do all the things they say it will.

'I'm glad to hear that, senator.

'That ship wasn't built, said the senator. 'You might say that it was grown. It's been continuously on the drawing boards for forty years or more. Redesigned again and yet again. Built and then torn down to incorporate improvements or a new design. Tested time and time again. An attempt, you see, to build a perfect ship. Millions of man-days and billions of dollars spent on it. And always, you see, at any time, within a year or so of being finished because the refinements they were building into it finally became just that — refinements. It is a ship that can operate for ever and a man can live in it for ever. It is the one way a person equipped as you are can go out in space and do the job he's built to do.

Blake crinkled his brow. 'One thing, senator. Why go to all the bother?

'Bother? I don't understand.

'Well, look — what you say is right. That strange creature of which we're talking — of which I am a third — can go out in such a ship to roam the universe, to do our job. But what's the payoff? What's in it for the human race? Do you believe, perhaps, that some day we'll come sailing back across mega-light years to hand over to you all that we have learned?

'I don't know, said the senator. 'Maybe that's the thought. Maybe you might even do it. Maybe there's enough humanity in you that you will come back.

'I doubt it, senator.

'Well, said the senator, 'there's not much point in talking of it. Perhaps, even were you willing, it would be impossible. We are aware of the time your work will involve and mankind's not so stupid — or I don't think we are so stupid — as to imagine that we will last for ever. By the time you have your answer, if you ever get an answer, there may be no human race.

'We'll get the answer. If we go out, we'll get the answer.

'Another thing. said the senator. 'Has it occurred to you that humanity might be capable of sending you out, of making it possible for you to go out in space to hunt for your answer, even if we knew we would not benefit? Knowing that somewhere in the universe there'd be some intelligence to which your data and your answer would be useful.

'I hadn't thought of that, said Blake, 'and I'm not sure that I believe it.

'You're bitter towards us, aren't you.

'I'm not sure, said Blake. 'I don't know what I feel. A man who has come home again and is not allowed to stay. Who is kicked out almost the moment he arrives.

'You don't have to go, of course. I had thought you wanted to. But if you want to stay…

'Stay for what? cried Blake. 'To be cooped up in a pretty cage in full official kindness? To be stared and pointed at? To have fools kneel outside your cage as they knelt and prayed on that hillside back in Willow Grove?

'It would be rather pointless, I suppose, said Horton. 'Staying here, I mean. Out in space you'd have at least a job to do and…

'That's another thing, said Blake. 'How come you know so much about me? How did you dig it out? How did you figure out what was actually involved?

'I understand, said Horton, 'that it was a matter of basic deduction, based on intensive observation and research. But we'd not have got anywhere without the Brownies' help.

So that was it, thought Blake. The Brownies once again.

'They were interested in you, said Horton. 'They're interested, it seems, in everything alive. Meadow mice, insects, porcupines — even human beings. I suppose you could call them psychologists. Although that's not the proper word. Their ability goes far beyond psychology.

'It wasn't me, of course, said Blake. 'Not Andrew Blake, I mean.

'No. As Andrew Blake, you were just another human. But they sensed the three of you — long before we knew about the three of you, although we eventually would have known. They spent a lot of time with Thinker. Just squatting there and looking at him, although I suspect they were doing more than looking.

'So between the two of you, the humans and the Brownies, you got the basic facts.

'Not all of them. said Horton, 'but enough to know the abilities you possessed and what you could do with them. We realized those capabilities must not be wasted. You had to have a chance to use them. And we suspected, too, that you could not use them here on Earth. That's when Space decided to let you have the ship.

'So it boils down to this, said Blake. 'I have a job to do. Whether I want to or not, there's a job to do.

Horton said, a little stiffly: 'I suppose it's up to you…

'It was not a job I asked for.

'No, Horton agreed. 'No, I guess you didn't. But there must be some satisfaction in its magnitude.

They sat for a moment, silent, both of them uneasy at how the talk had turned. Horton finished the brandy and set the glass aside. Blake reached for the bottle.

Horton shook his head. 'No. thank you. I must be going soon. But before I go, there is a question. It's this: What do you expect to find out there? What do you know already?

'As to what we expect, said Blake, 'I have no idea. As to what we know — a lot of things that add up to nothing.

'No hint? No idea of what it might all add up to? No pattern starting to emerge?

'There's one indication. Not too strong, but there. A universal mind.

'You mean a mind that operates the universe — that pushes all the necessary buttons?

'Maybe, said Blake. 'Maybe something like that. Horton let out his breath. 'Oh, my God' he said. 'Yes — oh, my God, said Blake, not mocking, but very close to mockery.

Horton rose stiffly. 'I must go, he said. 'Thank you for the drink.

'Senator, said Blake, 'I sent a message to Elaine and there was no answer. I tried to telephone.

'Yes. said Horton, 'I am aware of that.

'I must see her, sir. Before I go. There are certain things I want to say to…

'Mr Blake, said Horton, 'my daughter does not wish to see you, nor to speak with you.

Blake rose slowly to face him. 'But what is the reason? Can you tell me why?

'I should think, said Horton, 'even to you, the reason must be obvious.