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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/28450-h.zip b/28450-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f8471df --- /dev/null +++ b/28450-h.zip diff --git a/28450-h/28450-h.htm b/28450-h/28450-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e76f54d --- /dev/null +++ b/28450-h/28450-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1201 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Stopover, by William Gerken + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p {margin-top: .75em; text-align: justify; margin-bottom: .75em;} + h1,h2 {text-align: right; font-weight: normal; line-height: 2em;} + body {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .trn {border: solid 1px; margin: 3em 15%; padding: 1em; text-align: justify;} + .dcap {text-transform: uppercase;} + .bk1 {margin: 1em auto 3em; border-top: solid 2px; border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bk2 {float: left; width: 15em; margin: 1em 2em 1em 0;} + .pr1 {line-height: 1.5em; margin-top: 4em;} + hr {width: 45%; margin: 1em auto; visibility: hidden;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stopover, by William Gerken + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Stopover + +Author: William Gerken + +Release Date: March 30, 2009 [EBook #28450] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STOPOVER *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="bk1"><p><i><small>What will the world be like, the day after Tomorrow, for the lonely ones +who will have talents that others will half fear, half envy? William Gerken +describes this strange world in which young and old will have to find +new values and pursue new dreams, as they search for the answer....</small></i></p></div> + +<div class="bk2"><h1><b>stopover</b></h1> + +<h2><i><small>by WILLIAM GERKEN</small></i></h2> + +<p class="pr1"><big><b>When he opened the door to the shed that day, and saw +the axe suspended in mid-air, he understood what was wrong.</b></big></p></div> + +<p><span class="dcap">He had</span> been living with +us for a week before I found +out he was a Lifter. Even the +discovery was an accident. I +had started for the store, but +then remembered a chore I +wanted him to do. I heard the +sounds of wood-chopping +coming from the shed, so I +went behind the house to the +small wooden structure. I +must have gasped or something, +because he turned +around to look at me, dropping +the axe he had poised +over a block of wood as he +turned. Only he hadn't been +holding the axe; it had been +hanging in mid-air without +support.</p> + +<p>The first time I saw him +was when he knocked on my +door. I don't think I'll ever +forget how he looked—tall +and thin, old clothes and older +shoes, an unruly mop of +blond hair. It was only when I +looked at his face that I realized +that he was more than a +mere boy of eighteen or nineteen. +The tired lines around +his mouth, the sad, mature +look in his eyes, the stoop already +evident in his young +shoulders; he had been forced +to mature too quickly, and +seemed to have knowledge a +boy his age had no right to be +burdened with.</p> + +<p>"I—I was wondering if I +might get a bite to eat, sir," +he said.</p> + +<p>I grinned. No matter how +he looked, he was no different +from anyone else his age +where food was concerned. +"Sure; come on in and rest a +spell," I told him. "Marty, can +you fix a plate of something? +We've got a guest." Marty—my +wife—glanced through the +kitchen doorway. After a cursory +look at the boy, she +smiled at him and went back +to work.</p> + +<p>"Sit down, son, you look +pretty done-in. Come far today?"</p> + +<p>He nodded. "Guess it +shows, huh?" he said, brushing +the road dust from his +trousers.</p> + +<p>"Uh-huh. Where you from? +Not around here, I know."</p> + +<p>"Far back as I can remember, +Oregon has been home."</p> + +<p>It wasn't hard to guess why +he was almost a thousand +miles from home. During the +war, over ten million American +families had been separated, +their way of life destroyed +by the hell of atomic bombings. +Ever since its end, people +had been seeking their +loved ones; many, only to +find them dead or dying. +Sometimes the searches +stretched across continents or +oceans. In that respect the +boy sitting opposite me was +no different from hundreds +of others I've seen in the past +ten years. The only difference +was in his face.</p> + +<p>"Looking for your family," +I said, making it a statement.</p> + +<p>"Yessir." He smiled, as +though the sentence had double +meaning.</p> + +<p>After he had eaten, he went +down to the town store to +look through its records. +They all do. They turn the +pages of the big stopover +book, hoping a relative or +friend had passed through the +same town. Then they sign +the book, put down the date +and where they're headed, and +set out once more. Almost all +towns have stopover books +nowadays, and a good thing, +too. They helped me find +Marty back in '63, when the +truce was finally signed. In +fact, I found her right here in +this town. We got married, +settled down, and haven't +been more than a hundred +miles away since then.</p> + +<p>Martha called me into the +kitchen almost as soon as he +was gone. "He's a nice boy."</p> + +<p>"That he is," I agreed. "You +know, I've been thinking; we +could use a young fella +around here to help with the +work."</p> + +<p>"If he'll stay. There was +something in his eyes; a sort +of longing for someone very +close to him. That kind usually +takes off after a night's +rest."</p> + +<p>"I know. Guess I'll drop by +the store; see if I can talk +him into staying."</p> + +<p>By the time I reached the +store, school was out, and a +group of kids were gathered +around him, listening to his +description of the Rocky +Mountains, which he had +crossed during the summer. +The kids weren't the only +ones listening. Even the +adults were standing around +in the store, remembering the +places they had once seen +themselves, and getting such +bits of news as he dropped +about the other towns he had +passed through. The Searchers +are, next to the town radio +stations, the only source of +information we have now, so +it's no wonder they're so +warmly greeted wherever they +stop.</p> + +<p>Soon as he'd finished telling +about the Rockies, I said +we'd appreciate it if he would +stay for supper. He said he +would, and later, while he and +Tommy, my eight-year-old +son, and I were walking home, +I asked him if he'd stay with +us for a while.</p> + +<p>For a moment he looked +wistful, as if wishing he +could stay here, and forget +whoever he was trying to +find. Then he smiled and said, +thanks, he would stay for a +week or so.</p> + +<p>He was real helpful, too, +cutting stove and fireplace +wood for the coming winter, +running errands, hunting for +game animals, and teaching at +the school. Almost all Searchers +teach when they can be +persuaded to stay in town for +a spell. Since there are no +more colleges to produce +teachers, anyone who knows +something useful takes a turn +at teaching. 'Fore the war, I +was a mathematics major in +college, so twice a week I +teach all kinds of math at +school, from numbers through +calculus. Mostly, Searchers +teach about what the places +they had passed through are +like.</p> + +<p>Then, when I opened the +door to the shed that day, and +saw the axe suspended in +mid-air, I suddenly realized +why he had that sad, tired +look about him all the time.</p> + +<p>He picked up the axe from +where it had fallen, and stood +it against the wall. Reaching +for his jacket, he said, "I—I +guess I'd better be moving +along, Mr. Tranton. I'm really +sorry if I've caused you +any trouble." He started past +me for the door.</p> + +<p>"Hold on, son." I grabbed +his arm. "Why the rush?"</p> + +<p>"I don't want to cause you +any trouble. Now that you +know what I am—" he gritted the +words out bitterly, "the word +will get around. I wouldn't +want the others in town to be +angry with you because of +me. You and Mrs. Tranton +have been swell to me. Thanks +for everything." He tried to +pull his arm loose, but I held +fast.</p> + +<p>"Let's go inside and have a +cup of coffee," I suggested. "I +don't know about the other +towns you've been through, +but here we don't hate a person +because he might happen +to have powers we don't."</p> + +<p>"Yesterday I was down at +the store, and I heard one of +the men sounding off about +us," he said. "He didn't sound +like he cared much for us."</p> + +<p>"Must have been John Atherson. +He never could understand +ESP, and he blames the +war on it. We just let him +talk; can't change a person +like that." We went up the +back steps and through the +door into the kitchen. "Go on, +show Marty," I said, taking +off my jacket.</p> + +<p>He looked at me to make +sure I meant it. Then he +raised the coffee pot from the +stove, and watched it move +across the room under its own +power to the table where I +was sitting. Leaving the pot +in mid-air, he made the cupboard +open, and still standing +in the middle of the room, +floated three cups and saucers +to the table. Then he got +the cream, sugar and three +spoons, put them on the table, +and poured the coffee. +Marty watched the coffee pot +move back to the stove, her +mouth open in amazement, "I +heard of it, but I don't think +I'd have believed it if I hadn't +seen it." I nodded, and she +smiled at him. "Now that I +know," she said, "I'm even +gladder you chose to stay +here for a while."</p> + +<p>He grinned. "Thanks." He +sat down with us at the table, +and stirred some sugar into +his coffee.</p> + +<p>"It must be hard on you," +Marty said quietly, in a knowing +way. "Are you really looking +for your family, or for +others with ESP?"</p> + +<p>"My father was killed during +the bombings. After that, +Mom and I were alone. She +only had a little talent; Dad +and I were the ones who were +really adept. Anyway, we +stayed on the small farm we +owned until last spring. Then +Mom married again, and I was +free to leave. I think her new +husband was sorry to see me +go, because it meant a lot of +manual work for him that I +had been doing an easier way. +I decided to see if I couldn't +find any others like myself, +so I left and started across +the country."</p> + +<p>"Do you have any other +powers, or can you just control +things?" Marty asked.</p> + +<p>He grinned. "If you mean, +am I an all-around superman, +no. Dad wasn't either. I do +have a scattering of other psi +talents, though, but nothing +as well-developed as my telekinesis. +I'm still working on +them."</p> + +<p>Tommy came in from +school just then. "Could you +teach him how to use his mind +that way, or do you have to +be born with it?" I said.</p> + +<p>He smiled again. "No, you +don't have to be born with it. +Everyone could do it if they +started training themselves +young enough to use their +minds to the fullest extent. +All through history certain +people have had strange powers. +The trouble was, they +were thought to be freaks instead +of the better developed +humans they actually were. +Even now, we're only on the +threshold of learning the +full power of the mind." He +turned to Tommy. "Would +you like to learn how to do +things, Tommy?"</p> + +<p>"Sure. Like what?"</p> + +<p>He glanced at Marty and +me. "Like making the world a +better place to live."</p> + +<p>Two weeks later, at a meeting +of the town council, I +wasn't too worried about getting +the proposal accepted. +We might have some trouble +with Atherson, but I figured +between the two of us we +could handle him. When the +new business came up, I stood +up and led Tommy to the +front of the hall. There were +a few whispers as we went, as +children under fifteen aren't +allowed in the hall during a +council meeting.</p> + +<p>"Tommy has something to +say to you which, I think, will +interest everyone here. Go on, +son."</p> + +<p>Seconds afterwards, we all +heard, a clear "Hello," but not +with our ears; the word came +from inside our heads.</p> + +<p>Someone said: "The kid's a +telepath," and the silence was +broken.</p> + +<p>Everybody was talking at +the same time.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you think it's an +honor to have one of them +damn things for your son," +Atherson yelled. "I'm glad +you're the one who got stuck, +and not me."</p> + +<p>"Tommy was not <i>born</i> a +telepath, John," I told him. +"He has been <i>deliberately +trained</i> to make use of the latent +power in his brain. And I +don't think I'm 'stuck' either. +We all know we've been slowly +slipping into retrogression +ever since '63. None of us +like it, but there isn't anything +we can do to halt it—yet. +We don't want our children, +or their children, to +keep slipping backwards. If +we don't stop it in our lifetime, +we may not be able to +stop it at all.</p> + +<p>"As I see it, the best chance +we have to at least achieve a +status quo is to accept the +aid those among us with psi +talents are willing to give. After +all, it's their world, too. +With their help, we may be +able to build a better civilization, +one without the socio-political +diseases that led to +the war.</p> + +<p>"The young man who has +been staying at my house for +the past three weeks taught +Tommy to do what he just +did. He says he thinks he can +do it with any child under ten +years old, and is even willing +to try it with some teen-agers. +Of course, Tommy's training +has just begun. He will keep +on learning for years.</p> + +<p>"Here's my idea. If some of +the children get a grounding +in how to develop their dormant +brain power, by the time +they're twenty, they'll be able +to mold a new society, one +geared to the present culture +instead of the past traditions. +How about it?"</p> + +<p>I waited. For a minute there +was silence. Finally one of +the older men stood up. "Is +he sure he can do it?"</p> + +<p>"All we know is it worked +with Tommy," I replied.</p> + +<p>"I don't like it; it's unnatural," +Atherson said.</p> + +<p>"No one asked you to like +it," someone said.</p> + +<p>Another called: "Do you +think three world wars in fifty +years <i>is</i> natural? Let's take +a vote."</p> + +<p>A vote was taken, and it +was decided to add an extra +class for those children whose +parents wanted them to attend. +After a month, the +council would expect a report +on what progress—or lack of +it—had been made.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>A few weeks later, +when my math class was over, +I hung around to watch the +new class. It was divided into +small groups, each training on +a different psi talent. One +group was lifting pencils and +gently returning them to +desks by telekinesis. Another +was sitting quietly, once in a +while breaking into shouts of +laughter; probably telepathy. +There were other groups, but +I didn't know enough about +the talents to identify their +work.</p> + +<p>During the time he was +teaching, he met a girl. They +spent quite a bit of time together, +and she joined the +special class. By the time the +report to the council came +due, it wasn't hard to tell they +were in love.</p> + +<p>Just about everyone in town +turned out for that meeting. +The boys and girls who were +taking the class were seated +at the front of the hall. The +report was first on the agenda, +so the kids could go home +to bed.</p> + +<p>"When we started," he +said, "I asked those children +who weren't interested, or +who were—um—unsuited to +the work, to leave. Then we +ran through a general training +exercise, and after a week, +I split the class up into +groups. Each group was to +concentrate on one talent, but +general sessions for the entire +class give everyone practice +in all talents. I think we've +made fairly good progress. +Some of the older teen-agers +have shown an interest in the +talents (he glanced at his +girl), and although progress +has not been as rapid as with +the younger children, they are +sufficiently developed to help +instruct. Now your children +are going to demonstrate +what they have learned."</p> + +<p>For the next half hour we +watched Tommy and fourteen +other boys and girls work. +Tommy and the others who +had concentrated on telepathy +read silently to us from +books and talked to each other, +projecting their thoughts +so we could also listen in. +The telekinesis group all +worked together to build a +small table. All the necessary +materials were stacked at the +front of the room. The kids +sat in a half circle, their +brows furrowed in concentration +as lumber, nails and +hammers moved under the +guidance of their minds. +When they had finished, the +table was complete, even to +the sanding and a coat of varnish.</p> + +<p>Finally, the only one with +precognition—a girl about six +years old, with long blonde +hair—gave the weather forecast +for the next two weeks. +Copies of her prediction were +passed out to us, so we could +check her accuracy.</p> + +<p>Once the kids were gone, he +stood up again. "I hope you +are all convinced as to what +can be accomplished through +the use of psi. The talents can +and should be used for the +betterment of society, not for +carnival side shows. Of +course, there are more than +those just demonstrated. Unfortunately, +I couldn't find +them present in this group. I +was hoping for either a healer +or a sensitive, but no one had +the necessary ability.</p> + +<p>"If you want the class continued, +the decision is yours. +Thanks for having open +minds, and for giving me a +chance." He picked up his +jacket and walked out.</p> + +<p>Atherson didn't bother to +come to the meeting, so the +vote to continue the class was +unanimous.</p> + +<p>He stayed on, teaching part-time, +helping out with the +work at my place, and seeing +his girl. Then, one afternoon +two weeks after the council +meeting, she came to see me. +"You've got to stop him, Mr. +Tranton," she said. "He's going +to leave. He told me he +was going right after he finished +the class today. He's +probably down at the store +right now, buying things to +take with him. You've got to +make him stay."</p> + +<p>"Why?" I asked quietly, +watching the tears well up in +her eyes. She hadn't lost her +composure yet, but she felt so +strongly about him she was +on the verge of breaking +down.</p> + +<p>"Because I love him and he +loves me," she retorted. +"That's why. Won't you talk +to him? At least get him to +take me with him. Please."</p> + +<p>"You said you love him. +Would you rather he stayed +here, and was never fully happy, +or left to continue searching, +maybe to return someday, +ready to settle down? If you +really love him there's no +question."</p> + +<p>"Couldn't he take me with +him?"</p> + +<p>I shook my head. "I don't +think you should even ask +him to take you. You'd be a +burden that would slow him +down. He'd worry about you, +have to get your food, find +shelter for you. He might let +you go with him, but don't ask +him to. He's too young to be +tied down. Now go on, and +wish him good luck and kiss +him goodbye. He's coming up +the road now."</p> + +<p>She glanced out the open +window, jumped up, and ran +out into the sunlight, to wait +at the side of the road. I +picked up the book I had been +reading, but the window was +too close to the road for me +to concentrate on the pages. +She didn't say anything until +he was standing before her.</p> + +<p>"I'll be waiting," she said. +"Take care of yourself."</p> + +<p>He nodded. "I have to go," +he told her. "Partly because it +was Dad's last wish, partly because +I need others of my +own kind. Alone, we can't +help the world much; together, +there's a good chance for +results. I left a letter for the +council saying you were going +to take over the class, because +you have the ability to +carry on. Watch Cathy, and +help her all you can. She's got +it; her weather forecast +proved that much. You've got +to drum that into her; never +let her forget it. Maybe I'll +be back—I hope so. But first, +I have to find others. I need +them, and they might need +me. We're still not completely +self-sufficient.</p> + +<p>"Give the kids my love, and +keep them at it. Just don't +forget they <i>are</i> kids. Give +them a chance to grow up as +normally as possible. That's +a chance I didn't have."</p> + +<p>He kissed her tenderly, then +started off down the road. +When he reached the crest of +the hill, he turned and waved. +Marty joined me at the doorway, +and we waved too. Outlined +against the bright blue +afternoon sky, he stood immobile +for a moment. To many, +he would have been just a +young man with a tired-out +face; but to me, the symbol of +a better life for Tommy and +his children ... a life unmarred +by the threat of instant +death as punishment for +something he had little control +over.</p> + +<p>He's gone now, but the +work will go on, and the Athersons +of the world will come +to realize he is giving us +another chance, a chance we +don't really deserve. Somehow +he reminds me of another +man. A man who said: "Suffer +the little children to come +unto me, and forbid them not; +for of such is the kingdom of +God."</p> + +<div class="trn"><b>Transcriber's Note:</b> +This etext was produced from <i>Fantastic Universe</i> September 1957. +Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. +copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and +typographical errors have been corrected without note.</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stopover, by William Gerken + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STOPOVER *** + +***** This file should be named 28450-h.htm or 28450-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/4/5/28450/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Stopover + +Author: William Gerken + +Release Date: March 30, 2009 [EBook #28450] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STOPOVER *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + _What will the world be like, the day after Tomorrow, for the lonely + ones who will have talents that others will half fear, half envy? + William Gerken describes this strange world in which young and old + will have to find new values and pursue new dreams, as they search + for the answer...._ + + +stopover + +_by WILLIAM GERKEN_ + + + When he opened the door to the shed that day, and saw + the axe suspended in mid-air, he understood what was wrong. + + +He had been living with us for a week before I found out he was a +Lifter. Even the discovery was an accident. I had started for the store, +but then remembered a chore I wanted him to do. I heard the sounds of +wood-chopping coming from the shed, so I went behind the house to the +small wooden structure. I must have gasped or something, because he +turned around to look at me, dropping the axe he had poised over a block +of wood as he turned. Only he hadn't been holding the axe; it had been +hanging in mid-air without support. + +The first time I saw him was when he knocked on my door. I don't think +I'll ever forget how he looked--tall and thin, old clothes and older +shoes, an unruly mop of blond hair. It was only when I looked at his +face that I realized that he was more than a mere boy of eighteen or +nineteen. The tired lines around his mouth, the sad, mature look in his +eyes, the stoop already evident in his young shoulders; he had been +forced to mature too quickly, and seemed to have knowledge a boy his +age had no right to be burdened with. + +"I--I was wondering if I might get a bite to eat, sir," he said. + +I grinned. No matter how he looked, he was no different from anyone else +his age where food was concerned. "Sure; come on in and rest a spell," I +told him. "Marty, can you fix a plate of something? We've got a guest." +Marty--my wife--glanced through the kitchen doorway. After a cursory +look at the boy, she smiled at him and went back to work. + +"Sit down, son, you look pretty done-in. Come far today?" + +He nodded. "Guess it shows, huh?" he said, brushing the road dust from +his trousers. + +"Uh-huh. Where you from? Not around here, I know." + +"Far back as I can remember, Oregon has been home." + +It wasn't hard to guess why he was almost a thousand miles from home. +During the war, over ten million American families had been separated, +their way of life destroyed by the hell of atomic bombings. Ever since +its end, people had been seeking their loved ones; many, only to find +them dead or dying. Sometimes the searches stretched across continents +or oceans. In that respect the boy sitting opposite me was no different +from hundreds of others I've seen in the past ten years. The only +difference was in his face. + +"Looking for your family," I said, making it a statement. + +"Yessir." He smiled, as though the sentence had double meaning. + +After he had eaten, he went down to the town store to look through its +records. They all do. They turn the pages of the big stopover book, +hoping a relative or friend had passed through the same town. Then they +sign the book, put down the date and where they're headed, and set out +once more. Almost all towns have stopover books nowadays, and a good +thing, too. They helped me find Marty back in '63, when the truce was +finally signed. In fact, I found her right here in this town. We got +married, settled down, and haven't been more than a hundred miles away +since then. + +Martha called me into the kitchen almost as soon as he was gone. "He's a +nice boy." + +"That he is," I agreed. "You know, I've been thinking; we could use a +young fella around here to help with the work." + +"If he'll stay. There was something in his eyes; a sort of longing for +someone very close to him. That kind usually takes off after a night's +rest." + +"I know. Guess I'll drop by the store; see if I can talk him into +staying." + +By the time I reached the store, school was out, and a group of kids +were gathered around him, listening to his description of the Rocky +Mountains, which he had crossed during the summer. The kids weren't the +only ones listening. Even the adults were standing around in the store, +remembering the places they had once seen themselves, and getting such +bits of news as he dropped about the other towns he had passed through. +The Searchers are, next to the town radio stations, the only source of +information we have now, so it's no wonder they're so warmly greeted +wherever they stop. + +Soon as he'd finished telling about the Rockies, I said we'd appreciate +it if he would stay for supper. He said he would, and later, while he +and Tommy, my eight-year-old son, and I were walking home, I asked him +if he'd stay with us for a while. + +For a moment he looked wistful, as if wishing he could stay here, and +forget whoever he was trying to find. Then he smiled and said, thanks, +he would stay for a week or so. + +He was real helpful, too, cutting stove and fireplace wood for the +coming winter, running errands, hunting for game animals, and teaching +at the school. Almost all Searchers teach when they can be persuaded to +stay in town for a spell. Since there are no more colleges to produce +teachers, anyone who knows something useful takes a turn at teaching. +'Fore the war, I was a mathematics major in college, so twice a week I +teach all kinds of math at school, from numbers through calculus. +Mostly, Searchers teach about what the places they had passed through +are like. + +Then, when I opened the door to the shed that day, and saw the axe +suspended in mid-air, I suddenly realized why he had that sad, tired +look about him all the time. + +He picked up the axe from where it had fallen, and stood it against the +wall. Reaching for his jacket, he said, "I--I guess I'd better be moving +along, Mr. Tranton. I'm really sorry if I've caused you any trouble." He +started past me for the door. + +"Hold on, son." I grabbed his arm. "Why the rush?" + +"I don't want to cause you any trouble. Now that you know what I am--" +he gritted the words out bitterly, "the word will get around. I wouldn't +want the others in town to be angry with you because of me. You and Mrs. +Tranton have been swell to me. Thanks for everything." He tried to pull +his arm loose, but I held fast. + +"Let's go inside and have a cup of coffee," I suggested. "I don't know +about the other towns you've been through, but here we don't hate a +person because he might happen to have powers we don't." + +"Yesterday I was down at the store, and I heard one of the men sounding +off about us," he said. "He didn't sound like he cared much for us." + +"Must have been John Atherson. He never could understand ESP, and he +blames the war on it. We just let him talk; can't change a person like +that." We went up the back steps and through the door into the kitchen. +"Go on, show Marty," I said, taking off my jacket. + +He looked at me to make sure I meant it. Then he raised the coffee pot +from the stove, and watched it move across the room under its own power +to the table where I was sitting. Leaving the pot in mid-air, he made +the cupboard open, and still standing in the middle of the room, floated +three cups and saucers to the table. Then he got the cream, sugar and +three spoons, put them on the table, and poured the coffee. Marty +watched the coffee pot move back to the stove, her mouth open in +amazement, "I heard of it, but I don't think I'd have believed it if I +hadn't seen it." I nodded, and she smiled at him. "Now that I know," she +said, "I'm even gladder you chose to stay here for a while." + +He grinned. "Thanks." He sat down with us at the table, and stirred some +sugar into his coffee. + +"It must be hard on you," Marty said quietly, in a knowing way. "Are you +really looking for your family, or for others with ESP?" + +"My father was killed during the bombings. After that, Mom and I were +alone. She only had a little talent; Dad and I were the ones who were +really adept. Anyway, we stayed on the small farm we owned until last +spring. Then Mom married again, and I was free to leave. I think her new +husband was sorry to see me go, because it meant a lot of manual work +for him that I had been doing an easier way. I decided to see if I +couldn't find any others like myself, so I left and started across the +country." + +"Do you have any other powers, or can you just control things?" Marty +asked. + +He grinned. "If you mean, am I an all-around superman, no. Dad wasn't +either. I do have a scattering of other psi talents, though, but nothing +as well-developed as my telekinesis. I'm still working on them." + +Tommy came in from school just then. "Could you teach him how to use his +mind that way, or do you have to be born with it?" I said. + +He smiled again. "No, you don't have to be born with it. Everyone could +do it if they started training themselves young enough to use their +minds to the fullest extent. All through history certain people have had +strange powers. The trouble was, they were thought to be freaks instead +of the better developed humans they actually were. Even now, we're only +on the threshold of learning the full power of the mind." He turned to +Tommy. "Would you like to learn how to do things, Tommy?" + +"Sure. Like what?" + +He glanced at Marty and me. "Like making the world a better place to +live." + +Two weeks later, at a meeting of the town council, I wasn't too worried +about getting the proposal accepted. We might have some trouble with +Atherson, but I figured between the two of us we could handle him. When +the new business came up, I stood up and led Tommy to the front of the +hall. There were a few whispers as we went, as children under fifteen +aren't allowed in the hall during a council meeting. + +"Tommy has something to say to you which, I think, will interest +everyone here. Go on, son." + +Seconds afterwards, we all heard, a clear "Hello," but not with our +ears; the word came from inside our heads. + +Someone said: "The kid's a telepath," and the silence was broken. + +Everybody was talking at the same time. + +"I suppose you think it's an honor to have one of them damn things for +your son," Atherson yelled. "I'm glad you're the one who got stuck, and +not me." + +"Tommy was not _born_ a telepath, John," I told him. "He has been +_deliberately trained_ to make use of the latent power in his brain. And +I don't think I'm 'stuck' either. We all know we've been slowly slipping +into retrogression ever since '63. None of us like it, but there isn't +anything we can do to halt it--yet. We don't want our children, or their +children, to keep slipping backwards. If we don't stop it in our +lifetime, we may not be able to stop it at all. + +"As I see it, the best chance we have to at least achieve a status quo +is to accept the aid those among us with psi talents are willing to +give. After all, it's their world, too. With their help, we may be able +to build a better civilization, one without the socio-political diseases +that led to the war. + +"The young man who has been staying at my house for the past three weeks +taught Tommy to do what he just did. He says he thinks he can do it with +any child under ten years old, and is even willing to try it with some +teen-agers. Of course, Tommy's training has just begun. He will keep on +learning for years. + +"Here's my idea. If some of the children get a grounding in how to +develop their dormant brain power, by the time they're twenty, they'll +be able to mold a new society, one geared to the present culture instead +of the past traditions. How about it?" + +I waited. For a minute there was silence. Finally one of the older men +stood up. "Is he sure he can do it?" + +"All we know is it worked with Tommy," I replied. + +"I don't like it; it's unnatural," Atherson said. + +"No one asked you to like it," someone said. + +Another called: "Do you think three world wars in fifty years _is_ +natural? Let's take a vote." + +A vote was taken, and it was decided to add an extra class for those +children whose parents wanted them to attend. After a month, the council +would expect a report on what progress--or lack of it--had been made. + + * * * * * + +A few weeks later, when my math class was over, I hung around to watch +the new class. It was divided into small groups, each training on a +different psi talent. One group was lifting pencils and gently returning +them to desks by telekinesis. Another was sitting quietly, once in a +while breaking into shouts of laughter; probably telepathy. There were +other groups, but I didn't know enough about the talents to identify +their work. + +During the time he was teaching, he met a girl. They spent quite a bit +of time together, and she joined the special class. By the time the +report to the council came due, it wasn't hard to tell they were in +love. + +Just about everyone in town turned out for that meeting. The boys and +girls who were taking the class were seated at the front of the hall. +The report was first on the agenda, so the kids could go home to bed. + +"When we started," he said, "I asked those children who weren't +interested, or who were--um--unsuited to the work, to leave. Then we ran +through a general training exercise, and after a week, I split the class +up into groups. Each group was to concentrate on one talent, but general +sessions for the entire class give everyone practice in all talents. I +think we've made fairly good progress. Some of the older teen-agers have +shown an interest in the talents (he glanced at his girl), and although +progress has not been as rapid as with the younger children, they are +sufficiently developed to help instruct. Now your children are going to +demonstrate what they have learned." + +For the next half hour we watched Tommy and fourteen other boys and +girls work. Tommy and the others who had concentrated on telepathy read +silently to us from books and talked to each other, projecting their +thoughts so we could also listen in. The telekinesis group all worked +together to build a small table. All the necessary materials were +stacked at the front of the room. The kids sat in a half circle, their +brows furrowed in concentration as lumber, nails and hammers moved under +the guidance of their minds. When they had finished, the table was +complete, even to the sanding and a coat of varnish. + +Finally, the only one with precognition--a girl about six years old, +with long blonde hair--gave the weather forecast for the next two weeks. +Copies of her prediction were passed out to us, so we could check her +accuracy. + +Once the kids were gone, he stood up again. "I hope you are all +convinced as to what can be accomplished through the use of psi. The +talents can and should be used for the betterment of society, not for +carnival side shows. Of course, there are more than those just +demonstrated. Unfortunately, I couldn't find them present in this group. +I was hoping for either a healer or a sensitive, but no one had the +necessary ability. + +"If you want the class continued, the decision is yours. Thanks for +having open minds, and for giving me a chance." He picked up his jacket +and walked out. + +Atherson didn't bother to come to the meeting, so the vote to continue +the class was unanimous. + +He stayed on, teaching part-time, helping out with the work at my place, +and seeing his girl. Then, one afternoon two weeks after the council +meeting, she came to see me. "You've got to stop him, Mr. Tranton," she +said. "He's going to leave. He told me he was going right after he +finished the class today. He's probably down at the store right now, +buying things to take with him. You've got to make him stay." + +"Why?" I asked quietly, watching the tears well up in her eyes. She +hadn't lost her composure yet, but she felt so strongly about him she +was on the verge of breaking down. + +"Because I love him and he loves me," she retorted. "That's why. Won't +you talk to him? At least get him to take me with him. Please." + +"You said you love him. Would you rather he stayed here, and was never +fully happy, or left to continue searching, maybe to return someday, +ready to settle down? If you really love him there's no question." + +"Couldn't he take me with him?" + +I shook my head. "I don't think you should even ask him to take you. +You'd be a burden that would slow him down. He'd worry about you, have +to get your food, find shelter for you. He might let you go with him, +but don't ask him to. He's too young to be tied down. Now go on, and +wish him good luck and kiss him goodbye. He's coming up the road now." + +She glanced out the open window, jumped up, and ran out into the +sunlight, to wait at the side of the road. I picked up the book I had +been reading, but the window was too close to the road for me to +concentrate on the pages. She didn't say anything until he was standing +before her. + +"I'll be waiting," she said. "Take care of yourself." + +He nodded. "I have to go," he told her. "Partly because it was Dad's +last wish, partly because I need others of my own kind. Alone, we can't +help the world much; together, there's a good chance for results. I left +a letter for the council saying you were going to take over the class, +because you have the ability to carry on. Watch Cathy, and help her all +you can. She's got it; her weather forecast proved that much. You've got +to drum that into her; never let her forget it. Maybe I'll be back--I +hope so. But first, I have to find others. I need them, and they might +need me. We're still not completely self-sufficient. + +"Give the kids my love, and keep them at it. Just don't forget they +_are_ kids. Give them a chance to grow up as normally as possible. +That's a chance I didn't have." + +He kissed her tenderly, then started off down the road. When he reached +the crest of the hill, he turned and waved. Marty joined me at the +doorway, and we waved too. Outlined against the bright blue afternoon +sky, he stood immobile for a moment. To many, he would have been just a +young man with a tired-out face; but to me, the symbol of a better life +for Tommy and his children ... a life unmarred by the threat of instant +death as punishment for something he had little control over. + +He's gone now, but the work will go on, and the Athersons of the world +will come to realize he is giving us another chance, a chance we don't +really deserve. Somehow he reminds me of another man. A man who said: +"Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of +such is the kingdom of God." + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from _Fantastic Universe_ September 1957. + Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. + copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and + typographical errors have been corrected without note. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Stopover, by William Gerken + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STOPOVER *** + +***** This file should be named 28450.txt or 28450.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/8/4/5/28450/ + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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