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diff --git a/28450.txt b/28450.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b31b99b --- /dev/null +++ b/28450.txt @@ -0,0 +1,789 @@ +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: 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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