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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/29791-h.zip b/29791-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6ec4baa --- /dev/null +++ b/29791-h.zip diff --git a/29791-h/29791-h.htm b/29791-h/29791-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7f80312 --- /dev/null +++ b/29791-h/29791-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,1384 @@ +<!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 The Most Sentimental Man, by Evelyn E. Smith + </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%;} + .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;} + a:link,a:visited {text-decoration: none;} + img {border: none;} + .figt {float: left; clear: left; margin: 15px; padding: 0; width: 147px;} + .trn {border: solid 1px; margin: 3em 15%; min-height: 230px;} + .trn p {margin: 15px;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Most Sentimental Man, by Evelyn E. Smith + +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: The Most Sentimental Man + +Author: Evelyn E. Smith + +Release Date: August 25, 2009 [EBook #29791] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOST SENTIMENTAL MAN *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="bk1"><p><small><i>Johnson knew he was annoying the younger man, who so obviously lived +by the regulations in the</i> Colonial Officer's Manual <i>and lacked the +imagination to understand why he was doing this.... Evelyn E. Smith +is famous for her bitter-sweet stories of the worlds of Tomorrow.</i></small></p></div> + +<div class="bk2"><h1><b>the<br /> +most<br /> +sentimental<br /> +man</b></h1> + +<h2><small><i>by EVELYN E. SMITH</i></small></h2> + +<p class="pr1"><big><b>Once these irritating farewells were over with, he +could begin to live as he wished and as he'd dreamed.</b></big></p></div> + +<p><span class="dcap">Johnson</span> went to see the +others off at Idlewild. He +knew they'd expect him to +and, since it would be the last +conventional gesture he'd +have to make, he might as +well conform to their notions +of what was right and proper.</p> + +<p>For the past few centuries +the climate had been getting +hotter; now, even though it +was not yet June, the day was +uncomfortably warm. The +sun's rays glinting off the +bright metal flanks of the +ship dazzled his eyes, and perspiration +made his shirt stick +to his shoulder blades beneath +the jacket that the formality +of the occasion had required. +He wished Clifford would +hurry up and get the leave-taking +over with.</p> + +<p>But, even though Clifford +was undoubtedly even more +anxious than he to finish with +all this ceremony and take +off, he wasn't the kind of man +to let inclination influence his +actions. "Sure you won't +change your mind and come +with us?"</p> + +<p>Johnson shook his head.</p> + +<p>The young man looked at +him—hatred for the older +man's complication of what +should have been a simple departure +showing through the +pellicule of politeness. He was +young for, since this trip had +only slight historical importance +and none of any other +kind, the authorities had felt +a junior officer entirely sufficient. +It was clear, however, +that Clifford attributed his +commandership to his merits, +and he was very conscious of +his great responsibility.</p> + +<p>"We have plenty of room +on the ship," he persisted. +"There weren't many left to +go. We could take you easily +enough, you know."</p> + +<p>Johnson made a negative +sign again. The rays of the +sun beating full upon his +head made apparent the grey +that usually blended into the +still-thick blond hair. Yet, +though past youth, he was far +from being an old man. "I've +made my decision," he said, +remembering that anger now +was pointless.</p> + +<p>"If it's—if you're just too +proud to change your mind," +the young commander said, +less certainly, "I'm sure everyone +will understand if ... +if ..."</p> + +<p>Johnson smiled. "No, it's +just that I want to stay—that's +all."</p> + +<p>But the commander's clear +blue eyes were still baffled, +uneasy, as though he felt he +had not done the utmost that +duty—not duty to the service +but to humanity—required. +That was the trouble with +people, Johnson thought: +when they were most well-meaning +they became most +troublesome.</p> + +<p>Clifford lowered his voice +to an appropriately funeral +hush, as a fresh thought obviously +struck him. "I know, +of course, that your loved +ones are buried here and perhaps +you feel it's your duty +to stay with them...?"</p> + +<p>At this Johnson almost forgot +that anger no longer had +any validity. By "loved ones" +Clifford undoubtedly had +meant Elinor and Paul. It was +true that Johnson had had a +certain affection for his wife +and son when they were alive; +now that they were dead they +represented an episode in his +life that had not, perhaps, +been unpleasant, but was certainly +over and done with +now.</p> + +<p>Did Clifford think <i>that</i> was +his reason for remaining? +Why, he must believe Johnson +to be the most sentimental +man on Earth. "And, come to +think of it," Johnson said to +himself, amused, "I am—or +soon will be—just that."</p> + +<p>The commander was still +unconsciously pursuing the +same train of thought. "It +does seem incredible," he said +in a burst of boyish candor +that did not become him, for +he was not that young, "that +you'd want to stay alone on +a whole planet. I mean to say—entirely +alone.... There'll +never be another ship, you +know—at least not in your +lifetime."</p> + +<p>Johnson knew what the other +man was thinking. If +there'd been a woman with +Johnson now, Clifford might +have been able to understand +a little better how the other +could stick by his decision.</p> + +<p>Johnson wriggled, as sweat +oozed stickily down his back. +"For God's sake," he said silently, +"take your silly ship +and get the hell off my planet." +Aloud he said, "It's a +good planet, a little worn-out +but still in pretty good shape. +Pity you can't trade in an old +world like an old car, isn't +it?"</p> + +<p>"If it weren't so damned far +from the center of things," +the young man replied, defensively +assuming the burden of +all civilization, "we wouldn't +abandon it. After all, we hate +leaving the world on which +we originated. But it's a long +haul to Alpha Centauri—you +know that—and a tremendously +expensive one. Keeping up +this place solely out of sentiment +would be sheer waste—the +people would never +stand for the tax burden."</p> + +<p>"A costly museum, yes," +Johnson agreed.</p> + +<p>How much longer were +these dismal farewells going +to continue? How much longer +would the young man still +feel the need to justify himself? +"If only there were others +fool enough—if only there +were others with you.... But, +even if anybody else'd be willing +to cut himself off entirely +from the rest of the civilized +universe, the Earth won't support +enough of a population +to keep it running. Not according +to our present living +standards anyway.... Most of +its resources are gone, you +know—hardly any coal or oil +left, and that's not worth digging +for when there are better +and cheaper fuels in the +system."</p> + +<p>He was virtually quoting +from the <i>Colonial Officer's +Manual</i>. Were there any people +left able to think for +themselves, Johnson wondered. +Had there ever been? +Had he thought for himself +in making his decision, or was +he merely clinging to a childish +dream that all men had +had and lost?</p> + +<p>"With man gone, Earth will +replenish herself," he said +aloud. First the vegetation +would begin to grow thick. +Already it had released itself +from the restraint of cultivation; +soon it would be spreading +out over the continent, +overrunning the cities with +delicately persistent green +tendrils. Some the harsh winters +would kill, but others +would live on and would multiply. +Vines would twist themselves +about the tall buildings +and tenderly, passionately +squeeze them to death ... +eventually send them tumbling +down. And then the +trees would rear themselves +in their places.</p> + +<p>The swamps that man had +filled in would begin to reappear +one by one, as the land +sank back to a pristine state. +The sea would go on changing +her boundaries, with no +dikes to stop her. Volcanoes +would heave up the land into +different configurations. The +heat would increase until it +grew unbearable ... only there +would be no one—no human, +anyway—to bear it.</p> + +<p>Year after year the leaves +would wither and fall and decay. +Rock would cover them. +And some day ... billions of +years thence ... there would be +coal and oil—and nobody to +want them.</p> + +<p>"Very likely Earth will replenish +herself," the commander +agreed, "but not in +your time or your children's +time.... That is, not in <i>my</i> +children's time," he added hastily.</p> + +<p>The handful of men lined +up in a row before the airlock +shuffled their feet and +allowed their muttering to become +a few decibels louder. +Clifford looked at his wrist +chronometer. Obviously he +was no less anxious than the +crew to be off, but, for the +sake of his conscience, he +must make a last try.</p> + +<p>"Damn your conscience," +Johnson thought. "I hope that +for this you feel guilty as +hell, that you wake up nights +in a cold sweat remembering +that you left one man alone +on the planet you and your +kind discarded. Not that I +don't want to stay, mind you, +but that I want you to suffer +the way you're making me suffer +now—having to listen to +your platitudes."</p> + +<p>The commander suddenly +stopped paraphrasing the +<i>Manual</i>. "Camping out's fun +for a week or two, you know, +but it's different when it's for +a lifetime."</p> + +<p>Johnson's fingers curled in +his palms ... he was even angrier +now that the commander +had struck so close to home. +Camping out ... was that all he +was doing—fulfilling childhood +desires, nothing more?</p> + +<p>Fortunately Clifford didn't +realize that he had scored, and +scuttled back to the shelter of +the <i>Manual</i>. "Perhaps you +don't know enough about the +new system in Alpha Centauri," +he said, a trifle wildly. +"It has two suns surrounded +by three planets, Thalia, Aglaia, +and Euphrosyne. Each of +these planets is slightly smaller +than Earth, so that the decrease +in gravity is just great +enough to be pleasant, without +being so marked as to be +inconvenient. The atmosphere +is almost exactly like that of +Earth's, except that it contains +several beneficial elements +which are absent here—and +the climate is more temperate. +Owing to the fact that +the planets are partially +shielded from the suns by +cloud layers, the temperature—except +immediately at the +poles and the equators, where +it is slightly more extreme—is +always equable, resembling +that of Southern California...."</p> + +<p>"Sounds charming," said +Johnson. "I too have read the +Colonial Office handouts.... I +wonder what the people who +wrote them'll do now that +there's no longer any necessity +for attracting colonists—everybody's +already up in Alpha +Centauri. Oh, well; +there'll be other systems to +conquer and colonize."</p> + +<p>"The word <i>conquer</i> is hardly +correct," the commander +said stiffly, "since not one of +the three planets had any indigenous +life forms that was +intelligent."</p> + +<p>"Or life forms that you recognized +as intelligent," Johnson +suggested gently. Although +why should there be +such a premium placed on intelligence, +he wondered. Was +intelligence the sole criterion +on which the right to life and +to freedom should be based?</p> + +<p>The commander frowned +and looked at his chronometer +again. "Well," he finally said, +"since you feel that way and +you're sure you've quite made +up your mind, my men <i>are</i> +anxious to go."</p> + +<p>"Of course they are," Johnson +said, managing to convey +just the right amount of reproach.</p> + +<p>Clifford flushed and started +to walk away.</p> + +<p>"I'll stand out of the way +of your jets!" Johnson called +after him. "It would be so anticlimactic +to have me burned +to a crisp after all this. Bon +voyage!"</p> + +<p>There was no reply.</p> + +<p>Johnson watched the silver +vessel shoot up into the sky +and thought, "Now is the +time for me to feel a pang, or +even a twinge, but I don't at +all. I feel relieved, in fact, but +that's probably the result of +getting rid of that fool Clifford."</p> + +<p>He crossed the field briskly, +pulling off his jacket and discarding +his tie as he went. His +ground car remained where he +had parked it—in an area +clearly marked <i>No Parking</i>.</p> + +<p>They'd left him an old car +that wasn't worth shipping to +the stars. How long it would +last was anybody's guess. The +government hadn't been deliberately +illiberal in leaving +him such a shabby vehicle; if +there had been any way to ensure +a continuing supply of +fuel, they would probably +have left him a reasonably +good one. But, since only a +little could be left, allowing +him a good car would have +been simply an example of +conspicuous waste, and the +government had always preferred +its waste to be inconspicuous.</p> + +<p>He drove slowly through +the broad boulevards of Long +Island, savoring the loneliness. +New York as a residential +area had been a ghost town +for years, since the +greater part of its citizens +had been among the first to +emigrate to the stars. However, +since it was the capital +of the world and most of the +interstellar ships—particularly +the last few—had taken off +from its spaceports, it had +been kept up as an official embarkation +center. Thus, paradoxically, +it was the last city +to be completely evacuated, +and so, although the massive +but jerry-built apartment +houses that lined the streets +were already crumbling, the +roads had been kept in fairly +good shape and were hardly +cracked at all.</p> + +<p>Still, here and there the +green was pushing its way up +in unlikely places. A few +more of New York's tropical +summers, and Long Island +would soon become a wilderness.</p> + +<p>The streets were empty, except +for the cats sunning +themselves on long-abandoned +doorsteps or padding about +on obscure errands of their +own. Perhaps their numbers +had not increased since humanity +had left the city to +them, but there certainly +seemed to be more—striped +and solid, black and grey and +white and tawny—accepting +their citizenship with equanimity. +They paid no attention +to Johnson—they had long +since dissociated themselves +from a humanity that had not +concerned itself greatly over +their welfare. On the other +hand, neither he nor the surface +car appeared to startle +them; the old ones had seen +such before, and to kittens the +very fact of existence is the +ultimate surprise.</p> + +<p>The Queensborough Bridge +was deadly silent. It was completely +empty except for a +calico cat moving purposefully +toward Manhattan. The +structure needed a coat of +paint, Johnson thought vaguely, +but of course it would never +get one. Still, even uncared +for, the bridges should outlast +him—there would be no +heavy traffic to weaken them. +Just in case of unforeseeable +catastrophe, however—he +didn't want to be trapped on +an island, even Manhattan Island—he +had remembered to +provide himself with a rowboat; +a motorboat would have +been preferable, but then the +fuel difficulty would arise +again....</p> + +<p>How empty the East River +looked without any craft on +it! It was rather a charming +little waterway in its own +right, though nothing to compare +with the stately Hudson. +The water scintillated in +the sunshine and the air was +clear and fresh, for no factories +had spewed fumes and +smoke into it for many years. +There were few gulls, for +nothing was left for the scavenger; +those remaining were +forced to make an honest living +by catching fish.</p> + +<p>In Manhattan, where the +buildings had been more +soundly constructed, the +signs of abandonment were +less evident ... empty streets, +an occasional cracked window. +Not even an unusual +amount of dirt because, in the +past, the normal activities of +an industrial and ruggedly individual +city had provided +more grime than years of neglect +could ever hope to equal. +No, it would take Manhattan +longer to go back than Long +Island. Perhaps that too +would not happen during his +lifetime.</p> + +<p>Yet, after all, when he +reached Fifth Avenue he +found that Central Park had +burst its boundaries. Fifty-ninth +Street was already half +jungle, and the lush growth +spilled down the avenues and +spread raggedly out into the +side streets, pushing its way +up through the cracks it had +made in the surface of the +roads. Although the Plaza +fountain had not flowed for +centuries, water had collected +in the leaf-choked basin from +the last rain, and a group of +grey squirrels were gathered +around it, shrilly disputing +possession with some starlings.</p> + +<p>Except for the occasional +cry of a cat in the distance, +these voices were all that he +heard ... the only sound. Not +even the sudden blast of a jet +regaining power ... he would +never hear that again; never +hear the stridor of a human +voice piercing with anger; +the cacophony of a hundred +television sets, each playing a +different program; the hoot +of a horn; off-key singing; +the thin, uncertain notes of an +amateur musician ... these +would never be heard on +Earth again.</p> + +<p>He sent the car gliding +slowly ... no more traffic +rules ... down Fifth Avenue. +The buildings here also were +well-built; they were many +centuries old and would probably +last as many more. The +shop windows were empty, +except for tangles of dust ... an +occasional broken, discarded +mannequin.... In some instances +the glass had already +cracked or fallen out. Since +there were no children to +throw stones, however, others +might last indefinitely, carefully +glassing in nothingness. +Doors stood open and he +could see rows of empty +counters and barren shelves +fuzzed high with the dust of +the years since a customer +had approached them.</p> + +<p>Cats sedately walked up +and down the avenue or sat +genteelly with tails tucked in +on the steps of the cathedral—as +if the place had been +theirs all along.</p> + +<p>Dusk was falling. Tonight, +for the first time in centuries, +the street lamps would not go +on. Undoubtedly when it +grew dark he would see +ghosts, but they would be the +ghosts of the past and he had +made his peace with the past +long since; it was the present +and the future with which he +had not come to terms. And +now there would be no present, +no past, no future—but +all merged into one and he +was the only one.</p> + +<p>At Forty-second Street pigeons +fluttered thickly +around the public library, fat +as ever, their numbers greater, +their appetites grosser. The +ancient library, he knew, had +changed little inside: stacks +and shelves would still be +packed thick with reading +matter. Books are bulky, so +only the rare editions had +been taken beyond the stars; +the rest had been microfilmed +and their originals left to +Johnson and decay. It was his +library now, and he had all +the time in the world to read +all the books in the world—for +there were more than he +could possibly read in the +years that, even at the most +generous estimate, were left +to him.</p> + +<p>He had been wondering +where to make his permanent +residence for, with the whole +world his, he would be a fool +to confine himself to some +modest dwelling. Now he fancied +it might be a good idea +to move right into the library. +Very few places in Manhattan +could boast a garden of their +own.</p> + +<p>He stopped the car to stare +thoughtfully at the little park +behind the grimy monument +to Neoclassicism. Like Central +Park, Bryant had already +slipped its boundaries and encroached +upon Sixth Avenue—Avenue +of the World, the +street signs said now, and before +that it had been Avenue +of the Nations and Avenue of +the Americas, but to the public +it had always been Sixth +Avenue and to Johnson, the +last man on Earth, it was +Sixth Avenue.</p> + +<p>He'd live in the library, +while he stayed in New York, +that was—he'd thought that +in a few weeks, when it got +really hot, he might strike +north. He had always meant +to spend a summer in Canada. +His surface car would probably +never last the trip, but +the Museum of Ancient Vehicles +had been glad to bestow +half a dozen of the bicycles +from their exhibits upon him. +After all, he was, in effect, a +museum piece himself and so +as worth preserving as the +bicycles; moreover, bicycles +are difficult to pack for an +interstellar trip. With reasonable +care, these might last +him his lifetime....</p> + +<p>But he had to have a permanent +residence somewhere, +and the library was an elegant +and commodious dwelling, +centrally located. New York +would have to be his headquarters, +for all the possessions +he had carefully +amassed and collected and +begged and—since money +would do him no good any +more—bought, were here. And +there were by far too many of +them to be transported to any +really distant location. He +loved to own things.</p> + +<p>He was by no means an advocate +of Rousseau's complete +return to nature; whatever +civilization had left that he +could use without compromise, +he would—and thankfully. +There would be no electricity, +of course, but he had +provided himself with flashlights +and bulbs and batteries—not +too many of the last, of +course, because they'd grow +stale. However, he'd also laid +in plenty of candles and a +vast supply of matches.... Tins +of food and concentrates +and synthetics, packages of +seed should he grow tired of +all these and want to try +growing his own—fruit, he +knew, would be growing wild +soon enough.... Vitamins and +medicines—of course, were he +to get really ill or get hurt +in some way, it might be the +end ... but that was something +he wouldn't think of—something +that couldn't possibly +happen to him....</p> + +<p>For his relaxation he had +an antique hand-wound phonograph, +together with thousands +of old-fashioned records. +And then, of course, he had +the whole planet, the whole +world to amuse him.</p> + +<p>He even had provided himself +with a heat-ray gun and +a substantial supply of ammunition, +although he +couldn't imagine himself ever +killing an animal for food. It +was squeamishness that stood +in his way rather than any +ethical considerations, although +he did indeed believe +that every creature had the +right to live. Nonetheless, +there was the possibility that +the craving for fresh meat +might change his mind for +him. Besides, although hostile +animals had long been gone +from this part of the world—the +only animals would be +birds and squirrels and, farther +up the Hudson, rabbits +and chipmunks and deer ... +perhaps an occasional bear in +the mountains—who knew +what harmless life form might +become a threat now that its +development would be left unchecked?</p> + +<p>A cat sitting atop one of +the stately stone lions outside +the library met his eye with +such a steady gaze of understanding, +though not of sympathy, +that he found himself +needing to repeat the by-now +almost magic phrase to himself: +"Not in my lifetime anyway." +Would some intelligent +life form develop to supplant +man? Or would the planet revert +to a primeval state of +mindless innocence? He +would never know and he +didn't really care ... no point +in speculating over unanswerable +questions.</p> + +<p>He settled back luxuriously +on the worn cushions of +his car. Even so little as +twenty years before, it would +have been impossible for him—for +anyone—to stop his vehicle +in the middle of Forty-second +Street and Fifth Avenue +purely to meditate. But +it was his domain now. He +could go in the wrong direction +on one-way streets, stop +wherever he pleased, drive as +fast or as slowly as he would +(and could, of course). If he +wanted to do anything as vulgar +as spit in the street, he +could (but they were his +streets now, not to be sullied) +... cross the roads without +waiting for the lights to +change (it would be a long, +long wait if he did) ... go to +sleep when he wanted, eat as +many meals as he wanted +whenever he chose.... He +could go naked in hot weather +and there'd be no one to raise +an eyebrow, deface public +buildings (except that they +were private buildings now, +his buildings), idle without +the guilty feeling that there +was always something better +he could and should be doing +... even if there were not. +There would be no more guilty +feelings; without people +and their knowledge there +was no more guilt.</p> + +<p>A flash of movement in the +bushes behind the library +caught his eye. Surely that +couldn't be a fawn in Bryant +Park? So soon?... He'd +thought it would be another +ten years at least before the +wild animals came sniffing +timidly along the Hudson, +venturing a little further each +time they saw no sign of their +age-old enemy.</p> + +<p>But probably the deer was +only his imagination. He +would investigate further after +he had moved into the library.</p> + +<p>Perhaps a higher building +than the library.... But then +he would have to climb too +many flights of stairs. The +elevators wouldn't be working +... silly of him to forget +that. There were a lot of +steps outside the library too—it +would be a chore to get +his bicycles up those steps.</p> + +<p>Then he smiled to himself. +Robinson Crusoe would have +been glad to have had bicycles +and steps and such relatively +harmless animals as bears to +worry about. No, Robinson +Crusoe never had it so good +as he, Johnson, would have, +and what more could he +want?</p> + +<p>For, whoever before in history +had had his dreams—and +what was wrong with dreams, +after all?—so completely +gratified? What child, envisioning +a desert island all his +own could imagine that his +island would be the whole +world? Together Johnson and +the Earth would grow young +again.</p> + +<p>No, the stars were for others. +Johnson was not the first +man in history who had wanted +the Earth, but he had been +the first man—and probably +the last—who had actually +been given it. And he was +well content with his bargain.</p> + +<p>There was plenty of room +for the bears too.</p> + +<div class="trn"><div class="figt"><a href="images/001-2.jpg"><img src="images/001-1.jpg" width="147" height="200" alt="" title="" /></a></div> + +<p><b><big>Transcriber's Note:</big></b></p> + +<p>This etext was produced from <i>Fantastic Universe</i> August 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.</p></div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Most Sentimental Man, by Evelyn E. 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Smith + +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: The Most Sentimental Man + +Author: Evelyn E. Smith + +Release Date: August 25, 2009 [EBook #29791] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOST SENTIMENTAL MAN *** + + + + +Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + + _Johnson knew he was annoying the younger man, who so obviously + lived by the regulations in the_ Colonial Officer's Manual _and + lacked the imagination to understand why he was doing this.... + Evelyn E. Smith is famous for her bitter-sweet stories of the worlds + of Tomorrow._ + + + the + most + sentimental + man + + _by EVELYN E. SMITH_ + + + Once these irritating farewells were over with, he + could begin to live as he wished and as he'd dreamed. + + +Johnson went to see the others off at Idlewild. He knew they'd expect +him to and, since it would be the last conventional gesture he'd have to +make, he might as well conform to their notions of what was right and +proper. + +For the past few centuries the climate had been getting hotter; now, +even though it was not yet June, the day was uncomfortably warm. The +sun's rays glinting off the bright metal flanks of the ship dazzled his +eyes, and perspiration made his shirt stick to his shoulder blades +beneath the jacket that the formality of the occasion had required. He +wished Clifford would hurry up and get the leave-taking over with. + +But, even though Clifford was undoubtedly even more anxious than he to +finish with all this ceremony and take off, he wasn't the kind of man to +let inclination influence his actions. "Sure you won't change your mind +and come with us?" + +Johnson shook his head. + +The young man looked at him--hatred for the older man's complication of +what should have been a simple departure showing through the pellicule +of politeness. He was young for, since this trip had only slight +historical importance and none of any other kind, the authorities had +felt a junior officer entirely sufficient. It was clear, however, that +Clifford attributed his commandership to his merits, and he was very +conscious of his great responsibility. + +"We have plenty of room on the ship," he persisted. "There weren't many +left to go. We could take you easily enough, you know." + +Johnson made a negative sign again. The rays of the sun beating full +upon his head made apparent the grey that usually blended into the +still-thick blond hair. Yet, though past youth, he was far from being an +old man. "I've made my decision," he said, remembering that anger now +was pointless. + +"If it's--if you're just too proud to change your mind," the young +commander said, less certainly, "I'm sure everyone will understand +if ... if ..." + +Johnson smiled. "No, it's just that I want to stay--that's all." + +But the commander's clear blue eyes were still baffled, uneasy, as +though he felt he had not done the utmost that duty--not duty to the +service but to humanity--required. That was the trouble with people, +Johnson thought: when they were most well-meaning they became most +troublesome. + +Clifford lowered his voice to an appropriately funeral hush, as a fresh +thought obviously struck him. "I know, of course, that your loved ones +are buried here and perhaps you feel it's your duty to stay with +them...?" + +At this Johnson almost forgot that anger no longer had any validity. By +"loved ones" Clifford undoubtedly had meant Elinor and Paul. It was true +that Johnson had had a certain affection for his wife and son when they +were alive; now that they were dead they represented an episode in his +life that had not, perhaps, been unpleasant, but was certainly over and +done with now. + +Did Clifford think _that_ was his reason for remaining? Why, he must +believe Johnson to be the most sentimental man on Earth. "And, come to +think of it," Johnson said to himself, amused, "I am--or soon will +be--just that." + +The commander was still unconsciously pursuing the same train of +thought. "It does seem incredible," he said in a burst of boyish candor +that did not become him, for he was not that young, "that you'd want to +stay alone on a whole planet. I mean to say--entirely alone.... There'll +never be another ship, you know--at least not in your lifetime." + +Johnson knew what the other man was thinking. If there'd been a woman +with Johnson now, Clifford might have been able to understand a little +better how the other could stick by his decision. + +Johnson wriggled, as sweat oozed stickily down his back. "For God's +sake," he said silently, "take your silly ship and get the hell off my +planet." Aloud he said, "It's a good planet, a little worn-out but still +in pretty good shape. Pity you can't trade in an old world like an old +car, isn't it?" + +"If it weren't so damned far from the center of things," the young man +replied, defensively assuming the burden of all civilization, "we +wouldn't abandon it. After all, we hate leaving the world on which we +originated. But it's a long haul to Alpha Centauri--you know that--and a +tremendously expensive one. Keeping up this place solely out of +sentiment would be sheer waste--the people would never stand for the tax +burden." + +"A costly museum, yes," Johnson agreed. + +How much longer were these dismal farewells going to continue? How much +longer would the young man still feel the need to justify himself? "If +only there were others fool enough--if only there were others with +you.... But, even if anybody else'd be willing to cut himself off +entirely from the rest of the civilized universe, the Earth won't +support enough of a population to keep it running. Not according to our +present living standards anyway.... Most of its resources are gone, you +know--hardly any coal or oil left, and that's not worth digging for when +there are better and cheaper fuels in the system." + +He was virtually quoting from the _Colonial Officer's Manual_. Were +there any people left able to think for themselves, Johnson wondered. +Had there ever been? Had he thought for himself in making his decision, +or was he merely clinging to a childish dream that all men had had and +lost? + +"With man gone, Earth will replenish herself," he said aloud. First the +vegetation would begin to grow thick. Already it had released itself +from the restraint of cultivation; soon it would be spreading out over +the continent, overrunning the cities with delicately persistent green +tendrils. Some the harsh winters would kill, but others would live on +and would multiply. Vines would twist themselves about the tall +buildings and tenderly, passionately squeeze them to death ... +eventually send them tumbling down. And then the trees would rear +themselves in their places. + +The swamps that man had filled in would begin to reappear one by one, as +the land sank back to a pristine state. The sea would go on changing +her boundaries, with no dikes to stop her. Volcanoes would heave up the +land into different configurations. The heat would increase until it +grew unbearable ... only there would be no one--no human, anyway--to +bear it. + +Year after year the leaves would wither and fall and decay. Rock would +cover them. And some day ... billions of years thence ... there would be +coal and oil--and nobody to want them. + +"Very likely Earth will replenish herself," the commander agreed, "but +not in your time or your children's time.... That is, not in _my_ +children's time," he added hastily. + +The handful of men lined up in a row before the airlock shuffled their +feet and allowed their muttering to become a few decibels louder. +Clifford looked at his wrist chronometer. Obviously he was no less +anxious than the crew to be off, but, for the sake of his conscience, he +must make a last try. + +"Damn your conscience," Johnson thought. "I hope that for this you feel +guilty as hell, that you wake up nights in a cold sweat remembering that +you left one man alone on the planet you and your kind discarded. Not +that I don't want to stay, mind you, but that I want you to suffer the +way you're making me suffer now--having to listen to your platitudes." + +The commander suddenly stopped paraphrasing the _Manual_. "Camping out's +fun for a week or two, you know, but it's different when it's for a +lifetime." + +Johnson's fingers curled in his palms ... he was even angrier now that +the commander had struck so close to home. Camping out ... was that all +he was doing--fulfilling childhood desires, nothing more? + +Fortunately Clifford didn't realize that he had scored, and scuttled +back to the shelter of the _Manual_. "Perhaps you don't know enough +about the new system in Alpha Centauri," he said, a trifle wildly. "It +has two suns surrounded by three planets, Thalia, Aglaia, and +Euphrosyne. Each of these planets is slightly smaller than Earth, so +that the decrease in gravity is just great enough to be pleasant, +without being so marked as to be inconvenient. The atmosphere is almost +exactly like that of Earth's, except that it contains several beneficial +elements which are absent here--and the climate is more temperate. Owing +to the fact that the planets are partially shielded from the suns by +cloud layers, the temperature--except immediately at the poles and the +equators, where it is slightly more extreme--is always equable, +resembling that of Southern California...." + +"Sounds charming," said Johnson. "I too have read the Colonial Office +handouts.... I wonder what the people who wrote them'll do now that +there's no longer any necessity for attracting colonists--everybody's +already up in Alpha Centauri. Oh, well; there'll be other systems to +conquer and colonize." + +"The word _conquer_ is hardly correct," the commander said stiffly, +"since not one of the three planets had any indigenous life forms that +was intelligent." + +"Or life forms that you recognized as intelligent," Johnson suggested +gently. Although why should there be such a premium placed on +intelligence, he wondered. Was intelligence the sole criterion on which +the right to life and to freedom should be based? + +The commander frowned and looked at his chronometer again. "Well," he +finally said, "since you feel that way and you're sure you've quite made +up your mind, my men _are_ anxious to go." + +"Of course they are," Johnson said, managing to convey just the right +amount of reproach. + +Clifford flushed and started to walk away. + +"I'll stand out of the way of your jets!" Johnson called after him. "It +would be so anticlimactic to have me burned to a crisp after all this. +Bon voyage!" + +There was no reply. + +Johnson watched the silver vessel shoot up into the sky and thought, +"Now is the time for me to feel a pang, or even a twinge, but I don't at +all. I feel relieved, in fact, but that's probably the result of getting +rid of that fool Clifford." + +He crossed the field briskly, pulling off his jacket and discarding his +tie as he went. His ground car remained where he had parked it--in an +area clearly marked _No Parking_. + +They'd left him an old car that wasn't worth shipping to the stars. How +long it would last was anybody's guess. The government hadn't been +deliberately illiberal in leaving him such a shabby vehicle; if there +had been any way to ensure a continuing supply of fuel, they would +probably have left him a reasonably good one. But, since only a little +could be left, allowing him a good car would have been simply an example +of conspicuous waste, and the government had always preferred its waste +to be inconspicuous. + +He drove slowly through the broad boulevards of Long Island, savoring +the loneliness. New York as a residential area had been a ghost town for +years, since the greater part of its citizens had been among the first +to emigrate to the stars. However, since it was the capital of the world +and most of the interstellar ships--particularly the last few--had +taken off from its spaceports, it had been kept up as an official +embarkation center. Thus, paradoxically, it was the last city to be +completely evacuated, and so, although the massive but jerry-built +apartment houses that lined the streets were already crumbling, the +roads had been kept in fairly good shape and were hardly cracked at all. + +Still, here and there the green was pushing its way up in unlikely +places. A few more of New York's tropical summers, and Long Island would +soon become a wilderness. + +The streets were empty, except for the cats sunning themselves on +long-abandoned doorsteps or padding about on obscure errands of their +own. Perhaps their numbers had not increased since humanity had left the +city to them, but there certainly seemed to be more--striped and solid, +black and grey and white and tawny--accepting their citizenship with +equanimity. They paid no attention to Johnson--they had long since +dissociated themselves from a humanity that had not concerned itself +greatly over their welfare. On the other hand, neither he nor the +surface car appeared to startle them; the old ones had seen such before, +and to kittens the very fact of existence is the ultimate surprise. + +The Queensborough Bridge was deadly silent. It was completely empty +except for a calico cat moving purposefully toward Manhattan. The +structure needed a coat of paint, Johnson thought vaguely, but of course +it would never get one. Still, even uncared for, the bridges should +outlast him--there would be no heavy traffic to weaken them. Just in +case of unforeseeable catastrophe, however--he didn't want to be trapped +on an island, even Manhattan Island--he had remembered to provide +himself with a rowboat; a motorboat would have been preferable, but then +the fuel difficulty would arise again.... + +How empty the East River looked without any craft on it! It was rather a +charming little waterway in its own right, though nothing to compare +with the stately Hudson. The water scintillated in the sunshine and the +air was clear and fresh, for no factories had spewed fumes and smoke +into it for many years. There were few gulls, for nothing was left for +the scavenger; those remaining were forced to make an honest living by +catching fish. + +In Manhattan, where the buildings had been more soundly constructed, the +signs of abandonment were less evident ... empty streets, an occasional +cracked window. Not even an unusual amount of dirt because, in the +past, the normal activities of an industrial and ruggedly individual +city had provided more grime than years of neglect could ever hope to +equal. No, it would take Manhattan longer to go back than Long Island. +Perhaps that too would not happen during his lifetime. + +Yet, after all, when he reached Fifth Avenue he found that Central Park +had burst its boundaries. Fifty-ninth Street was already half jungle, +and the lush growth spilled down the avenues and spread raggedly out +into the side streets, pushing its way up through the cracks it had made +in the surface of the roads. Although the Plaza fountain had not flowed +for centuries, water had collected in the leaf-choked basin from the +last rain, and a group of grey squirrels were gathered around it, +shrilly disputing possession with some starlings. + +Except for the occasional cry of a cat in the distance, these voices +were all that he heard ... the only sound. Not even the sudden blast of +a jet regaining power ... he would never hear that again; never hear the +stridor of a human voice piercing with anger; the cacophony of a hundred +television sets, each playing a different program; the hoot of a horn; +off-key singing; the thin, uncertain notes of an amateur musician ... +these would never be heard on Earth again. + +He sent the car gliding slowly ... no more traffic rules ... down Fifth +Avenue. The buildings here also were well-built; they were many +centuries old and would probably last as many more. The shop windows +were empty, except for tangles of dust ... an occasional broken, +discarded mannequin.... In some instances the glass had already cracked +or fallen out. Since there were no children to throw stones, however, +others might last indefinitely, carefully glassing in nothingness. Doors +stood open and he could see rows of empty counters and barren shelves +fuzzed high with the dust of the years since a customer had approached +them. + +Cats sedately walked up and down the avenue or sat genteelly with tails +tucked in on the steps of the cathedral--as if the place had been theirs +all along. + +Dusk was falling. Tonight, for the first time in centuries, the street +lamps would not go on. Undoubtedly when it grew dark he would see +ghosts, but they would be the ghosts of the past and he had made his +peace with the past long since; it was the present and the future with +which he had not come to terms. And now there would be no present, no +past, no future--but all merged into one and he was the only one. + +At Forty-second Street pigeons fluttered thickly around the public +library, fat as ever, their numbers greater, their appetites grosser. +The ancient library, he knew, had changed little inside: stacks and +shelves would still be packed thick with reading matter. Books are +bulky, so only the rare editions had been taken beyond the stars; the +rest had been microfilmed and their originals left to Johnson and decay. +It was his library now, and he had all the time in the world to read all +the books in the world--for there were more than he could possibly read +in the years that, even at the most generous estimate, were left to him. + +He had been wondering where to make his permanent residence for, with +the whole world his, he would be a fool to confine himself to some +modest dwelling. Now he fancied it might be a good idea to move right +into the library. Very few places in Manhattan could boast a garden of +their own. + +He stopped the car to stare thoughtfully at the little park behind the +grimy monument to Neoclassicism. Like Central Park, Bryant had already +slipped its boundaries and encroached upon Sixth Avenue--Avenue of the +World, the street signs said now, and before that it had been Avenue of +the Nations and Avenue of the Americas, but to the public it had always +been Sixth Avenue and to Johnson, the last man on Earth, it was Sixth +Avenue. + +He'd live in the library, while he stayed in New York, that was--he'd +thought that in a few weeks, when it got really hot, he might strike +north. He had always meant to spend a summer in Canada. His surface car +would probably never last the trip, but the Museum of Ancient Vehicles +had been glad to bestow half a dozen of the bicycles from their exhibits +upon him. After all, he was, in effect, a museum piece himself and so as +worth preserving as the bicycles; moreover, bicycles are difficult to +pack for an interstellar trip. With reasonable care, these might last +him his lifetime.... + +But he had to have a permanent residence somewhere, and the library was +an elegant and commodious dwelling, centrally located. New York would +have to be his headquarters, for all the possessions he had carefully +amassed and collected and begged and--since money would do him no good +any more--bought, were here. And there were by far too many of them to +be transported to any really distant location. He loved to own things. + +He was by no means an advocate of Rousseau's complete return to nature; +whatever civilization had left that he could use without compromise, he +would--and thankfully. There would be no electricity, of course, but he +had provided himself with flashlights and bulbs and batteries--not too +many of the last, of course, because they'd grow stale. However, he'd +also laid in plenty of candles and a vast supply of matches.... Tins of +food and concentrates and synthetics, packages of seed should he grow +tired of all these and want to try growing his own--fruit, he knew, +would be growing wild soon enough.... Vitamins and medicines--of course, +were he to get really ill or get hurt in some way, it might be the end +... but that was something he wouldn't think of--something that couldn't +possibly happen to him.... + +For his relaxation he had an antique hand-wound phonograph, together +with thousands of old-fashioned records. And then, of course, he had the +whole planet, the whole world to amuse him. + +He even had provided himself with a heat-ray gun and a substantial +supply of ammunition, although he couldn't imagine himself ever killing +an animal for food. It was squeamishness that stood in his way rather +than any ethical considerations, although he did indeed believe that +every creature had the right to live. Nonetheless, there was the +possibility that the craving for fresh meat might change his mind for +him. Besides, although hostile animals had long been gone from this part +of the world--the only animals would be birds and squirrels and, farther +up the Hudson, rabbits and chipmunks and deer ... perhaps an occasional +bear in the mountains--who knew what harmless life form might become a +threat now that its development would be left unchecked? + +A cat sitting atop one of the stately stone lions outside the library +met his eye with such a steady gaze of understanding, though not of +sympathy, that he found himself needing to repeat the by-now almost +magic phrase to himself: "Not in my lifetime anyway." Would some +intelligent life form develop to supplant man? Or would the planet +revert to a primeval state of mindless innocence? He would never know +and he didn't really care ... no point in speculating over unanswerable +questions. + +He settled back luxuriously on the worn cushions of his car. Even so +little as twenty years before, it would have been impossible for +him--for anyone--to stop his vehicle in the middle of Forty-second +Street and Fifth Avenue purely to meditate. But it was his domain now. +He could go in the wrong direction on one-way streets, stop wherever he +pleased, drive as fast or as slowly as he would (and could, of course). +If he wanted to do anything as vulgar as spit in the street, he could +(but they were his streets now, not to be sullied) ... cross the roads +without waiting for the lights to change (it would be a long, long wait +if he did) ... go to sleep when he wanted, eat as many meals as he +wanted whenever he chose.... He could go naked in hot weather and +there'd be no one to raise an eyebrow, deface public buildings (except +that they were private buildings now, his buildings), idle without the +guilty feeling that there was always something better he could and +should be doing ... even if there were not. There would be no more +guilty feelings; without people and their knowledge there was no more +guilt. + +A flash of movement in the bushes behind the library caught his eye. +Surely that couldn't be a fawn in Bryant Park? So soon?... He'd thought +it would be another ten years at least before the wild animals came +sniffing timidly along the Hudson, venturing a little further each time +they saw no sign of their age-old enemy. + +But probably the deer was only his imagination. He would investigate +further after he had moved into the library. + +Perhaps a higher building than the library.... But then he would have to +climb too many flights of stairs. The elevators wouldn't be working ... +silly of him to forget that. There were a lot of steps outside the +library too--it would be a chore to get his bicycles up those steps. + +Then he smiled to himself. Robinson Crusoe would have been glad to have +had bicycles and steps and such relatively harmless animals as bears to +worry about. No, Robinson Crusoe never had it so good as he, Johnson, +would have, and what more could he want? + +For, whoever before in history had had his dreams--and what was wrong +with dreams, after all?--so completely gratified? What child, +envisioning a desert island all his own could imagine that his island +would be the whole world? Together Johnson and the Earth would grow +young again. + +No, the stars were for others. Johnson was not the first man in history +who had wanted the Earth, but he had been the first man--and probably +the last--who had actually been given it. And he was well content with +his bargain. + +There was plenty of room for the bears too. + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + This etext was produced from _Fantastic Universe_ August 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 Project Gutenberg's The Most Sentimental Man, by Evelyn E. Smith + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MOST SENTIMENTAL MAN *** + +***** This file should be named 29791.txt or 29791.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/7/9/29791/ + +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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