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diff --git a/35770.txt b/35770.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 194e4a4..0000000 --- a/35770.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1014 +0,0 @@ - THE HERO - - -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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Title: The Hero - -Author: Elaine Wilber - -Release Date: April 04, 2011 [EBook #35770] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO *** - - - - -Produced by Frank van Drogen, Greg Weeks, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. - - - - - - - - THE HERO - - BY ELAINE WILBER - - _Willy was undoubtedly a hero. The difficulty lies in deciding - which side he was on...._ - - -[Illustration: __Illustrated by Paul Orban__] - - -Two months after the landing, Ship UXB-69311 was rigged out with most -things needed to make life bearable, if not interesting, for the crew. -Perched on the manicured, blue-green sod of the planet Engraham, its -inner parts were transformed and refitted for the many months of the -Exploration. No effort and no flight of imagination had been spared to -make the ship resemble more a country club than a barracks. With the -permission of Colonel Mondrain, the crew's bunkroom had been completely -rearranged, and a segment thereof made into a quietly elegant bar. Plans -for this eventual rejuvenation had been fomenting throughout the very -tiresome and very monotonous journey. - -When they first landed, the natives fled, and thus it was easy to -liberate furnishings from the adjacent village. When the inhabitants -returned, after the purposes of the visiting Earthman were acknowledged -to be harmless, they proved to be too courteous to carp about a few -missing articles. - -The chairs, of a very advanced design and most comfortable, were made of -a light and durable metal alloy thus far unknown to Earth. The bar -(which was probably not its purpose on Engraham, no one knew or cared -what its function had been) was of a design so futuristic that it would -have turned a modern artist mad. The utensils, also liberated, were -unbelievably delicate, yet strong and easy to wash. At first, since the -Earth had not intended the Exploration to resemble the type that -Texas-stationed servicemen like to run in Matamoros, there was nothing -to drink in the utensils. But hardly six weeks had passed before the -first hero of the Exploration, a man named O'Connors, discovered a -palatable fruit growing on nearby bushes. By means of a system of -improvised pipes (also liberated) it was no time at all before tasty -beverages, somewhat strident but quite effective, were being run off and -consumed in quantities. The machine known as O'Connors Joy-Juicer was -concealed behind the bar, and all that was ever seen on the bar when -Colonel Mondrain or the Doctors were around was an innocuous fruit -juice. - -The Earth Command had stocked the ship with reading material, most of it -of a disgustingly educational nature, in photostatic cards: and the -second hero of the Exploration was a man named Kosalowsky, who -discovered in the psychology sections the works of Freud and -Krafft-Ebing. After this discovery, a few interesting discussions arose. - -After these changes had been made, there was very little to do. - -The Earth Command had assumed that the natives of Engraham would resent -the Explorations (most planets did), and so had sent along the crew of -thirty men for protection. All had labored mightily to become part of -this special crew, chosen for endurance and known war-like qualities. -For once they got back to Earth, all were slated to be mustered out of -service immediately, decorated to the ears, and awarded full, life-time -pensions. Many already had contracts to appear on television and one -man, Blunt, hinted at a long term Hollywood contract. - -But once they got there, there was little to do after all. A guard was -posted; instruments were checked; and, although the necessity seemed -slight, the ship was kept primed for instantaneous emergency take-off. -On the day corresponding to Earth's Saturday, the ship was G. I.'d from -stem to stern. The maintenance crew made sure that no parts deteriorated -or got liberated by enterprising natives. But the natives were not an -inventive race. It was discovered by the Doctors (Anker, Frank, Pelham -and Flandeau) that the natives literally did not know how to steal. They -were backward. Dr. Flandeau, who was making great strides with the -language, reported that there was some evidence that the Engrahamites -had once possessed this skill, along with murder, mayhem, bad faith, and -politics, but had lost it, through a deterioration of the species. - -Thus, once the ship had been transformed into a place worthy of human -dwelling, and the beverage question had been solved, and utter, -imbecilic boredom circumvented by the timely discoveries of Freud and -Krafft-Ebing, the men found time hanging heavily on their hands; and the -more the doctors discovered about the Engrahamites, the more dismal the -situation became. The doctors, growing more and more fascinated by their -tasks, left the ship bright and early each day, returning around -nightfall to reduce their growing stacks of data to points of Earthly -relevance. The Colonel was also out most of the time. He paid many -social calls on the natives, who, being courteous, received him, and was -often returned at night in a chauffeured native Hop-Hop. Life in the -bunkroom became a sullen round of poker, reading of Krafft-Ebing, and -gab: and Earth currency changed hands daily in the never-ending crap -game. - -For there was one great lack in their lives. This lack, and the -inability to do anything about it, absorbed many hours of conversation. -At first, complaints only occurred at intervals; but as weeks passed, -the lamentations became so fervent, so constant, and so heart-rending, -that Dr. Flandeau observed to Dr. Frank that more stirring passages had -not been made since the Jeremiad. For Dr. Flandeau, although aging, was -in his off hours a poet, and a Frenchman always. - -Dr. Frank said, "Yes, well, poor bastards." - -At first, nostalgically, the crew harked back to happier times on Earth. -Soon not one young lady of their collective acquaintance had escaped the -most minute analysis. They were young men--the oldest, Blunt, was only -twenty-six--and several of them had married young, greatly limiting -their activities so that even their cumulative memories could not last -forever. After several weeks, repetition began to set in. Once all -successes had been lovingly remembered, down to the last, exquisite -detail, they began recalling their failures. The master strategist, the -unofficial referee of these seminars, was Dick Blunt. - -"Now where you went wrong there," he would tell a fledgling reporting -complete zero with a YWCA resident, "was in making her feel that you -were interested. Your line with a girl like that should be one of -charity. Pure charity. You impress on her that you're doing her a -terrific favor. You offer to bring to her dull life romance, adventure, -tenderness." - -"I couldn't even get my hands on her," complained the reproved failure, -Herbert Banks. - -"I've always found that type the easiest ones of all," Blunt said -indifferently. "Dull, of course." - -The testiness, the self-pity, the shortness of temper and the near-riots -over stolen packages of cigarettes, were not improved after the Doctors, -having surveyed the situation thoroughly, decided that it would do no -harm to let the men of the crew go out on Liberty. - -Fraternizing with natives was, of course, strictly forbidden. They were -not to drink off premises. (Nor on, for that matter.) They were exhorted -not to steal, not to engage in fights. - -Still, they could walk around, take pictures of the strange pink houses -and the dazzling cities. They could watch a covey of children swim in -the municipal pools. They could look at the fountains, the so-called -"miraculous fountains of Engraham", or climb the strange, glassy -mountains. The natives, although shy of them, were most polite, and some -smiled enchantingly--especially the women. - - ---- - -This was the worst rub of all: there were women, and they were gorgeous. -A little smaller than most Earth women, with bright eyes, and high, -arched eyebrows, looking forever as if they had heard the most priceless -joke. Their faces conformed to the most rigid standards of Caucasian -beauty. Their legs, so delicate, so tapering, so fantastically small of -ankle, were breath-taking. Their clothes, which would have driven a -Parisian designer to suicide, were draped carelessly over the most -exquisite figures. True, they were a little deficient in one department, -and this was explained, before they were granted liberty, by Dr. -Flandeau. The women of Engraham, he said, did not bear children. - -This announcement was not received with special gloom, for until then, -none of the crew had seen an Engrahamite woman. But Willy Lanham, a -dark-haired, skinny boy from Tennessee, asked, unhappily, "Don't they -even go in for games or nothin'?" - -Flandeau understood instantly. He shook his head sadly. "I should think -not. It has been a long time since they have observed the normal -functions. The women are mainly for decoration, although it is said that -some are also created for brains. They are a most strange people." - -After this--granted these agonizing liberties, and able to see that -which was biologically unattainable--the crew became so demoralized that -not even Kosalowsky's discovery of the works of Wilhelm Reik relieved -the deep gloom. - -However, they had reckoned without the superior genius of Dick Blunt. -Blunt received Flandeau's news as unhappily as the others, and, like the -rest, was made miserable by the sight of the glorious damozels. But he -was a reasonable man and he put his reasoning powers to work. Soon he -alone was cheerful. He went around with the absorbed, other-world look -of a physicist grappling with a problem in ionospheric mathematics -without the use of an IBM calculator. One day he went on Liberty alone. -He did not return until the fall of night, and when he came in his -elation was so immoderate that the others thought there must be bars on -Engraham after all. - -"I have found the answer to our question," he said. - -No one needed to ask what question. O'Connors hurried to pour Blunt a -drink. - -"I have spent the day pursuing this answer logically," said Blunt. "I -have done what any thoughtful man would do. I have read up on it." - -"How?" cried Henderson. - -"At the library." - -Blunt then described his day: finding his way to the library by means of -pantomime; and finding at last, that file of photographs--photographs of -an utterly self-explanatory nature. And these he pulled from his pocket, -for ignoring all discipline, he had stolen them. - -The pictures passed from hand to hand. O'Connors passed them on to Pane, -and suddenly felt the need to open the window behind him. It was Willy -Lanham, the boy from Tennessee, who voiced those exultant words that -rose to the throats of all: - -He said, "Hey! They're made just like the Earth girls." - -The conversation, at this intensely interesting point, was cut short by -the arrival of the Colonel. He alighted from the native Hop-Hop--waved -cheerily to its driver, and began coming up. The bottle and glasses -vanished, and Kosalowsky began to read aloud from a book especially -reserved for these occasions. The men maintained looks of studious -interest as the officer went through. He went up the ladder to his own -quarters, there to write in his growing volume, THE COMING OCCUPATION -AND GOVERNMENT OF ENGRAHAM. They listened until his door clicked. - -The conversation was resumed in more subdued tones. - -"Do you think," said Pane shakily, "They still _could_?" - -"Not a question of it," Blunt said. "These pictures prove it. It's what -you might call a lost art. Once upon a time, as with all the fortunate -parts of the galaxy, this art was known to the Engrahamites. Through -some terrific foul-up, they lost it. Probably a combination of the -science of incubation, and the reign of some ghastly square, like Queen -Victoria. Thus were the girls of Engraham deprived of the pleasures of -love." - -"The men, too," said Willy. All glared at him reproachfully. To care -about the happiness of the Engrahamite men was thought not quite -patriotic. - -"Gradually," Blunt went on, "they must have begun to lose interest. -Probably there was some taboo. In the end they probably all thought, oh, -to hell with it, and began serving on committees." - -A long sigh went up. - -"It is for us," Blunt said softly, treasuring each word, "to restore -these unhappy maidens to their original human rights. - -"But it isn't going to be easy," Blunt went on. His voice dropped even -lower. "Think what would happen if it went sour. Those Doctors would get -wind of it. We'd be stuck in the Ship for the rest of the Exploration." - -There was a sober pause. Finally Banks cleared his throat and said, -"Well, how do you think it should be handled, Blunt?" - -"Well, every beachhead needs an invasion," Blunt said, casually holding -out his glass. O'Connors leapt to fill it. "One guy has got to lay the -groundwork. Let him enlighten one quail. Explain things to her." He took -a long, leisurely drink, and sighed. "This quail will rush around -telling the others. Pretty soon there'll be so many hanging around the -ship that--" - -There was a general rush for cooling beverages. - -"Right," someone said, when the faculty of speech was recovered. - -"And necessarily," said Blunt, "this has to be the guy with the most -savvy. The one who knows the score. The one most likely to succeed. -Check?" - -All knew what this was leading up to. Martin said unhappily, "Check, -Blunt, You're our boy." - - ---- - -Blunt was scheduled to stand guard the next day, but Willy Lanham, eager -to assist the cause, volunteered to take over for him. The hours seemed -to creep by. His air was swaggering and cool when he returned, and all -gathered round with eager curiosity--all but Lanham, who had not -recovered from standing guard. - -Blunt sauntered to the bar, accepted a drink, sipped it, lighted a -cigarette, and took a long, pensive drag. Finally he said reminiscently, -"What a doll!" - -Pane, never a subtle man, cried in anguish, "Well, how'd you make out?" - -Blunt smiled smugly. He began his recital. He was walking along the -street and he met this gorgeous creature. A full description followed -(broken by the arrival of the Colonel and two paragraphs of the DECLINE -AND FALL) making it clear that this was the dish of dishes, the most -beautiful of the beautiful, the most charming, and the most intelligent. -She allowed herself to be addressed in Blunt's few words of Engrahamic -and, smiling ever patiently, sat with him for several hours. Their talk -took place in a secluded bower, in one of the many parks. She was -agreeable and charmed and promised to see him again. He even managed, -through terrific feats of pantomime, to impress on her the need of -secrecy in future meetings. - -"That was all?" someone said, when he finished. - -"For the first meeting, I think I did wonders," said Blunt. "After all, -sex hasn't been known here since a time corresponding to our Stone Age." - -Later, when the nightly poker game was beginning, Willy Lanham said, -"Why didn't you just make a grab for her?" - -"That's the hill-billy approach," Blunt said disdainfully. "These girls -are civilized--very, very civilized. It's important not to shock them." - - ---- - -Blunt's next gambit was to set about learning the language. For this he -went not to Flandeau, who best knew it, but to Ankers, who was a pure -scientist in every sense of the word, and not so likely to suspect his -motives. The girl proved very cultured. She took him to art galleries, -to symphonies, and mountain climbing, for scrambling up and down the -glassy hills was a favorite Engrahamic sport. As he advanced in the -language, he learned that her name was Catataphinaria, which meant "she -will attain relative wisdom". He found that she worked for the Eleven -who, while not rulers, offered general suggestions which the populace -more or less followed. - -Although his slow progress inevitably bored the crew, still, it offered -that one precious ray of hope, and they became so tractable that even -the Doctors noticed it. They laid it to the secret ingredient that Dr. -Frank had introduced into the drinking water. - -The summer wore on, becoming hotter each day. By the end of the second -month of his courtship, Blunt began to speak to her of love. - -She laughed. She said that she had little curiosity on the subject, -although it was now and then mentioned by the students of antiquity. -Assured that it was pleasurable, she said that she heard that barbarians -also enjoyed murdering people and making them butts of jokes. - -Willy Lanham said, "Don't listen to what a girl _says_. Just make a grab -for her." - -This suggestion was laughed to scorn. - -Weeks passed, the summer began to wane. Tempers again began to shorten. -Flandeau said to Frank, "The men are worse again." - -"Yes, perhaps we should increase the dosage." - -The fruits for the Joy-Juicer grew thin on the silvery bushes, and men -ranged far and wide, putting in supplies for the winter. - - ---- - -One night, when Blunt had won at poker, all the men lay in their bunks, -too dispirited to drink, to shoot craps, almost too miserable even for -speech. Blunt again began talking of Catataphinaria. Drowsily Lanham -said, "I think you're going at it the wrong way, Dick. Try some real -rough stuff. You know--kiss her. She might like it." - -Before Blunt could defend his strategy, Kosalowsky sat up in his bunk. -"Yes, for cripes sake," he said, "Move in for the kill. Or shut up about -it. You're driving us all nuts." - -"Would you like to try?" Blunt suggested softly. - -"Sure I'll try," Kosalowsky said. He turned on the light over his bunk. -"Give me a crack at her. I could have managed it weeks ago. All you've -done is talk to the quail." - -"Yah, Dick, maybe you're using the wrong approach on this one," -O'Connors suggested. - -"It's the damn places you take her," Kosalowsky said. "Art galleries. -Anybody ever seduce a girl in an art gallery? Symphonies. Popping around -in her damn Hop-Hop. Can't you ever get her alone?" - -"She lives with ten other girls," Blunt said sulkily. "They're all home -all the time." - -"Well, bring her here, then," Pane suggested. "We'll all take a powder." - -"Where?" - -There was no answer. They could not all, by day, desert the ship, and it -was getting too chilly for the crew to hide in adjacent shrubbery. "We -could put up a wall," Pane said suddenly, "between the bunks and the -bar." - -"With what?" - -"I know," Banks said eagerly, "where there's a whole pile of stuff. It's -nice thin metal, just lying there getting rusty." - -"I think you're premature--" - -"Premature!" Kosalowsky shouted. "Six months you've been chasing this -tomato. You call that premature?" - -"Only four by Engrahamic time," Blunt said, insulted. - -"Listen," Kosalowsky said, "that wall goes up tomorrow. And you're -smuggling her in tomorrow night. Or else," he said, glaring at Blunt, -"after that it's every man for himself. Check?" - -Blunt, only slightly seen in the light from Kosalowsky's bunk, was white -with rage. "All right, guys," he said stonily. "I've been trying to do -right by this frail. Nothing abrupt or hillbilly. Nothing to hurt her -delicate feelings or her fine mind. But if this is how you want -it--Okay!" - - ---- - -The next day the wall went up. - -Hardly a word was said as it was hammered in place. Once up, the place -was G. I.'d thoroughly. The ash trays were washed, the floor vacuumed, -and the lights adjusted to achieve the most tellingly seductive effect. -Blunt went out at two, thin-lipped and silent. - -"The jerk," Kosalowsky said, "I think he's a lot of hot air. That's what -_I_ think." - -The Colonel came in at nightfall and asked about the wall. They told him -that it was to cut off the recreation section from the sleeping -quarters, for the protection of those who wanted more sleep to prepare -for the grueling winter watches. - -"Very good idea men," the Colonel said, and went upstairs to write -another chapter in his book. - -At nine the men disappeared into their bunks. O'Connors won the -responsible job of peering through the narrow slit in the wall. Behind -him could be heard the labored breathing of twenty-seven distraught men. -One man snored. "Wake up, you stupid ass," Pane told Lanham. "You'll -wreck the show." - -At last the door opened and Blunt came in--with the girl. - -She was breath-taking. She wore, O'Connors reported, a dress cut to -here--and her hair was piled high on her patrician head. Blunt had not -lied. She was even prettier than the usual run of Engraham girls. - -"He's offering her a drink," O'Connors whispered. - -"She take it?" - -"No--she's sitting at the bar. He's having one, though. He's turning on -the hi-fi." - -He did not have to tell them, since all could hear the soft music. They -had selected a program of melodies considered sure-fire. - -"He's talking to her--putting his arm around her waist. Oh-oh. She -knocked it off. She's laughing, though." - -In the silence they all heard her laugh. Several men moved -uncomfortably. "He's leading her toward the couch--oh-oh--she stopped to -look at the radar screen." - -It was the auxiliary radar, not the important one in the control room. -"What's he doing?" - -"Telling her--he's edging her to the couch again--now she's asking about -the Bassett Blaster. They're fooling around with the gun. He's showing -her how it works--trying to put his hands--!" - -This last was lost, for there was a sudden, resounding blast. Their -bunks, the entire ship, trembled. - -The meaning was clear to all. They flattened to their bunks, and waited -tensely. They heard a sound, the sound of a foot kicking a body. A hand -scratched tentatively along the wall. - -No one moved. "She killed him." O'Connors voice was no more than a -slight whisper. "Lay low--lay low."' - -Then a woman's voice said, in perfect English, "All right, you men. Come -out of there." - -The door was found and flung open. Catataphinaria stood in the dim -light--still holding the Blaster. She said again, more sharply, "I said, -Come out of there!" - -Clumsily, they came down from their bunks. - -"Now," she said, as she had them all against the wall, "call down the -others." - -But this was unnecessary, for the Doctors and the Colonel were already -descending the ladder. They turned quite white at the sight of her. -Wordlessly, she indicated that they were to join the others. The Doctors -found it harder to adjust to a purely military sort of emergency. Ankers -asked clearly, "What on earth is this nonsense?" - -"No nonsense," the girl said. "Just do as I say. First, surrender all -your papers." - -"Our papers?" - -"Your research. Your conclusions. Everything." - -Henderson said, "I'll go get it, Ma'am." - -"I would also like the Colonel's amusing work on the coming occupation." - -"I know where it is, sir," Martin said swiftly. "I'll get it." - -The Colonel's expression was stony. He nodded to Martin to get it, and -it occurred to him that the girl was one of those whom he had personally -selected as the most promising for the puppet governments. But when he -asked about her identity, she cut him off without a word. - -"Then, may I ask where you learned such flawless English?" - -"All of us know English," she said. "It is a very stupid language." - -Martin and Henderson returned with the papers. Gingerly they approached -her, handed the papers to her, and darted back to their places in the -line. She placed the stack on the bar, leafed through it, all the while -keeping them covered with the Blaster, and remarked on finishing, "It is -exactly what one would expect barbarians to find interesting." - -Flandeau, however, remained a scientist to the last. - -"We find ourselves unhappily deceived," he said. "We were certain--that -you were utterly without defenses. We were told that you did not know -_how_ to lie, cheat, dissemble, or fight." - -"Only not with each other." she said. "It was, so to speak, a lost art." -She glanced at Blunt. Several men squirmed. "But it is one that we have -regained," she said. - -"And what will you do with us?" Flandeau asked. - -"We have decided to let you go," she said. "Now that we possess this -weapon,"--she brandished the Blaster--"which we can copy, we think we -can prevent more Explorations. At least this is the opinion of the -Eleven. So I am instructed to let you leave--at once, of course." - -"You are most charming," said Flandeau. - -"At once," she repeated. - -"Yes, of course. Men! Prepare for blastoff!" - - ---- - -The way back was tedious--the floating around, the boredom, the unending -blackness of space--but at least it was going home. After the first -weeks of space-sickness, things returned to near normal, and the Doctors -conferred with the Colonel. It was decided that the best report should -be that Engraham was uninviting, bleak, and of no interest to Earthmen. -The reputations of all were at stake (the doctors found themselves, -stripped of their papers, unable to recollect enough, and the Colonel -desperately feared a court-martial) and the crew was thus advised. All -agreed to keep their mouths shut. Thus their honorable discharges, -medals, and life-time pensions would be safe. - -So, with all this decided, and Earth only a few months away, relative -cheerfulness reigned. Only Willy Lanham continued to mope. - -"What's biting you?" Kosalowsky asked, one day as they lay strapped in -adjacent bunks. "Your face is as long as this ship." - -"I just feel bad," Willy said. "I can feel bad if I want to, can't I?" - -"What the hell, we'll soon be home. We can really raise some hell, -then." - -"I miss my girl," Willy blurted out. - -"You'll see her pretty soon." - -"I mean my girl on Engraham." - -It happened that just then several other men, bored with lying still, -were floating past. They gripped the edges of Willy's bunk. - -"You mean you had," Kosalowsky said cunningly, "a girl on Engraham?" - -"Sure I did," said Willy defensively. "Didn't all you guys?" - -More and more men joined the knot of bodies around Willy's bunk. The -atmosphere became distinctly menacing. - -"You mean you didn't?" Willy said. "You mean it wasn't a gag we were -pulling on Blunt?" - -They were silent. One pair of floating hands neared Willy's throat. - -"Honest," he said. "I didn't think you were that dumb. I thought you -were just letting Blunt make an ass of himself. I thought that--well, it -was so easy. I even told Dick a couple of times. You just had to make a -grab for 'em." - -Pane suddenly let out a harsh sound, like the cry of a wounded bull. - -"So who was this frail?" Kosalowsky asked heavily. - -"Yeah!" echoed the others. - -"Well, she was just a frail, I guess," Willy said. "I used to see her -around the ship. On guard duty. I used to see her all the time. What the -hell," he said, "You think I'm dumb or something? Why'd you think I was -willing to stand guard all the time?" - - - *END* - - - - _Transcribers note_: This etext was produced from If Worlds of Science - Fiction February 1958. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence - that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. - - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HERO *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/35770 - -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. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a -registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, -unless you receive specific permission. 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