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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bc57f5e --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51072 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51072) diff --git a/old/51072-h.zip b/old/51072-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 0ca86cd..0000000 --- a/old/51072-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51072-h/51072-h.htm b/old/51072-h/51072-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 11e4fc5..0000000 --- a/old/51072-h/51072-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2308 +0,0 @@ -<!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=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Shamar's War, by Kris Neville. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Shamar's War, by Kris Neville - -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/license - - -Title: Shamar's War - -Author: Kris Neville - -Release Date: January 29, 2016 [EBook #51072] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHAMAR'S WAR *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="404" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>SHAMAR'S WAR</h1> - -<p>BY KRIS NEVILLE</p> - -<p>ILLUSTRATED BY GUINTA</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Galaxy Science Fiction February 1964.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="534" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3"><i>He was Earth's secret weapon, as<br /> -deadly as a sword—and two-edged!</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<p class="ph4">I</p> - - -<p>The year was 2346, and Earth, at the time, was a political democracy.</p> - -<p>The population was ruled by the Over-Council and, in order of -decreasing importance, by Councils, and Local Councils. Each was -composed of representatives duly apportioned by popular vote between -the two contending parties. Executive direction was provided by a -variety of Secretaries, selected by vote of the appropriate Councils. -An independent Judiciary upheld the laws.</p> - -<p>A unified Earth sent colonists to the stars. Back came strange tales -and improbable animals.</p> - -<p>Back, too, came word of a burgeoning technological civilization on the -planet Itra, peopled by entirely humanoid aliens.</p> - -<p>Earth felt it would be wise for Itra to join in a Galactic Federation -and accordingly, submitted the terms of such a mutually advantageous -agreement.</p> - -<p>The Itraians declined....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Space Captain Merle S. Shaeffer, the youngest and perhaps the most -naive pilot for Trans-Universe Transport, was called unexpectedly to -the New York office of the company.</p> - -<p>When Capt. Shaeffer entered the luxurious eightieth story suite, Old -Tom Twilmaker, the President of TUT, greeted him. With an arm around -his shoulder, Old Tom led Capt. Shaeffer to an immense inner office and -introduced him to a General Reuter, identified as the Chairman of the -Interscience Committee of the Over-Council.</p> - -<p>No one else was present. With the door closed, they were isolated in -Olympian splendor above and beyond the affairs of men. Here judgments -were final and impartial. Capt. Shaeffer, in the presence of two of the -men highest in the ruling councils of Earth, was reduced to incoherent -awe.</p> - -<p>General Reuter moved about restlessly. Old Tom was serene and beatific.</p> - -<p>When they were seated, Old Tom swiveled around and gazed long -in silence across the spires of the City. Capt. Shaeffer waited -respectfully. General Reuter fidgetted.</p> - -<p>"Some day," Old Tom said at last, "I'm going to take my leave of this. -Yes, gentle Jesus! Oh, when I think of all the souls still refusing -to admit our precious Savior, what bitterness, oh, what sorrow is my -wealth to me! Look down upon the teeming millions below us. How many -know not the Lord? Yes, some morning, I will forsake all this and go -out into the streets to spend my last days bringing the words of hope -to the weary and oppressed. Are you a Christian, Merle?"</p> - -<p>General Reuter cracked his knuckles nervously while Capt. Shaeffer -muttered an embarrassed affirmative.</p> - -<p>"I am a deeply religious man," Old Tom continued. "I guess you've heard -that, Merle?"</p> - -<p>"Yes sir," Capt. Shaeffer said.</p> - -<p>"But did you know that the Lord has summoned you here today?" Old Tom -asked.</p> - -<p>"No, sir," Capt. Shaeffer said.</p> - -<p>"General Reuter, here, is a dear friend. We've known each other, oh, -many years. Distantly related through our dear wives, in fact. And we -serve on the same Board of Directors and the same Charity Committees.... -A few weeks ago, when he asked me for a man, I called for your file, -Merle. I made discreet inquiries. Then I got down on my knees and -talked it over with God for, oh, it must have been all of an hour. I -asked, 'Is this the man?' And I was given a sign. Yes! At that moment, -a shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>General Reuter had continued his nervous movements throughout the -speech. For the first time, he spoke. "Good God, Tom, serve us a -drink." He turned to Capt. Shaeffer. "A little drink now and then helps -a man relax. I'll just have mine straight, Tom."</p> - -<p>Old Tom studied Capt. Shaeffer. "I do not feel the gentle Master -approves of liquor."</p> - -<p>"Don't try to influence him," General Reuter said. "You're embarrassing -the boy."</p> - -<p>"I—" Capt. Shaeffer began.</p> - -<p>"Give him the drink. If he doesn't want to drink it, he won't have to -drink it."</p> - -<p>Sighing, Old Tom poured two bourbons from the bar in back of his desk -and passed them over. Martyrdom sat heavily upon his brow.</p> - -<p>After a quick twist of the wrist and an expert toss of the head, -General Reuter returned an empty glass. "Don't mind if I do have -another," he said. He was already less restless.</p> - -<p>"How's your ability to pick up languages?" General Reuter asked.</p> - -<p>"I learned Spanish and Russian at TUT PS," Capt. Shaeffer said -apologetically. "I'm supposed to have a real high aptitude in -languages, according to some tests I took. In case we should meet -intelligent aliens, TUT gives them."</p> - -<p>"You got no association with crackpot organizations, anything like -that?" General Reuter asked. "You're either a good Liberal-Conservative -or Radical-Progressive, aren't you? I don't care which. I don't believe -in prying into a man's politics."</p> - -<p>"I never belonged to anything," Capt. Shaeffer said.</p> - -<p>"Oh, I can assure you, that's been checked out very, very thoroughly," -Old Tom said.</p> - -<p>The General signaled for another drink. With a sigh of exasperation, -Old Tom complied.</p> - -<p>"Bob," Old Tom said, "I really think you've had enough. Please, now. -Our Master counsels moderation."</p> - -<p>"Damn it, Tom," the General said and turned back to the space pilot. -"May have a little job for you."</p> - -<p>Old Tom shook his head at the General, cautioning him.</p> - -<p>"Actually," the General said, ignoring the executive, "we'll be sort of -renting you from TUT. In a way you'll still be working for them. I can -get a million dollars out of the—"</p> - -<p>"Bob!"</p> - -<p>"—unmarked appropriation if it goes in in TUT's name. No questions -asked. National Defense. I couldn't get anywhere near that much for -an individual for a year. It gives us a pie to slice. We were talking -about it before you came in. How does a quarter of a million dollars a -year sound to you?"</p> - -<p>"When it comes to such matters," Old Tom interjected hastily, "I think -first of the opportunities they bring to do good."</p> - -<p>The General continued, "Now you know, Merle. And this is serious. I -want you to listen to me. Because this comes under World Security laws, -and I'm going to bind you to them. You know what that means? You'll be -held responsible."</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir," Merle said, swallowing stiffly. "I understand."</p> - -<p>"Good. Let's have a drink on that."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Please be quiet, General," Old Tom said. "Let me explain. You see, -Merle, the Interscience Committee was recently directed to consider -methods for creating a climate of opinion on Itra—of which I'm sure -you've heard—which would be favorable to the proposed Galactic -Federation."</p> - -<p>"Excuse me," General Reuter said. "They don't have a democracy, like -we do. They don't have any freedom like we do. I have no doubt the -average whateveryoucallem—Itraians, I guess—the average gooks—would -be glad to see us come in and just kick the hell out of whoever is in -charge of them."</p> - -<p>"Now, General," Old Tom said more sharply.</p> - -<p>"But that's not the whole thing," the General continued. "Even fit were -right thing to do, an' I'm not saying isn't—right thing to do—there's -log-lo-lo-gistics. I don't want to convey the impresh, impression that -our Defense Force people have been wasting money. Never had as much as -needed, fact. No, it's like this.</p> - -<p>"We have this broad base to buil' from. Backbone. But we live in -a democracy. Now, Old Tom's Liberal-Conservative. And me, I'm -Radical-Progresshive. But we agree on one thing: importance of strong -defense. A lot of people don' understan' this. Feel we're already -spendin' more than we can afford. But I want to ask them, what's more -important than the defense of our planet?"</p> - -<p>"General, I'm afraid this is not entirely germane," Old Tom said -stiffly.</p> - -<p>"Never mind that right now. Point is, it will take us long time to get -the serious nature of the menace of Itra across to the voters. Then, -maybe fifteen, twenty years.... Let's just take one thing. We don't have -anywhere near enough troop transports to carry out the occupation of -Itra. You know how long it takes to build them? My point is, we may not -have that long. Suppose Itra should get secret of interstellar drive -tomorrow, then where would we be?"</p> - -<p>Old Tom slammed his fist on the desk. "General, please! The boy isn't -interested in all that."</p> - -<p>The General surged angrily to his feet. "By God, that's what's wrong -with this world today!" he cried. "Nobody's interested in Defense. -Spend only a measly twenty per cent of the Gross World Product on -Defense, and expect to keep strong! Good God, Tom, give me a drink!" -Apparently heresy had shocked him sober.</p> - -<p>Old Tom explained, "The General is a patriot. We all respect him for -it."</p> - -<p>"I understand," Capt. Shaeffer said.</p> - -<p>General Reuter hammered his knuckles in rhythm on the table. "The -drink, the drink, the drink! You got more in the bottle. I saw it!"</p> - -<p>Old Tom rolled his eyes Heavenward and passed the bottle across. "This -is all you get. This is all I've got."</p> - -<p>The General held the bottle up to the light. "Should have brought my -own. Let's hurry up and get this over with."</p> - -<p>Old Tom smiled the smile of the sorely beset and persecuted and said, -"You see, Merle, there's massive discontent among the population of -Itra. We feel we should send a man to the planet to, well, foment -change and, uh, hasten the already inevitable overthrow of the despotic -government. That man will be strictly on his own. The Government will -not be able to back him in any way whatsoever once he lands on Itra."</p> - -<p>The General had quickly finished the bottle. "You she," he interrupted, -"there's one thing they can't fight, an' that's an idea. Jus' one man -goes to Itra with the idea of Freedom, that's all it'll take. How -many men did it take to start the 'Merican Revolution? Jefferson. The -Russian Revolution? Marx!"</p> - -<p>"Yes," Old Tom said. "One dedicated man on Itra, preaching the ideas of -Liberty—liberty with responsibility and property rights under one God. -That man can change a world." Exhausted by the purity of his emotions, -Old Tom sat back gasping to await the answer.</p> - -<p>"A quarter of a million dollars a year?" Capt. Shaeffer asked at length.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">II</p> - -<p>The Itraians spoke a common language. It was somewhat guttural and -highly inflected. Fortunately, the spelling appeared to be phonetic, -with only forty-three characters being required. As near as anyone -could tell, centuries of worldwide communication had eliminated -regional peculiarities. The speech from one part of Itra was not -distinguishable from that of another part.</p> - -<p>Most of the language was recovered from spy tapes of television -programs. A dictionary was compiled laborously by a special scientific -task force of the Over-Council. The overall program was directed -and administered by Intercontinental Iron, Steel, Gas, Electricity, -Automobiles and Synthetics, Incorporated.</p> - -<p>It took Shaeffer just short of three years to speak Itraian -sufficiently well to convince non-Itraians that he spoke without accent.</p> - -<p>The remainder of his training program was administered by a variety -of other large industrial concerns. The training was conducted at a -Defense Facility.</p> - -<p>At the end of his training, Shaeffer was taken by special bus to the -New Mexican space port. A ship waited.</p> - -<p>The car moved smoothly from the Defense Force Base, down the broad -sixteen-lane highway, through the surrounding slum area and into Grants.</p> - -<p>Sight of the slums gave Shaeffer mixed emotions.</p> - -<p>It was not a feeling of superiority to the inhabitants; those he had -always regarded with a circumspect indifference. The slums were there. -He supposed they always would be there. But now, for the first time -in his life, he could truly say that he had escaped their omnipresent -threat once and for all. He felt relief and guilt.</p> - -<p>During the last three years, he had earned $750,000.</p> - -<p>As a civilian stationed on a Defense Force Base, he had, of course, -to pay for his clothing, his food and his lodging. But the charge was -nominal. Since he had been given only infrequent and closely supervised -leaves, he had been able to spend, altogether, only $12,000.</p> - -<p>Which meant that now, after taxes, he had accumulated in his savings -account a total of nearly $600,000 awaiting his return from Itra.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Shaeffer's ship stood off Itra while he prepared to disembark.</p> - -<p>In his cramped quarters, he dressed himself in Itraian-style clothing. -Capt. Merle S. Shaeffer became Shamar the Worker.</p> - -<p>In addition to his jump equipment, an oxygen cylinder, a face mask and -a shovel, he carried with him eighty pounds of counterfeit Itraian -currency ... all told, forty thousand individual bills of various -denominations. Earth felt this would be all he needed to survive in a -technologically advanced civilization.</p> - -<p>His plan was as follows:</p> - -<p>1. He was to land in a sparsely inhabited area on the larger masses.</p> - -<p>2. He was to procure transportation to Xxla, a major city, equivalent -to London or Tokyo. It was the headquarters for the Party.</p> - -<p>3. He was to establish residence in the slum area surrounding the -University of Xxla.</p> - -<p>4. Working through student contacts, he was to ingratiate himself with -such rebel intellectuals as could be found.</p> - -<p>5. Once his contacts were secure, he was to assist in the preparation -of propaganda and establish a clandestine press for its production.</p> - -<p>6. As quickly as the operation was self-sufficient, he was to move on -to another major city ... and begin all over.</p> - -<p>The ship descended into the atmosphere. The bell rang. Shamar the -Worker seated himself, put on his oxygen mask and signaled his -readiness. He breathed oxygen. The ship quivered, the door fell away -beneath him and he was battered unconscious by the slipstream.</p> - -<p>Five minutes later, pinwheeling lazily in free fall, he opened -his eyes. For an instant's panic he could not read the altimeter. -Then seeing that he was safe, he noted his physical sensations. He -was extremely cold. Gyrating wildly, he beat his chest to restore -circulation.</p> - -<p>He stabilized his fall by stretching out his hands. He floated with no -sensation of movement. Itra was overhead, falling up at him slowly. He -turned his back to the planet and checked the time. Twelve minutes yet -to go.</p> - -<p>He spent, in all, seventeen minutes in free fall. At 2000 feet, he -opened his parachute. The sound was like an explosion.</p> - -<p>He floated quietly, recovering from the shock. He removed his oxygen -mask and tasted the alien air. He sniffed several times. It was not -unpleasant.</p> - -<p>Below was darkness. Then suddenly the ground came floating up and hit -him.</p> - -<p>The terrain was irregular. He fought the chute to collapse it, tripped, -and twisted his ankle painfully.</p> - -<p>The chute lay quiet and he sat on the ground and cursed in English.</p> - -<p>At length he bundled up the chute and removed all of the packages of -money but the one disguised as a field pack. He used the shovel to -dig a shallow grave at the base of a tree. He interred the chute, the -oxygen cylinder, the mask, the shovel and scooped dirt over them with -his hands.</p> - -<p>He sat down and unlaced his shoe and found his ankle badly swollen. -Distant, unfamiliar odors filled him with apprehension and he started -at the slightest sound.</p> - -<p>Dawn was breaking.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">III</p> - -<p>Noting his bearings carefully, he hobbled painfully westward, with -thirty pounds of money on his back. He would intersect the major -North-South Intercontinental highway by at least noon.</p> - -<p>Two hours later, he came to a small plastic cabin in a clearing at the -edge of a forest.</p> - -<p>Wincing now with each step, he made his way to the door. He knocked.</p> - -<p>There was a long wait.</p> - -<p>The door opened. A girl stood before him in a dressing gown. She -frowned and asked, "<i>Itsil obwatly jer gekompilp?</i>"</p> - -<p>Hearing Itraian spoken by a native in the flesh had a powerful -emotional impact on Shamar the Worker.</p> - -<p>Stumblingly, he introduced himself and explained that he was camping -out. During the previous night he had become lost and injured his -ankle. If she could spare him food and directions, he would gladly pay.</p> - -<p>With a smile of superiority, she stepped aside and said in Itraian, -"Come in, Chom the Worker."</p> - -<p>He felt panic, but he choked it back and followed her. Apparently he -had horribly mispronounced his own name. It was as though, in English -he had said Barchestershire for Barset. He cursed whatever Professor -had picked that name for whatever obscure reason.</p> - -<p>"Sit down," she invited. "I'm about to have breakfast. Eggs and -bacon—" the Itraian equivalent—"if that's all right with you. I'm -Garfling Germadpoldlt by the way, although you can call me Ge-Ge."</p> - -<p>The food was quite unpleasant, as though overly ripe. He was able to -choke down the eggs with the greatest difficulty. Fortunately, the hot -drink that was the equivalent of Earth coffee at the end of the meal, -was sufficiently spicy to quiet his stomach.</p> - -<p>"Good coffee," he said.</p> - -<p>"Thank you. Care for a cigarette?"</p> - -<p>"I sure would."</p> - -<p>He had no matches, so she lit it for him, hovering above him a moment, -leaving with him the fresh odor of her hair.</p> - -<p>The taste of the cigarette was mild. Rather surprisingly, it -substituted for nicotine and allayed the sharp longing that had come -with the coffee.</p> - -<p>"Let's look at your ankle," she said. She knelt at his feet and began -to unlace the right shoe. "My, it's swollen," she said sympathetically.</p> - -<p>He winced as she touched it and then he reddened with embarrassment. He -had been walking across dusty country. He drew back the foot and bent -to restrain her.</p> - -<p>Playfully she slapped his hand away. "You sit back! I'll get it. I've -seen dirty feet before."</p> - -<p>She pulled off the shoe and peeled off the sock. "Oh, God, it is -swollen," she said. "You think it's broken, Shamar?"</p> - -<p>"Just sprained."</p> - -<p>"I'll get some hot water with some MedAid in it, and that'll take the -swelling out."</p> - -<p>When he had his foot in the water, she sat across from him and arranged -her dressing gown with a coquettish gesture. She caught him staring -at the earring, and one hand went to it caressingly. She smiled that -universal feminine smile of security and recklessness, of invitation -and rejection.</p> - -<p>"You're engaged," he noted.</p> - -<p>She opened her eyes wide and studied him above a thumbnail which she -tasted with her teeth. "I'm engaged to Von Stutsman—" as the name -might be translated—"perhaps you've heard of him? He's important in -the Party. You know him?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"You in the Party?" she said. She was teasing him now. Then, suddenly: -"Neither am I, but I guess I'll have to join if I become Mrs. Von -Stutsman."</p> - -<p>They were silent for a moment.</p> - -<p>Then she spoke, and he was frozen in terror, all thoughts but of -self-preservation washed from his mind.</p> - -<p>"Your accent is unbelieveably bad," she said.</p> - -<p>"I'm from Zuleb," he said lamely, at last.</p> - -<p>"Meta—Gelwhops—or even Karkeqwol, that makes no difference. Nobody on -Itra speaks like you do. So you must be from that planet that had the -Party in a flap several years ago—Earth, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>He said nothing.</p> - -<p>"Do you know what they'll do when they catch you?" she asked.</p> - -<p>"No," he said hollowly.</p> - -<p>"They'll behead you."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She laughed, not unkindly. "If you could see yourself! How ridiculous -you look, Shamar. I wonder what your real name is, by the way? Sitting -with a foot in the water and looking wildly about. Here, let me fix -more coffee and we can talk."</p> - -<p>She called cheerily over her shoulder, "You're safe here. No one will -be by. I'm not due back until Tuesday."</p> - -<p>She brought him a steaming mug. "Drink this while I dress." She -disappeared into the bedroom. He heard the shower running.</p> - -<p>He sat waiting, numb and desperate, and drank the coffee because it was -there. His thoughts scampered in the cage of his skull like mice on a -treadmill.</p> - -<p>When Ge-Ge came back, he had still not resolved the conflict within -him. She stood barefoot upon the rug and looked down at him, hunched -miserably over the pan of water, now lukewarm.</p> - -<p>"How's the foot?"</p> - -<p>"All right."</p> - -<p>"Want to take it out?"</p> - -<p>"I guess."</p> - -<p>"I'll get a towel."</p> - -<p>She waited until he had dried the foot and restored the sock and shoe. -The swelling was gone. He stood up and put his weight on it. He smiled -wanly. "It's okay now. It's not broken, I guess."</p> - -<p>She gestured him to the sofa. He complied.</p> - -<p>"What's in the field pack?" she asked. "Money? How much?" She moved -toward it. He half rose to stop her, but by then she had it partly -open. "My," she said, bringing out a thick sheaf of bills. She rippled -them sensuously. "Pretty. Very, very pretty." She examined them for -texture and appearance. "They look good, Shamar. I'll bet it would cost -ten million dollars in research on paper and ink and presses to do this -kind of a job. Only another government has got that kind of money to -throw around." She tossed the currency carelessly beside him and came -to sit at his side.</p> - -<p>She took his hand. Her hand was warm and gentle. "Tell me, Shamar," she -said. "Tell me all about it."</p> - -<p>So this is how easily spies are trapped in real life, Shamar told -himself with numb disbelief.</p> - -<p>The story came out slowly and hesitantly at first. She said nothing -until he had finished.</p> - -<p>"And that's all? You really believe that, don't you? And I guess -your government does, too. That all we need is just some little idea -or something." She turned away from him. "But of course, that's -neither here nor there, is it? I never imagined an adventurer type -would look like you. You have such a soft, honest voice. As a little -girl, I pictured myself being carried off by a tanned desert sheik on -a camel; and oh, he was lean and handsome! With dark flashing eyes -and murderously heavy lips and hands like iron! Well, that's life, I -guess." She stood and paced the room. "Let me think. We'll pick up a -flyer in Zelonip when we catch the bus next Tuesday. How much does the -money weigh?"</p> - -<p>"Eighty pounds."</p> - -<p>"I can carry about 10 pounds in my bag. You can take your field pack. -How much is in it? Thirty pounds? That'll leave about forty which we -can ship through on extra charges. Then, when we get to Xxla, I can -hide you out in an apartment over on the East side."</p> - -<p>"Why would you run a risk like that for me?" he asked.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>She brushed the hair from her face. "Let's say—what? I don't really -think you can make it, because it's so hopeless. But maybe, just maybe, -you might be one of the rare ones who, if he plays his cards right, can -beat the system. I love to see them licked!</p> - -<p>"Well, I'm a clerk. That's all. Just a lowly clerk in one of the Party -offices. I met Von Stutsman a year ago. This is his cabin. He lets me -use it.</p> - -<p>"He's older than I am; but there's worse husband material. But then -again, he's about to be transferred to one of the big agricultural -combines way out in the boondocks where there's no excitement at all. -Just little old ladies and little old men and peasants having children.</p> - -<p>"I'm a city girl. I like Xxla. And if I marry him, all that goes up the -flue. I'll be marooned with him, God knows where, for years. Stuck, -just stuck.</p> - -<p>"Still—he is Von Stutsman, and he's on his way up. Everyone says that. -Ten, twenty years, he'll be back to Xxla, and he'll come back on top.</p> - -<p>"Oh ... I don't know what I want to do! If I marry him, I can get all -the things I've always wanted. Position, security. He's older than I -am, but he's really a nice guy. It's just that he's dull. He can't talk -about anything but Party, Party, Party.</p> - -<p>"That's what I came out to this cabin for. To think things over, to try -to get things straightened out. And then you came along. Maybe it gives -me a chance for something exciting before I ship off to the boondocks. -Does that make sense to you?</p> - -<p>"I'll get married and sit out there, and I'll turn the pages of the -Party magazine and smile sweetly to myself. Because, you see, I'll -always be able to lean forward and say, 'Dear? Once upon a time, I -helped hide an Earth spy in Xxla.' And that'll knock that silly and -self-satisfied look off his face for once.... Oh, I don't know! Let me -alone!" With that, she fled to the bedroom and slammed the door behind -her.</p> - -<p>He could hear her sobbing helplessly.</p> - -<p>In the afternoon, she came out. He had fallen asleep. She shook him -gently to waken him.</p> - -<p>"Eh? Oh! Huh?" He smiled foolishly.</p> - -<p>"Wash up in there," she told him. "I'm sorry I blew up on you this -morning. I'll cook something."</p> - -<p>When he came back, she was serving them their dinner on steaming -platters.</p> - -<p>"Look, Ge-Ge," he said over coffee. "You don't like your government. -We'll help you out. There's this Galactic Federation idea." He -explained to her the cross-fertilization of the two cultures.</p> - -<p>"Shamar, my friend," she said, "did you see Earth's proposal? There was -nothing in it about giving us an interstellar drive. We were required -to give Earth all transportation franchises. The organization you used -to work for was to be given, as I remember it, an exclusive ninety-nine -year right to carry all Earth-Itra commerce. It was all covered in the -newspapers, didn't you see it?"</p> - -<p>Shamar said, "Well, now, I'm not familiar with the details. I wasn't -keeping up with them. But I'm sure these things could be, you know, -worked out. Maybe, for Security reasons, we didn't want to give you the -interstellar drive right off, but you can appreciate our logic there. -Once we saw you were, well, like us, a peace-loving planet, once you'd -changed your government to a democracy, you would see it our way and -you'd have no complaints on that score."</p> - -<p>"Let's not talk politics," she said wearily. "Maybe it's what you say, -and I'm just naturally suspicious. I don't want to talk about it."</p> - -<p>"Well, I was just trying to help—"</p> - -<p>The sentence was interrupted by a monstrous explosion.</p> - -<p>"Good God!" Shamar cried. "What was that?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, that," Ge-Ge said, shaking off the effects. "They were probably -testing one of their damned automated factories to see if it was -explosion proof and it wasn't."</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">IV</p> - -<p>During the week alone in the cabin, Ge-Ge fell in love with Shamar.</p> - -<p>"Oh, my God!" she cried. "What will I do when they catch you? I'll die, -Shamar! I couldn't bear it. We'll go to Xxla, we'll hide away as quietly -as two mice, somewhere. We won't go out. The two of us, alone but -together, behind closed doors and drawn shades. Nobody will ever know -about us. We'll be the invisible people."</p> - -<p>Shamar protested. "I don't see how we can ever be secure until -something's done about your government. As long as you don't reach some -kind of agreement with Earth, I'll be an outlaw. I'll be afraid any -minute they'll tap my shoulder and come and take me away. I don't think -we could hold up under that. We'd be at each other in no time."</p> - -<p>She wept quietly.</p> - -<p>The last day in the cabin, they went out and dug up the rest of the -money. The trip to Xxla took place without incident. Ge-Ge rented an -apartment for him, and he safely checked in. She went shopping for food -and clothing.</p> - -<p>Thereafter she came nearly every evening. They would eat and she would -reveal the inconsequential details of the office regime to which she -was daily exposed. After dinner, they would sit in the living room and -practice Itraian and neck a little. Then she would go home.</p> - -<p>One day, after a month of this routine, she threw herself into his -arms and sobbed, "I gave Von Stutsman back his earring today. It was -the only fair thing to do. I'm afraid he knows about us. He's had me -watched. I know he has. I admitted it was another man."</p> - -<p>Shamar held her tensely.</p> - -<p>She broke away. "You were born in Zuleb, you suffered amnesia, you woke -up in a ditch one morning without papers. You've been an itinerant -worker since. Things like that happen all the time. You hit a big -lottery ticket a few months ago. I told him that. How can he check it?"</p> - -<p>"You told him I didn't have any papers?"</p> - -<p>"Millions of people don't have any papers—the drifters, people that -do casual labor, the people that don't work at all. The thing is, -without papers he doesn't have any way to check on you. Oh, you should -have seen his face when I gave him back his earring. He was absolutely -livid. I didn't think he had it in him. I suppose I'll have to quit my -job now. Oh, if you only had papers so we could be married!"</p> - -<p>Ge-Ge's mood, that evening, alternated between despair and optimism. In -the end, she was morose and restless. She repeated several times, "I -just don't know what's going to happen to us."</p> - -<p>"Ge-Ge," he said, "I can't spend my life in this apartment I've got to -get out."</p> - -<p>"You're mad." She faced him from across the room. She stood with her -legs apart, firmly set. "Well, I don't care what happens any more. I -can't stand things to go on like they are. I'll introduce you to some -people I know, since you won't be happy until I do. But God help us!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>After approving his accent, which had improved under her tutelage, -Ge-Ge took him to a party the following Saturday.</p> - -<p>The party was held in an ill-lighted railroad flat. People congregated -cross-legged on the bare floor.</p> - -<p>Shamar listened to a man complaining that citizens were being taxed -beyond all endurance to support the enforced automation program. "They -aren't interested in building consumer goods. They're interested in -building factories to build consumer goods and blow them up testing -them. Or the factories are always obsolete just as soon as they finish -them, and they can't phase into their new production setup and Hundred -Year Plan."</p> - -<p>Ge-Ge whispered a warning to him to beware of spies.</p> - -<p>"Spies?"</p> - -<p>"The Party," she said, drawing him to one side.</p> - -<p>"But—but—you mean the Party just lets people talk like this?"</p> - -<p>"Whatever harm does it do?" she asked. "Everybody benefits from talking -out their aggressions. Now, have another drink and relax, and Shamar, -be careful! Nobody minds local crackpots, but nobody wants <i>foreign</i> -crackpots!"</p> - -<p>She led him to another drink and left him standing with the host.</p> - -<p>"Nice party," Shamar said.</p> - -<p>"Thank you," the host said. "I find it very invigorating. As long as -there's still people that think and that criticize on this planet, I -feel there's hope, don't you? This is your first time? I don't recall -your face. I have a study group that meets Wednesday nights. You're -welcome to come. We have very stimulating discussions about government -and politics. Please do come, any time you can. Just drop in any time -after eight. What was your name again?"</p> - -<p>"Shamar the Worker."</p> - -<p>"Interesting name," the host said. "Another drink?"</p> - -<p>Later, Shamar found himself in an intense conversation with a bearded -youth of perhaps seventeen.</p> - -<p>"A guy's responsible for his own conduct, right? Right! I'm responsible -for <i>their</i> conduct? Each man goes to hell in his own way, right? -Right! I don't want anything to do with them. You can't do anything -about it, man, that's what I'm telling you. I don't seem to be getting -through. Don't you see, it's a machine...."</p> - -<p>"But if everybody joined the Party," Shamar suggested.</p> - -<p>"So everybody joins? So what's new? Okay, you vote in the Party -elections. What do you get? You get these two guys running for office: -one is slightly left of center and one is slightly right of center. And -both are four-square for the Automated Factory Program. Just suppose -you did get a radical—suppose they accidentally let one slip through? -He goes off and they argue him into line, and when he comes back, you -say, 'Like, man, what happened?' And so he tells you, 'Well, I couldn't -do anything about it.' That's just what I'm telling you."</p> - -<p>"I can't see that," Shamar said. "I just don't believe that."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At another time, Shamar tried to explain free elections to a female. He -was informed, "Man, just give me a way to cast a vote against all those -crumbs—and then I'll think twice about all this guff you're peddling."</p> - -<p>A sober, scholarly man told him, "Join the Party? Whatever for? You -join the Party and you're expected to spend all your free evenings at -rallies and meetings and speeches and in ceremonial parades in honor of -the ground breaking for a new automated factory. No, thank you."</p> - -<p>Another told him, "You need a lesson in economics, son. What do you -mean by free society? The only way you can run an industrial society -is to limit production. If you produce enough for everybody, the -government would produce itself out of business. Look here. The -Party has millions of tabulating machines of one kind or another -clicking happily away day and night arranging production to fit income -distribution. They've never been known to goof and produce a surplus -of anything. Why, damn it, if every man, woman and child in the world -went out to buy a pound of nails apiece, the shortage of nails would be -fantastic. But would they produce more nails? You know they wouldn't. -'So you want more nails?' they'd say. 'Well, damn you, work for them!' -And the price would go up. See what I mean, son? They'd have another -stick to beat us with."</p> - -<p>Later, Shamar found himself seated on the floor across from an -aesthetic in his late thirties. "You see, my friend, force and violence -never accomplish their stated ends. We must stand firmly on the -principle of non-violence."</p> - -<p>"But that's taking it laying down," Shamar protested.</p> - -<p>"No! Sometimes I think it goes to the very core of human existence. -Perhaps this is the central import of all philosophy: the way things -are done is more important than the ends that are obtained."</p> - -<p>At that point, Ge-Ge arrived breathlessly. "Shamar, quickly! We must -go!"</p> - -<p>"Huh? I'm having this interesting little talk—"</p> - -<p>She tugged him from the floor. Baffled, he followed her. As he did so, -the fighting broke out in the far corner of the room.</p> - -<p>"Quickly!" she said. "Let's get out of here before the police come."</p> - -<p>They fought their way, hand in hand, to the door. There they paused for -a moment to look back.</p> - -<p>"It's a couple of rival socialist parties fighting," she explained -breathlessly.</p> - -<p>"What about?"</p> - -<p>"God knows. Hurry."</p> - -<p>They were in the street. "Don't run, walk," she cautioned. After a -block, she said, "I didn't even need to watch you at the end. Everybody -got so drunk nobody noticed you much."</p> - -<p>"Even the spies?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, they always get the drunkest."</p> - -<p>The siren sounded.</p> - -<p>"Let's hurry."</p> - -<p>When they arrived at Shamar's apartment, she asked, "Well, what did you -think of the party?"</p> - -<p>"It was an education," he said after a moment.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">V</p> - -<p>The following week Shamar spent many hours walking the streets of Xxla. -He tried to convince himself that the people he had met at the party -were not representative.</p> - -<p>They were.</p> - -<p>Friday night Ge-Ge announced "Shamar, I can't stand much more of this! -What's going to happen? What is Von Stutsman going to do? He's onto -something. I sometimes wish—oh, God!—I sometimes wish something would -happen so we'd know where we stand, so we'd know what to do!" He tried -to put an arm around her, but she brushed it away. "Don't! Let me -alone!"</p> - -<p>She retired to the other side of the room. For a moment, and for no -reason, the hostility in the air between them was like ice and fire.</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry," Ge-Ge said curtly.</p> - -<p>"That's all right," Shamar said, his voice cold and distant.</p> - -<p>"Let's talk about something else."</p> - -<p>They were silent for a minute. Then he said, "I wanted to ask you. Of -all the people I talked to, I couldn't find anyone who seemed to give -a damn, one way or the other, about Earth. Why is that? You'd think -they'd be at least talking about Earth."</p> - -<p>"Why should they be? We've got our own problems."</p> - -<p>At that point, the police arrived and took Shamar the Worker away.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They put him in a cell in which there were already three other -prisoners.</p> - -<p>"What you in for, buddy?"</p> - -<p>Shamar studied the prisoner for a moment without answering. His -companions looked up.</p> - -<p>"No visible means of support," Shamar said.</p> - -<p>"I'm Long John Freed."</p> - -<p>Shamar nodded.</p> - -<p>"They're trying to hook you for evading the productivity tax, huh?"</p> - -<p>Shamar declined comment.</p> - -<p>Freed settled back on his bunk. "I say take them for all you can. Now, -look, you're a little guy. So they bleed us white. Take a factory -manager or an important Black Market operator—you think they pay -taxes? You can bet they don't. It's a racket. The poor pay and pay -because they can't hire fancy lawyers to lie for them; and the rich -take and take. I don't see why the Party puts up with it."</p> - -<p>Freed shifted his position. "Say what you will about the Party—and -I know it's got it's faults—still, there are dedicated men in it. I -may be a small-time crook, but I'm as patriotic as the next man. The -Party's done a lot of good.</p> - -<p>"First time for you? How old are you, twenty-seven or so? First time, -they usually try to recruit you for the Factory Force.</p> - -<p>"It's not such a bad racket. When you start out, they toss you in with -lots of kids—usually the draftees. You get six weeks pick-and-shovel, -and you're really dragging when you finish that. Then comes specialist -school.</p> - -<p>"Try to get in as an electrician or plumber. Plasterers or bricklayers -have to work too hard. Carpentry's not bad—I'd hold out for -cabinet-making, rather than rough carpentry, if I had to go into -that. Then there's real specialties. Tile laying. You have to have a -personality for that, or you'd go nuts. Demolition's not too bad; you -blow up obsolete factories. That would have been right down my alley."</p> - -<p>Freed was silent a moment, then he resumed:</p> - -<p>"Sometimes I may talk like a radical, and maybe I am a little of a -radical, I don't know. You look at the overall picture, things ain't -too bad. I've known a lot of thieves and petty crooks in my time. As a -class, for pure patriotism, I'll stack them up against anybody you can -name; and in a way, you know, I'm kind of proud of that.... Well, let's -shut up and get some shut-eye."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When finally he slept, Shamar dreamed that the Party was a vast, -invulnerable pyramid resting on the shifting base of the population. It -was constructed to dampen out vibrations. The bottom quivered, and the -quiver ran upward a few inches and was absorbed. The top of the pyramid -remained stable, fixed and motionless, indifferent even to its own -foundation. The pyramid was built like an earthquake-proof tower. It -was built to last. The Party was built to govern. It need only devote -itself to its own preservation. Any other issue was secondary.</p> - -<p>It was an organic machine. The gears were flesh and blood. The people -on top were maintenance engineers. Their job was to go around with an -oil can that they could squirt when necessary to keep friction to a -minimum.</p> - -<p>He awakened the following morning ravenously hungry and was hugely -disappointed by breakfast. Even discounting his somewhat biased -viewpoint, the food was inedible.</p> - -<p>Freed accepted Shamar's share eagerly with the comment, "It'll taste -better after you miss a few meals. It always does."</p> - -<p>An hour later, the jailer came to open the cell.</p> - -<p>"Shamar the Worker? Get your stuff. We're going."</p> - -<p>Ge-Ge was waiting in the reception room. Her hair had been especially -waved for the occasion. She wore a suit newly pressed and gleaming. She -had tears in her eyes.</p> - -<p>She fled to his arms. "Darling!" she cried, caressing his face with -childlike wonder. "Was it awful? Did they beat you?"</p> - -<p>"I'm fine."</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="180" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>"Darling, we're going to get you out on bail. I've made all the -arrangements. We just have to go to the Judge's chambers for a minute, -and they'll let you go. Thank God you're going to be out of this -horrible place, at least for a little while."</p> - -<p>The jailer brought Shamar's belt and his bag of possessions. Shamar -signed a receipt for them and they went to the Judge.</p> - -<p>The Judge said, "Please be seated." He had a resonant and friendly -voice. He went to his desk and sat down.</p> - -<p>Ge-Ge and Shamar seated themselves before him.</p> - -<p>"Ah, you young people," he said. "Now, you must be Shamar the Worker, -and you—"</p> - -<p>"Garfling Germadpoldlt."</p> - -<p>"Of course." He turned to Shamar. "I hate to see a fine young person -like you in trouble, Shamar. It seems to me such a waste. Man and boy, -for sixty years I've been a dedicated worker for the Party. Oh, Shamar, -when I think of that glorious paradise to come—that time of wealth -and plenty for all—that time when the riches and abundance of Mother -Itra will, from Automation, overflow alike the homes of the rich and -poor...."</p> - -<p>They waited.</p> - -<p>He continued. "Here I sit, year after year, Garfling and Shamar, -judging my fellow men. Judging poor creatures who do not live the -Dream. I sometimes feel that this is not the way. I sometimes feel my -job is out there on the street corners, preaching the Dream, awakening -the souls, telling the story of love and beauty and abundance in the -life to come.</p> - -<p>"Ah, me. But the world is not yet perfect, is it? And man's -understanding is imperfect. Here you are before me today, Shamar, with -no visible means of support and no record of having paid productivity -taxes. Oh, what a grim and fearful picture! In all your life have you -ever once thought of your obligation to the future? You have failed -yourself; you have failed the Party; and failed the future.</p> - -<p>"Yet—in a larger sense—although this in no way militates against your -own guilt—have we not failed you? How have we permitted a human soul -to degrade himself to the point where we must punish him?"</p> - -<p>Abruptly, the Judge stood up. "Well, I've done the best I can. I remand -you to the custody of Miss Germadpoldlt. Your trial will be set at a -later date. You are not to leave Xxla without permission of this court. -And I hope my lecture today has fallen on fertile soil. It is not too -late to correct your ways. And I may say, if I am the one who hears -your case, your conduct between now and the trial may have some bearing -on the outcome."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They took a taxi back to his apartment. Ge-Ge trembled violently most -of the way and nestled against him; they murmured their affection.</p> - -<p>After he had been fed, she said nervously, "It was Von Stutsman who was -responsible for your arrest. I should have known we couldn't fight the -Party. If he digs hard enough, nothing on Itra can save us."</p> - -<p>Finally, she went out to canvas lawyers.</p> - -<p>She came back at dusk.</p> - -<p>"Shamar, darling," she said, "I've located him. I asked a lot of my -friends, and he's the best. He's a big lawyer for left-wing people. I -talked to him, I told him everything."</p> - -<p>"What! You told him everything?"</p> - -<p>"Why, yes."</p> - -<p>"You, you told him I was an Earthman?" He grabbed her by the shoulders. -"Listen, Ge-Ge! I was arrested on a charge I could beat; now look what -you've done. What makes you think he won't turn me over to the Party? -This is too big, now! This isn't just a tax avoidance matter, this is -treason for him."</p> - -<p>"It's all right, darling," she said soothingly, breaking free from him. -"I had to tell him so he'd take the case. Why would a big man like him -want to defend a common vagrant?"</p> - -<p>Shamar closed his mouth. "But—you mean, he won't tell anyone?"</p> - -<p>"Of course not."</p> - -<p>"Has the man no patriotism?"</p> - -<p>"Look, Shamar," she said in exasperation, "you once asked me why the -people in the street aren't upset about Earth. I'm beginning to see the -way you think. What you mean is, aren't we <i>afraid</i> of Earth? Aren't -we afraid Earth would, oh, do something like invade us or something? -That's what you mean."</p> - -<p>"Of course it is."</p> - -<p>"Once upon a time," she said, "when we first got space flight, the -Party got all shook up about the possibility of some hostile force -out there developing an interstellar drive and coming along and doing -their will with us. They asked the computers about it. Invading and -conquering a planet is such a vast technological undertaking that the -mind just boggles at it. Don't forget, we've got a warning network out -there. They're not very alert, or you wouldn't have gotten through, -but they wouldn't miss an invasion fleet. There's computer-controlled -chemical rockets in orbit, and we've got a few sited on Itra that can -blast down anything that slows up to try to land. It wouldn't take -one-hundredth, it wouldn't take one-thousandth of the technological -resources required to defend Itra that it would to attack her. Earth -just simply can't afford to attack us. They'd go broke trying. Every -million dollars you spent to get here, we'd spend a thousand to keep -you from landing.</p> - -<p>"Oh, I suppose if Earth wanted to, they might figure out some way to -blow up Itra. But where's the profit in that? We're not bothering you. -Why spend all that money when it's not going to get you one damn thing -in return?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The following day, Shamar called on the lawyer, Counselor Freemason.</p> - -<p>Counselor Freemason inquired politely as to the state of his financial -reserves. Shamar replied reassuringly.</p> - -<p>"Good, good. That's most encouraging. Most encouraging indeed. We need -not place any limit on our ingenuity, then.</p> - -<p>"I've been thinking about your case, Mr. Worker. The thing first to do, -in my opinion, is to stir up public sympathy in your favor. It's almost -an ideal case. It has no real political overtones. It's not as if -you're accused of anything serious. Well, I believe I can interest some -friends of mine who are always deeply concerned with cases involving -the infringement of an individual's liberty—provided, of course, -there are no political overtones. I can think of several good people -who would be willing to head up a Defense Committee. The fact that we -have and I'm talking now about as much as, oh, one hundred thousand -dollars?" He paused interrogatively.</p> - -<p>"I'm prepared to pay," Shamar said.</p> - -<p>"Maybe even more," Councilman Freemason continued quickly. "We can come -to that later. The important thing right now is to get down to work on -your case."</p> - -<p>"Counselor Freemason, now, obviously I'm not a lawyer," Shamar said, -"and I know it's bad business to tell a professional how to run -his job. But I believe Miss Germadpoldlt explained the, ah, rather -unusual delicacy of my own position. It would seem to me that the less -publicity we got, the better."</p> - -<p>Counselor Freemason shook a pen at him. "A very good point, Mr. -Worker. It shows you're thinking, and I'm glad of the opportunity to -explain the reasons for this recommendation. If I brazenly parade you -before them, you see, by implication it means we're not afraid of your -background being examined. We have nothing to hide. Consequently, they -will not look for anything. If, on the other hand, I'm cautious, -fearful, defensive, they'll ask themselves, 'What's Counselor Freemason -trying to hide?' And they'll start digging into your past.</p> - -<p>"Now, I hope that clears that matter up to your satisfaction? Good. -Good. I'll get right to work on your case. Do you have anything else? -Miss Germadpoldlt explained rather nicely, I think, yesterday. As -far as anyone knows, you're a man without papers. You've never paid -any taxes but they have no proof you owe taxes. You won money in the -lottery. You collected anonymously; lots of people do for perfectly -valid reasons. Let them prove you didn't win. The Party can't be very -interested in a man like that.</p> - -<p>"So, I'll raise an issue. Maybe we'll suggest that any lottery winner -is likely to be persecuted. The Party wants things to go smoothly. The -lottery makes the people feel as if, you know, they actually own a -piece of things. And too many people don't have papers.</p> - -<p>"My job is to take the specific and convert it to a vague general -principle that a number of people feel deeply about. The Party -will take the easy way out: they're not dumb. They've learned from -experience. You're not worth that much trouble to them. Otherwise, -there'll be a period of aggravation, people without papers beating up -police and things like that."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Three days later, Shamar met with the newly formed Committee of One -Hundred for Justice to Shamar the Worker.</p> - -<p>There were five members of the Committee and Counselor Freemason in -attendance. They briefed him on their initial activities.</p> - -<p>They had printed letterheads and were circulating letters to people -known to be friendly, with a hastily printed booklet giving the facts -of the case.</p> - -<p>"As you can see," Counselor Freemason said, "we're off to a very -fast start. Um, the question naturally arises as to finances. I have -advanced a certain amount out of my own pocket.... We will need -more than I can conveniently scrape together at the moment, and I'm -reluctant to—ah—impose on the Committee for a loan insofar as—"</p> - -<p>"I took the liberty of bringing along some cash," Shamar said. "For -current expenses and, of course, your retainer."</p> - -<p>They looked relieved. "Excellent, excellent. I might suggest, Mr. -Worker, that we appoint one of the Committee as treasurer—perhaps Mrs. -Freetle, here—" the lady smiled—"to take these financial worries -off your mind. This will leave you free to devote yourself fully to -activities defense."</p> - -<p>"Now that that's out of the way," one of the male Committee members -said, "let's get right down to business. As you can see, we're moving -fast. Our overall strategy is this. We must first establish a public -image for you, Mr. Worker, an image the average man can identify with. -Counselor Freemason has described your case to us. I simply don't -know what the Party's coming to to permit a man like Von Stutsman to -persecute you this way. Oh, I tell you, it makes my blood boil, Mr. -Worker!"</p> - -<p>Others of the Committee chimed in and the sentiment passed heatedly -among them.</p> - -<p>"Well," said Counselor Freemason, "I guess that about winds it up for -the moment. You all know where to reach me. Any time, day or night. I -guess, Mr. Worker, if you'll just turn the money over to Mrs. Freetle. -And I think, Mr. Hall, if you'd hire that speech writer—what's his -name? McGoglhy?—to work with Mr. Worker on his speeches."</p> - -<p>"Speeches?" Shamar asked.</p> - -<p>"You're going to be our featured speaker at all the rallies, of -course," Mrs. Freetle said. "I know you will do splendidly, just -splendidly! Your accent is so captivating. I've never heard anything -quite like it."</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">VI</p> - -<p>On the evening of his first public appearance, Shamar was given a -neatly typed speech. He rehearsed it hurriedly, stammers and all.</p> - -<p>"Fellow citizens! As I stand here, looking over this sea of faces, -hearing your applause and seeing how your hearts go out to one poor man -in distress, it—I—Well, I'm deeply touched. I can't tell you how much -it means to me. I prepared a speech for tonight, but I'm not going to -use it. I'm just going to stand here, instead, and tell you, just as -the words come out, how I feel." Here he would pause for applause and -then continue. "Thank you so very much. Thank you. I know you're all -behind me—except for the police agents in the audience." Here he would -wait for laughter. "We all know them, don't we? I see about a dozen. -A dozen agents have come down here to find out what I'm going to say. -Isn't that ridiculous?" Here there would be mixed laughter, applause -and cries in the affirmative. "All right! Thank you. I hope they get an -earful tonight."</p> - -<p>Later in the speech he would demand, "Why are they doing this to me? I -want you to tell me why. What have I done? What am I accused of doing? -Well, I'll tell you this—I'm not the kind of a man who is going to -submit meekly to this persecution. I'm going to fight back. I've got a -little money left from my lottery winnings, and I'll spend every cent -of it to fight these people doing this thing to me." Here he would -pause dramatically. "I want to leave you with this point. It's not just -Shamar the Worker that's involved. What am I? A poor, itinerant laborer -going from town to town. I'm nothing, I have never had anything, and -I guess I never will have anything. I'm no rich black marketeer or -businessman. I'm no fat politician. I'm just one little man. But it's -not me—and this is the point I want to leave you with—it's not Shamar -the Worker. He's unimportant. What is important is that if they can -do this to me, they can do it to you. If they can do it to Shamar the -Worker today, next year one of you will be up here on this platform -speaking just the way I am. So you see, this is your fight. It's not me -that's important—it's the principle that's important—"</p> - -<p>The meeting went brilliantly. Every time he paused, the audience -responded just as the speech-writer had indicated. It was as if they -were as well rehearsed as he.</p> - -<p>The next night, another meeting. And another. And another. He slept no -more than four hours a night when the campaign was in full swing. He -spoke dozens of times into the bright glare of TV cameras. He paraded -down a million streets in an open-topped car. Faces poured in front of -his own; on and on they came. People with tears in their eyes cried, -"God bless Shamar the Worker!" Once the Committee hired a brass band.</p> - -<p>So, for two weeks, it went.</p> - -<p>Then the Party threw him back in jail, in an apparent effort to deprive -the movement of its momentum.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>After three days, during which time Shamar was held incommunicado, -Counselor Freemason obtained permission to interview his client.</p> - -<p>"We're making marvelous progress! Ge-Ge is turning into a most -effective crusader. You should hear her when she cries, 'Give me back -my man!' This is a wonderful development for us. It's having the -opposite of the intended effect. Von Stutsman has over-reached himself -this time. The Party is going to have to back down, and it will cost -him dearly."</p> - -<p>"How's the finances?"</p> - -<p>"Ge-Ge has given us some advances—"</p> - -<p>"How much have you spent?"</p> - -<p>"Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't been keeping track closely. -Perhaps we've run a little more than we anticipated. The response, you -see—"</p> - -<p>Shamar returned to his cell wishing Earth's printing presses had worked -a little longer.</p> - -<p>It took nearly two weeks to arrange for Ge-Ge to visit him. When she -arrived, she was nearly on the point of tears.</p> - -<p>"Oh, my darling, how I've missed you!"</p> - -<p>She brought him up to date on the progress of his case. As Counselor -Freemason had reported, his imprisonment merely increased the vigor of -his supporters. Now they were at their highest pitch: a pitch which -would be difficult to maintain.</p> - -<p>"I'm just worried sick," she said. "If the Party can hold out another -week or two. I don't want to worry you, Shamar, but I want you to know -how you stand. Counselor Freemason says the worst that could happen -would be a short prison sentence, no more than a year, for not filing -tax forms. We could keep you out on appeal for quite a while."</p> - -<p>"Ge-Ge, how much have we spent so far?"</p> - -<p>"About three hundred thousand dollars."</p> - -<p>"Good God! They'll have it all when they get through! If I ever get -back to Earth—"</p> - -<p>"I don't care about money, Shamar! I just want you free!"</p> - -<p>He took her shoulders. "Ge-Ge, suppose the Party can't afford to back -down? Maybe they feel they have to stand firm to prevent a lot of -future trouble. And when Freemason gets all the money ... then what -chance will we stand? They might railroad me for years. They'll make an -example out of me. Now, are you willing to gamble? Everybody would jump -at the chance to vote them out. If we could—"</p> - -<p>"Please, Shamar," Ge-Ge said. "All this voting thing you've always been -so sold on is all right, I guess—but it just won't work. To begin -with, there isn't any way to vote."</p> - -<p>"Maybe there is," he said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Shamar was still in jail the following day when Ge-Ge appeared on the -TV program.</p> - -<p>PAMDEN had been reluctant to release time to her. PAMDEN was Itra's -largest industrial co-operative—Plastics, Agricultural Machinery, -Detergents, Electricity and Newsprint—and, being the most efficient, -was responsible for operating the TV networks.</p> - -<p>"Good heavens," said the station executive. "Nobody can say we haven't -already given you coverage. Miss Germadpoldlt."</p> - -<p>"They've ordered you to stop!" she protested.</p> - -<p>"They? The Party? Miss Germadpoldlt, do you honestly believe that? -Nobody tells a station manager what to program. Believe me. There is no -prior censorship whatsoever. But, on the other hand, we can't turn over -the TV stations to minority propaganda either."</p> - -<p>Ge-Ge argued and pleaded, and in the end the executive sighed wearily. -"I think we've been more than fair. But for you—and this is a personal -favor, Miss Germadpoldlt, because you are a young and attractive -woman—for you, I will phone our program director and see if he can get -you on the Noon Interview Show for tomorrow. It gives you the Itra-wide -network, which is certainly more than anyone has the right to ask. -You'll have ninety seconds to make your case. That's the best I can do."</p> - -<p>"Oh, thank you, thank you," Ge-Ge sobbed. "You're so fair and -generous." Outside his office she took a deep breath, crossed her -fingers and went home to revise her speech. She had only expected sixty.</p> - -<p>Ge-Ge arrived at the studio well in advance and was handed over to the -makeup department. With deft skill they converted her youth to age and -contrived to instill in her face weariness and defeat. Her protests -were ignored.</p> - -<p>"This is the way you make up for TV," she was told.</p> - -<p>They clucked collective tongues in disapproval when they were finished -and sent her on her way to a brief chat with the M.C.</p> - -<p>The M.C. assured her that she looked divine and hastily scanned her -prepared remarks, which had been heavily edited by some anonymous hand -in the news department. The M.C. incorporated a few pointless revisions -and dispatched the message to the department handling idiot-board -material. It was explained that Ge-Ge was to read, word for word, from -the electronic prompter.</p> - -<p>Ge-Ge watched the program from the wings. When she heard a commercial -message in favor of the consumption of a particular variety of candy, -her heart ran away with itself. Her courage faltered. But Shamar's face -brought it back.</p> - -<p>The signal came. She walked into the terrible glare which held up every -imperfection to microscopic inspection. She shook hands, turned, and -the camera closed in, full face. Beyond the camera lay the largest -daytime TV audience on Itra. She felt they were examining her pores -with minute and critical attention.</p> - -<p>She blinked nervously and began to read. "I am here to tell you about -Shamar the Worker." That was as far as she went with the prepared text. -Before the horrified ears of the auditors in the studio, she plunged -into remarks of another kind entirely.</p> - -<p>"If you want to do something to help Shamar the Worker, stop buying -candy! Don't buy any more candy. If you want to help Shamar the Worker, -don't buy any candy until he's free. If you want to help Shamar, -please, <i>please</i>, don't buy—"</p> - -<p>At this point the technicians cut Ge-Ge out and, with profound -mistiming, faded in an oleogenous taped message from the candy -manufacturer which began, "Friends, everybody likes Red Block candy, -and millions buy it every day. Here's why—"</p> - -<p>Ge-Ge surveyed the surrounding confusion and walked unmolested from the -studio.</p> - -<p>When she arrived home, an angry Counselor Freemason was waiting on her -doorstep. Inside, she allowed the Counselor to present his case.</p> - -<p>This new move, he explained, would have terrible consequences. -Shamar's good faith would be prejudiced. One simply did not, with -impunity, go outside the law in such matters. There were rules you -absolutely <i>must</i> play the game by. He washed his hands of all -responsibility for her conduct. "I hope to God nothing comes of it," he -concluded. "I'm having the Committee prepare a denial of—"</p> - -<p>The phone rang at this point, and without asking permission, Counselor -Freemason answered it. "Yes? This is Counselor Freemason, go ahead." He -listened a moment, said, "They did," in a weary voice and cradled the -phone.</p> - -<p>He turned to Ge-Ge. "Now we're in for it. That was Pete Freedle from -the Committee."</p> - -<p>"Well," said Ge-Ge, "I think we'll just wait a few days and see what -happens."</p> - -<p>A week later, Ge-Ge was still waiting. Counselor Freemason, deprived of -finances, was powerless to move. He saw everything crashing in shambles -at their feet.</p> - -<p>"But are they selling candy?" Ge-Ge asked.</p> - -<p>"That's beside the point!" Counselor Freemason cried. "Look here, every -crackpot on the planet will get into the act. They don't care about -Shamar. All you're going to prove now is that the Party is unpopular. -Everyone already knows that." He struck his forehead in exasperation.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>For two weeks, all was quiet. There were no more rallies for Shamar -the Worker. Signs were torn down and destroyed. No bulletins were -printed. No word passed over the electronic communications network. The -Committee, bankrupt, dissolved in mutual recriminations and bickering, -convinced that the cause of civil liberties had been set back one -hundred years.</p> - -<p>But candy was not selling.</p> - -<p>It clogged the distribution channels. It piled up in warehouses. It -lay untouched in stores. It grew rancid. Mechanically the factories -continued to turn it out.</p> - -<p>The Party denied the boycott was having any effect. This did not -appease the distributors of candy and the sellers of candy and the -producers of candy. Their jobs were at stake. They had payrolls to meet.</p> - -<p>The Party stopped production of candy. People suddenly found themselves -with no jobs to go to.</p> - -<p>The economic system was so tightly controlled and organized that the -effect was immediate. There was too little money available to purchase -the supplies normally purchased. Suppliers cut back on their factory -orders. This further reduced the need for supplies.</p> - -<p>At this point, the Party decided that the people would, by heaven, eat -candy. The Party Leader himself went on TV to appeal to the patriotism -of the people and to order them to resume buying candy. This was a -tactical error. But being the idea of the Party Leader himself, who had -always crashed headlong into obstacles, none opposed it.</p> - -<p>The issue was directly joined. People resented being told that it was -their patriotic duty to eat something that all medical opinion held was -harmful. Furthermore, people realized that they had somehow stumbled on -a fatal flaw in the system, which they could exploit without immediate -danger.</p> - -<p>They responded by refusing to buy soap.</p> - -<p>The people were now in open revolt. At last they had a method for -disapproving of things in general.</p> - -<p>The economy plummeted. The computers were in a frenzy. Effects of -corrective actions were no longer predictable. The Party frantically -tried to buy soap and dump it. The people turned to other commodities.</p> - -<p>Pressure now mounted from within the Party itself. The Supervisor of -PAMDEN saw his carefully nurtured empire begin to disintegrate. A -massive layoff in Consumer Plastics (badly hit by a running boycott) -took with it valuable key personnel. The Supervisor of PAMDEN told the -Party Leader himself that he damned well better do something about the -situation, and damned soon, too.</p> - -<p>The Party Leader himself ordered the release of Shamar the Worker.</p> - -<p>But by then no one was interested in Shamar the Worker.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The man came and unlocked Shamar's cell door. Shamar stood up. The -guard tossed in Shamar's clothing. "Get dressed." Shamar got dressed. -"Come along." Shamar came along.</p> - -<p>Shamar had had no word from outside for nearly two months, and it was -not until he saw Ge-Ge's face, radiant with joy, that he realized he -had won.</p> - -<p>"You're free!" she cried excitedly.</p> - -<p>Shamar was given back his belt and possessions. As they waited for the -Judge to make it official, Shamar asked, "I wonder what will happen -now?"</p> - -<p>"Nobody knows. Everybody says the Party's out for sure. Individual -Party members will try to form a new government, but it's going to -have to be radically different. They'll try to keep all they can, but -the people will wring them dry for every last concession. Maybe now -when they build the factories, they'll stay built and actually produce -something."</p> - -<p>"For a little while," Shamar said.</p> - -<p>"Longer than a little while," Ge-Ge said. "We've got a way to vote now, -when things get too bad."</p> - -<p>The Judge, in his red robe, came in. They stood respectfully. He looked -at them for a long time and said nothing. Finally, he spoke:</p> - -<p>"Well, Shamar the Worker, I guess you've got what you want. You pulled -down a whole civilization. I hope you're satisfied. What Dream will you -give us to replace the Dream you have taken from us?"</p> - -<p>His face hardened.</p> - -<p>"Shamar the Worker," he said, "the Party Leader himself has asked us to -dismiss the pending charges against you. This I now do. You are free to -go."</p> - -<p>"Thank you, sir," Shamar said respectfully.</p> - -<p>"Shamar the Worker, for your own sake, you better hope that I never see -you in my court. You better not get yourself arrested for anything. I -will show you no mercy, but justice will be swift and summary. So that -you may not rest easily at night, I am having some of my very skillful -and competent friends check through your background thoroughly. You -should hope, very sincerely, that they find nothing. You may go."</p> - -<p>Ge-Ge and Shamar stood. They turned in silence. When they were at the -door, the Judge called, "Oh, Shamar the Worker!"</p> - -<p>He turned, "Yes, sir?"</p> - -<p>"Shamar the Worker, I do not like your accent."</p> - -<p>Shamar could feel Ge-Ge trembling uncontrollably at his side.</p> - -<p>But when they reached the street, they were greeted by headlines -announcing that a delegation from the planet Earth had arrived.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph4">VII</p> - -<p>The Earth delegation had taken over a suite in the Party Hotel, -grandest and most expensive on Itra. Usually it was reserved for high -Party members.</p> - -<p>Shamar and Ge-Ge presented themselves at the desk. Shamar wrote out a -note in English. "Deliver this to the Earthmen," he instructed.</p> - -<p>Shamar and Ge-Ge retired to await results. Less than five minutes -passed; the bell hop returned. "Sir and Madam," he said respectfully, -"come with me."</p> - -<p>When he entered the suite, he felt the personality of Shamar the Worker -drop from him into memory.</p> - -<p>"Captain Shaeffer! Captain Shaeffer! Oh, what a magnificent job! I'm -Gene Gibson from the new Department of Extra-Terrestrial Affairs. Who's -this?"</p> - -<p>"This is my fiancee."</p> - -<p>"Good heavens, man, you intend to marry a <i>native</i>?" The man stepped -back, shocked.</p> - -<p>Capt. Shaeffer turned to Ge-Ge and performed bilingual introductions.</p> - -<p>They moved from the hallway to the sitting room and arranged themselves -on the furniture.</p> - -<p>"I must say, Captain Shaeffer, that your success on Itra has surpassed -our wildest expectations. The first inkling we had was when, out of -the blue, as it were, there was your face looking out at us from the -TV screen! You should have been there for our celebration that night! -You'd been on Itra just a little over two months! You're going down in -history as one of the greatest heroes of all time!"</p> - -<p>Capt. Shaeffer said, "I think it would be best if Ge-Ge and I were to -board your ship immediately. Her life may be in danger. Some old-line -Party men might resent her role in the revolution. Actually, she had -more to do with it than I did."</p> - -<p>"Oh, now, I'm sure you must be exaggerating a bit on that, Captain -Shaeffer. Her life in danger? Surely, now! Speaking frankly, -Captain—and mind you, I have no personal objection at all; this is -none of my business. But she is, after all, an <i>Itraian</i>. You know -these mixed marriages—"</p> - -<p>"I don't give a damn what you personally think," Capt. Shaeffer said. -"Is that understood once and for all? She goes."</p> - -<p>"Of course. I was just—now don't get huffy. Of course she goes. Just -as you wish, Captain."</p> - -<p>The angry exchange over an unknown but fearfully expected issue caused -Ge-Ge to blink back tears.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A week later, Gene Gibson came for the first time to visit them. Capt. -Shaeffer inquired as to progress.</p> - -<p>"Well, Captain, things are progressing. We are establishing a -government which will be more responsive to the will of the people -of Itra. We've had several very pleasant, informal chats with the -Party Leader, himself. Really a wonderful man. Once he got all the -facts—which were kept from him the first time we landed—he strikes -me as being quite responsible. I think we may have misjudged him. I'm -not too sure but what he isn't just the exact man to head up the new -government. We've discussed a few details on trade agreements and, I -must say, he's been very reasonable."</p> - -<p>Capt. Shaeffer said nothing.</p> - -<p>"Yes," Gene Gibson said, "he's really an exceptional individual. -A wealth of administrative experience. A fine grasp of practical -politics. I don't regard him as a typical Itraian at all. He feels -that, with us backing him, we can get this whole mess straightened out -in a few months."</p> - -<p>"Mess?"</p> - -<p>"Well, you must admit, I think, Captain Shaeffer, that you -did—well—make negotiations extremely difficult, in view of the, ah, -present temper of the populace.</p> - -<p>"You see, Earth would like to have a stable and responsible government. -A government, that is, which can see larger issues in perspective. -Not one which must devote its full time to coping with a group of -unpatriotic anarchists running loose in the streets."</p> - -<p>"What's he saying?" Ge-Ge asked.</p> - -<p>"As it is now," Gene Gibson continued, "we do have several rather -difficult problems. I think we'll probably have to quarantine Itra -for a few months until the Party Leader himself can form a stable -organizational structure. Somehow news of our trade discussions have -leaked out and for some reason has resulted in a general work stoppage. -So you see? By God, I'll just come right out and say it: Shaeffer, -you've left us one hell of a mess!"</p> - -<p>With that, Gene Gibson departed.</p> - -<p>"What did he say?" Ge-Ge asked meekly. But Shaeffer only shook his head.</p> - -<p>The following day, the ship's captain came to pay a courtesy call.</p> - -<p>"A very neat piece of work, Merle. Your new assignment just came in, by -the way, on the space radio."</p> - -<p>"New assignment? Ge-Ge and I are on our way back to Earth."</p> - -<p>"No, you're not. We're to drop you off at Midway for transhipment to -Folger's Hill. It's a new planet. You're to be Earth representative to -the people of Folger's Hill. The first shipload of colonists arrived -about a month ago."</p> - -<p>"I see," Capt. Shaeffer said.</p> - -<p>"The salary's good," the ship's captain said.</p> - -<p>"Suppose I don't want to go?"</p> - -<p>"I've got orders to leave you at Midway. I'd want to go if I were you. -They want you out of the way for a little while. You can't fight it. -You've been appointed a General in the Defense Forces, so you're now -under military law—and it's an order."</p> - -<p>At this point, Ge-Ge broke in to say, "How are things going in Xxla?"</p> - -<p>General Shaeffer choked back his anger and presented the question.</p> - -<p>"They don't tell us anything. The crew is confined to the ship."</p> - -<p>Shamar the Worker turned to Ge-Ge. "It's going about the same," he said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A year later, General Merle S. Shaeffer's card popped out of the -computer.</p> - -<p>"General Shaeffer's up for re-assignment."</p> - -<p>"Who in hell is General Shaeffer?"</p> - -<p>"Never heard of him."</p> - -<p>The card passed upward.</p> - -<p>"Merle Shaeffer is due for re-assignment," a man who knew the name told -the Secretary of the Over Council at lunch the following day. "There's -a new planet opened up even further away than Folger's Hill."</p> - -<p>"He's the one who butchered the Itra assignment? Send him there. -Anything new from Itra recently, by the way?"</p> - -<p>"Same as usual. I understand the anarchists have formed some kind of -government."</p> - -<p>"Terrible. Terrible. Well, the less said about that the better."</p> - -<p>A week later, again over lunch, the Secretary was told:</p> - -<p>"I guess we needn't worry about Merle Shaeffer any more. Disappeared -from his post, he and that Itraian woman of his, a couple of weeks -after they arrived on Folger's Hill. Probably a hunting accident got -them both. Their bodies were never found. These things happen on wild -new planets."</p> - -<p>The Secretary was silent for a long time. Then he said: "Shaeffer dead, -eh? I guess it's better that way. Well, a genius has passed, and we'll -not see his like again. Perverted, perhaps, but a genius none the less."</p> - -<p>They drank solemnly.</p> - -<p>"To Merle Shaeffer. You could call him a hero, so let's you and I drink -to that. No one else ever will."</p> - -<p>They drank again.</p> - -<p>Nothing further served to stir the Secretary's memory of Merle -Shaeffer, and he retired six months later at the end of his term. The -new Secretary was not familiar with the Itraian affair.</p> - -<p>He had been in office just a few days less than a year when, one -morning, he arrived at his office in a furious rage. "Get me the Head -of the Defense Forces!"</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry, sir, all the phones are tied up," his secretary said.</p> - -<p>"What in hell do you mean, all the phones are tied up?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. Maybe all at once everybody just left their phones off -the hook or something."</p> - -<p>"Why would they do that? That's ridiculous! Get a runner over after -him."</p> - -<p>Half an hour later, the Head of the Defense Forces arrived.</p> - -<p>"Do you know," the new Secretary demanded, "that yesterday all the -pennies went out of circulation? People apparently have been saving -them for the last couple of months. It finally showed up. All at once, -there aren't any pennies. You can't make change. Damn it, why would -those crazy idiots all decide to save their pennies at the same time? -It's not rational. Why did they do it?"</p> - -<p>The Head of the Defense Forces said nothing.</p> - -<p>The Secretary raved at him in anger, but the Head of the Defense Forces -did not have the heart to tell him that a hero had returned home.</p> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Shamar's War, by Kris Neville - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHAMAR'S WAR *** - -***** This file should be named 51072-h.htm or 51072-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/0/7/51072/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Shamar's War - -Author: Kris Neville - -Release Date: January 29, 2016 [EBook #51072] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHAMAR'S WAR *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - SHAMAR'S WAR - - BY KRIS NEVILLE - - ILLUSTRATED BY GUINTA - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Science Fiction February 1964. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - He was Earth's secret weapon, as - deadly as a sword--and two-edged! - - -I - - -The year was 2346, and Earth, at the time, was a political democracy. - -The population was ruled by the Over-Council and, in order of -decreasing importance, by Councils, and Local Councils. Each was -composed of representatives duly apportioned by popular vote between -the two contending parties. Executive direction was provided by a -variety of Secretaries, selected by vote of the appropriate Councils. -An independent Judiciary upheld the laws. - -A unified Earth sent colonists to the stars. Back came strange tales -and improbable animals. - -Back, too, came word of a burgeoning technological civilization on the -planet Itra, peopled by entirely humanoid aliens. - -Earth felt it would be wise for Itra to join in a Galactic Federation -and accordingly, submitted the terms of such a mutually advantageous -agreement. - -The Itraians declined.... - - * * * * * - -Space Captain Merle S. Shaeffer, the youngest and perhaps the most -naive pilot for Trans-Universe Transport, was called unexpectedly to -the New York office of the company. - -When Capt. Shaeffer entered the luxurious eightieth story suite, Old -Tom Twilmaker, the President of TUT, greeted him. With an arm around -his shoulder, Old Tom led Capt. Shaeffer to an immense inner office and -introduced him to a General Reuter, identified as the Chairman of the -Interscience Committee of the Over-Council. - -No one else was present. With the door closed, they were isolated in -Olympian splendor above and beyond the affairs of men. Here judgments -were final and impartial. Capt. Shaeffer, in the presence of two of the -men highest in the ruling councils of Earth, was reduced to incoherent -awe. - -General Reuter moved about restlessly. Old Tom was serene and beatific. - -When they were seated, Old Tom swiveled around and gazed long -in silence across the spires of the City. Capt. Shaeffer waited -respectfully. General Reuter fidgetted. - -"Some day," Old Tom said at last, "I'm going to take my leave of this. -Yes, gentle Jesus! Oh, when I think of all the souls still refusing -to admit our precious Savior, what bitterness, oh, what sorrow is my -wealth to me! Look down upon the teeming millions below us. How many -know not the Lord? Yes, some morning, I will forsake all this and go -out into the streets to spend my last days bringing the words of hope -to the weary and oppressed. Are you a Christian, Merle?" - -General Reuter cracked his knuckles nervously while Capt. Shaeffer -muttered an embarrassed affirmative. - -"I am a deeply religious man," Old Tom continued. "I guess you've heard -that, Merle?" - -"Yes sir," Capt. Shaeffer said. - -"But did you know that the Lord has summoned you here today?" Old Tom -asked. - -"No, sir," Capt. Shaeffer said. - -"General Reuter, here, is a dear friend. We've known each other, oh, -many years. Distantly related through our dear wives, in fact. And we -serve on the same Board of Directors and the same Charity Committees.... -A few weeks ago, when he asked me for a man, I called for your file, -Merle. I made discreet inquiries. Then I got down on my knees and -talked it over with God for, oh, it must have been all of an hour. I -asked, 'Is this the man?' And I was given a sign. Yes! At that moment, -a shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds!" - - * * * * * - -General Reuter had continued his nervous movements throughout the -speech. For the first time, he spoke. "Good God, Tom, serve us a -drink." He turned to Capt. Shaeffer. "A little drink now and then helps -a man relax. I'll just have mine straight, Tom." - -Old Tom studied Capt. Shaeffer. "I do not feel the gentle Master -approves of liquor." - -"Don't try to influence him," General Reuter said. "You're embarrassing -the boy." - -"I--" Capt. Shaeffer began. - -"Give him the drink. If he doesn't want to drink it, he won't have to -drink it." - -Sighing, Old Tom poured two bourbons from the bar in back of his desk -and passed them over. Martyrdom sat heavily upon his brow. - -After a quick twist of the wrist and an expert toss of the head, -General Reuter returned an empty glass. "Don't mind if I do have -another," he said. He was already less restless. - -"How's your ability to pick up languages?" General Reuter asked. - -"I learned Spanish and Russian at TUT PS," Capt. Shaeffer said -apologetically. "I'm supposed to have a real high aptitude in -languages, according to some tests I took. In case we should meet -intelligent aliens, TUT gives them." - -"You got no association with crackpot organizations, anything like -that?" General Reuter asked. "You're either a good Liberal-Conservative -or Radical-Progressive, aren't you? I don't care which. I don't believe -in prying into a man's politics." - -"I never belonged to anything," Capt. Shaeffer said. - -"Oh, I can assure you, that's been checked out very, very thoroughly," -Old Tom said. - -The General signaled for another drink. With a sigh of exasperation, -Old Tom complied. - -"Bob," Old Tom said, "I really think you've had enough. Please, now. -Our Master counsels moderation." - -"Damn it, Tom," the General said and turned back to the space pilot. -"May have a little job for you." - -Old Tom shook his head at the General, cautioning him. - -"Actually," the General said, ignoring the executive, "we'll be sort of -renting you from TUT. In a way you'll still be working for them. I can -get a million dollars out of the--" - -"Bob!" - -"--unmarked appropriation if it goes in in TUT's name. No questions -asked. National Defense. I couldn't get anywhere near that much for -an individual for a year. It gives us a pie to slice. We were talking -about it before you came in. How does a quarter of a million dollars a -year sound to you?" - -"When it comes to such matters," Old Tom interjected hastily, "I think -first of the opportunities they bring to do good." - -The General continued, "Now you know, Merle. And this is serious. I -want you to listen to me. Because this comes under World Security laws, -and I'm going to bind you to them. You know what that means? You'll be -held responsible." - -"Yes, sir," Merle said, swallowing stiffly. "I understand." - -"Good. Let's have a drink on that." - - * * * * * - -"Please be quiet, General," Old Tom said. "Let me explain. You see, -Merle, the Interscience Committee was recently directed to consider -methods for creating a climate of opinion on Itra--of which I'm sure -you've heard--which would be favorable to the proposed Galactic -Federation." - -"Excuse me," General Reuter said. "They don't have a democracy, like -we do. They don't have any freedom like we do. I have no doubt the -average whateveryoucallem--Itraians, I guess--the average gooks--would -be glad to see us come in and just kick the hell out of whoever is in -charge of them." - -"Now, General," Old Tom said more sharply. - -"But that's not the whole thing," the General continued. "Even fit were -right thing to do, an' I'm not saying isn't--right thing to do--there's -log-lo-lo-gistics. I don't want to convey the impresh, impression that -our Defense Force people have been wasting money. Never had as much as -needed, fact. No, it's like this. - -"We have this broad base to buil' from. Backbone. But we live in -a democracy. Now, Old Tom's Liberal-Conservative. And me, I'm -Radical-Progresshive. But we agree on one thing: importance of strong -defense. A lot of people don' understan' this. Feel we're already -spendin' more than we can afford. But I want to ask them, what's more -important than the defense of our planet?" - -"General, I'm afraid this is not entirely germane," Old Tom said -stiffly. - -"Never mind that right now. Point is, it will take us long time to get -the serious nature of the menace of Itra across to the voters. Then, -maybe fifteen, twenty years.... Let's just take one thing. We don't have -anywhere near enough troop transports to carry out the occupation of -Itra. You know how long it takes to build them? My point is, we may not -have that long. Suppose Itra should get secret of interstellar drive -tomorrow, then where would we be?" - -Old Tom slammed his fist on the desk. "General, please! The boy isn't -interested in all that." - -The General surged angrily to his feet. "By God, that's what's wrong -with this world today!" he cried. "Nobody's interested in Defense. -Spend only a measly twenty per cent of the Gross World Product on -Defense, and expect to keep strong! Good God, Tom, give me a drink!" -Apparently heresy had shocked him sober. - -Old Tom explained, "The General is a patriot. We all respect him for -it." - -"I understand," Capt. Shaeffer said. - -General Reuter hammered his knuckles in rhythm on the table. "The -drink, the drink, the drink! You got more in the bottle. I saw it!" - -Old Tom rolled his eyes Heavenward and passed the bottle across. "This -is all you get. This is all I've got." - -The General held the bottle up to the light. "Should have brought my -own. Let's hurry up and get this over with." - -Old Tom smiled the smile of the sorely beset and persecuted and said, -"You see, Merle, there's massive discontent among the population of -Itra. We feel we should send a man to the planet to, well, foment -change and, uh, hasten the already inevitable overthrow of the despotic -government. That man will be strictly on his own. The Government will -not be able to back him in any way whatsoever once he lands on Itra." - -The General had quickly finished the bottle. "You she," he interrupted, -"there's one thing they can't fight, an' that's an idea. Jus' one man -goes to Itra with the idea of Freedom, that's all it'll take. How -many men did it take to start the 'Merican Revolution? Jefferson. The -Russian Revolution? Marx!" - -"Yes," Old Tom said. "One dedicated man on Itra, preaching the ideas of -Liberty--liberty with responsibility and property rights under one God. -That man can change a world." Exhausted by the purity of his emotions, -Old Tom sat back gasping to await the answer. - -"A quarter of a million dollars a year?" Capt. Shaeffer asked at length. - - -II - -The Itraians spoke a common language. It was somewhat guttural and -highly inflected. Fortunately, the spelling appeared to be phonetic, -with only forty-three characters being required. As near as anyone -could tell, centuries of worldwide communication had eliminated -regional peculiarities. The speech from one part of Itra was not -distinguishable from that of another part. - -Most of the language was recovered from spy tapes of television -programs. A dictionary was compiled laborously by a special scientific -task force of the Over-Council. The overall program was directed -and administered by Intercontinental Iron, Steel, Gas, Electricity, -Automobiles and Synthetics, Incorporated. - -It took Shaeffer just short of three years to speak Itraian -sufficiently well to convince non-Itraians that he spoke without accent. - -The remainder of his training program was administered by a variety -of other large industrial concerns. The training was conducted at a -Defense Facility. - -At the end of his training, Shaeffer was taken by special bus to the -New Mexican space port. A ship waited. - -The car moved smoothly from the Defense Force Base, down the broad -sixteen-lane highway, through the surrounding slum area and into Grants. - -Sight of the slums gave Shaeffer mixed emotions. - -It was not a feeling of superiority to the inhabitants; those he had -always regarded with a circumspect indifference. The slums were there. -He supposed they always would be there. But now, for the first time -in his life, he could truly say that he had escaped their omnipresent -threat once and for all. He felt relief and guilt. - -During the last three years, he had earned $750,000. - -As a civilian stationed on a Defense Force Base, he had, of course, -to pay for his clothing, his food and his lodging. But the charge was -nominal. Since he had been given only infrequent and closely supervised -leaves, he had been able to spend, altogether, only $12,000. - -Which meant that now, after taxes, he had accumulated in his savings -account a total of nearly $600,000 awaiting his return from Itra. - - * * * * * - -Shaeffer's ship stood off Itra while he prepared to disembark. - -In his cramped quarters, he dressed himself in Itraian-style clothing. -Capt. Merle S. Shaeffer became Shamar the Worker. - -In addition to his jump equipment, an oxygen cylinder, a face mask and -a shovel, he carried with him eighty pounds of counterfeit Itraian -currency ... all told, forty thousand individual bills of various -denominations. Earth felt this would be all he needed to survive in a -technologically advanced civilization. - -His plan was as follows: - -1. He was to land in a sparsely inhabited area on the larger masses. - -2. He was to procure transportation to Xxla, a major city, equivalent -to London or Tokyo. It was the headquarters for the Party. - -3. He was to establish residence in the slum area surrounding the -University of Xxla. - -4. Working through student contacts, he was to ingratiate himself with -such rebel intellectuals as could be found. - -5. Once his contacts were secure, he was to assist in the preparation -of propaganda and establish a clandestine press for its production. - -6. As quickly as the operation was self-sufficient, he was to move on -to another major city ... and begin all over. - -The ship descended into the atmosphere. The bell rang. Shamar the -Worker seated himself, put on his oxygen mask and signaled his -readiness. He breathed oxygen. The ship quivered, the door fell away -beneath him and he was battered unconscious by the slipstream. - -Five minutes later, pinwheeling lazily in free fall, he opened -his eyes. For an instant's panic he could not read the altimeter. -Then seeing that he was safe, he noted his physical sensations. He -was extremely cold. Gyrating wildly, he beat his chest to restore -circulation. - -He stabilized his fall by stretching out his hands. He floated with no -sensation of movement. Itra was overhead, falling up at him slowly. He -turned his back to the planet and checked the time. Twelve minutes yet -to go. - -He spent, in all, seventeen minutes in free fall. At 2000 feet, he -opened his parachute. The sound was like an explosion. - -He floated quietly, recovering from the shock. He removed his oxygen -mask and tasted the alien air. He sniffed several times. It was not -unpleasant. - -Below was darkness. Then suddenly the ground came floating up and hit -him. - -The terrain was irregular. He fought the chute to collapse it, tripped, -and twisted his ankle painfully. - -The chute lay quiet and he sat on the ground and cursed in English. - -At length he bundled up the chute and removed all of the packages of -money but the one disguised as a field pack. He used the shovel to -dig a shallow grave at the base of a tree. He interred the chute, the -oxygen cylinder, the mask, the shovel and scooped dirt over them with -his hands. - -He sat down and unlaced his shoe and found his ankle badly swollen. -Distant, unfamiliar odors filled him with apprehension and he started -at the slightest sound. - -Dawn was breaking. - - -III - -Noting his bearings carefully, he hobbled painfully westward, with -thirty pounds of money on his back. He would intersect the major -North-South Intercontinental highway by at least noon. - -Two hours later, he came to a small plastic cabin in a clearing at the -edge of a forest. - -Wincing now with each step, he made his way to the door. He knocked. - -There was a long wait. - -The door opened. A girl stood before him in a dressing gown. She -frowned and asked, "_Itsil obwatly jer gekompilp?_" - -Hearing Itraian spoken by a native in the flesh had a powerful -emotional impact on Shamar the Worker. - -Stumblingly, he introduced himself and explained that he was camping -out. During the previous night he had become lost and injured his -ankle. If she could spare him food and directions, he would gladly pay. - -With a smile of superiority, she stepped aside and said in Itraian, -"Come in, Chom the Worker." - -He felt panic, but he choked it back and followed her. Apparently he -had horribly mispronounced his own name. It was as though, in English -he had said Barchestershire for Barset. He cursed whatever Professor -had picked that name for whatever obscure reason. - -"Sit down," she invited. "I'm about to have breakfast. Eggs and -bacon--" the Itraian equivalent--"if that's all right with you. I'm -Garfling Germadpoldlt by the way, although you can call me Ge-Ge." - -The food was quite unpleasant, as though overly ripe. He was able to -choke down the eggs with the greatest difficulty. Fortunately, the hot -drink that was the equivalent of Earth coffee at the end of the meal, -was sufficiently spicy to quiet his stomach. - -"Good coffee," he said. - -"Thank you. Care for a cigarette?" - -"I sure would." - -He had no matches, so she lit it for him, hovering above him a moment, -leaving with him the fresh odor of her hair. - -The taste of the cigarette was mild. Rather surprisingly, it -substituted for nicotine and allayed the sharp longing that had come -with the coffee. - -"Let's look at your ankle," she said. She knelt at his feet and began -to unlace the right shoe. "My, it's swollen," she said sympathetically. - -He winced as she touched it and then he reddened with embarrassment. He -had been walking across dusty country. He drew back the foot and bent -to restrain her. - -Playfully she slapped his hand away. "You sit back! I'll get it. I've -seen dirty feet before." - -She pulled off the shoe and peeled off the sock. "Oh, God, it is -swollen," she said. "You think it's broken, Shamar?" - -"Just sprained." - -"I'll get some hot water with some MedAid in it, and that'll take the -swelling out." - -When he had his foot in the water, she sat across from him and arranged -her dressing gown with a coquettish gesture. She caught him staring -at the earring, and one hand went to it caressingly. She smiled that -universal feminine smile of security and recklessness, of invitation -and rejection. - -"You're engaged," he noted. - -She opened her eyes wide and studied him above a thumbnail which she -tasted with her teeth. "I'm engaged to Von Stutsman--" as the name -might be translated--"perhaps you've heard of him? He's important in -the Party. You know him?" - -"No." - -"You in the Party?" she said. She was teasing him now. Then, suddenly: -"Neither am I, but I guess I'll have to join if I become Mrs. Von -Stutsman." - -They were silent for a moment. - -Then she spoke, and he was frozen in terror, all thoughts but of -self-preservation washed from his mind. - -"Your accent is unbelieveably bad," she said. - -"I'm from Zuleb," he said lamely, at last. - -"Meta--Gelwhops--or even Karkeqwol, that makes no difference. Nobody on -Itra speaks like you do. So you must be from that planet that had the -Party in a flap several years ago--Earth, isn't it?" - -He said nothing. - -"Do you know what they'll do when they catch you?" she asked. - -"No," he said hollowly. - -"They'll behead you." - - * * * * * - -She laughed, not unkindly. "If you could see yourself! How ridiculous -you look, Shamar. I wonder what your real name is, by the way? Sitting -with a foot in the water and looking wildly about. Here, let me fix -more coffee and we can talk." - -She called cheerily over her shoulder, "You're safe here. No one will -be by. I'm not due back until Tuesday." - -She brought him a steaming mug. "Drink this while I dress." She -disappeared into the bedroom. He heard the shower running. - -He sat waiting, numb and desperate, and drank the coffee because it was -there. His thoughts scampered in the cage of his skull like mice on a -treadmill. - -When Ge-Ge came back, he had still not resolved the conflict within -him. She stood barefoot upon the rug and looked down at him, hunched -miserably over the pan of water, now lukewarm. - -"How's the foot?" - -"All right." - -"Want to take it out?" - -"I guess." - -"I'll get a towel." - -She waited until he had dried the foot and restored the sock and shoe. -The swelling was gone. He stood up and put his weight on it. He smiled -wanly. "It's okay now. It's not broken, I guess." - -She gestured him to the sofa. He complied. - -"What's in the field pack?" she asked. "Money? How much?" She moved -toward it. He half rose to stop her, but by then she had it partly -open. "My," she said, bringing out a thick sheaf of bills. She rippled -them sensuously. "Pretty. Very, very pretty." She examined them for -texture and appearance. "They look good, Shamar. I'll bet it would cost -ten million dollars in research on paper and ink and presses to do this -kind of a job. Only another government has got that kind of money to -throw around." She tossed the currency carelessly beside him and came -to sit at his side. - -She took his hand. Her hand was warm and gentle. "Tell me, Shamar," she -said. "Tell me all about it." - -So this is how easily spies are trapped in real life, Shamar told -himself with numb disbelief. - -The story came out slowly and hesitantly at first. She said nothing -until he had finished. - -"And that's all? You really believe that, don't you? And I guess -your government does, too. That all we need is just some little idea -or something." She turned away from him. "But of course, that's -neither here nor there, is it? I never imagined an adventurer type -would look like you. You have such a soft, honest voice. As a little -girl, I pictured myself being carried off by a tanned desert sheik on -a camel; and oh, he was lean and handsome! With dark flashing eyes -and murderously heavy lips and hands like iron! Well, that's life, I -guess." She stood and paced the room. "Let me think. We'll pick up a -flyer in Zelonip when we catch the bus next Tuesday. How much does the -money weigh?" - -"Eighty pounds." - -"I can carry about 10 pounds in my bag. You can take your field pack. -How much is in it? Thirty pounds? That'll leave about forty which we -can ship through on extra charges. Then, when we get to Xxla, I can -hide you out in an apartment over on the East side." - -"Why would you run a risk like that for me?" he asked. - - * * * * * - -She brushed the hair from her face. "Let's say--what? I don't really -think you can make it, because it's so hopeless. But maybe, just maybe, -you might be one of the rare ones who, if he plays his cards right, can -beat the system. I love to see them licked! - -"Well, I'm a clerk. That's all. Just a lowly clerk in one of the Party -offices. I met Von Stutsman a year ago. This is his cabin. He lets me -use it. - -"He's older than I am; but there's worse husband material. But then -again, he's about to be transferred to one of the big agricultural -combines way out in the boondocks where there's no excitement at all. -Just little old ladies and little old men and peasants having children. - -"I'm a city girl. I like Xxla. And if I marry him, all that goes up the -flue. I'll be marooned with him, God knows where, for years. Stuck, -just stuck. - -"Still--he is Von Stutsman, and he's on his way up. Everyone says that. -Ten, twenty years, he'll be back to Xxla, and he'll come back on top. - -"Oh ... I don't know what I want to do! If I marry him, I can get all -the things I've always wanted. Position, security. He's older than I -am, but he's really a nice guy. It's just that he's dull. He can't talk -about anything but Party, Party, Party. - -"That's what I came out to this cabin for. To think things over, to try -to get things straightened out. And then you came along. Maybe it gives -me a chance for something exciting before I ship off to the boondocks. -Does that make sense to you? - -"I'll get married and sit out there, and I'll turn the pages of the -Party magazine and smile sweetly to myself. Because, you see, I'll -always be able to lean forward and say, 'Dear? Once upon a time, I -helped hide an Earth spy in Xxla.' And that'll knock that silly and -self-satisfied look off his face for once.... Oh, I don't know! Let me -alone!" With that, she fled to the bedroom and slammed the door behind -her. - -He could hear her sobbing helplessly. - -In the afternoon, she came out. He had fallen asleep. She shook him -gently to waken him. - -"Eh? Oh! Huh?" He smiled foolishly. - -"Wash up in there," she told him. "I'm sorry I blew up on you this -morning. I'll cook something." - -When he came back, she was serving them their dinner on steaming -platters. - -"Look, Ge-Ge," he said over coffee. "You don't like your government. -We'll help you out. There's this Galactic Federation idea." He -explained to her the cross-fertilization of the two cultures. - -"Shamar, my friend," she said, "did you see Earth's proposal? There was -nothing in it about giving us an interstellar drive. We were required -to give Earth all transportation franchises. The organization you used -to work for was to be given, as I remember it, an exclusive ninety-nine -year right to carry all Earth-Itra commerce. It was all covered in the -newspapers, didn't you see it?" - -Shamar said, "Well, now, I'm not familiar with the details. I wasn't -keeping up with them. But I'm sure these things could be, you know, -worked out. Maybe, for Security reasons, we didn't want to give you the -interstellar drive right off, but you can appreciate our logic there. -Once we saw you were, well, like us, a peace-loving planet, once you'd -changed your government to a democracy, you would see it our way and -you'd have no complaints on that score." - -"Let's not talk politics," she said wearily. "Maybe it's what you say, -and I'm just naturally suspicious. I don't want to talk about it." - -"Well, I was just trying to help--" - -The sentence was interrupted by a monstrous explosion. - -"Good God!" Shamar cried. "What was that?" - -"Oh, that," Ge-Ge said, shaking off the effects. "They were probably -testing one of their damned automated factories to see if it was -explosion proof and it wasn't." - - -IV - -During the week alone in the cabin, Ge-Ge fell in love with Shamar. - -"Oh, my God!" she cried. "What will I do when they catch you? I'll die, -Shamar! I couldn't bear it. We'll go to Xxla, we'll hide away as quietly -as two mice, somewhere. We won't go out. The two of us, alone but -together, behind closed doors and drawn shades. Nobody will ever know -about us. We'll be the invisible people." - -Shamar protested. "I don't see how we can ever be secure until -something's done about your government. As long as you don't reach some -kind of agreement with Earth, I'll be an outlaw. I'll be afraid any -minute they'll tap my shoulder and come and take me away. I don't think -we could hold up under that. We'd be at each other in no time." - -She wept quietly. - -The last day in the cabin, they went out and dug up the rest of the -money. The trip to Xxla took place without incident. Ge-Ge rented an -apartment for him, and he safely checked in. She went shopping for food -and clothing. - -Thereafter she came nearly every evening. They would eat and she would -reveal the inconsequential details of the office regime to which she -was daily exposed. After dinner, they would sit in the living room and -practice Itraian and neck a little. Then she would go home. - -One day, after a month of this routine, she threw herself into his -arms and sobbed, "I gave Von Stutsman back his earring today. It was -the only fair thing to do. I'm afraid he knows about us. He's had me -watched. I know he has. I admitted it was another man." - -Shamar held her tensely. - -She broke away. "You were born in Zuleb, you suffered amnesia, you woke -up in a ditch one morning without papers. You've been an itinerant -worker since. Things like that happen all the time. You hit a big -lottery ticket a few months ago. I told him that. How can he check it?" - -"You told him I didn't have any papers?" - -"Millions of people don't have any papers--the drifters, people that -do casual labor, the people that don't work at all. The thing is, -without papers he doesn't have any way to check on you. Oh, you should -have seen his face when I gave him back his earring. He was absolutely -livid. I didn't think he had it in him. I suppose I'll have to quit my -job now. Oh, if you only had papers so we could be married!" - -Ge-Ge's mood, that evening, alternated between despair and optimism. In -the end, she was morose and restless. She repeated several times, "I -just don't know what's going to happen to us." - -"Ge-Ge," he said, "I can't spend my life in this apartment I've got to -get out." - -"You're mad." She faced him from across the room. She stood with her -legs apart, firmly set. "Well, I don't care what happens any more. I -can't stand things to go on like they are. I'll introduce you to some -people I know, since you won't be happy until I do. But God help us!" - - * * * * * - -After approving his accent, which had improved under her tutelage, -Ge-Ge took him to a party the following Saturday. - -The party was held in an ill-lighted railroad flat. People congregated -cross-legged on the bare floor. - -Shamar listened to a man complaining that citizens were being taxed -beyond all endurance to support the enforced automation program. "They -aren't interested in building consumer goods. They're interested in -building factories to build consumer goods and blow them up testing -them. Or the factories are always obsolete just as soon as they finish -them, and they can't phase into their new production setup and Hundred -Year Plan." - -Ge-Ge whispered a warning to him to beware of spies. - -"Spies?" - -"The Party," she said, drawing him to one side. - -"But--but--you mean the Party just lets people talk like this?" - -"Whatever harm does it do?" she asked. "Everybody benefits from talking -out their aggressions. Now, have another drink and relax, and Shamar, -be careful! Nobody minds local crackpots, but nobody wants _foreign_ -crackpots!" - -She led him to another drink and left him standing with the host. - -"Nice party," Shamar said. - -"Thank you," the host said. "I find it very invigorating. As long as -there's still people that think and that criticize on this planet, I -feel there's hope, don't you? This is your first time? I don't recall -your face. I have a study group that meets Wednesday nights. You're -welcome to come. We have very stimulating discussions about government -and politics. Please do come, any time you can. Just drop in any time -after eight. What was your name again?" - -"Shamar the Worker." - -"Interesting name," the host said. "Another drink?" - -Later, Shamar found himself in an intense conversation with a bearded -youth of perhaps seventeen. - -"A guy's responsible for his own conduct, right? Right! I'm responsible -for _their_ conduct? Each man goes to hell in his own way, right? -Right! I don't want anything to do with them. You can't do anything -about it, man, that's what I'm telling you. I don't seem to be getting -through. Don't you see, it's a machine...." - -"But if everybody joined the Party," Shamar suggested. - -"So everybody joins? So what's new? Okay, you vote in the Party -elections. What do you get? You get these two guys running for office: -one is slightly left of center and one is slightly right of center. And -both are four-square for the Automated Factory Program. Just suppose -you did get a radical--suppose they accidentally let one slip through? -He goes off and they argue him into line, and when he comes back, you -say, 'Like, man, what happened?' And so he tells you, 'Well, I couldn't -do anything about it.' That's just what I'm telling you." - -"I can't see that," Shamar said. "I just don't believe that." - - * * * * * - -At another time, Shamar tried to explain free elections to a female. He -was informed, "Man, just give me a way to cast a vote against all those -crumbs--and then I'll think twice about all this guff you're peddling." - -A sober, scholarly man told him, "Join the Party? Whatever for? You -join the Party and you're expected to spend all your free evenings at -rallies and meetings and speeches and in ceremonial parades in honor of -the ground breaking for a new automated factory. No, thank you." - -Another told him, "You need a lesson in economics, son. What do you -mean by free society? The only way you can run an industrial society -is to limit production. If you produce enough for everybody, the -government would produce itself out of business. Look here. The -Party has millions of tabulating machines of one kind or another -clicking happily away day and night arranging production to fit income -distribution. They've never been known to goof and produce a surplus -of anything. Why, damn it, if every man, woman and child in the world -went out to buy a pound of nails apiece, the shortage of nails would be -fantastic. But would they produce more nails? You know they wouldn't. -'So you want more nails?' they'd say. 'Well, damn you, work for them!' -And the price would go up. See what I mean, son? They'd have another -stick to beat us with." - -Later, Shamar found himself seated on the floor across from an -aesthetic in his late thirties. "You see, my friend, force and violence -never accomplish their stated ends. We must stand firmly on the -principle of non-violence." - -"But that's taking it laying down," Shamar protested. - -"No! Sometimes I think it goes to the very core of human existence. -Perhaps this is the central import of all philosophy: the way things -are done is more important than the ends that are obtained." - -At that point, Ge-Ge arrived breathlessly. "Shamar, quickly! We must -go!" - -"Huh? I'm having this interesting little talk--" - -She tugged him from the floor. Baffled, he followed her. As he did so, -the fighting broke out in the far corner of the room. - -"Quickly!" she said. "Let's get out of here before the police come." - -They fought their way, hand in hand, to the door. There they paused for -a moment to look back. - -"It's a couple of rival socialist parties fighting," she explained -breathlessly. - -"What about?" - -"God knows. Hurry." - -They were in the street. "Don't run, walk," she cautioned. After a -block, she said, "I didn't even need to watch you at the end. Everybody -got so drunk nobody noticed you much." - -"Even the spies?" - -"Oh, they always get the drunkest." - -The siren sounded. - -"Let's hurry." - -When they arrived at Shamar's apartment, she asked, "Well, what did you -think of the party?" - -"It was an education," he said after a moment. - - -V - -The following week Shamar spent many hours walking the streets of Xxla. -He tried to convince himself that the people he had met at the party -were not representative. - -They were. - -Friday night Ge-Ge announced "Shamar, I can't stand much more of this! -What's going to happen? What is Von Stutsman going to do? He's onto -something. I sometimes wish--oh, God!--I sometimes wish something would -happen so we'd know where we stand, so we'd know what to do!" He tried -to put an arm around her, but she brushed it away. "Don't! Let me -alone!" - -She retired to the other side of the room. For a moment, and for no -reason, the hostility in the air between them was like ice and fire. - -"I'm sorry," Ge-Ge said curtly. - -"That's all right," Shamar said, his voice cold and distant. - -"Let's talk about something else." - -They were silent for a minute. Then he said, "I wanted to ask you. Of -all the people I talked to, I couldn't find anyone who seemed to give -a damn, one way or the other, about Earth. Why is that? You'd think -they'd be at least talking about Earth." - -"Why should they be? We've got our own problems." - -At that point, the police arrived and took Shamar the Worker away. - - * * * * * - -They put him in a cell in which there were already three other -prisoners. - -"What you in for, buddy?" - -Shamar studied the prisoner for a moment without answering. His -companions looked up. - -"No visible means of support," Shamar said. - -"I'm Long John Freed." - -Shamar nodded. - -"They're trying to hook you for evading the productivity tax, huh?" - -Shamar declined comment. - -Freed settled back on his bunk. "I say take them for all you can. Now, -look, you're a little guy. So they bleed us white. Take a factory -manager or an important Black Market operator--you think they pay -taxes? You can bet they don't. It's a racket. The poor pay and pay -because they can't hire fancy lawyers to lie for them; and the rich -take and take. I don't see why the Party puts up with it." - -Freed shifted his position. "Say what you will about the Party--and -I know it's got it's faults--still, there are dedicated men in it. I -may be a small-time crook, but I'm as patriotic as the next man. The -Party's done a lot of good. - -"First time for you? How old are you, twenty-seven or so? First time, -they usually try to recruit you for the Factory Force. - -"It's not such a bad racket. When you start out, they toss you in with -lots of kids--usually the draftees. You get six weeks pick-and-shovel, -and you're really dragging when you finish that. Then comes specialist -school. - -"Try to get in as an electrician or plumber. Plasterers or bricklayers -have to work too hard. Carpentry's not bad--I'd hold out for -cabinet-making, rather than rough carpentry, if I had to go into -that. Then there's real specialties. Tile laying. You have to have a -personality for that, or you'd go nuts. Demolition's not too bad; you -blow up obsolete factories. That would have been right down my alley." - -Freed was silent a moment, then he resumed: - -"Sometimes I may talk like a radical, and maybe I am a little of a -radical, I don't know. You look at the overall picture, things ain't -too bad. I've known a lot of thieves and petty crooks in my time. As a -class, for pure patriotism, I'll stack them up against anybody you can -name; and in a way, you know, I'm kind of proud of that.... Well, let's -shut up and get some shut-eye." - - * * * * * - -When finally he slept, Shamar dreamed that the Party was a vast, -invulnerable pyramid resting on the shifting base of the population. It -was constructed to dampen out vibrations. The bottom quivered, and the -quiver ran upward a few inches and was absorbed. The top of the pyramid -remained stable, fixed and motionless, indifferent even to its own -foundation. The pyramid was built like an earthquake-proof tower. It -was built to last. The Party was built to govern. It need only devote -itself to its own preservation. Any other issue was secondary. - -It was an organic machine. The gears were flesh and blood. The people -on top were maintenance engineers. Their job was to go around with an -oil can that they could squirt when necessary to keep friction to a -minimum. - -He awakened the following morning ravenously hungry and was hugely -disappointed by breakfast. Even discounting his somewhat biased -viewpoint, the food was inedible. - -Freed accepted Shamar's share eagerly with the comment, "It'll taste -better after you miss a few meals. It always does." - -An hour later, the jailer came to open the cell. - -"Shamar the Worker? Get your stuff. We're going." - -Ge-Ge was waiting in the reception room. Her hair had been especially -waved for the occasion. She wore a suit newly pressed and gleaming. She -had tears in her eyes. - -She fled to his arms. "Darling!" she cried, caressing his face with -childlike wonder. "Was it awful? Did they beat you?" - -"I'm fine." - -"Darling, we're going to get you out on bail. I've made all the -arrangements. We just have to go to the Judge's chambers for a minute, -and they'll let you go. Thank God you're going to be out of this -horrible place, at least for a little while." - -The jailer brought Shamar's belt and his bag of possessions. Shamar -signed a receipt for them and they went to the Judge. - -The Judge said, "Please be seated." He had a resonant and friendly -voice. He went to his desk and sat down. - -Ge-Ge and Shamar seated themselves before him. - -"Ah, you young people," he said. "Now, you must be Shamar the Worker, -and you--" - -"Garfling Germadpoldlt." - -"Of course." He turned to Shamar. "I hate to see a fine young person -like you in trouble, Shamar. It seems to me such a waste. Man and boy, -for sixty years I've been a dedicated worker for the Party. Oh, Shamar, -when I think of that glorious paradise to come--that time of wealth -and plenty for all--that time when the riches and abundance of Mother -Itra will, from Automation, overflow alike the homes of the rich and -poor...." - -They waited. - -He continued. "Here I sit, year after year, Garfling and Shamar, -judging my fellow men. Judging poor creatures who do not live the -Dream. I sometimes feel that this is not the way. I sometimes feel my -job is out there on the street corners, preaching the Dream, awakening -the souls, telling the story of love and beauty and abundance in the -life to come. - -"Ah, me. But the world is not yet perfect, is it? And man's -understanding is imperfect. Here you are before me today, Shamar, with -no visible means of support and no record of having paid productivity -taxes. Oh, what a grim and fearful picture! In all your life have you -ever once thought of your obligation to the future? You have failed -yourself; you have failed the Party; and failed the future. - -"Yet--in a larger sense--although this in no way militates against your -own guilt--have we not failed you? How have we permitted a human soul -to degrade himself to the point where we must punish him?" - -Abruptly, the Judge stood up. "Well, I've done the best I can. I remand -you to the custody of Miss Germadpoldlt. Your trial will be set at a -later date. You are not to leave Xxla without permission of this court. -And I hope my lecture today has fallen on fertile soil. It is not too -late to correct your ways. And I may say, if I am the one who hears -your case, your conduct between now and the trial may have some bearing -on the outcome." - - * * * * * - -They took a taxi back to his apartment. Ge-Ge trembled violently most -of the way and nestled against him; they murmured their affection. - -After he had been fed, she said nervously, "It was Von Stutsman who was -responsible for your arrest. I should have known we couldn't fight the -Party. If he digs hard enough, nothing on Itra can save us." - -Finally, she went out to canvas lawyers. - -She came back at dusk. - -"Shamar, darling," she said, "I've located him. I asked a lot of my -friends, and he's the best. He's a big lawyer for left-wing people. I -talked to him, I told him everything." - -"What! You told him everything?" - -"Why, yes." - -"You, you told him I was an Earthman?" He grabbed her by the shoulders. -"Listen, Ge-Ge! I was arrested on a charge I could beat; now look what -you've done. What makes you think he won't turn me over to the Party? -This is too big, now! This isn't just a tax avoidance matter, this is -treason for him." - -"It's all right, darling," she said soothingly, breaking free from him. -"I had to tell him so he'd take the case. Why would a big man like him -want to defend a common vagrant?" - -Shamar closed his mouth. "But--you mean, he won't tell anyone?" - -"Of course not." - -"Has the man no patriotism?" - -"Look, Shamar," she said in exasperation, "you once asked me why the -people in the street aren't upset about Earth. I'm beginning to see the -way you think. What you mean is, aren't we _afraid_ of Earth? Aren't -we afraid Earth would, oh, do something like invade us or something? -That's what you mean." - -"Of course it is." - -"Once upon a time," she said, "when we first got space flight, the -Party got all shook up about the possibility of some hostile force -out there developing an interstellar drive and coming along and doing -their will with us. They asked the computers about it. Invading and -conquering a planet is such a vast technological undertaking that the -mind just boggles at it. Don't forget, we've got a warning network out -there. They're not very alert, or you wouldn't have gotten through, -but they wouldn't miss an invasion fleet. There's computer-controlled -chemical rockets in orbit, and we've got a few sited on Itra that can -blast down anything that slows up to try to land. It wouldn't take -one-hundredth, it wouldn't take one-thousandth of the technological -resources required to defend Itra that it would to attack her. Earth -just simply can't afford to attack us. They'd go broke trying. Every -million dollars you spent to get here, we'd spend a thousand to keep -you from landing. - -"Oh, I suppose if Earth wanted to, they might figure out some way to -blow up Itra. But where's the profit in that? We're not bothering you. -Why spend all that money when it's not going to get you one damn thing -in return?" - - * * * * * - -The following day, Shamar called on the lawyer, Counselor Freemason. - -Counselor Freemason inquired politely as to the state of his financial -reserves. Shamar replied reassuringly. - -"Good, good. That's most encouraging. Most encouraging indeed. We need -not place any limit on our ingenuity, then. - -"I've been thinking about your case, Mr. Worker. The thing first to do, -in my opinion, is to stir up public sympathy in your favor. It's almost -an ideal case. It has no real political overtones. It's not as if -you're accused of anything serious. Well, I believe I can interest some -friends of mine who are always deeply concerned with cases involving -the infringement of an individual's liberty--provided, of course, -there are no political overtones. I can think of several good people -who would be willing to head up a Defense Committee. The fact that we -have and I'm talking now about as much as, oh, one hundred thousand -dollars?" He paused interrogatively. - -"I'm prepared to pay," Shamar said. - -"Maybe even more," Councilman Freemason continued quickly. "We can come -to that later. The important thing right now is to get down to work on -your case." - -"Counselor Freemason, now, obviously I'm not a lawyer," Shamar said, -"and I know it's bad business to tell a professional how to run -his job. But I believe Miss Germadpoldlt explained the, ah, rather -unusual delicacy of my own position. It would seem to me that the less -publicity we got, the better." - -Counselor Freemason shook a pen at him. "A very good point, Mr. -Worker. It shows you're thinking, and I'm glad of the opportunity to -explain the reasons for this recommendation. If I brazenly parade you -before them, you see, by implication it means we're not afraid of your -background being examined. We have nothing to hide. Consequently, they -will not look for anything. If, on the other hand, I'm cautious, -fearful, defensive, they'll ask themselves, 'What's Counselor Freemason -trying to hide?' And they'll start digging into your past. - -"Now, I hope that clears that matter up to your satisfaction? Good. -Good. I'll get right to work on your case. Do you have anything else? -Miss Germadpoldlt explained rather nicely, I think, yesterday. As -far as anyone knows, you're a man without papers. You've never paid -any taxes but they have no proof you owe taxes. You won money in the -lottery. You collected anonymously; lots of people do for perfectly -valid reasons. Let them prove you didn't win. The Party can't be very -interested in a man like that. - -"So, I'll raise an issue. Maybe we'll suggest that any lottery winner -is likely to be persecuted. The Party wants things to go smoothly. The -lottery makes the people feel as if, you know, they actually own a -piece of things. And too many people don't have papers. - -"My job is to take the specific and convert it to a vague general -principle that a number of people feel deeply about. The Party -will take the easy way out: they're not dumb. They've learned from -experience. You're not worth that much trouble to them. Otherwise, -there'll be a period of aggravation, people without papers beating up -police and things like that." - - * * * * * - -Three days later, Shamar met with the newly formed Committee of One -Hundred for Justice to Shamar the Worker. - -There were five members of the Committee and Counselor Freemason in -attendance. They briefed him on their initial activities. - -They had printed letterheads and were circulating letters to people -known to be friendly, with a hastily printed booklet giving the facts -of the case. - -"As you can see," Counselor Freemason said, "we're off to a very -fast start. Um, the question naturally arises as to finances. I have -advanced a certain amount out of my own pocket.... We will need -more than I can conveniently scrape together at the moment, and I'm -reluctant to--ah--impose on the Committee for a loan insofar as--" - -"I took the liberty of bringing along some cash," Shamar said. "For -current expenses and, of course, your retainer." - -They looked relieved. "Excellent, excellent. I might suggest, Mr. -Worker, that we appoint one of the Committee as treasurer--perhaps Mrs. -Freetle, here--" the lady smiled--"to take these financial worries -off your mind. This will leave you free to devote yourself fully to -activities defense." - -"Now that that's out of the way," one of the male Committee members -said, "let's get right down to business. As you can see, we're moving -fast. Our overall strategy is this. We must first establish a public -image for you, Mr. Worker, an image the average man can identify with. -Counselor Freemason has described your case to us. I simply don't -know what the Party's coming to to permit a man like Von Stutsman to -persecute you this way. Oh, I tell you, it makes my blood boil, Mr. -Worker!" - -Others of the Committee chimed in and the sentiment passed heatedly -among them. - -"Well," said Counselor Freemason, "I guess that about winds it up for -the moment. You all know where to reach me. Any time, day or night. I -guess, Mr. Worker, if you'll just turn the money over to Mrs. Freetle. -And I think, Mr. Hall, if you'd hire that speech writer--what's his -name? McGoglhy?--to work with Mr. Worker on his speeches." - -"Speeches?" Shamar asked. - -"You're going to be our featured speaker at all the rallies, of -course," Mrs. Freetle said. "I know you will do splendidly, just -splendidly! Your accent is so captivating. I've never heard anything -quite like it." - - -VI - -On the evening of his first public appearance, Shamar was given a -neatly typed speech. He rehearsed it hurriedly, stammers and all. - -"Fellow citizens! As I stand here, looking over this sea of faces, -hearing your applause and seeing how your hearts go out to one poor man -in distress, it--I--Well, I'm deeply touched. I can't tell you how much -it means to me. I prepared a speech for tonight, but I'm not going to -use it. I'm just going to stand here, instead, and tell you, just as -the words come out, how I feel." Here he would pause for applause and -then continue. "Thank you so very much. Thank you. I know you're all -behind me--except for the police agents in the audience." Here he would -wait for laughter. "We all know them, don't we? I see about a dozen. -A dozen agents have come down here to find out what I'm going to say. -Isn't that ridiculous?" Here there would be mixed laughter, applause -and cries in the affirmative. "All right! Thank you. I hope they get an -earful tonight." - -Later in the speech he would demand, "Why are they doing this to me? I -want you to tell me why. What have I done? What am I accused of doing? -Well, I'll tell you this--I'm not the kind of a man who is going to -submit meekly to this persecution. I'm going to fight back. I've got a -little money left from my lottery winnings, and I'll spend every cent -of it to fight these people doing this thing to me." Here he would -pause dramatically. "I want to leave you with this point. It's not just -Shamar the Worker that's involved. What am I? A poor, itinerant laborer -going from town to town. I'm nothing, I have never had anything, and -I guess I never will have anything. I'm no rich black marketeer or -businessman. I'm no fat politician. I'm just one little man. But it's -not me--and this is the point I want to leave you with--it's not Shamar -the Worker. He's unimportant. What is important is that if they can -do this to me, they can do it to you. If they can do it to Shamar the -Worker today, next year one of you will be up here on this platform -speaking just the way I am. So you see, this is your fight. It's not me -that's important--it's the principle that's important--" - -The meeting went brilliantly. Every time he paused, the audience -responded just as the speech-writer had indicated. It was as if they -were as well rehearsed as he. - -The next night, another meeting. And another. And another. He slept no -more than four hours a night when the campaign was in full swing. He -spoke dozens of times into the bright glare of TV cameras. He paraded -down a million streets in an open-topped car. Faces poured in front of -his own; on and on they came. People with tears in their eyes cried, -"God bless Shamar the Worker!" Once the Committee hired a brass band. - -So, for two weeks, it went. - -Then the Party threw him back in jail, in an apparent effort to deprive -the movement of its momentum. - - * * * * * - -After three days, during which time Shamar was held incommunicado, -Counselor Freemason obtained permission to interview his client. - -"We're making marvelous progress! Ge-Ge is turning into a most -effective crusader. You should hear her when she cries, 'Give me back -my man!' This is a wonderful development for us. It's having the -opposite of the intended effect. Von Stutsman has over-reached himself -this time. The Party is going to have to back down, and it will cost -him dearly." - -"How's the finances?" - -"Ge-Ge has given us some advances--" - -"How much have you spent?" - -"Well, to tell you the truth, I haven't been keeping track closely. -Perhaps we've run a little more than we anticipated. The response, you -see--" - -Shamar returned to his cell wishing Earth's printing presses had worked -a little longer. - -It took nearly two weeks to arrange for Ge-Ge to visit him. When she -arrived, she was nearly on the point of tears. - -"Oh, my darling, how I've missed you!" - -She brought him up to date on the progress of his case. As Counselor -Freemason had reported, his imprisonment merely increased the vigor of -his supporters. Now they were at their highest pitch: a pitch which -would be difficult to maintain. - -"I'm just worried sick," she said. "If the Party can hold out another -week or two. I don't want to worry you, Shamar, but I want you to know -how you stand. Counselor Freemason says the worst that could happen -would be a short prison sentence, no more than a year, for not filing -tax forms. We could keep you out on appeal for quite a while." - -"Ge-Ge, how much have we spent so far?" - -"About three hundred thousand dollars." - -"Good God! They'll have it all when they get through! If I ever get -back to Earth--" - -"I don't care about money, Shamar! I just want you free!" - -He took her shoulders. "Ge-Ge, suppose the Party can't afford to back -down? Maybe they feel they have to stand firm to prevent a lot of -future trouble. And when Freemason gets all the money ... then what -chance will we stand? They might railroad me for years. They'll make an -example out of me. Now, are you willing to gamble? Everybody would jump -at the chance to vote them out. If we could--" - -"Please, Shamar," Ge-Ge said. "All this voting thing you've always been -so sold on is all right, I guess--but it just won't work. To begin -with, there isn't any way to vote." - -"Maybe there is," he said. - - * * * * * - -Shamar was still in jail the following day when Ge-Ge appeared on the -TV program. - -PAMDEN had been reluctant to release time to her. PAMDEN was Itra's -largest industrial co-operative--Plastics, Agricultural Machinery, -Detergents, Electricity and Newsprint--and, being the most efficient, -was responsible for operating the TV networks. - -"Good heavens," said the station executive. "Nobody can say we haven't -already given you coverage. Miss Germadpoldlt." - -"They've ordered you to stop!" she protested. - -"They? The Party? Miss Germadpoldlt, do you honestly believe that? -Nobody tells a station manager what to program. Believe me. There is no -prior censorship whatsoever. But, on the other hand, we can't turn over -the TV stations to minority propaganda either." - -Ge-Ge argued and pleaded, and in the end the executive sighed wearily. -"I think we've been more than fair. But for you--and this is a personal -favor, Miss Germadpoldlt, because you are a young and attractive -woman--for you, I will phone our program director and see if he can get -you on the Noon Interview Show for tomorrow. It gives you the Itra-wide -network, which is certainly more than anyone has the right to ask. -You'll have ninety seconds to make your case. That's the best I can do." - -"Oh, thank you, thank you," Ge-Ge sobbed. "You're so fair and -generous." Outside his office she took a deep breath, crossed her -fingers and went home to revise her speech. She had only expected sixty. - -Ge-Ge arrived at the studio well in advance and was handed over to the -makeup department. With deft skill they converted her youth to age and -contrived to instill in her face weariness and defeat. Her protests -were ignored. - -"This is the way you make up for TV," she was told. - -They clucked collective tongues in disapproval when they were finished -and sent her on her way to a brief chat with the M.C. - -The M.C. assured her that she looked divine and hastily scanned her -prepared remarks, which had been heavily edited by some anonymous hand -in the news department. The M.C. incorporated a few pointless revisions -and dispatched the message to the department handling idiot-board -material. It was explained that Ge-Ge was to read, word for word, from -the electronic prompter. - -Ge-Ge watched the program from the wings. When she heard a commercial -message in favor of the consumption of a particular variety of candy, -her heart ran away with itself. Her courage faltered. But Shamar's face -brought it back. - -The signal came. She walked into the terrible glare which held up every -imperfection to microscopic inspection. She shook hands, turned, and -the camera closed in, full face. Beyond the camera lay the largest -daytime TV audience on Itra. She felt they were examining her pores -with minute and critical attention. - -She blinked nervously and began to read. "I am here to tell you about -Shamar the Worker." That was as far as she went with the prepared text. -Before the horrified ears of the auditors in the studio, she plunged -into remarks of another kind entirely. - -"If you want to do something to help Shamar the Worker, stop buying -candy! Don't buy any more candy. If you want to help Shamar the Worker, -don't buy any candy until he's free. If you want to help Shamar, -please, _please_, don't buy--" - -At this point the technicians cut Ge-Ge out and, with profound -mistiming, faded in an oleogenous taped message from the candy -manufacturer which began, "Friends, everybody likes Red Block candy, -and millions buy it every day. Here's why--" - -Ge-Ge surveyed the surrounding confusion and walked unmolested from the -studio. - -When she arrived home, an angry Counselor Freemason was waiting on her -doorstep. Inside, she allowed the Counselor to present his case. - -This new move, he explained, would have terrible consequences. -Shamar's good faith would be prejudiced. One simply did not, with -impunity, go outside the law in such matters. There were rules you -absolutely _must_ play the game by. He washed his hands of all -responsibility for her conduct. "I hope to God nothing comes of it," he -concluded. "I'm having the Committee prepare a denial of--" - -The phone rang at this point, and without asking permission, Counselor -Freemason answered it. "Yes? This is Counselor Freemason, go ahead." He -listened a moment, said, "They did," in a weary voice and cradled the -phone. - -He turned to Ge-Ge. "Now we're in for it. That was Pete Freedle from -the Committee." - -"Well," said Ge-Ge, "I think we'll just wait a few days and see what -happens." - -A week later, Ge-Ge was still waiting. Counselor Freemason, deprived of -finances, was powerless to move. He saw everything crashing in shambles -at their feet. - -"But are they selling candy?" Ge-Ge asked. - -"That's beside the point!" Counselor Freemason cried. "Look here, every -crackpot on the planet will get into the act. They don't care about -Shamar. All you're going to prove now is that the Party is unpopular. -Everyone already knows that." He struck his forehead in exasperation. - - * * * * * - -For two weeks, all was quiet. There were no more rallies for Shamar -the Worker. Signs were torn down and destroyed. No bulletins were -printed. No word passed over the electronic communications network. The -Committee, bankrupt, dissolved in mutual recriminations and bickering, -convinced that the cause of civil liberties had been set back one -hundred years. - -But candy was not selling. - -It clogged the distribution channels. It piled up in warehouses. It -lay untouched in stores. It grew rancid. Mechanically the factories -continued to turn it out. - -The Party denied the boycott was having any effect. This did not -appease the distributors of candy and the sellers of candy and the -producers of candy. Their jobs were at stake. They had payrolls to meet. - -The Party stopped production of candy. People suddenly found themselves -with no jobs to go to. - -The economic system was so tightly controlled and organized that the -effect was immediate. There was too little money available to purchase -the supplies normally purchased. Suppliers cut back on their factory -orders. This further reduced the need for supplies. - -At this point, the Party decided that the people would, by heaven, eat -candy. The Party Leader himself went on TV to appeal to the patriotism -of the people and to order them to resume buying candy. This was a -tactical error. But being the idea of the Party Leader himself, who had -always crashed headlong into obstacles, none opposed it. - -The issue was directly joined. People resented being told that it was -their patriotic duty to eat something that all medical opinion held was -harmful. Furthermore, people realized that they had somehow stumbled on -a fatal flaw in the system, which they could exploit without immediate -danger. - -They responded by refusing to buy soap. - -The people were now in open revolt. At last they had a method for -disapproving of things in general. - -The economy plummeted. The computers were in a frenzy. Effects of -corrective actions were no longer predictable. The Party frantically -tried to buy soap and dump it. The people turned to other commodities. - -Pressure now mounted from within the Party itself. The Supervisor of -PAMDEN saw his carefully nurtured empire begin to disintegrate. A -massive layoff in Consumer Plastics (badly hit by a running boycott) -took with it valuable key personnel. The Supervisor of PAMDEN told the -Party Leader himself that he damned well better do something about the -situation, and damned soon, too. - -The Party Leader himself ordered the release of Shamar the Worker. - -But by then no one was interested in Shamar the Worker. - - * * * * * - -The man came and unlocked Shamar's cell door. Shamar stood up. The -guard tossed in Shamar's clothing. "Get dressed." Shamar got dressed. -"Come along." Shamar came along. - -Shamar had had no word from outside for nearly two months, and it was -not until he saw Ge-Ge's face, radiant with joy, that he realized he -had won. - -"You're free!" she cried excitedly. - -Shamar was given back his belt and possessions. As they waited for the -Judge to make it official, Shamar asked, "I wonder what will happen -now?" - -"Nobody knows. Everybody says the Party's out for sure. Individual -Party members will try to form a new government, but it's going to -have to be radically different. They'll try to keep all they can, but -the people will wring them dry for every last concession. Maybe now -when they build the factories, they'll stay built and actually produce -something." - -"For a little while," Shamar said. - -"Longer than a little while," Ge-Ge said. "We've got a way to vote now, -when things get too bad." - -The Judge, in his red robe, came in. They stood respectfully. He looked -at them for a long time and said nothing. Finally, he spoke: - -"Well, Shamar the Worker, I guess you've got what you want. You pulled -down a whole civilization. I hope you're satisfied. What Dream will you -give us to replace the Dream you have taken from us?" - -His face hardened. - -"Shamar the Worker," he said, "the Party Leader himself has asked us to -dismiss the pending charges against you. This I now do. You are free to -go." - -"Thank you, sir," Shamar said respectfully. - -"Shamar the Worker, for your own sake, you better hope that I never see -you in my court. You better not get yourself arrested for anything. I -will show you no mercy, but justice will be swift and summary. So that -you may not rest easily at night, I am having some of my very skillful -and competent friends check through your background thoroughly. You -should hope, very sincerely, that they find nothing. You may go." - -Ge-Ge and Shamar stood. They turned in silence. When they were at the -door, the Judge called, "Oh, Shamar the Worker!" - -He turned, "Yes, sir?" - -"Shamar the Worker, I do not like your accent." - -Shamar could feel Ge-Ge trembling uncontrollably at his side. - -But when they reached the street, they were greeted by headlines -announcing that a delegation from the planet Earth had arrived. - - -VII - -The Earth delegation had taken over a suite in the Party Hotel, -grandest and most expensive on Itra. Usually it was reserved for high -Party members. - -Shamar and Ge-Ge presented themselves at the desk. Shamar wrote out a -note in English. "Deliver this to the Earthmen," he instructed. - -Shamar and Ge-Ge retired to await results. Less than five minutes -passed; the bell hop returned. "Sir and Madam," he said respectfully, -"come with me." - -When he entered the suite, he felt the personality of Shamar the Worker -drop from him into memory. - -"Captain Shaeffer! Captain Shaeffer! Oh, what a magnificent job! I'm -Gene Gibson from the new Department of Extra-Terrestrial Affairs. Who's -this?" - -"This is my fiancee." - -"Good heavens, man, you intend to marry a _native_?" The man stepped -back, shocked. - -Capt. Shaeffer turned to Ge-Ge and performed bilingual introductions. - -They moved from the hallway to the sitting room and arranged themselves -on the furniture. - -"I must say, Captain Shaeffer, that your success on Itra has surpassed -our wildest expectations. The first inkling we had was when, out of -the blue, as it were, there was your face looking out at us from the -TV screen! You should have been there for our celebration that night! -You'd been on Itra just a little over two months! You're going down in -history as one of the greatest heroes of all time!" - -Capt. Shaeffer said, "I think it would be best if Ge-Ge and I were to -board your ship immediately. Her life may be in danger. Some old-line -Party men might resent her role in the revolution. Actually, she had -more to do with it than I did." - -"Oh, now, I'm sure you must be exaggerating a bit on that, Captain -Shaeffer. Her life in danger? Surely, now! Speaking frankly, -Captain--and mind you, I have no personal objection at all; this is -none of my business. But she is, after all, an _Itraian_. You know -these mixed marriages--" - -"I don't give a damn what you personally think," Capt. Shaeffer said. -"Is that understood once and for all? She goes." - -"Of course. I was just--now don't get huffy. Of course she goes. Just -as you wish, Captain." - -The angry exchange over an unknown but fearfully expected issue caused -Ge-Ge to blink back tears. - - * * * * * - -A week later, Gene Gibson came for the first time to visit them. Capt. -Shaeffer inquired as to progress. - -"Well, Captain, things are progressing. We are establishing a -government which will be more responsive to the will of the people -of Itra. We've had several very pleasant, informal chats with the -Party Leader, himself. Really a wonderful man. Once he got all the -facts--which were kept from him the first time we landed--he strikes -me as being quite responsible. I think we may have misjudged him. I'm -not too sure but what he isn't just the exact man to head up the new -government. We've discussed a few details on trade agreements and, I -must say, he's been very reasonable." - -Capt. Shaeffer said nothing. - -"Yes," Gene Gibson said, "he's really an exceptional individual. -A wealth of administrative experience. A fine grasp of practical -politics. I don't regard him as a typical Itraian at all. He feels -that, with us backing him, we can get this whole mess straightened out -in a few months." - -"Mess?" - -"Well, you must admit, I think, Captain Shaeffer, that you -did--well--make negotiations extremely difficult, in view of the, ah, -present temper of the populace. - -"You see, Earth would like to have a stable and responsible government. -A government, that is, which can see larger issues in perspective. -Not one which must devote its full time to coping with a group of -unpatriotic anarchists running loose in the streets." - -"What's he saying?" Ge-Ge asked. - -"As it is now," Gene Gibson continued, "we do have several rather -difficult problems. I think we'll probably have to quarantine Itra -for a few months until the Party Leader himself can form a stable -organizational structure. Somehow news of our trade discussions have -leaked out and for some reason has resulted in a general work stoppage. -So you see? By God, I'll just come right out and say it: Shaeffer, -you've left us one hell of a mess!" - -With that, Gene Gibson departed. - -"What did he say?" Ge-Ge asked meekly. But Shaeffer only shook his head. - -The following day, the ship's captain came to pay a courtesy call. - -"A very neat piece of work, Merle. Your new assignment just came in, by -the way, on the space radio." - -"New assignment? Ge-Ge and I are on our way back to Earth." - -"No, you're not. We're to drop you off at Midway for transhipment to -Folger's Hill. It's a new planet. You're to be Earth representative to -the people of Folger's Hill. The first shipload of colonists arrived -about a month ago." - -"I see," Capt. Shaeffer said. - -"The salary's good," the ship's captain said. - -"Suppose I don't want to go?" - -"I've got orders to leave you at Midway. I'd want to go if I were you. -They want you out of the way for a little while. You can't fight it. -You've been appointed a General in the Defense Forces, so you're now -under military law--and it's an order." - -At this point, Ge-Ge broke in to say, "How are things going in Xxla?" - -General Shaeffer choked back his anger and presented the question. - -"They don't tell us anything. The crew is confined to the ship." - -Shamar the Worker turned to Ge-Ge. "It's going about the same," he said. - - * * * * * - -A year later, General Merle S. Shaeffer's card popped out of the -computer. - -"General Shaeffer's up for re-assignment." - -"Who in hell is General Shaeffer?" - -"Never heard of him." - -The card passed upward. - -"Merle Shaeffer is due for re-assignment," a man who knew the name told -the Secretary of the Over Council at lunch the following day. "There's -a new planet opened up even further away than Folger's Hill." - -"He's the one who butchered the Itra assignment? Send him there. -Anything new from Itra recently, by the way?" - -"Same as usual. I understand the anarchists have formed some kind of -government." - -"Terrible. Terrible. Well, the less said about that the better." - -A week later, again over lunch, the Secretary was told: - -"I guess we needn't worry about Merle Shaeffer any more. Disappeared -from his post, he and that Itraian woman of his, a couple of weeks -after they arrived on Folger's Hill. Probably a hunting accident got -them both. Their bodies were never found. These things happen on wild -new planets." - -The Secretary was silent for a long time. Then he said: "Shaeffer dead, -eh? I guess it's better that way. Well, a genius has passed, and we'll -not see his like again. Perverted, perhaps, but a genius none the less." - -They drank solemnly. - -"To Merle Shaeffer. You could call him a hero, so let's you and I drink -to that. No one else ever will." - -They drank again. - -Nothing further served to stir the Secretary's memory of Merle -Shaeffer, and he retired six months later at the end of his term. The -new Secretary was not familiar with the Itraian affair. - -He had been in office just a few days less than a year when, one -morning, he arrived at his office in a furious rage. "Get me the Head -of the Defense Forces!" - -"I'm sorry, sir, all the phones are tied up," his secretary said. - -"What in hell do you mean, all the phones are tied up?" - -"I don't know. Maybe all at once everybody just left their phones off -the hook or something." - -"Why would they do that? That's ridiculous! Get a runner over after -him." - -Half an hour later, the Head of the Defense Forces arrived. - -"Do you know," the new Secretary demanded, "that yesterday all the -pennies went out of circulation? People apparently have been saving -them for the last couple of months. It finally showed up. All at once, -there aren't any pennies. You can't make change. Damn it, why would -those crazy idiots all decide to save their pennies at the same time? -It's not rational. Why did they do it?" - -The Head of the Defense Forces said nothing. - -The Secretary raved at him in anger, but the Head of the Defense Forces -did not have the heart to tell him that a hero had returned home. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Shamar's War, by Kris Neville - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHAMAR'S WAR *** - -***** This file should be named 51072.txt or 51072.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/0/7/51072/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan 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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