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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..7981ae1 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60291 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60291) diff --git a/old/60291-h.zip b/old/60291-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5debda0..0000000 --- a/old/60291-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/60291-h/60291-h.htm b/old/60291-h/60291-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index bffe51f..0000000 --- a/old/60291-h/60291-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1210 +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 Bramble Bush, by Alan E. 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Nourse - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Bramble Bush - -Author: Alan E. Nourse - -Release Date: September 14, 2019 [EBook #60291] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAMBLE BUSH *** - - - - -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="352" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>BRAMBLE BUSH</h1> - -<h2>BY ALAN E. NOURSE</h2> - -<p class="ph2">[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Worlds of If Science Fiction, August 1957.<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="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><i>There was a man in our town, and he was wondrous wise;</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>He jumped into a bramble bush and scratched out both his eyes.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>And when he saw what he had done, with all his might and main</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>He jumped into another bush and scratched them in again.</i></div> -<div class="verse indent2">MOTHER GOOSE</div> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Dr. David Lessing found Jack Dorffman and the boy waiting in his office -when he arrived at the Hoffman Center that morning. Dorffman looked as -though he'd been running all night. There were dark pouches under his -eyes; his heavy unshaven face seemed to sag at every crease. Lessing -glanced sharply at his Field Director and sank down behind his desk -with a sigh. "All right, Jack—what's wrong?"</p> - -<p>"This kid is driving me nuts," said Dorffman through clenched teeth. -"He's gone completely hay-wire. Nobody's been able to get near him -for three weeks, and now at six o'clock this morning he decides he's -leaving the Farm. I talk to him, I sweat him down, I do everything but -tie him to the bed, and I waste my time. He's leaving the Farm. Period."</p> - -<p>"So you bring him down here," said Lessing sourly. "The worst place he -could be, if something's really wrong." He looked across at the boy. -"Tommy? Come over and sit down."</p> - -<p>There was nothing singular about the boy's appearance. He was thin, -with a pale freckled face and the guileless expression of any normal -eight-year-old as he blinked across the desk at Lessing. The awkward -grey monitor-helmet concealed a shock of sandy hair. He sat with a mute -appeal in his large grey eyes as Lessing flipped the reader-switch and -blinked in alarm at the wildly thrashing pattern on the tape.</p> - -<p>The boy was terrorized. He was literally pulsating with fear.</p> - -<p>Lessing sat back slowly. "Tell me about it, Tommy," he said gently.</p> - -<p>"I don't want to go back to the Farm," said the boy.</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"I just don't. I hate it there."</p> - -<p>"Are you frightened?"</p> - -<p>The boy bit his lip and nodded slowly.</p> - -<p>"Of me? Of Dr. Dorffman?"</p> - -<p>"No. Oh, no!"</p> - -<p>"Then what?"</p> - -<p>Again the mute appeal in the boy's eyes. He groped for words, and none -came. Finally he said, "If I could only take this off—" He fingered -the grey plastic helmet.</p> - -<p>"You think <i>that</i> would make you feel better?"</p> - -<p>"It would, I know it would."</p> - -<p>Lessing shook his head. "I don't think so, Tommy. You know what the -monitor is for, don't you?"</p> - -<p>"It stops things from going out."</p> - -<p>"That's right. And it stops things from going in. It's an insulator. -You need it badly. It would hurt you a great deal if you took it off, -away from the Farm."</p> - -<p>The boy fought back tears. "But I don't want to go back there—" The -fear-pattern was alive again on the tape. "I don't feel good there. I -never want to go back."</p> - -<p>"Well, we'll see. You can stay here for a while." Lessing nodded at -Dorffman and stepped into an adjoining room with him. "You say this has -been going on for <i>three weeks</i>?"</p> - -<p>"I'm afraid so. We thought it was just a temporary pattern—we see so -much of that up there."</p> - -<p>"I know, I know." Lessing chewed his lip. "I don't like it. We'd better -set up a battery on him and try to spot the trouble. And I'm afraid -you'll have to set it up. I've got that young Melrose from Chicago to -deal with this morning—the one who's threatening to upset the whole -Conference next month with some crazy theories he's been playing with. -I'll probably have to take him out to the Farm to shut him up." Lessing -ran a hand through sparse grey hair. "See what you can do for the boy -downstairs."</p> - -<p>"Full psi precautions?" asked Dorffman.</p> - -<p>"Certainly! And Jack—in this case, be <i>sure</i> of it. If Tommy's in the -trouble I think he's in, we don't dare risk a chance of Adult Contact -now. We could end up with a dead boy on our hands."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Two letters were waiting on Lessing's desk that morning. The first was -from Roberts Bros., announcing another shift of deadline on the book, -and demanding the galley proofs two weeks earlier than scheduled. -Lessing groaned. As director of psionic research at the Hoffman Medical -Center, he had long since learned how administrative detail could suck -up daytime hours. He knew that his real work was at the Farm—yet he -hadn't even been to the Farm in over six weeks. And now, as the book -approached publication date, Lessing wondered if he would ever really -get back to work again.</p> - -<p>The other letter cheered him a bit more. It bore the letterhead of the -International Psionics Conference:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>Dear Dr. Lessing:</p> - -<p>In recognition of your position as an authority on human Psionic -behavior patterns, we would be gratified to schedule you as principle -speaker at the Conference in Chicago on October 12th. A few remarks in -discussion of your forthcoming book would be entirely in order—</p></div> - -<p>They were waiting for it, then! He ran the galley proofs into the -scanner excitedly. They knew he had something up his sleeve. His -earlier papers had only hinted at the direction he was going—but the -book would clear away the fog. He scanned the title page proudly. "A -Theory of Psionic Influence on Infant and Child Development." A good -title—concise, commanding, yet modest. They would read it, all right. -And they would find it a light shining brightly in the darkness, a -guide to the men who were floundering in the jungle of a strange and -baffling new science.</p> - -<p>For they were floundering. When they were finally forced to recognize -that this great and powerful force did indeed exist in human minds, -with unimaginable potential if it could only be unlocked, they had -plunged eagerly into the search, and found themselves in a maddening -bramble bush of contradictions and chaos. Nothing worked, and -everything worked too well. They were trying to study phenomena which -made no sense, observing things that defied logic. Natural laws came -crashing down about their ears as they stood sadly by and watched -things happen which natural law said could never happen. They had never -been in this jungle before, nor in any jungle remotely like it. The -old rules didn't work here, the old methods of study failed. And the -more they struggled, the thicker and more impenetrable the bramble bush -became—</p> - -<p>But now David Lessing had discovered a pathway through that jungle, a -theory to work by—</p> - -<p>At his elbow the intercom buzzed. "A gentleman to see you," the girl -said. "A Dr. Melrose. He's very impatient, sir."</p> - -<p>He shut off the scanner and said, "Send him in, please."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Dr. Peter Melrose was tall and thin, with jet black hair and dark -mocking eyes. He wore a threadbare sport coat and a slouch. He offered -Lessing a bony hand, then flung himself into a chair as he stared about -the office in awe.</p> - -<p>"I'm really overwhelmed," he said after a moment. "Within the -stronghold of psionic research at last. And face to face with the -Master in the trembling flesh!"</p> - -<p>Lessing frowned. "Dr. Melrose, I don't quite understand—"</p> - -<p>"Oh, it's just that I'm impressed," the young man said airily. "Of -course, I've seen old dried-up Authorities before—but never before -a brand spanking new one, just fresh out of the pupa, so to speak!" -He touched his forehead in a gesture of reverence. "I bow before the -Oracle. Speak, oh Motah, live forever! Cast a pearl at my feet!"</p> - -<p>"If you've come here to be insulting," Lessing said coldly, "you're -just wasting time." He reached for the intercom switch.</p> - -<p>"I think you'd better wait before you do that," Melrose said sharply, -"because I'm planning to take you apart at the Conference next month -unless I like everything I see and hear down here today. And if you -don't think I can do it, you're in for quite a dumping."</p> - -<p>Lessing sat back slowly. "Tell me—just what, exactly, do you want?"</p> - -<p>"I want to hear this fairy tale you're about to publish in the name of -'Theory'," Melrose said. "I want to see this famous Farm of yours up in -Connecticut and see for myself how much pressure these experimental -controls you keep talking about will actually bear. But mostly, I want -to see just what in psionic hell you're so busy making yourself an -Authority about." There was no laughter in the man's sharp brown eyes.</p> - -<p>"You couldn't touch me with a ten foot pole at this conference," -snapped Lessing.</p> - -<p>The other man grinned. "Try me! We shook you up a little bit last year, -but you didn't seem to get the idea."</p> - -<p>"Last year was different." Lessing scowled. "As for our 'fairy tale', -we happen to have a staggering body of evidence that says that it's -true."</p> - -<p>"If the papers you've already published are a preview, we think it's -false as Satan."</p> - -<p>"And our controls are above suspicion."</p> - -<p>"So far, we haven't found any way to set up logical controls," said -Melrose. "We've done a lot of work on it, too."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes—I've heard about your work. Not bad, really. A little -misdirected, is all."</p> - -<p>"According to your Theory, that is."</p> - -<p>"Wildly unorthodox approach to psionics—but at least you're energetic -enough."</p> - -<p>"We haven't been energetic enough to find an orthodox approach that got -us anywhere. We doubt if you have, either. But maybe we're all wrong." -Melrose grinned unpleasantly. "We're not unreasonable, your Majesty. We -just ask to be shown. If you dare, that is."</p> - -<p>Lessing slammed his fist down on the desk angrily. "Have you got the -day to take a trip?"</p> - -<p>"I've got 'til New Year."</p> - -<p>Lessing shouted for his girl. "Get Dorffman up here. We're going to the -Farm this afternoon."</p> - -<p>The girl nodded, then hesitated. "But what about your lunch?"</p> - -<p>"Bother lunch." He gave Melrose a sidelong glare. "We've got a guest -here who's got a lot of words he's going to eat for us...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ten minutes later they rode the elevator down to the transit levels -and boarded the little shuttle car in the terminal below the -Hoffman Center. They sat in silence as the car dipped down into the -rapid-transit channels beneath the great city, swinging northward in -the express circuit through Philadelphia and Camden sectors, surfacing -briefly in Trenton sector, then dropping underground once again for the -long pull beneath Newark, Manhattan and Westchester sectors. In less -than twenty minutes the car surfaced on a Parkway channel and buzzed -north and east through the verdant Connecticut countryside.</p> - -<p>"What about Tommy?" Lessing asked Dorffman as the car sped along -through the afternoon sun.</p> - -<p>"I just finished the prelims. He's not cooperating."</p> - -<p>Lessing ground his teeth. "I should be running him now instead of -beating the bushes with this—" He broke off to glare at young Melrose.</p> - -<p>Melrose grinned. "I've heard you have quite a place up here."</p> - -<p>"It's—unconventional, at any rate," Lessing snapped.</p> - -<p>"Well, that depends on your standards. Sounds like a country day -school, from what I've heard. According to your papers, you've even -used conventional statistical analysis on your data from up here."</p> - -<p>"Until we had to throw it out. We discovered that what we were trying -to measure didn't make sense in a statistical analysis."</p> - -<p>"Of course, you're sure you were measuring <i>something</i>."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes. We certainly were."</p> - -<p>"Yet you said that you didn't know what."</p> - -<p>"That's right," said Lessing. "We don't."</p> - -<p>"And you don't know <i>why</i> your instruments measure whatever they're -measuring." The Chicago man's face was thoughtful. "In fact, you can't -really be certain that your instruments are measuring the children at -all. It's not inconceivable that the <i>children</i> might be measuring the -<i>instruments</i>, eh?"</p> - -<p>Lessing blinked. "It's conceivable."</p> - -<p>"Mmmm," said Melrose. "Sounds like a real firm foundation to build a -theory on."</p> - -<p>"Why not?" Lessing growled. "It wouldn't be the first time the tail -wagged the dog. The psychiatrists never would have gotten out of their -rut if somebody hadn't gotten smart and realized that one of their new -drugs worked better in combatting schizophrenia when the doctor took -the medicine instead of the patient. That was quite a wall to climb."</p> - -<p>"Yes, wasn't it," mused Melrose, scratching his bony jaw. "Only took -them seventy years to climb it, thanks to a certain man's theories. -I wonder how long it'll take psionics to crawl out of the pit you're -digging for it?"</p> - -<p>"We're not digging any pit," Lessing exploded angrily. "We're -exploring—nothing more. A phenomenon exists. We've known that, one way -or another, for centuries. The fact that it doesn't seem to be bound by -the same sort of natural law we've observed elsewhere doesn't mean that -it isn't governed by natural law. But how can we define the law? How -can we define the limits of the phenomenon, for that matter? We can't -work in the dark forever—we've <i>got</i> to have a working hypothesis to -guide us."</p> - -<p>"So you dreamed up this 'tadpole' idea," said Melrose sourly.</p> - -<p>"For a working hypothesis—yes. We've known for a long time that every -human being has extrasensory potential to one degree or another. Not -just a few here and there—every single one. It's a differentiating -quality of the human mind. Just as the ability to think logically in a -crisis instead of giving way to panic is a differentiating quality."</p> - -<p>"Fine," said Melrose. "Great. We can't <i>prove</i> that, of course, but -I'll play along."</p> - -<p>Lessing glared at him. "When we began studying this psi-potential, we -found out some curious things. For one thing, it seemed to be immensely -more powerful and active in infants and children than in adults. -Somewhere along the line as a child grows up, something happens. We -don't know what. We do know that the child's psi-potential gradually -withdraws deeper and deeper into his mind, burying itself farther and -farther out of reach, just the way a tadpole's tail is absorbed deeper -and deeper into the growing frog until there just isn't any tail any -more." Lessing paused, packing tobacco into his pipe. "That's why we -have the Farm—to try to discover why. What forces that potential -underground? What buries it so deeply that adult human beings can't get -at it any more?"</p> - -<p>"And you think you have an answer," said Melrose.</p> - -<p>"We think we might be near an answer. We have a theory that explains -the available data."</p> - -<p>The shuttle car bounced sharply as it left the highway automatics. -Dorffman took the controls. In a few moments they were skimming through -the high white gates of the Farm, slowing down at the entrance to a -long, low building.</p> - -<p>"All right, young man—come along," said Lessing. "I think we can show -you our answer."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In the main office building they donned the close-fitting psionic -monitors required of all personnel at the Farm. They were of a -hard grey plastic material, with a network of wiring buried in the -substance, connected to a simple pocket-sized power source.</p> - -<p>"The major problem," Lessing said, "has been to shield the children -from any external psionic stimuli, except those we wished to expose -them to. Our goal is a perfectly controlled psi environment. The -monitors are quite effective—a simple Renwick scrambler screen."</p> - -<p>"It blocks off all types of psi activity?" asked Melrose.</p> - -<p>"As far as we can measure, yes."</p> - -<p>"Which may not be very far."</p> - -<p>Jack Dorffman burst in: "What Dr. Lessing is saying is that they seem -effective for our purposes."</p> - -<p>"But you don't know why," added Melrose.</p> - -<p>"All right, we don't know why. Nobody knows why a Renwick screen -works—why blame us?" They were walking down the main corridor and out -through an open areaway. Behind the buildings was a broad playground. A -baseball game was in progress in one corner; across the field a group -of swings, slides, ring bars and other playground paraphernalia was in -heavy use. The place was teeming with youngsters, all shouting in a -fury of busy activity. Occasionally a helmeted supervisor hurried by; -one waved to them as she rescued a four-year-old from the parallel bars.</p> - -<p>They crossed into the next building, where classes were in progress. -"Some of our children are here only briefly," Lessing explained as -they walked along, "and some have been here for years. We maintain a -top-ranking curriculum—your idea of a 'country day school' wasn't -so far afield at that—with scholarships supported by Hoffman Center -funds. Other children come to us—foundlings, desertees, children from -broken homes, children of all ages from infancy on. Sometimes they -stay until they have reached college age, or go on to jobs. As far as -psionics research is concerned, we are not trying to be teachers. We -are strictly observers. We try to place the youngsters in positions -where they can develope what potential they have—<i>without</i> the -presence of external psionic influences they would normally be subject -to. The results have been remarkable."</p> - -<p>He led them into a long, narrow room with chairs and ash trays, facing -a wide grey glass wall. The room fell into darkness, and through the -grey glass they could see three children, about four years old, playing -in a large room.</p> - -<p>"They're perfectly insulated from us," said Lessing. "A variety of -recording instruments are working. And before you ask, Dr. Melrose, -they are all empirical instruments, and they would all defy any -engineer's attempts to determine what makes them go. We don't know what -makes them go, and we don't care—they go. That's all we need. Like -that one, for instance—"</p> - -<p>In the corner a flat screen was flickering, emitting a pale green -fluorescent light. It hung from the wall by two plastic rods which -penetrated into the children's room. There was no sign of a switch, -nor a power source. As the children moved about, the screen flickered. -Below it, a recording-tape clicked along in little spurts and starts of -activity.</p> - -<p>"What are they doing?" Melrose asked after watching the children a few -moments.</p> - -<p>"Those three seem to work as a team, somehow. Each one, individually, -had a fairly constant recordable psi potential of about seventeen on -the arbitrary scale we find useful here. Any two of them scale in at -thirty-four to thirty-six. Put the three together and they operate -somewhere in the neighborhood of six hundred on the same scale." -Lessing smiled. "This is an isolated phenomenon—it doesn't hold for -any other three children on the Farm. Nor did we make any effort to -place them together—they drew each other like magnets. One of our -workers spent two weeks trying to find out why the instruments weren't -right. It wasn't the instruments, of course."</p> - -<p>Lessing nodded to an attendant, and peered around at Melrose. "Now, I -want you to watch this very closely."</p> - -<p>He opened a door and walked into the room with the children. The -fluorescent screen continued to flicker as the children ran to Lessing. -He inspected the block tower they were building, and stooped down to -talk to them, his lips moving soundlessly behind the observation wall. -The children laughed and jabbered, apparently intrigued by the game he -was proposing. He walked to the table and tapped the bottom block in -the tower with his thumb.</p> - -<p>The tower quivered, and the screen blazed out with green light, but the -tower stood. Carefully Lessing jogged all the foundation blocks out of -place until the tower hung in midair, clearly unsupported. The children -watched it closely, and the foundation blocks inched still further out -of place....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" width="352" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Then, quite casually, Lessing lifted off his monitor. The children -continued staring at the tower as the screen gave three or four violent -bursts of green fire and went dark.</p> - -<p>The block tower fell with a crash.</p> - -<p>Moments later Lessing was back in the observation room, leaving the -children busily putting the tower back together. There was a little -smile on his lips as he saw Melrose's face. "Perhaps you're beginning -to see what I'm driving at," he said slowly.</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Melrose. "I think I'm beginning to see." He scratched his -jaw. "You think that it's adult psi-contact that drives the child's -potential underground—that somehow adult contact acts like a damper, a -sort of colossal candle-snuffer."</p> - -<p>"That's what I think," said Lessing.</p> - -<p>"How do you know those children didn't make you take off your monitor?"</p> - -<p>Lessing blinked. "Why should they?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe they enjoy the crash when the blocks fall down."</p> - -<p>"But that wouldn't make any difference, would it? The blocks still fall -down."</p> - -<p>Melrose paced down the narrow room. "This is very good," he said -suddenly, his voice earnest. "You have fine facilities here, good -workers. And in spite of my flippancy, Dr. Lessing, I have never -imagined for a moment that you were not an acute observer and a -careful, highly imaginative worker. But suppose I told you, in perfect -faith, that we have data that flatly contradicts everything you've told -me today. Reproducible data, utterly incompatable with yours. What -would you say to that?"</p> - -<p>"I'd say you were wrong," said Lessing. "You couldn't have such data. -According to the things I am certain are true, what you're saying is -sheer nonsense."</p> - -<p>"And you'd express that opinion in a professional meeting?"</p> - -<p>"I would."</p> - -<p>"And as an Authority on psionic behavior patterns," said Melrose -slowly, "you would kill us then and there. You would strangle us -professionally, discredit anything we did, cut us off cold." The -tall man turned on him fiercely. "Are you blind, man? Can't you see -what danger you're in? If you publish your book now, you will become -an Authority in a field where the most devastating thing that could -possibly happen would be—<i>the appearance of an Authority</i>."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Lessing and Dorffman rode back to the Hoffman Center in grim silence. -At first Lessing pretended to work; finally he snapped off the tape -recorder in disgust and stared out the shuttle-car window. Melrose had -gone on to Idlewild to catch a jet back to Chicago. It was a relief to -see him go, Lessing thought, and tried to force the thin, angry man -firmly out of his mind. But somehow Melrose wouldn't force.</p> - -<p>"Stop worrying about it," Dorffman urged. "He's a crackpot. He's -crawled way out on a limb, and now he's afraid your theory is going to -cut it off under him. Well, that's his worry, not yours." Dorffman's -face was intense. "Scientifically, you're on unshakeable ground. Every -great researcher has people like Melrose sniping at him. You just have -to throw them off and keep going."</p> - -<p>Lessing shook his head. "Maybe. But this field of work is different -from any other, Jack. It doesn't follow the rules. Maybe scientific -grounds aren't right at all, in this case."</p> - -<p>Dorffman snorted. "Surely there's nothing wrong with theorizing—"</p> - -<p>"He wasn't objecting to the theory. He's afraid of what happens after -the theory."</p> - -<p>"So it seems. But why?"</p> - -<p>"Have you ever considered what makes a man an Authority?"</p> - -<p>"He knows more about his field than anybody else does."</p> - -<p>"He <i>seems</i> to, you mean. And therefore, anything he says about it -carries more weight than what anybody else says. Other workers follow -his lead. He developes ideas, formulates theories—and then <i>defends -them for all he's worth</i>."</p> - -<p>"But why shouldn't he?"</p> - -<p>"Because a man can't fight for his life and reputation and still keep -his objectivity," said Lessing. "And what if he just happens to be -wrong? Once he's an Authority the question of what's right and what's -wrong gets lost in the shuffle. It's <i>what he says</i> that counts."</p> - -<p>"But we <i>know</i> you're right," Dorffman protested.</p> - -<p>"Do we?"</p> - -<p>"Of course we do! Look at our work! Look at what we've seen on the -Farm."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I know." Lessing's voice was weary. "But first I think we'd -better look at Tommy Gilman, and the quicker we look, the better—"</p> - -<p>A nurse greeted them as they stepped off the elevator. "We called -you at the Farm, but you'd already left. The boy—" She broke off -helplessly. "He's sick, Doctor. He's sicker than we ever imagined."</p> - -<p>"What happened?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing exactly—happened. I don't quite know how to describe it." -She hurried them down the corridor and opened a door into a large -children's playroom. "See what you think."</p> - -<p>The boy sat stolidly in the corner of the room. He looked up as they -came in, but there was no flicker of recognition or pleasure on his -pale face. The monitor helmet was still on his head. He just sat there, -gripping a toy fire engine tightly in his hands.</p> - -<p>Lessing crossed the room swiftly. "Tommy," he said.</p> - -<p>The boy didn't even look at him. He stared stupidly at the fire engine.</p> - -<p>"Tommy!" Lessing reached out for the toy. The boy drew back in terror, -clutching it to his chest. "Go away," he choked. "Go away, go away—" -When Lessing persisted the boy bent over swiftly and bit him hard on -the hand.</p> - -<p>Lessing sat down on the table. "Tommy, listen to me." His voice was -gentle. "I won't try to take it again. I promise."</p> - -<p>"Go away."</p> - -<p>"Do you know who I am?"</p> - -<p>Tommy's eyes shifted haltingly to Lessing's face. He nodded. "Go away."</p> - -<p>"Why are you afraid, Tommy?"</p> - -<p>"I hurt. My head hurts. I hurt all over. Go away."</p> - -<p>"Why do you hurt?"</p> - -<p>"I—can't get it—off," the boy said.</p> - -<p><i>The monitor</i>, Lessing thought suddenly. Something had suddenly gone -horribly wrong—could the boy really be sensing the source of the -trouble? Lessing felt a cold knot gather in the pit of his stomach. He -knew what happened when adult psi-contact struck a psi-high youngster's -mind. He had seen it a hundred times at the Farm. But even more—he -had felt it in his own mind, bursting from the child. Like a violent -physical blow, the hate and fear and suspicion and cruelty buried and -repressed in the adult mind, crushing suddenly into the raw receptors -of the child's mind like a smothering fog—it was a fearful thing. A -healthy youngster could survive it, even though the scar remained. But -this youngster was sick—</p> - -<p>And yet <i>an animal instinctively seeks its own protection</i>. With -trembling fingers Lessing reached out and opened the baffle-snap on the -monitor. "Take it off, Tommy," he whispered.</p> - -<p>The boy blinked in amazement, and pulled the grey helmet from his head. -Lessing felt the familiar prickly feeling run down his scalp as the -boy stared at him. He could feel deep in his own mind the cold chill -of terror radiating from the boy. Then, suddenly, it began to fade. A -sense of warmth—peace and security and comfort—swept in as the fear -faded from the boy's face.</p> - -<p>The fire engine clattered to the floor.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They analyzed the tapes later, punching the data cards with greatest -care, filing them through the machines for the basic processing and -classification that all their data underwent. It was late that night -when they had the report back in their hands.</p> - -<p>Dorffman stared at it angrily. "It's obviously wrong," he grated. "It -doesn't fit. Dave, it doesn't agree with <i>anything</i> we've observed -before. There must be an error."</p> - -<p>"Of course," said Lessing. "According to the theory. The theory says -that adult psi-contact is deadly to the growing child. It smothers -their potential through repeated contact until it dries up completely. -We've proved that, haven't we? Time after time. Everything goes -according to the theory—except Tommy. But Tommy's psi-potential was -drying up there on the Farm, until the distortion was threatening the -balance of his mind. Then he made an adult contact, and we saw how he -bloomed." Lessing sank down to his desk wearily. "What are we going to -do, Jack? Formulate a separate theory for Tommy?"</p> - -<p>"Of course not," said Dorffman. "The instruments were wrong. Somehow we -misread the data—"</p> - -<p>"Didn't you see his <i>face</i>?" Lessing burst out. "Didn't you see how he -<i>acted</i>? What do you want with an instrument reading?" He shook his -head. "It's no good, Jack. Something different happened here, something -we'd never counted on. It's something the theory just doesn't allow -for."</p> - -<p>They sat silently for a while. Then Dorffman said: "What are you going -to do?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," said Lessing. "Maybe when we fell into this bramble -bush we blinded ourselves with the urge to classify—to line everything -up in neat rows like pins in a paper. Maybe we were so blind we missed -the path altogether."</p> - -<p>"But the book is due! The Conference speech—"</p> - -<p>"I think we'll make some changes in the book," Lessing said slowly. -"It'll be costly—but it might even be fun. It's a pretty dry, logical -presentation of ideas, as it stands. Very austere and authoritarian. -But a few revisions could change all that—" He rubbed his hands -together thoughtfully. "How about it, Jack? Do we have nerve enough to -be laughed at? Do you think we could stand a little discredit, making -silly asses of ourselves? Because when I finish this book, we'll be -laughed out of existence. There won't be any Authority in psionics for -a while—and maybe that way one of the lads who's <i>really</i> sniffing out -the trail will get somebody to listen to him!</p> - -<p>"Get a pad, get a pencil! We've got work to do. And when we finish, I -think we'll send a carbon copy out Chicago way. Might even persuade -that puppy out there to come here and work for me—"</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bramble Bush, by Alan E. 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Nourse - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Bramble Bush - -Author: Alan E. Nourse - -Release Date: September 14, 2019 [EBook #60291] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAMBLE BUSH *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - BRAMBLE BUSH - - BY ALAN E. NOURSE - - _There was a man in our town, and he was wondrous wise; - He jumped into a bramble bush and scratched out both his eyes. - And when he saw what he had done, with all his might and main - He jumped into another bush and scratched them in again._ - - MOTHER GOOSE - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Worlds of If Science Fiction, August 1957. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Dr. David Lessing found Jack Dorffman and the boy waiting in his office -when he arrived at the Hoffman Center that morning. Dorffman looked as -though he'd been running all night. There were dark pouches under his -eyes; his heavy unshaven face seemed to sag at every crease. Lessing -glanced sharply at his Field Director and sank down behind his desk -with a sigh. "All right, Jack--what's wrong?" - -"This kid is driving me nuts," said Dorffman through clenched teeth. -"He's gone completely hay-wire. Nobody's been able to get near him -for three weeks, and now at six o'clock this morning he decides he's -leaving the Farm. I talk to him, I sweat him down, I do everything but -tie him to the bed, and I waste my time. He's leaving the Farm. Period." - -"So you bring him down here," said Lessing sourly. "The worst place he -could be, if something's really wrong." He looked across at the boy. -"Tommy? Come over and sit down." - -There was nothing singular about the boy's appearance. He was thin, -with a pale freckled face and the guileless expression of any normal -eight-year-old as he blinked across the desk at Lessing. The awkward -grey monitor-helmet concealed a shock of sandy hair. He sat with a mute -appeal in his large grey eyes as Lessing flipped the reader-switch and -blinked in alarm at the wildly thrashing pattern on the tape. - -The boy was terrorized. He was literally pulsating with fear. - -Lessing sat back slowly. "Tell me about it, Tommy," he said gently. - -"I don't want to go back to the Farm," said the boy. - -"Why?" - -"I just don't. I hate it there." - -"Are you frightened?" - -The boy bit his lip and nodded slowly. - -"Of me? Of Dr. Dorffman?" - -"No. Oh, no!" - -"Then what?" - -Again the mute appeal in the boy's eyes. He groped for words, and none -came. Finally he said, "If I could only take this off--" He fingered -the grey plastic helmet. - -"You think _that_ would make you feel better?" - -"It would, I know it would." - -Lessing shook his head. "I don't think so, Tommy. You know what the -monitor is for, don't you?" - -"It stops things from going out." - -"That's right. And it stops things from going in. It's an insulator. -You need it badly. It would hurt you a great deal if you took it off, -away from the Farm." - -The boy fought back tears. "But I don't want to go back there--" The -fear-pattern was alive again on the tape. "I don't feel good there. I -never want to go back." - -"Well, we'll see. You can stay here for a while." Lessing nodded at -Dorffman and stepped into an adjoining room with him. "You say this has -been going on for _three weeks_?" - -"I'm afraid so. We thought it was just a temporary pattern--we see so -much of that up there." - -"I know, I know." Lessing chewed his lip. "I don't like it. We'd better -set up a battery on him and try to spot the trouble. And I'm afraid -you'll have to set it up. I've got that young Melrose from Chicago to -deal with this morning--the one who's threatening to upset the whole -Conference next month with some crazy theories he's been playing with. -I'll probably have to take him out to the Farm to shut him up." Lessing -ran a hand through sparse grey hair. "See what you can do for the boy -downstairs." - -"Full psi precautions?" asked Dorffman. - -"Certainly! And Jack--in this case, be _sure_ of it. If Tommy's in the -trouble I think he's in, we don't dare risk a chance of Adult Contact -now. We could end up with a dead boy on our hands." - - * * * * * - -Two letters were waiting on Lessing's desk that morning. The first was -from Roberts Bros., announcing another shift of deadline on the book, -and demanding the galley proofs two weeks earlier than scheduled. -Lessing groaned. As director of psionic research at the Hoffman Medical -Center, he had long since learned how administrative detail could suck -up daytime hours. He knew that his real work was at the Farm--yet he -hadn't even been to the Farm in over six weeks. And now, as the book -approached publication date, Lessing wondered if he would ever really -get back to work again. - -The other letter cheered him a bit more. It bore the letterhead of the -International Psionics Conference: - - - Dear Dr. Lessing: - - In recognition of your position as an authority on human Psionic - behavior patterns, we would be gratified to schedule you as principle - speaker at the Conference in Chicago on October 12th. A few remarks in - discussion of your forthcoming book would be entirely in order-- - - -They were waiting for it, then! He ran the galley proofs into the -scanner excitedly. They knew he had something up his sleeve. His -earlier papers had only hinted at the direction he was going--but the -book would clear away the fog. He scanned the title page proudly. "A -Theory of Psionic Influence on Infant and Child Development." A good -title--concise, commanding, yet modest. They would read it, all right. -And they would find it a light shining brightly in the darkness, a -guide to the men who were floundering in the jungle of a strange and -baffling new science. - -For they were floundering. When they were finally forced to recognize -that this great and powerful force did indeed exist in human minds, -with unimaginable potential if it could only be unlocked, they had -plunged eagerly into the search, and found themselves in a maddening -bramble bush of contradictions and chaos. Nothing worked, and -everything worked too well. They were trying to study phenomena which -made no sense, observing things that defied logic. Natural laws came -crashing down about their ears as they stood sadly by and watched -things happen which natural law said could never happen. They had never -been in this jungle before, nor in any jungle remotely like it. The -old rules didn't work here, the old methods of study failed. And the -more they struggled, the thicker and more impenetrable the bramble bush -became-- - -But now David Lessing had discovered a pathway through that jungle, a -theory to work by-- - -At his elbow the intercom buzzed. "A gentleman to see you," the girl -said. "A Dr. Melrose. He's very impatient, sir." - -He shut off the scanner and said, "Send him in, please." - - * * * * * - -Dr. Peter Melrose was tall and thin, with jet black hair and dark -mocking eyes. He wore a threadbare sport coat and a slouch. He offered -Lessing a bony hand, then flung himself into a chair as he stared about -the office in awe. - -"I'm really overwhelmed," he said after a moment. "Within the -stronghold of psionic research at last. And face to face with the -Master in the trembling flesh!" - -Lessing frowned. "Dr. Melrose, I don't quite understand--" - -"Oh, it's just that I'm impressed," the young man said airily. "Of -course, I've seen old dried-up Authorities before--but never before -a brand spanking new one, just fresh out of the pupa, so to speak!" -He touched his forehead in a gesture of reverence. "I bow before the -Oracle. Speak, oh Motah, live forever! Cast a pearl at my feet!" - -"If you've come here to be insulting," Lessing said coldly, "you're -just wasting time." He reached for the intercom switch. - -"I think you'd better wait before you do that," Melrose said sharply, -"because I'm planning to take you apart at the Conference next month -unless I like everything I see and hear down here today. And if you -don't think I can do it, you're in for quite a dumping." - -Lessing sat back slowly. "Tell me--just what, exactly, do you want?" - -"I want to hear this fairy tale you're about to publish in the name of -'Theory'," Melrose said. "I want to see this famous Farm of yours up in -Connecticut and see for myself how much pressure these experimental -controls you keep talking about will actually bear. But mostly, I want -to see just what in psionic hell you're so busy making yourself an -Authority about." There was no laughter in the man's sharp brown eyes. - -"You couldn't touch me with a ten foot pole at this conference," -snapped Lessing. - -The other man grinned. "Try me! We shook you up a little bit last year, -but you didn't seem to get the idea." - -"Last year was different." Lessing scowled. "As for our 'fairy tale', -we happen to have a staggering body of evidence that says that it's -true." - -"If the papers you've already published are a preview, we think it's -false as Satan." - -"And our controls are above suspicion." - -"So far, we haven't found any way to set up logical controls," said -Melrose. "We've done a lot of work on it, too." - -"Oh, yes--I've heard about your work. Not bad, really. A little -misdirected, is all." - -"According to your Theory, that is." - -"Wildly unorthodox approach to psionics--but at least you're energetic -enough." - -"We haven't been energetic enough to find an orthodox approach that got -us anywhere. We doubt if you have, either. But maybe we're all wrong." -Melrose grinned unpleasantly. "We're not unreasonable, your Majesty. We -just ask to be shown. If you dare, that is." - -Lessing slammed his fist down on the desk angrily. "Have you got the -day to take a trip?" - -"I've got 'til New Year." - -Lessing shouted for his girl. "Get Dorffman up here. We're going to the -Farm this afternoon." - -The girl nodded, then hesitated. "But what about your lunch?" - -"Bother lunch." He gave Melrose a sidelong glare. "We've got a guest -here who's got a lot of words he's going to eat for us...." - - * * * * * - -Ten minutes later they rode the elevator down to the transit levels -and boarded the little shuttle car in the terminal below the -Hoffman Center. They sat in silence as the car dipped down into the -rapid-transit channels beneath the great city, swinging northward in -the express circuit through Philadelphia and Camden sectors, surfacing -briefly in Trenton sector, then dropping underground once again for the -long pull beneath Newark, Manhattan and Westchester sectors. In less -than twenty minutes the car surfaced on a Parkway channel and buzzed -north and east through the verdant Connecticut countryside. - -"What about Tommy?" Lessing asked Dorffman as the car sped along -through the afternoon sun. - -"I just finished the prelims. He's not cooperating." - -Lessing ground his teeth. "I should be running him now instead of -beating the bushes with this--" He broke off to glare at young Melrose. - -Melrose grinned. "I've heard you have quite a place up here." - -"It's--unconventional, at any rate," Lessing snapped. - -"Well, that depends on your standards. Sounds like a country day -school, from what I've heard. According to your papers, you've even -used conventional statistical analysis on your data from up here." - -"Until we had to throw it out. We discovered that what we were trying -to measure didn't make sense in a statistical analysis." - -"Of course, you're sure you were measuring _something_." - -"Oh, yes. We certainly were." - -"Yet you said that you didn't know what." - -"That's right," said Lessing. "We don't." - -"And you don't know _why_ your instruments measure whatever they're -measuring." The Chicago man's face was thoughtful. "In fact, you can't -really be certain that your instruments are measuring the children at -all. It's not inconceivable that the _children_ might be measuring the -_instruments_, eh?" - -Lessing blinked. "It's conceivable." - -"Mmmm," said Melrose. "Sounds like a real firm foundation to build a -theory on." - -"Why not?" Lessing growled. "It wouldn't be the first time the tail -wagged the dog. The psychiatrists never would have gotten out of their -rut if somebody hadn't gotten smart and realized that one of their new -drugs worked better in combatting schizophrenia when the doctor took -the medicine instead of the patient. That was quite a wall to climb." - -"Yes, wasn't it," mused Melrose, scratching his bony jaw. "Only took -them seventy years to climb it, thanks to a certain man's theories. -I wonder how long it'll take psionics to crawl out of the pit you're -digging for it?" - -"We're not digging any pit," Lessing exploded angrily. "We're -exploring--nothing more. A phenomenon exists. We've known that, one way -or another, for centuries. The fact that it doesn't seem to be bound by -the same sort of natural law we've observed elsewhere doesn't mean that -it isn't governed by natural law. But how can we define the law? How -can we define the limits of the phenomenon, for that matter? We can't -work in the dark forever--we've _got_ to have a working hypothesis to -guide us." - -"So you dreamed up this 'tadpole' idea," said Melrose sourly. - -"For a working hypothesis--yes. We've known for a long time that every -human being has extrasensory potential to one degree or another. Not -just a few here and there--every single one. It's a differentiating -quality of the human mind. Just as the ability to think logically in a -crisis instead of giving way to panic is a differentiating quality." - -"Fine," said Melrose. "Great. We can't _prove_ that, of course, but -I'll play along." - -Lessing glared at him. "When we began studying this psi-potential, we -found out some curious things. For one thing, it seemed to be immensely -more powerful and active in infants and children than in adults. -Somewhere along the line as a child grows up, something happens. We -don't know what. We do know that the child's psi-potential gradually -withdraws deeper and deeper into his mind, burying itself farther and -farther out of reach, just the way a tadpole's tail is absorbed deeper -and deeper into the growing frog until there just isn't any tail any -more." Lessing paused, packing tobacco into his pipe. "That's why we -have the Farm--to try to discover why. What forces that potential -underground? What buries it so deeply that adult human beings can't get -at it any more?" - -"And you think you have an answer," said Melrose. - -"We think we might be near an answer. We have a theory that explains -the available data." - -The shuttle car bounced sharply as it left the highway automatics. -Dorffman took the controls. In a few moments they were skimming through -the high white gates of the Farm, slowing down at the entrance to a -long, low building. - -"All right, young man--come along," said Lessing. "I think we can show -you our answer." - - * * * * * - -In the main office building they donned the close-fitting psionic -monitors required of all personnel at the Farm. They were of a -hard grey plastic material, with a network of wiring buried in the -substance, connected to a simple pocket-sized power source. - -"The major problem," Lessing said, "has been to shield the children -from any external psionic stimuli, except those we wished to expose -them to. Our goal is a perfectly controlled psi environment. The -monitors are quite effective--a simple Renwick scrambler screen." - -"It blocks off all types of psi activity?" asked Melrose. - -"As far as we can measure, yes." - -"Which may not be very far." - -Jack Dorffman burst in: "What Dr. Lessing is saying is that they seem -effective for our purposes." - -"But you don't know why," added Melrose. - -"All right, we don't know why. Nobody knows why a Renwick screen -works--why blame us?" They were walking down the main corridor and out -through an open areaway. Behind the buildings was a broad playground. A -baseball game was in progress in one corner; across the field a group -of swings, slides, ring bars and other playground paraphernalia was in -heavy use. The place was teeming with youngsters, all shouting in a -fury of busy activity. Occasionally a helmeted supervisor hurried by; -one waved to them as she rescued a four-year-old from the parallel bars. - -They crossed into the next building, where classes were in progress. -"Some of our children are here only briefly," Lessing explained as -they walked along, "and some have been here for years. We maintain a -top-ranking curriculum--your idea of a 'country day school' wasn't -so far afield at that--with scholarships supported by Hoffman Center -funds. Other children come to us--foundlings, desertees, children from -broken homes, children of all ages from infancy on. Sometimes they -stay until they have reached college age, or go on to jobs. As far as -psionics research is concerned, we are not trying to be teachers. We -are strictly observers. We try to place the youngsters in positions -where they can develope what potential they have--_without_ the -presence of external psionic influences they would normally be subject -to. The results have been remarkable." - -He led them into a long, narrow room with chairs and ash trays, facing -a wide grey glass wall. The room fell into darkness, and through the -grey glass they could see three children, about four years old, playing -in a large room. - -"They're perfectly insulated from us," said Lessing. "A variety of -recording instruments are working. And before you ask, Dr. Melrose, -they are all empirical instruments, and they would all defy any -engineer's attempts to determine what makes them go. We don't know what -makes them go, and we don't care--they go. That's all we need. Like -that one, for instance--" - -In the corner a flat screen was flickering, emitting a pale green -fluorescent light. It hung from the wall by two plastic rods which -penetrated into the children's room. There was no sign of a switch, -nor a power source. As the children moved about, the screen flickered. -Below it, a recording-tape clicked along in little spurts and starts of -activity. - -"What are they doing?" Melrose asked after watching the children a few -moments. - -"Those three seem to work as a team, somehow. Each one, individually, -had a fairly constant recordable psi potential of about seventeen on -the arbitrary scale we find useful here. Any two of them scale in at -thirty-four to thirty-six. Put the three together and they operate -somewhere in the neighborhood of six hundred on the same scale." -Lessing smiled. "This is an isolated phenomenon--it doesn't hold for -any other three children on the Farm. Nor did we make any effort to -place them together--they drew each other like magnets. One of our -workers spent two weeks trying to find out why the instruments weren't -right. It wasn't the instruments, of course." - -Lessing nodded to an attendant, and peered around at Melrose. "Now, I -want you to watch this very closely." - -He opened a door and walked into the room with the children. The -fluorescent screen continued to flicker as the children ran to Lessing. -He inspected the block tower they were building, and stooped down to -talk to them, his lips moving soundlessly behind the observation wall. -The children laughed and jabbered, apparently intrigued by the game he -was proposing. He walked to the table and tapped the bottom block in -the tower with his thumb. - -The tower quivered, and the screen blazed out with green light, but the -tower stood. Carefully Lessing jogged all the foundation blocks out of -place until the tower hung in midair, clearly unsupported. The children -watched it closely, and the foundation blocks inched still further out -of place.... - -Then, quite casually, Lessing lifted off his monitor. The children -continued staring at the tower as the screen gave three or four violent -bursts of green fire and went dark. - -The block tower fell with a crash. - -Moments later Lessing was back in the observation room, leaving the -children busily putting the tower back together. There was a little -smile on his lips as he saw Melrose's face. "Perhaps you're beginning -to see what I'm driving at," he said slowly. - -"Yes," said Melrose. "I think I'm beginning to see." He scratched his -jaw. "You think that it's adult psi-contact that drives the child's -potential underground--that somehow adult contact acts like a damper, a -sort of colossal candle-snuffer." - -"That's what I think," said Lessing. - -"How do you know those children didn't make you take off your monitor?" - -Lessing blinked. "Why should they?" - -"Maybe they enjoy the crash when the blocks fall down." - -"But that wouldn't make any difference, would it? The blocks still fall -down." - -Melrose paced down the narrow room. "This is very good," he said -suddenly, his voice earnest. "You have fine facilities here, good -workers. And in spite of my flippancy, Dr. Lessing, I have never -imagined for a moment that you were not an acute observer and a -careful, highly imaginative worker. But suppose I told you, in perfect -faith, that we have data that flatly contradicts everything you've told -me today. Reproducible data, utterly incompatable with yours. What -would you say to that?" - -"I'd say you were wrong," said Lessing. "You couldn't have such data. -According to the things I am certain are true, what you're saying is -sheer nonsense." - -"And you'd express that opinion in a professional meeting?" - -"I would." - -"And as an Authority on psionic behavior patterns," said Melrose -slowly, "you would kill us then and there. You would strangle us -professionally, discredit anything we did, cut us off cold." The -tall man turned on him fiercely. "Are you blind, man? Can't you see -what danger you're in? If you publish your book now, you will become -an Authority in a field where the most devastating thing that could -possibly happen would be--_the appearance of an Authority_." - - * * * * * - -Lessing and Dorffman rode back to the Hoffman Center in grim silence. -At first Lessing pretended to work; finally he snapped off the tape -recorder in disgust and stared out the shuttle-car window. Melrose had -gone on to Idlewild to catch a jet back to Chicago. It was a relief to -see him go, Lessing thought, and tried to force the thin, angry man -firmly out of his mind. But somehow Melrose wouldn't force. - -"Stop worrying about it," Dorffman urged. "He's a crackpot. He's -crawled way out on a limb, and now he's afraid your theory is going to -cut it off under him. Well, that's his worry, not yours." Dorffman's -face was intense. "Scientifically, you're on unshakeable ground. Every -great researcher has people like Melrose sniping at him. You just have -to throw them off and keep going." - -Lessing shook his head. "Maybe. But this field of work is different -from any other, Jack. It doesn't follow the rules. Maybe scientific -grounds aren't right at all, in this case." - -Dorffman snorted. "Surely there's nothing wrong with theorizing--" - -"He wasn't objecting to the theory. He's afraid of what happens after -the theory." - -"So it seems. But why?" - -"Have you ever considered what makes a man an Authority?" - -"He knows more about his field than anybody else does." - -"He _seems_ to, you mean. And therefore, anything he says about it -carries more weight than what anybody else says. Other workers follow -his lead. He developes ideas, formulates theories--and then _defends -them for all he's worth_." - -"But why shouldn't he?" - -"Because a man can't fight for his life and reputation and still keep -his objectivity," said Lessing. "And what if he just happens to be -wrong? Once he's an Authority the question of what's right and what's -wrong gets lost in the shuffle. It's _what he says_ that counts." - -"But we _know_ you're right," Dorffman protested. - -"Do we?" - -"Of course we do! Look at our work! Look at what we've seen on the -Farm." - -"Yes, I know." Lessing's voice was weary. "But first I think we'd -better look at Tommy Gilman, and the quicker we look, the better--" - -A nurse greeted them as they stepped off the elevator. "We called -you at the Farm, but you'd already left. The boy--" She broke off -helplessly. "He's sick, Doctor. He's sicker than we ever imagined." - -"What happened?" - -"Nothing exactly--happened. I don't quite know how to describe it." -She hurried them down the corridor and opened a door into a large -children's playroom. "See what you think." - -The boy sat stolidly in the corner of the room. He looked up as they -came in, but there was no flicker of recognition or pleasure on his -pale face. The monitor helmet was still on his head. He just sat there, -gripping a toy fire engine tightly in his hands. - -Lessing crossed the room swiftly. "Tommy," he said. - -The boy didn't even look at him. He stared stupidly at the fire engine. - -"Tommy!" Lessing reached out for the toy. The boy drew back in terror, -clutching it to his chest. "Go away," he choked. "Go away, go away--" -When Lessing persisted the boy bent over swiftly and bit him hard on -the hand. - -Lessing sat down on the table. "Tommy, listen to me." His voice was -gentle. "I won't try to take it again. I promise." - -"Go away." - -"Do you know who I am?" - -Tommy's eyes shifted haltingly to Lessing's face. He nodded. "Go away." - -"Why are you afraid, Tommy?" - -"I hurt. My head hurts. I hurt all over. Go away." - -"Why do you hurt?" - -"I--can't get it--off," the boy said. - -_The monitor_, Lessing thought suddenly. Something had suddenly gone -horribly wrong--could the boy really be sensing the source of the -trouble? Lessing felt a cold knot gather in the pit of his stomach. He -knew what happened when adult psi-contact struck a psi-high youngster's -mind. He had seen it a hundred times at the Farm. But even more--he -had felt it in his own mind, bursting from the child. Like a violent -physical blow, the hate and fear and suspicion and cruelty buried and -repressed in the adult mind, crushing suddenly into the raw receptors -of the child's mind like a smothering fog--it was a fearful thing. A -healthy youngster could survive it, even though the scar remained. But -this youngster was sick-- - -And yet _an animal instinctively seeks its own protection_. With -trembling fingers Lessing reached out and opened the baffle-snap on the -monitor. "Take it off, Tommy," he whispered. - -The boy blinked in amazement, and pulled the grey helmet from his head. -Lessing felt the familiar prickly feeling run down his scalp as the -boy stared at him. He could feel deep in his own mind the cold chill -of terror radiating from the boy. Then, suddenly, it began to fade. A -sense of warmth--peace and security and comfort--swept in as the fear -faded from the boy's face. - -The fire engine clattered to the floor. - - * * * * * - -They analyzed the tapes later, punching the data cards with greatest -care, filing them through the machines for the basic processing and -classification that all their data underwent. It was late that night -when they had the report back in their hands. - -Dorffman stared at it angrily. "It's obviously wrong," he grated. "It -doesn't fit. Dave, it doesn't agree with _anything_ we've observed -before. There must be an error." - -"Of course," said Lessing. "According to the theory. The theory says -that adult psi-contact is deadly to the growing child. It smothers -their potential through repeated contact until it dries up completely. -We've proved that, haven't we? Time after time. Everything goes -according to the theory--except Tommy. But Tommy's psi-potential was -drying up there on the Farm, until the distortion was threatening the -balance of his mind. Then he made an adult contact, and we saw how he -bloomed." Lessing sank down to his desk wearily. "What are we going to -do, Jack? Formulate a separate theory for Tommy?" - -"Of course not," said Dorffman. "The instruments were wrong. Somehow we -misread the data--" - -"Didn't you see his _face_?" Lessing burst out. "Didn't you see how he -_acted_? What do you want with an instrument reading?" He shook his -head. "It's no good, Jack. Something different happened here, something -we'd never counted on. It's something the theory just doesn't allow -for." - -They sat silently for a while. Then Dorffman said: "What are you going -to do?" - -"I don't know," said Lessing. "Maybe when we fell into this bramble -bush we blinded ourselves with the urge to classify--to line everything -up in neat rows like pins in a paper. Maybe we were so blind we missed -the path altogether." - -"But the book is due! The Conference speech--" - -"I think we'll make some changes in the book," Lessing said slowly. -"It'll be costly--but it might even be fun. It's a pretty dry, logical -presentation of ideas, as it stands. Very austere and authoritarian. -But a few revisions could change all that--" He rubbed his hands -together thoughtfully. "How about it, Jack? Do we have nerve enough to -be laughed at? Do you think we could stand a little discredit, making -silly asses of ourselves? Because when I finish this book, we'll be -laughed out of existence. There won't be any Authority in psionics for -a while--and maybe that way one of the lads who's _really_ sniffing out -the trail will get somebody to listen to him! - -"Get a pad, get a pencil! We've got work to do. And when we finish, I -think we'll send a carbon copy out Chicago way. Might even persuade -that puppy out there to come here and work for me--" - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bramble Bush, by Alan E. Nourse - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRAMBLE BUSH *** - -***** This file should be named 60291.txt or 60291.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/2/9/60291/ - -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 print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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