Astounding British Edition, Vol. 9, No. 7 — page 68: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

. teen ie Cher Ot Sa tae ‘ ~t oe. >a a, Be a es Se ina” . hae : wal ths ” . es = See et Sel Be ~ wee oe Si, - + re - ? ° pe us Swe 4 eee, & * < ny —. : . . ace bY few, Pr - - old technique a little and threaten us —_ POL GOREN hes AE i eet tka PME: tah VAG y, t ie ‘ ar ay a if , aval. ae a ay, J "A ies ee ‘< 5 Welt 1 Saar Acs TDA MORNE ue dr leh inal dae a tA Poy , ey a ' Niet? yey i te! i tye . Ly Ma v™ ~ into capitulation.” rr a r; Wh, i ane, ij d elite ie ed «ae Cee rceath { ‘ “So they enslave us by remote control. I don’t believe I’m quite civilized enough to see how that wins the war for us, Ran.” “I said we had made a Martian treaty, Brad. The only thing they could demand _ of us was raw material. We gave them the impression that our metals made imprac- tical weapons. It seemed to explain—at least to their satisfaction—why we hadn’t defended ourselves. But there’s another kind of raw material that we can furnish them—labor itself.” “So we buy peace at the price of the dignity of our people!” “No, Brad; they won’t take slaves home to work in the Agonian factories. They’re afraid of us, remember? Here in the Federation we'll do their work, and our labor is entirely robot labor. It costs us nothing in physical effort or ingenuity; and the Agonians have agreed to supply us with the raw materials. The Federation is simply their workshop, Brad. After this, they'll relax and use the products we create.” “And this you call a victory?” “Consider their social pattern again. Millions upon millions of them work for- ever, day upon day, in their dingy fac- ‘tories. They have nothing else to fill their lives or give purpose to their existence. They labor for the glory of Agon. It is a sacred dedication; the labor is necessary for them to feel any sort of individual fulfillment. They don’t know how to per- form any other service to the glory of Agon.” The Martian sighed unhappily. “Now we've taken over their jobs.” For the first time the bitter, twisted smile disappeared from Brad’s face. He turned slowly toward the Martian, his eyes wide with amazement. “My apologies, Ran! So we become their workshop, and take the purpose of existence away from untold billions of their people. We'll wreck their economy!” “More than that, Brad—their social order. I wish we could havé defeated them with less punitive measures. Only a thoroughly sane people could adjust to so sudden and violent a change, and the Agonians are psychotic. When the Empire = falls apart, we might be able to pick up ee eg a RY “Ss So Ay ¥ Ea ese eae ee G SCIENCE FICTION _ some of the pieces and Rationalize them.” Brad took his resignation from Ran ~ and tossed it into the dying fire. “As you said—it’s a Martian treaty.” “The only thing we could do, on the basis of the social data. Brad, you were panicked by fear; and fear short-circuited your ability to think rationally.” “I’ve acted like the Agonians.” Brad smiled. “If the emotional anguish I’ve been through were to happen simul- taneously to an entire culture—” He shuddered. “It isn’t going to be pretty, Ran.” “War never is—whether it’s fought on their terms, or on ours.” Arm in arm they left the cottage and walked back the sweet-scented lane to- ward the Federation capital, talking and laughing together as they had when they were still Institute apprentices cramming for the Fitness Evaluations. Above them the stars rode bright in the evening sky. The sky itself was clear. NIGHTMARE BROTHER (Continued from page 53) “And you'll take it with you to the stars, the nightmare knowledge and experience. It’s hidden deep in your mind, but it’ll be there when you need it. You'll be the néxt man to go—you and your ~ nightmare brother.” Cox stared out the window for a long moment. “Mary’s all right?” he asked softly. “She’s waiting to see you.” Robert Cox sat up slowly, his mind clear in the remembrance of the ordeal he had been through—a hideous ordeal. Terrible, but necessary so that when he came back, he would not be like the others had been. So that men could go to the stars with safety, and come back with safety. | Slowly he remembered his anger. He gripped the doctor’s hand, squeezed it tightly. “Thanks, Paul,” he said. “If I come back—” - “You mean, when you come back,” said Dr. Schiml, grinning. “When you come back, we'll all have a beer together. That’s what we'll do.” . GEOMIGHOO cS (E(0)