Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition — page 15: what you’re looking at

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

28 ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION in five thousand years €ven this dim-witted race of ours would get that lesson hammered home. Remember, they’ve never had a war at all on Holat. Are we that much stupider?” | “T should think an interstellar war would be kind of hard to fight,” said Langley. ‘‘Years of travel just to get there.” | “Uh-huh. Also, little economic incentive. If a planet can be colonized at all, it’s going to be self-sufficient. Those two reasons are why there hasn't been a real war for a thousand years, since the colonies broke loose.” Blaustein leaned closer, weaving a trifle on his feet. “But there’s one shaping up now. We may very well see it. Rich mineral resources on the planets of Sirius, and the government there weak, and Sol and Centauri strong. Both of them want those planets. Neither can let the other have them, it’d be too advantageous. I was just talking to an officer, who put it in very nearly those words, besides adding something about the Centaurians being filthy barbarians.” ~ “So I’d still like to know how you fight across four-plus light-years,” said Langley. “You send a king-size fleet, complete with freighters full of supplies. You meet the enemy fieet and whip it in space. Then you bombard the enemy planets from the sky. Did you know they can disintegrate any kind of matter completely now? Nine times ten to the twentieth ergs per gram. And there are things like synthetic virus and radioactive dust. You smash civilization on those planets, land, and do what you please. Simple. The only thing to be sure of is that the enemy fleet doesn’t beat you, because then your own home is lying wide open. Sol and Centauri have been intriguing, sparring, for decades now. As soon as one of them gets a clear advantage—wham! Fire- works.” Blaustein gulped his wine and reached for more. “Of course,”. he said owlishly, “there’s always the chance that even if you beat the enemy, enough of his ships will escape to go to your home system and knock out the planetary defenses and bombard. Then you have two systems gone back to the caves, But when has that prospect ever stopped a politician? Or psychotechnical administrator, as I believe they call em now. Lemme alone. I want to get blotto.” Chanthavar found Langley a few minutes later and took him by the arm. ‘““Come,” he said. “His Fidelity, the chief of the Technon Servants, wants to meet you. His Fidelity is a very important man . . . Excellent Sulon, may I present Captain Edward Langley?” He was a tall and thin old man in a plain blue robe and cowl. His lined face was intelligent, but there was something humorless and fanatical about his mouth. “This is interesting,” he said harshly. “I understand that you wandered far in space, captain.” “Yes, my lord.”’ “Your documents have already been presented to the Technon. Every scrap of information, however seemingly remote, is valuable: for only through sure knowledge of all the facts can the machine make sound decisions. You would be surprised how many agents there are whose only job is the constant gathering of data. The state thanks you for your service.” THE LONG WAY HOME “It is nothing, my lord,” said Langley with due deference. “It may be much,” said the priest. “The Technon is the foundation of Solar civilization; without it, we are lost. Its very location is unknown to all save the highest ranks of my order, its servants. For this we are born and raised, for this we renounce all family ties and worldly pleasures. We are so conditioned that if an attempt is made to get out secrets from us, and there is no obvious escape, we die—auto- matically. I tell you this to give you some idea of what the Technon means.” Langley couldn’t think of any response. Sulon was proof that Sol hadn’t lost all vitality, but aed was an inhumanness over im. “Tam told that an extraterrestrial being of unknown race was with your crew, and has escaped,” went on the old man. “I must take a very grave view of this. He is a completely unpredictable factor—your own journal gives little information.” “I’m sure he’s harmless, my lord,” said Langley. “That remains to be seen. The Technon itself orders that he be found or destroyed immediately. Have you, as an acquaintance of his, any idea of how to go about this?”’ . There it was again. Langley felt cold. The problem of Saris Hronna had all the VIPs—the VGDIPs—scared sweatless; and a frightened man can be a vicious creature. : “Standard search patterns haven’t worked,” said Chant- havar. “Pll tell you this much, ~ wets Aegis, 0 «