This time there was no way to the door. Ihjel didn't try. He and two men into the room. He walked out their without saying a word.
"What happened? What did he do?" the doctor asked, in through the door. He a over the at the of Brion's bed. Respiration, temperature, heart, blood pressure—all were normal. The patient and didn't answer him.
For the of that day, Brion had much to think about. It was difficult. The fatigue, mixed with the and other drugs, had his with reality. His and in his mind, unable to escape. What had Ihjel meant? What was that nonsense about Anvhar? Anvhar was that way because—well, it just was. It had come about naturally. Or had it?
The had a very history. From the very there had been anything of on Anvhar. Well off the routes, there were no and the to the nearest worlds. Hunting the winter for their was a but very minor enterprise, for markets. Therefore no attempt had been to the planet. In the end it had been settled by chance. A number of scientific groups had and stations, unlimited data to and record Anvhar's yearly cycle. The long-duration the scientific to their families and, slowly but steadily, small settlements up. Many of the settled there[Pg 16] as well, adding to the small population. This had been the beginning.
Few records of those early days, and the six centuries of Anvharian history were more than fact. The Breakdown about that time, and in the galaxy-wide Anvhar had to its own battle. When the Earth Empire it was the end of more than an era. Many of the themselves that no longer existed. The professional no longer had markets for their furs, since Anvhar no ships of its own. There had been no physical in the Breakdown as it Anvhar, since the was self-sufficient. Once they had the to the that they were now a world, not a of visitors with loyalties, life unchanged. Not easy—living on Anvhar is easy—but at least without on the surface.
The and of the people were, however, going through a great transformation. Many were to some of and social relationship. Again, little record of these early trials, other than the of their in the Twenties.
To the Twenties, you have to the that Anvhar around its sun, 70 Ophiuchi. There are other in this system, all of them more or less to the plane of the ecliptic. Anvhar is a rogue, a of another sun. For the part of its 780-day year it out from its primary, in a high-angled orbit. When it returns there is a brief, of eighty days the long winter sets in once more. This in has in the native life forms. During the winter most of the animals hibernate, the vegetable life as or seeds. Some of the warm-blooded stay[Pg 17] active in the snow-covered tropics, upon by fur-insulated carnivores. Though cold, the winter is a season of peace in to the summer.
For is a time of growth. Plants into life with a that rocks, fast for the motion to be seen. The melt into and days a high into the air. Everything grows, swells, proliferates. Plants climb on top of plants, for the life-energy of the sun. Everything is eat and be eaten, and in that season. Because when the of winter again, ninety of the year must pass until the next of warmth.
Mankind has had to to the Anvharian cycle in order to alive. Food must be and stored, to last out the long winter. Generation after had until they look on the as something ordinary. The of the almost a wide-reaching in the humans. Layers of and half-dormant come to life. Other are more than the temperature adjustment, but important. The sleep center of the brain is depressed. Short or a night's every third or fourth day enough. Life takes on a and quality that is perfectly to the environment. By the time of the frost, rapid-growing have been and harvested, of meat either or in lockers. With this of has part of the and his own the long winter.
Physical has been guaranteed. But what about survival? Primitive Earth Eskimos can into a long of half-conscious hibernation. Civilized men might be able to do this, but only for the cold months of midwinter. It would be to do a winter that is longer than an Earth year. With all the physical[Pg 18] needs taken of, the enemy of any Anvharian who was not a hunter. And the not out on all winter. Drink was one answer, and another. Alcoholism and were the terrors of the cold season, after the Breakdown.
It was the Twenties that ended all that. When they a part of normal life the was just an games. The Twenties were more than just a contest—they a way of life that satisfied all the physical, and needs of this planet. They were a decathlon—rather a decathlon—raised to its power, where in and equal place with those in ski-jumping and archery. Each year there were two planet-wide held, one for men and one for women. This was not an attempt at sexual discrimination, but a logical of facts. Inherent contests—for example, it is for a woman to win a large tournament—and this was recognized. Anyone enter for any number of years. There were no handicaps.
When the best man he was the best man. A series of and and for the winter. They were only to the final that a month, and a single winner. That was the title he was awarded. Winner. The man—and woman—who had every other on the entire and who would until the year.
Winner. It was a title to take in. Brion on his and managed to turn so he look out of the window. Winner of Anvhar. His name was already for the history books, one of the of heroes. School children would be studying him now, just as he had read of the Winners of the past. Weaving and around Brion's victories, and[Pg 19] to equal them someday. To be a Winner was the in the universe.
Outside, the sun in a dark sky. The up the light, it as a and illumination. A single on cut a line across the empty plain; nothing else moved. The of the on Brion and changed, as if he looked in a at a side.
He saw suddenly—with terrible clarity—that to be a Winner was to be nothing. Like being the best flea, among all the on a single dog.
What was Anvhar after all? An ice-locked planet, by a fleas, unknown and by the of the galaxy. There was nothing here for; the after the Breakdown had left them untouched. The Anvharians had always taken in this—as if being so that no one else wanted to come near you possibly be a of pride. All the other worlds of man grew, fought, won, lost, changed. Only on Anvhar did life repeat its endlessly, like a of tape in a player....
Brion's were moist; he blinked. Tears! Realization of this the from his mind and replaced it with fear. Had his mind in the of the last match? These weren't his. Self-pity hadn't him a Winner—why was he it now? Anvhar was his universe—how he it as a tag-end at the of creation? What had come over him and this thinking?
As he the question, the answer appeared at the same instant. Winner Ihjel. The man with the and questions. Had he a spell like some sorcerer—or the in Faust? No, that was pure nonsense. But he had done something. Perhaps planted a when Brion's was low. Or used like the in Cerebrus Chained. Brion no on which to his[Pg 20] suspicions. But he knew, with sure positiveness, that Ihjel was responsible.
He at the sound-switch next to his pillow and the repaired came to life. The nurse appeared in the small screen.
"The man who was here today," Brion said, "Winner Ihjel. Do you know where he is? I must him."
For some this her professional calm. The nurse started to answer, herself, and the screen. When it again a man in guard's had taken her place.
"You an inquiry," the said, "about Winner Ihjel. We are him here in the hospital, the way in which he into your room."
"I have no to make. Will you ask him to come and see me at once?"
The his shock. "I'm sorry, Winner—I don't see how we can. Dr. Caulry left orders that you were not to be—"
"The doctor has no over my personal life." Brion interrupted. "I'm not infectious, with anything more than fatigue. I want to see that man. At once."
The took a breath, and a quick decision. "He is on the way up now," he said, and off.
"What did you do to me?" Brion asked as soon as Ihjel had entered and they were alone. "You won't that you have put in my head?"
"No, I won't it. Because the whole point of my being here is to those 'alien' across to you."
"Tell me how you did it," Brion insisted. "I must know."
"I'll tell you—but there are many you should first, you decide to Anvhar. You must not only them, you will have to them. The thing, the to the rest, is the true nature of your life here. How do you think the Twenties originated?"[Pg 21]
Before he answered, Brion took a of the mild he was allowed. "I don't think," he said; "I know. It's a of record. The of the was Giroldi, the was in 378 A.B. The Twenties have been every year since then. They were local in the beginning, but were soon well on a planet-wide scale."
"True enough," Ihjel said. "But you're what happened. I asked you how the Twenties originated. How any single man take a planet, by half-mad and farmers, and turn it into a smooth-running social machine around the of the Twenties? It just couldn't be done."
"But it was done!" Brion insisted. "You can't that. And there is nothing about the Twenties. They are a logical way to live a life on a like this."
Ihjel laughed, a bark. "Very logical," he said; "but how often logic have anything to do with the organization of social groups and governments? You're not thinking. Put in Giroldi's place. Imagine that you have the great idea of the Twenties and you want to others. So you walk up to the nearest louse-ridden, brawling, superstitious, booze-embalmed and clearly. How a program of his sports—things like poetry, and chess—can make his life that much more and virtuous. You do that. But keep your open at the same time, and be for a fast draw."
Even Brion had to at the of the suggestion. Of it couldn't that way. Yet, since it had happened, there must be a explanation.
"We can this and all day," Ihjel told him, "and you won't the right idea unless—" He off suddenly, at the communicator. The operation light had come on, though the screen dark. Ihjel a hand and the wires. "That doc[Pg 22]tor of yours is very curious—and he's going to that way. The truth the Twenties is none of his business. But it's going to be yours. You must come to that the life you lead here is a complete and construction, by Societics and put into by workers."
"Nonsense!" Brion in. "Systems of can't be up and on people like that. Not without and violence."
"Nonsense, yourself," Ihjel told him. "That may have been true in the of history, but not any more. You have been reading too many of the old Earth classics; you that we still live in the Ages of Superstition. Just and were once on populations, you think this true for all time. Go to your books. In the same and self-government were by states, like India and the Union of North Africa, and the only was local religious groups. Change is the of mankind. Everything we today accept as normal was at one time an innovation. And one of the most is the attempt to the of into something more with the personal of individuals."
"The God complex," Brion said; "forcing into a they want to be into it or not."
"Societies can be that," Ihjel agreed. "It was in the beginning, and there were some results of to populations into a political where they didn't belong. They weren't all failures—Anvhar here is a example of how good the can be when applied. It's not done this way any more, though. As with all of the other sciences, we have out that the more we know, the more there is to know. We no longer attempt to what we a goal. There are too many goals, and from our limited point it is hard to tell the good[Pg 23] ones from the ones. All we do now is try to protect the cultures, give a little to the ones—and the ones. When the work was done here on Anvhar the hadn't that far. The that just where in the from a Type I to a Type V a is, had not yet been completed. The then was to work out an that would be most for a planet, then it into the mold."
"How can that be done?" Brion asked. "How was it done here?"
"We've some progress—you're 'how.' The here took a good number of agents, and a great of money. Personal was in order to dueling, and this to a in the of personal combat. When this was well Giroldi was in, and he how be more than encounters. Tying the onto the of was a little more difficult, but not so. The aren't important; all we are now is the end product. Which is you. You're needed very much."
"Why me?" Brion asked. "Why am I special? Because I the Twenties? I can't that. Taken objectively, there isn't that much myself and the ten runner-ups. Why don't you ask one of them? They do your job as well as I."
"No, they couldn't. I'll tell you later why you are the only man I can use. Our time is out and I must you of some other first." Ihjel at his watch. "We have less than three hours to dead-deadline. Before that time I must of our work to you to you to decide to join us."
"A very tall order," Brion said. "You might by telling me just who this 'we' is that you keep to."
"The Cultural Relationships Foundation. A non-[Pg 24]governmental body, privately endowed, to promote peace and the of planets, so that all will from the good will and engendered."
"Sounds as if you're quoting," Brion told him. "No one possibly make up something that like that on the of the moment."
"I was quoting, from our of organization. Which is all very in a sense, but I'm talking now. About you. You are the product of a and very society. Your has been by your up in a so small in population that a mild of government is necessary. The normal Anvharian education is an excellent one, and in the Twenties has you a and education second to none in the galaxy. It would be a complete waste of your entire life if you now took all this and it on some farm."
"You give me very little credit. I plan to teach—"
"Forget Anvhar!" Ihjel cut him off with a of his hand. "This world will roll on you are here or not. You must it, think of its relative on a scale, and the existing, of mankind. You must think what you can do to help them."
"But what can I do—as an individual? The day is long past when a single man, like Caesar or Alexander, about world-shaking changes."
"True—but not true," Ihjel said. "There are key men in every of forces, men who act like at the right to start a chemical reaction. You might be one of these men, but I must be and say that I can't prove it yet. So in order to save time and discussion, I think I will have to your personal of obligation."
"Obligation to whom?"
"To mankind, of course, to the of who the whole machine along that you the full, long and happy life you enjoy[Pg 25] today. What they gave to you, you must pass on to others. This is the of morals."
"Agreed. And a very good in the long run. But not one that is going to me out of this the next three hours."
"A point of success," Ihjel said. "You agree with the argument. Now I apply it to you. Here is the I to prove. There a with a population of seven people. Unless I can prevent it, this will be destroyed. It is my job to stop that destruction, so that is where I am going now. I won't be able to do the job alone. In to others, I need you. Not anyone like you—but you, and you alone."
"You have little time left to me of all that," Brion told him, "so let me make the job for you. The work you do, this planet, the of the people there—these are all that you can supply. I'll take a that this whole thing is not a bluff, and admit that time, you them all. This the to me again. How can you possibly prove that I am the only person in the who can help you?"
"I can prove it by your ability, the thing I came here to find."
"Ability? I am different in no way from the other men on my planet."
"You're wrong," Ihjel said. "You are the proof of evolution. Rare with in any species, man included. It has been two since an was last on Anvhar, and I have been most of that time."
"What in is an empathetic—and how do you it when you have it?" Brion chuckled, this talk was preposterous.
"I can one I'm one myself—there is no other way. As to how works, you had a of that a little earlier, when you those about Anvhar. It will be a long time you can master[Pg 26] that, but is your natural trait. This is entering into the feeling, or what be called the of another person. Empathy is not perception; it might be as the of someone else's makeup, and attitudes. You can't to a empathetic, he can the the lies. Even your has proved useful in the Twenties. You can your you know his movements as his to make them. You accept this without it."
"How do you know?" This was Brion's understood, but secret.
Ihjel smiled. "Just guessing. But I the Twenties too, remember, also without a thing about at the time. On top of our normal training, it's a to have. Which me to the proof we mentioned a minute ago. When you said you would be if I prove you were the only person who help me. I you are—and that is one thing I cannot about. It's possible to about a verbally, to have a belief, or to a belief. But you can't about it to yourself.
"Equally important—you can't about a to an empathetic. Would you like to see how I about this? 'See' is a word—there is no yet for this of thing. Better, would you join me in my feelings? Sense my attitudes, memories and just as I do?"
Brion to protest, but he was too late. The doors of his were pushed wide and he was overwhelmed.
"Dis ..." Ihjel said aloud. "Seven people ... ... Brion Brandd." These were just key words, of association. With each one Brion the of the other man's emotions.
There be no here—Ihjel was right in that. This was the that are of,[Pg 27] the to the and of memory.
DIS ... DIS ... DIS ... it was a word it was a and the word thundered
like a a the sound
of its and
was a a planet
of death a where
living was and
dying was very
better than
living
crude barbaric
backward miserable
dirty beneath
consideration
planet
hot scorching
wasteland of sands
and and and
sands that had
burned will forever
the people of this so
crude dirty barbaric
sub-human in-human
less-than-human
DIS
but
they
were
going
to
be
DEAD
and DEAD they would be seven corpses
that would your all dreams
forever those
HYDROGEN BOMBS
were waiting
to kill
them unless. . unless. . unless ..
you Ihjel stopped it you Ihjel (DEATH) you (DEATH)
you (DEATH) alone couldn't do it you (DEATH)
must have
BRION BRANDD wet-behind-the-ears-raw-untrained-
Brion-Brandd-to-help-you he was the only one in the
galaxy who the job..................................[Pg 28]
As the of died away, Brion he was on his pillows, with sweat, with the memory of the emotion. Across from him Ihjel sat with his in his hands. When he his Brion saw his a of the he had just experienced.
"Death," Brion said. "That terrible of death. It wasn't just the people of Dis who would die. It was something more personal."
"Myself," Ihjel said, and this word were the of night that Brion had been aware of with his newly ability. "My own death, not too away. This is the terrible price you must pay for your talent. Angst is an part of empathy. It is a part of the whole unknown of that to be of time. Death is so and final that it along the time line. The closer I get, the more aware of it I am. There is no exact of date, just a in time. That is the of it. I know I will die soon after I to Dis—and long the work there is finished. I know the job to be done there, and I know the men who have already failed at it. I also know you are the only person who can possibly complete the work I have started. Do you agree now? Will you come with me?"
"Yes, of course," Brion said. "I'll go with you."[Pg 29]
