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them or not."
"What's the trouble?" inquired Hugh.
Narby looked up. "Oh. I'm glad you came in. Your mutie friend seems to be in doubt as to who is
Captain."
"What's up?"
"He," growled Jim, hooking a thumb toward Narby, "seems to think he's going to disarm all the
muties."
"Well, the war's over, isn't it?"
"It wasn't agreed on. The muties were to become part of the Crew. Take the knives away from the
muties and the Crew will kill them off in no time. It's not fair. The Crew have knives."
"The time will come when they won't," Narby predicted, "but I'll do it at my own time in my own
way. This is the first step. What did you want to see me about, Ertz?"
"Ask Hugh." Narby turned to Hugh.
"I've come to notify you, Captain Narby," Hugh stated formally, "that we are about to start the Main
Converter and move the Ship."
Narby looked surprised but not disconcerted. "I'm afraid you will have to postpone that. I am not yet
ready to permit officers to go up to no-weight."
"It won't be necessary," Hugh explained. "Ertz and I can handle the first maneuvers alone. But we
can't wait. If the Ship is not moved at once, the Trip won't be in your lifetime nor mine."
"Then it must," Narby replied evenly, "wait."
"What?" cried Hugh. "Narby, don't you want to the Trip?"
"I'm in no hurry."
"What sort of damn foolishness is this?" Ertz demanded. "What's got into you, Fin? Of course we
move the Ship."
Narby drummed on his desk top before replying. Then: he said, "Since there seems to be some slight
misunderstanding as to who gives orders around here, I might as well let you have it straight. Hoyland, as
long as your pastimes did not interfere with the administration of tbe Ship, I was willing for you to amuse
yourself. I granted that willingly, for you have been very useful in your own way. But when your crazy
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beliefs become a possible source of corruption to good morals and a danger to the peace and security of
the Ship, I have to crack down."
Hugh had opened and closed his mouth several times during this speech. Finally he managed to get
out: "Crazy? Did you say crazy?"
"Yes, I did. For a man to believe that the solid Ship can move means that he is either crazy, or an
ignorant religious fanatic. Since both of you have the advantage of a scientist's training, I assume that you
have lost your minds."
"Good Jordan!" said Hugh. "The man has seen with his own eyes, he's seen the immortal stars, yet he
sits there and calls us crazy!"
"What's the meaning of this, Narby?" Ertz inquired coldly. "Why the razzle-dazzle? You aren't
kidding anyone; you've been to the Control Room, you've been to the Captain's veranda, you know the
Ship moves."
"You interest me, Ertz," commented Narby, looking him over. "I've wondered whether you were
playing up to Hoyland's delusions, or were deluded yourself. Now I see that you are crazy too."
Ertz kept his temper. "Explain yourself. You've seen the Control Room; how can you contend that
the Ship does not move?"
Narby smiled. "I thought you were a better engineer than you appear to be, Ertz. The Control Room
is an enormous hoax. You know yourself that those lights are turned on and off by switches -- a very
clever piece of engineering. My theory is that it was used to strike awe in the minds of the superstitious
and make them believe in the ancient myths. But we don't need it any more, the Crew believe without it.
It's a source of distraction now I'm going to have it destroyed and the door sealed up."
Hugh went all to pieces at this, sputtered incoherently, and would have grappled with Narby had not
Ertz restrained him. "Easy, Hugh," he admonished. Joe-Jim took Hugh by the arm, his own faces stony
masks.
Ertz went on quietly, "Suppose what you say is true. Suppose that the Main Converter and the Main
Drive itself are nothing but dummies and that we can never start them, what about the Captain's veranda?
You've seen the stars there, not just an engineered shadow show."
Narby laughed. "Ertz, you are stupider than I've guessed. I admit that the display in the veranda had
me mystified at first, not that I ever believed in it! Then the Control Room gave the clue: it's an Illusion, a
piece of skillful engineering. Behind that glass is another compartment, about the same size and unlighted.
Against its darkness those tiny moving lights give the effect of a bottomless hole. It's essentially the same
trick as they used in the Control Room.
"It's obvious," he went on. "I'm surprised that you did not see it. When an apparent fact runs contrary
to logic and common sense, it's obvious that you have failed to interpret the fact correctly. The most
obvious fact of nature is the reality of the Ship itself, solid, immutable, complete. Any so-called fact which
appears to disprove that is bound to be an illusion. Knowing that, I looked for the trick behind the illusion
and found it."
"Wait," said Ertz. "Do you mean that you have been on the other side of the glass in the Captain's
veranda and seen these trick lights you talk about?"
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"No," admitted Narby, "it wasn't necessary. Not that it wouldn't be easy enough to do so, but it isn't
necessary. I don't have to cut myself to know that knives are sharp."
"So..." Ertz paused and thought a moment. "I'll strike a deal with you. If Hugh and I are crazy in our
beliefs, no harm is done as long as we keep our mouths shut. We try to move the Ship. If we fail, we're
wrong and you're right."
"The Captain does not bargain," Narby pointed out. "However, I'll consider it. That's all. You may
go." Ertz turned to go, unsatisfied but checked for moment. He caught sight of Joe-Jim's faces, and
turned back. "One more thing," he said. "What's this about the muties? Why are you shoving Joe-Jim
around? He and his boys made you Captain; you've got to fair about this."
Narby's smiling superiority cracked for amoment.
"Don't interfere, Ertz! Groups of armed savages are not going to threaten this Ship!"
"You can do what you like with the prisoners," Jim stated, "but my own gang keep their knives. They
were promised good eating forever if they fought for you. They keep their knives. And that's flnal!" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]