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an atomic nucleus from stellar plasma to the act of designing a supercomputer; within this spectrum, the
emergence of life was reduced to just another milestone along the way. They compared the evolutionary
principle to a fish swimming upstream against the current of entropy; the fish and the current symbolized
the two fundamental forces in the Ganymean universe. Evolution worked the way it did because selection
worked; selection worked because probability worked in a particular way. The universe was, in the final
analysis, all a question of statistics.
Basic particles thus appeared, lived out their mortal spans, and then vanished. Where did they come
from and where did they go to? This question summed up the kinds of problem that had existed at the
frontier of Ganymean science at the time of the Shapieron's departure. The whole universe perceived by
the senses was compared to a geometric plane through which a particle passed, to be observable for a
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while as it made its contribution to the evolving histories of the galaxies. But in what kind of superuniverse
was this plane embedded? Of what kind of truer reality was everything that had ever been observed just
a pale and insignificant shadow? These were the secrets that the researchers of Minerva had been
beginning to probe and which, they had
confidently believed, would eventually yield the key not only to practicable intergalactic travel, but also
to movement in domains of existence that even they were incapable of imagining. The scientists from the
Shapieron wondered how much their descendants had learned in the years, decades, or even centuries,
that had elapsed after their departure from Minerva. Could the abrupt disappearance of a whole
civilization have a connection with some undreamed of universe that they had discovered?
The newsmen present were interested in the cultural basis of the Minervan civilization, particularly the
means of conducting everyday commercial transactions between individuals and between organizations.
A freely competing economy based on monetary values seemed incompatible with the noncompetitive
Ganymean character and raised the question of what alternative system the aliens used to measure and
control the obligations between an individual and the rest of society.
The Ganymeans confirmed that their system had functioned without the motivational forces of profit and
a need to maintain any kind of financial solvency. This was another area in which the radically different
psychology and conditioning of the Ganymeans made a smooth dialogue impossible, mainly because they
had no comprehension of many of the facts of living that were accepted as self-evident on Earth. That
some means of control was desirable to insure that everybody put into society at least as much as he
took out was strange to them; so was the concept that any measure of a "normal" input-output ratio could
be specified since, they maintained, every individual had his own preferred ratio at which he functioned
optimally, and which it was his basic right to choose. The concept of financial necessity or any other
means of coercing somebody to live a life that he would not otherwise follow was, to them, a grotesque
infringement of freedom and dignity. Besides that, they seemed unable to understand why it should be
necessary to base any society on such principles.
What then, they were asked, was there to prevent everybody becoming purely a taker, with no
obligation to give anything in return? That being the case, how could a society survive at all? Again the
Ganymeans seemed unable to understand the problem. Surely, they pointed out, individuals possessed an
instinct to contribute and one of the essential needs of living was the satisfaction of that instinct; why
would anybody deliberately deprive himself
of the feeling of being needed? Apparently that was what motivated the Ganymean in place of monetary
incentives-he simply could not live with the thought of not being of any use to anybody. He was just made
that way. The worst situation he could find himself in was that of having to depend on society for his
wants without being able to reciprocate, and anybody who sought such an existence deliberately was
regarded as a social anomaly in need of psychiatric help and an object of sympathy-rather like a mentally
retarded child. The observation that this was regarded by many on Earth as the ultimate fuffillment of
ambition reinforced the Ganymean conviction that Homo sapiens had inherited some awful defects from
the Lunarians. On a more encouraging note they expressed the view, based on what they knew of the last
few decades of Man's history, that Nature was slowly but surely repairing the damage.
By the time the conference had finished Hunt found that all the talking had made him thirsty. He asked
ZORAC if there was anywhere nearby where he might get a drink and was informed that if he went out
through the main door of the room he was in, turned right and followed the corridor for a short distance,
he would come to an open seating area where refreshments were available. Hunt ordered a GTB and
Coke-the latest product of the fusion of the two cultures and an instant hit with both-and left the mêlée of
producers and technicians to follow the directions and pick up the drink at the dispensing unit.
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As he turned and cast an eye around the area to look for a suitable seat, he noted absently that he was
the only Earthinan present. A few Ganymeans were scattered around singly or in small groups, but most
of the places were empty. He picked out a small table with a few unoccupied chairs around it, sauntered
across and sat down. Apart from one or two slight nods of acknowledgment, none of the Ganymeans
took any notice of him; anyone would have thought it an everyday occurrence for unaccompanied aliens
to wander around their ship. The sight of the ashtray on the table prompted him to reach into his pocket
for his cigarette pack. Then he stopped, momentarily puzzled; the Ganymeans didn't smoke. He peered
more closely at the ashtray and realized that it was standard UNSA issue. He looked around. Most of
the tables had UNSA ashtrays. As usual the Ganymeans had thought of everything; naturally there would
be Earthmen around with the confer-
ence that day. He sighed, shook his head in admiration and settled back into the huge expanse of
upholstered luxury to relax with his thoughts.
He didn't realize Shilohin was standing nearby until ZORAC spoke in his ear with the voice that it
reserved for her. "Dr. Hunt, isn't it? Good afternoon."
Hunt looked up with a start and then recognized her. He grinned at the standard salutation and gestured
toward one of the empty seats. Shilohin sat down and placed her own drink on the table.
"I see we seem to have had the same idea," she said. "It's thirsty work."
"You can say that again."
"Well. . . how do you think it went?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]