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“Why not? Surely the Central Computer, which evaluated your scholastic record and your social and personal background can be trusted in its judgments. And if you do well, it will be a great achievement for you, for right here we are on the cutting edge of a new technology.”
“I know that, sir,” said Sam. “Back on Earth, everyone is very excited about it. No one before has ever tried to get close to a neutron star and make use of its energy.”
“Yes?” said Gentry. “I haven’t been on Earth for two years. What else do they say about it? I understand there’s considerable opposition?” His eyes probed the boy.
Sam shifted uneasily, aware he was being tested. He said, “There are people on Earth who say it’s all too dangerous and might be a waste of money.” “Do you believe that?”
“It might be so, but most new technologies have their dangers and many are worth doing despite that. This one is, I think.”
“Very good. What else do they say on Earth?”
Sam said, “They say the Commander isn’t well and that the project might fail without him.” When Gentry didn’t respond, Sam said, hastily, “That’s what they say.”
Gentry acted as though he did not hear. He put his hand on Sam’s shoulder and said, “Come, I’ve got to show you to your Corridor, introduce you to your roommate, and explain what your initial duties will be. “ As they walked toward the elevator that would take them downward, he said, “What was your first choice in assignment, Chase?”
“Neurophysiology, sir.”
“Not a bad choice. Even today, the human brain continues to be a mystery. We know more about neutron stars than we do about the brain, as we found out when this project first began.”
“Oh?”
“Indeed! At the start, various people at the base-it was much smaller and more primitive then- reported having experienced hallucinations. They never caused any bad effects, and after a while, there were no further reports. We never found out the cause.”
Sam stopped, and looked up and about again, “Was that why the Dome was built, Dr. Gentry? “
“No, not at all. We needed a place with a completely Earth-like environment, for various reasons, but we haven’t isolated ourselves. People can go outside freely. There are no hallucinations being reported now.”
Sam said, “The information I was given about Energy Planet is that there is no life on it except for plants and insects, and that they’re harmless.”
“That’s right, but they’re also inedible, so we grow our own vegetables, and keep some small animals, right here under the Dome. Still, we’ve found nothing hallucinogenic about the planetary life.”
“Anything unusual about the atmosphere, sir?”
Gentry looked down from his only slightly greater height and said, “Not at all. People have camped in the open overnight on occasion and nothing has happened. It is a pleasant world. There are streams but no fish, just algae and water-insects. There is nothing to sting you or poison you. There are yellow berries that look delicious and taste terrible but do no other harm. The weather’s pretty nearly always good. There are frequent light rains and it is sometimes windy, but there are no extremes of heat and cold.”
“And no hallucinations any more, Dr. Gentry?”
“You sound disappointed,” said Gentry, smiling.
Sam took a chance. “Does the Commander’s trouble have anything to do with the hallucinations, sir?”
The good nature vanished from Gentry’s eyes for a moment, and he frowned. He said, “What trouble do you refer to?”
Sam flushed and they proceeded in silence.
Sam found few others in the Corridor he had been assigned to, but Gentry explained it was a busy time at the forward station, where the power system was being built in a ring around the neutron star-the tiny object less than ten miles across that had all the mass of a normal star, and a magnetic field of incredible power.
It was the magnetic field that would be tapped. Energy would be led away in enormous amounts and yet it would all be a pinprick, less than a pinprick, to the star’s rotational energy, which was the ultimate source. It would take billions of years to bleed off all that energy, and in that time, dozens of populated planets, fed the energy through hyperspace, would have all they needed for an indefinite time.
Sharing his room was Robert Gillette, a dark-haired, unhappy-looking young man. After cautious greetings had been exchanged, Robert revealed the fact that he was sixteen and had been “grounded” with a broken arm, though the fact didn’t show since it had been pi
Robert said, ruefully, “It takes a while before you learn to handle things in space. They may not have weight, but they have inertia and you have to allow for that.”
Sam said, “They always teach you that in-” He was going to say that it was taught in fourth-grade science, but realized that would be insulting, and stopped himself.
Robert caught the implication, however, and flushed. He said, “It’s easy to know it in your head. It doesn’t mean you get the proper reflexes, till you’ve practiced quite a bit. You’ll find out.” Sam said, “Is it very complicated to get to go outside.”
“No, but why do you want to go? There’s nothing there.” “Have you ever been outside.”
“Sure,” but he shrugged, and volunteered nothing else.
Sam took a chance. He said, very casually, “Did you ever see one of these hallucinations they talk about?”
Robert said, “Who talks about?”
Sam didn’t answer directly. He said, “ A lot of people used to see them, but they don’t anymore.
Or so they say.”
“So who say?”
Sam took another chance. “Or if they see them, they keep quiet about them.”
Robert said gruffly, “Listen, let me give you some advice. Don’t get interested in these-whatever they are. If you start telling yourself you see-uh-something, you might be sent back. You’ll lose your chance at a good education and an important career.”
Robert’s eyes shifted to a direct stare as he said that.
Sam shrugged and sat down on the unused bunk. “ All right for this to be my bed? “
“It’s the only other bed here,” said Robert, still staring. “The bathroom’s to your right. There’s your closet, your bureau. You get half the room. There’s a gym here, a library, a dining area.” He paused and then, as though to let bygones be bygones, said, “I’ll show you around later.” “Thanks,” said Sam. “What kind of a guy is the Commander?”
“He’s aces. We wouldn’t be here without him. He knows more about hyper spatial technology than anyone, and he’s got pull with the Space Agency, so we get the money and equipment we need.”
Sam opened his trunk and, with his back to Robert, said casually, “I understand he’s not well.” “Things get him down. We’re behind schedule, there are cost-overruns, and things like that. Enough to get anyone down.”
“Depression, huh? Any co
Robert stirred impatiently in his seat, “Say, why are you so interested in all this?” “Energy physics isn’t really my deal. Coming here-”
“Well, here’s where you are, mister, and you better make up your mind to it, or you’ll get sent home, and then you won’t be anywhere. I’m going to the library.”
Sam remained in the room alone, with his thoughts.
It was not at all difficult for Sam to get permission to leave the Dome. The Corridor-Master didn’t even ask the reason until after he had checked him off.
“I want to get a feel for the planet, sir.”
The Corridor-Master nodded. “Fair enough, but you only get three hours, you know. And don’t wander out of sight of the Dome. If we have to look for you, we’ll find you, because you’ll be wearing this,” and he held out a transmitter which Sam knew had been tuned to his own personal wavelength, one which had been assigned him at birth. “But if we have to go to that trouble, you won’t be allowed out again for a pretty long time. And it won’t look good on your record, either. You understand?”
It won’t look good on your record. Any reasonable career these days had to include experience and education in space, so it was an effective warning. No wonder people might have stopped reporting hallucinations, even if they saw them.
Even so, Sam was going to have to take his chances. After all, the Central Computer couldn’t have sent him here just to do energy physics. There was nothing in his record that made sense out of that.
As far as looks were concerned, the planet might have been Earth, some part of Earth anyway, some place where there were a few trees and low bushes and lots of tall grass.
There were no paths and with every cautious step, the grass swayed, and tiny flying creatures whirred upward with a soft, hissing noise of wings.
One of them landed on his finger and Sam looked at it curiously. It was very small and, therefore, hard to see in detail, but it seemed hexagonal, bulging above and concave below. There were many short, small legs so that when it moved it almost seemed to do so on tiny wheels. There were no signs of wings till it suddenly took off, and then four tiny, feathery objects unfurled.
What made the planet different from Earth, though, was the smell. It wasn’t unpleasant, it was just different. The plants must have had an entirely different chemistry from those on Earth; that’s why they tasted bad and were inedible. It was just luck they weren’t poisonous.
The smell diminished with time, however, as it saturated Sam’s nostrils. He found an exposed bit of rocky ledge he could sit on and considered the prospect. The sky was filled with lines of clouds, and the Sun was periodically obscured, but the temperature was pleasant and there was only a light wind. The air felt a bit damp, as though it might rain in a few hours.
Sam had brought a small hamper with him and he placed it in his lap and opened it. He had brought along two sandwiches and a ca
He chewed away and thought: Why should there be hallucinations?
Surely those accepted for a job as important as that of taming a neutron star would have been selected for mental stability. It would be surprising to have even one person hallucinating, let alone a number of them. Was it a matter of chemical influences on the brain?
They would surely have checked that out.
Sam plucked a leaf, tore it in two and squeezed. He then put the torn edge to his nose cautiously, and took it away again. A very acrid, unpleasant smell. He tried a blade of grass. Much the same.