Macroscope

Groton finally took his turn with Ivo at the macroscope, refusing to claim indefinitely the privilege of moon-side duty that his continuing performance had warranted. “Do the machines good to have time off,” he remarked. “I told ’em to be back on the job 8 a.m. Monday and sober.” For the first time since the onset of this adventure, the two men were together privately when there was time to converse.

Ivo suspected there was a reason for it, since Groton still had important other chores to do and had already proven himself to be an indefatigable worker. Afra had been overshadowed and relegated to the role of technical assistant, and of course Beatryx had been the chief babysitter. Had Groton made time now for a reason?

He had. “You remember I’m interested in astrology,” he said.

That was not the subject Ivo had anticipated. “Yes, you took my birth date and a significant experience.” So long ago, it seemed! Back the other side of the melting — a whole separate existence, receding into memory. And did it make a difference, for the astrological discipline, that the childhood Ivo had made his own was that of Sidney Lanier? He felt a twinge of guilt, but was afraid that an explanation at this point would be awkward. “I also overheard you discussing it with Afra, way back when.”

“Yes. Brilliant girl, but her mind is resistant to certain concepts.” Ivo had become aware of that, too. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t require that anyone else accept my values, and I am confident that astrology can stand on its own merits. But I have been casting horoscopes for each of the members of this party, and there is a certain mystery about you.”

Ivo wondered when the man had found time for this, in the face of the colossal job he had been doing on Triton. Here he shared Afra’s perplexity: how was it that such a competent and realistic engineer was able to take a pseudo-science seriously? Groton did not seem to differentiate between the real and the unreal, yet his approach to all things seemed to be totally practical.

“If you don’t mind,” Groton said after an interval, “I’d like to discuss this with you.”

“Why not? I can’t say I believe in astrology any more than Afra does, but I don’t mind questions.”

“Can you say you know enough about astrology to believe or disbelieve intelligently?”

Ivo smiled. “No. So I guess I’m neutral.”

“It is surprising how certain most people are about what they like or don’t like, or believe or don’t believe, when their information is really too scanty for any meaningful decision. If I had chosen before the fact to disbelieve in the possibility of a signal from space that could build advanced machinery, our residence on Triton would be less comfortable than it is. Prejudice is often expensive.”

It occurred to Ivo that he had just had another lesson in open-mindedness. He had objected to Afra’s views on race, but his own mind had been as one-sided in the matter of astrology. And, like Afra, he still couldn’t reverse his standing attitudes; astrology, to him, was essentially fakery. He was as prejudiced as she.

“Still, that’s irrelevant,” Groton said. “What I want to do is give you portions of two descriptions, and have you judge which one fits you best. It’s a kind of psychological exercise — but don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to psychoanalyze you. This may help me to clear up my problem, and perhaps show you a little of what astrology is in practice.”

“Fire at will.”

“Odd you should choose that wording.” Groton paused to collect his thoughts. “Here is the first description: This person is determined to get on the inside of things and to control the machinery of life. This position always encourages a conscious response to the undercurrents of the moment. At his best he is able to recognize the basic unity of experience, or to bring unsuspected and helpful relations into play; at his worst he is apt to cultivate suspicion or encourage half-baked effort. Life for him must be exciting, and he must be self-reliant. He is essentially fearless, and likes to move quickly and positively, taking the full consequence of whatever he does. He does not care much for abstract considerations, and gives little thought to other people.”

Groton paused. “Now here is the second one: This person is determined to test the mettle of reality in every possible sort of hard effort He desires to bring everything down to a utilitarian basis. At his best he is able to organize or redirect the energies of himself and others to an increased advantage; at his worst he is apt to become wholly malcontent and unsocial. Life for him must be purposeful; he is readily stimulated. He is high-visioned, optimistic, gregarious to a fault and often gullible. He must be challenged to do his best, or he becomes dogmatic and jealous. He is a realist in minor things, a do-or-die idealist otherwise.”

Ivo thought about it. “They’re both so general, and I’m not sure I like either one too much. But the second seems closer. I do like to help people, but too often it doesn’t work out. And I’d much rather earn my way by hard work than do something dramatic. I’m certainly not fearless.”

“This is my impression. Human traits are not portioned off precisely, and we all have a little of everything, so character summations are necessarily vague in spots. But the first hardly describes you. It is Aries the Ram in the twelfth house. Aries is part of the fire element — that’s why I commented on your figure of speech.”

“My — ?”

“You said ‘fire at will.’ ”

“Oh.”

“The second is Aquarius the Water Carrier in the sixth house — air element. I could go on with the other planets — this was the sun, of course — but this differentiation is typical. You appear to fit Aquarius, not Aries.”

“And my birth date?”

“Aries.”

“So I’m a misfit. Don’t know where I belong. Whose birthday is Aquarius?”

“I played a hunch from something my wife mentioned. Sidney Lanier.”

Ivo felt a nasty emotional shock. Pseudo-science or not, this was striking pretty close. “So you say I should be fire when I seem to be air. Could you have miscalculated?”

“No. That’s the mystery. I rechecked very carefully and it stands. Your personality is entirely different from the one indicated by your horoscope, and your personal episode only corroborates that difference. I could be mistaken in detail, but hardly to this extent. So: assuming my tenets to be valid, either your birth date is not the one you gave me, or—”

“Or — ?”

“Do you play chess?”

“No.” Ivo did not challenge the abrupt change of subject.

“It happens that I do. I’m not very good at it, but I used to play quite a bit, before I found more important uses for my time. So I believe I know what that message means.”

“Message?”

“Schön’s last. You remember: ‘My pawn is pi

“I wouldn’t know.”

“I think you would, Ivo, but I’ll explain. Each piece in chess has a different motion and a different value. A pawn is a minor piece reckoned at one point and it moves straight ahead, one step at a time. The knight and the bishop are worth three points each, and their motions are correspondingly more intricate and far-ranging. The castle is worth five, and the queen nine or ten, so you see she is a very powerful piece. The pointages are only general guides to strategic value; no numerical score is kept, of course. The queen moves as far as she wants in any direction; it is her mobility that gives her strength, and her presence changes the entire complexion of the game.”

“I don’t entirely follow the explanation, but I’ll take your word for it.”

“Doesn’t matter. The point is, you dare not ignore the queen. She can strike from any distance, while a pawn is severely limited. So the queen can check and even mate the king without danger to herself, but the pawn has to be guarded.”