[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"However," Nadreck said, "as far as you would-be Lensmen are concerned, we
have
achieved a total triumph. Togra will deteriorate into a dark age, and, when it
has purged
itself, its people will be ready to rise to the standards of Civilization. We
have upset three
governments, sabotaged the Boskonian research station of advanced sciences,
and have
now started a war that should become worldwide. What is the most important
lesson you
have learned from all this?"
"That the fire people or Tellurian types," One replied, "can be made to
arrange their own
destruction." Two then spoke up quickly; "That we have the power to sit safely
in our own
environment and send our minds out to do the damage."
"I agree with Two," Three said. "But the emphasis is one of mental power
versus material
power, in which the Lens of Arisia and higher stage training may eventually
completely
replace all technologically based weaponry.
"It is interesting that both of you, Two and Three," Nadreck said, "should be
thinking of
mental power and its superiority over material power as the most important
points. As you
are apo-types, one from the strain of Eich and the other from the strain of
Onlo, you have
the queer reliance on technology in opposition to mental powers. I have long
sensed that
the Eich, for instance, have been unduly influenced by perhaps some higher
authority into
reliance on technology. I say this is in contrast to the echelons of
Civilization that have been
tending, in the course of evolution, to replace technology with paraphysics
and psionics.
Someday we will have to apply our Z-techniques of study, dissection, and
Page 38
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
analysis to the
racial lines of the Onlonians and the Eich."
I think the most significant thing I've learned in this exercise," said Four,
"is the vulnerability
of the humans and the humanoids to their own self-destructive thoughts. They
are strange
creatures who are overwhelmingly concerned with others, mistakenly believing
that a
profitable selfishness grows out of envy and jealousy, when, in fact, they
should treat their
rivals unemotionally."
"That is very true, Four," Nadreck said. "They think we are cowardly, lazy,
egocentric, or
conceited and often all these things, when we are simply logical and
pragmatic. They are,
I'm afraid, often mentally unbalanced. You have found a truly important
understanding. I am
pleased."
"What has surprised me, Nadreck;" Five said, "is the self-deception of. human
beings who
are supposedly intelligent. Are Tograns untypical of humanoids?"
"No, Five," Nadreck said. "Even Tellurians are this way. Tellurians have
greater
self-control, but they still have very strong similar feelings. This planet of
Togra is very much
like Tellus used to be before space flight was invented, and it's been kept
isolated and
planet-bound by Boskonians for reasons of slavery. This section of the Second
Galaxy has
a thousand Togra types for our experimentation and their eventual edification.
We are thus
fortunate to be able to study barbaric humanoids without embarrassing our
friends."
"Surely Kimball Kinnison does not think this way?" Five asked, incredulously,
glimpsing the
truth. He was looking forward to becoming a Lensman and then meet-ing with,
perhaps
even working with, the legendary Galactic Coordinator.
"Oh, but he does," Nadreck said. "Kinnison is most remarkable in being
logical, like a
Palainian, but uncomfortably flustered about our truths. He always seems to be
emotionally
fighting his savage self. You will certainly find him fascinating, almost
unbelievable, when
someday you meet and work with him."
"The others have said what I would have said," Number Six, the Kinchook,
commented.
"However, the idea I have found most profitable is that all lifeforms have
free-thinking
minds and honestly believe themselves to be the clearest thinkers who are
closest to the
absolute truths of life. I hadn't realized humanoids were capable of such
complex and.
profound thought, even if muddled and erroneous."
"Oh, human beings are not to be underestimated," Nadreck said. "Even the
barbarians
have strange moral codes. You may not be able to follow their rules, but you
must
understand their ways."
"Yes, Nadreck," the Kinchook said, "that seems to be a problem for me. That is
Page 39
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
why I did
not sway my Noyyonese enough to make him vote for war. He believed it was
wrong. He
seems to be anti-Boskonian, and his principles are strong. Therefore I am
bothered that he
will suffer with those who deserve to suffer. I think Four found a similar
situation. Shouldn't
we try to, help such humanoids? I mean help them instead of abandoning them?"
"That is an interesting philosophical point, Six," Nadreck admitted, "but not
a Palainian
one. To us, everyone on the wrong side is equally wrong. He will go along with
what is
wrong, and therefore he, too, is, wrong. We do not attempt to save such
entities, we simply
eliminate them."
' I am uneasy about your argument, Nadreck. Can it be that I am not worthy to
be graduated
and receive my Lens of Arisia?"
"Not at all, Six. Not at all," Nadreck was unmoved. "You have an affinity for
the
warm-blooded, human sense of compassion, and, of course, your religion is far
different
from mine. You will make a good Lensman, able to work closely with the
fireheads."
The Kinchook then proposed a startling idea: offer her council member the
choice of
leaving Togra or staying to face the devastating wars. The proposal, she said,
should be
simple: join the "aliens" for a trip to another world and be a pampered
"guest" in laboratory
confinement for as long as he was happy. Back on Palain VII the Academy could
profit
immensely from having a live humanoid barbarian to study.
"That is a provocative idea, Six," Nadreck said. "That council member is the
cleric of
highest rank for their official church. If he were to come to the Academy, the
entire Galactic
Patrol, as well as our Chaplain General, could be the beneficiary. Yes, we
will put the
question to him."
"Why not just take him?" the apo-Eich'on asked. "Perhaps we will do just
that," Nadreck
said, "but we would be best served by having him volunteer and thus encourage
his
cooperation."
Nadreck, now thoroughly familiar with the Noyyonese culture, swiftly contrived
a plan to
tempt the Noyyonese high official, called Gronitskog. As the six cadets
observed, the
Lensman's mind sought out Archbishop Gronitskog within the government offices
and then
firmly yet softly shaped a thought and sent it into the Noyyonese's head.
"I must get out of here," Nadreck whispered. "I must find a lonely place to
think. I will go into
the park and think what I should do." These thoughts caressed the humanoid's
mind,
insinuating themselves down into his unconsciousness. "I must go into the park
and pray."
And while the six cadets watched through their senses of perception, assisted
by their
Page 40
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
master, Nadreck, they saw Gronitskog make his way through the corridors and
the exits
and the gates into the adjoining park lawn.
Then Nadreck threw over the area a zone of compulsion, masking from all but
Gronitskog
the event that followed. From the sky came a whirling aircraft. It was the
Palainian ship,
Sapphire, appearing in a form--as suggested by Nadreck in the humanoid's
mind-from
contemporary Noyyonese lore. The real, though distorted, image was immediately
recognized.
"The disk from the sky!" the man said, recognizing and naming in his own
tongue the
legendary flying saucer of humanoid cultures. The man wanted to turn and run,
but Nadreck [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
"However," Nadreck said, "as far as you would-be Lensmen are concerned, we
have
achieved a total triumph. Togra will deteriorate into a dark age, and, when it
has purged
itself, its people will be ready to rise to the standards of Civilization. We
have upset three
governments, sabotaged the Boskonian research station of advanced sciences,
and have
now started a war that should become worldwide. What is the most important
lesson you
have learned from all this?"
"That the fire people or Tellurian types," One replied, "can be made to
arrange their own
destruction." Two then spoke up quickly; "That we have the power to sit safely
in our own
environment and send our minds out to do the damage."
"I agree with Two," Three said. "But the emphasis is one of mental power
versus material
power, in which the Lens of Arisia and higher stage training may eventually
completely
replace all technologically based weaponry.
"It is interesting that both of you, Two and Three," Nadreck said, "should be
thinking of
mental power and its superiority over material power as the most important
points. As you
are apo-types, one from the strain of Eich and the other from the strain of
Onlo, you have
the queer reliance on technology in opposition to mental powers. I have long
sensed that
the Eich, for instance, have been unduly influenced by perhaps some higher
authority into
reliance on technology. I say this is in contrast to the echelons of
Civilization that have been
tending, in the course of evolution, to replace technology with paraphysics
and psionics.
Someday we will have to apply our Z-techniques of study, dissection, and
Page 38
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
analysis to the
racial lines of the Onlonians and the Eich."
I think the most significant thing I've learned in this exercise," said Four,
"is the vulnerability
of the humans and the humanoids to their own self-destructive thoughts. They
are strange
creatures who are overwhelmingly concerned with others, mistakenly believing
that a
profitable selfishness grows out of envy and jealousy, when, in fact, they
should treat their
rivals unemotionally."
"That is very true, Four," Nadreck said. "They think we are cowardly, lazy,
egocentric, or
conceited and often all these things, when we are simply logical and
pragmatic. They are,
I'm afraid, often mentally unbalanced. You have found a truly important
understanding. I am
pleased."
"What has surprised me, Nadreck;" Five said, "is the self-deception of. human
beings who
are supposedly intelligent. Are Tograns untypical of humanoids?"
"No, Five," Nadreck said. "Even Tellurians are this way. Tellurians have
greater
self-control, but they still have very strong similar feelings. This planet of
Togra is very much
like Tellus used to be before space flight was invented, and it's been kept
isolated and
planet-bound by Boskonians for reasons of slavery. This section of the Second
Galaxy has
a thousand Togra types for our experimentation and their eventual edification.
We are thus
fortunate to be able to study barbaric humanoids without embarrassing our
friends."
"Surely Kimball Kinnison does not think this way?" Five asked, incredulously,
glimpsing the
truth. He was looking forward to becoming a Lensman and then meet-ing with,
perhaps
even working with, the legendary Galactic Coordinator.
"Oh, but he does," Nadreck said. "Kinnison is most remarkable in being
logical, like a
Palainian, but uncomfortably flustered about our truths. He always seems to be
emotionally
fighting his savage self. You will certainly find him fascinating, almost
unbelievable, when
someday you meet and work with him."
"The others have said what I would have said," Number Six, the Kinchook,
commented.
"However, the idea I have found most profitable is that all lifeforms have
free-thinking
minds and honestly believe themselves to be the clearest thinkers who are
closest to the
absolute truths of life. I hadn't realized humanoids were capable of such
complex and.
profound thought, even if muddled and erroneous."
"Oh, human beings are not to be underestimated," Nadreck said. "Even the
barbarians
have strange moral codes. You may not be able to follow their rules, but you
must
understand their ways."
"Yes, Nadreck," the Kinchook said, "that seems to be a problem for me. That is
Page 39
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
why I did
not sway my Noyyonese enough to make him vote for war. He believed it was
wrong. He
seems to be anti-Boskonian, and his principles are strong. Therefore I am
bothered that he
will suffer with those who deserve to suffer. I think Four found a similar
situation. Shouldn't
we try to, help such humanoids? I mean help them instead of abandoning them?"
"That is an interesting philosophical point, Six," Nadreck admitted, "but not
a Palainian
one. To us, everyone on the wrong side is equally wrong. He will go along with
what is
wrong, and therefore he, too, is, wrong. We do not attempt to save such
entities, we simply
eliminate them."
' I am uneasy about your argument, Nadreck. Can it be that I am not worthy to
be graduated
and receive my Lens of Arisia?"
"Not at all, Six. Not at all," Nadreck was unmoved. "You have an affinity for
the
warm-blooded, human sense of compassion, and, of course, your religion is far
different
from mine. You will make a good Lensman, able to work closely with the
fireheads."
The Kinchook then proposed a startling idea: offer her council member the
choice of
leaving Togra or staying to face the devastating wars. The proposal, she said,
should be
simple: join the "aliens" for a trip to another world and be a pampered
"guest" in laboratory
confinement for as long as he was happy. Back on Palain VII the Academy could
profit
immensely from having a live humanoid barbarian to study.
"That is a provocative idea, Six," Nadreck said. "That council member is the
cleric of
highest rank for their official church. If he were to come to the Academy, the
entire Galactic
Patrol, as well as our Chaplain General, could be the beneficiary. Yes, we
will put the
question to him."
"Why not just take him?" the apo-Eich'on asked. "Perhaps we will do just
that," Nadreck
said, "but we would be best served by having him volunteer and thus encourage
his
cooperation."
Nadreck, now thoroughly familiar with the Noyyonese culture, swiftly contrived
a plan to
tempt the Noyyonese high official, called Gronitskog. As the six cadets
observed, the
Lensman's mind sought out Archbishop Gronitskog within the government offices
and then
firmly yet softly shaped a thought and sent it into the Noyyonese's head.
"I must get out of here," Nadreck whispered. "I must find a lonely place to
think. I will go into
the park and think what I should do." These thoughts caressed the humanoid's
mind,
insinuating themselves down into his unconsciousness. "I must go into the park
and pray."
And while the six cadets watched through their senses of perception, assisted
by their
Page 40
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
master, Nadreck, they saw Gronitskog make his way through the corridors and
the exits
and the gates into the adjoining park lawn.
Then Nadreck threw over the area a zone of compulsion, masking from all but
Gronitskog
the event that followed. From the sky came a whirling aircraft. It was the
Palainian ship,
Sapphire, appearing in a form--as suggested by Nadreck in the humanoid's
mind-from
contemporary Noyyonese lore. The real, though distorted, image was immediately
recognized.
"The disk from the sky!" the man said, recognizing and naming in his own
tongue the
legendary flying saucer of humanoid cultures. The man wanted to turn and run,
but Nadreck [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]