Andromeda (A Space-Age Tale)

CHAPTER TWELVE THE ASTRONAUTICAL COUNCIL

The Astronautical Council, like the planet’s central brain, the Economic Council, had for centuries possessed its own building for scientific conferences. It was believed that specially designed and decorated rooms would attune the assembled scientists to the Cosmos and in this way facilitate their rapid mental transition from matters terrestrial to matters astral.

Chara Nandi had never before been inside the main hall of the Council building. She was excited when she and Evda Nahl entered that strange, egg-shaped hall with its curved, parabolic ceiling and its rows of seats arranged in ellipses. The hall was drenched in a bright, transparent light that seemed to have been collected from some other star brighter than the Sun. All the lines of the walls, ceiling and seats converged at the end of the huge hall that seemed to be their natural focal point. At that point there was a dais with a screen, a rostrum and seats for the members of the Council who conducted the meetings.

The dull gold panels of the walls alternated with relief maps of the planets. On the right-hand aide there were maps of the solar system and on the left the planets of neighbouring stars that had been studied by the Council’s expeditions. A second series under the pale-blue dome of the ceiling carried diagrams of other inhabited stellar systems done in radiant colours; these had been received from the Great Circle.

Chara’s attention was drawn to an old, faded picture over the rostrum that had apparently been restored several times. A violet-black sky occupied the entire upper half of the huge canvas. The tiny crescent of an alien moon cast a deathly white light on the uplifted stern of an ancient spaceship harshly silhouetted against the ruddy glow of a setting sun. The rows of ugly blue plants, coarse and dry, seemed to be made of metal. A man in a light spacesuit was dragging his feet through deep sand. He was looking back at the wrecked ship and the dead bodies of his companions. The eyeglasses of his mask reflected only the setting sun but by some trick of infinite skill the artist had managed to put into them an expression of the hopeless despair of loneliness in a strange world. Something living, formless and disgusting, was crawling over a nearby sand hummock. There was a title under the picture in big letters, as brief as it was expressive: Left Alone!

So impressed was she by the picture that the girl did not at first notice a wonderful architectural feature of the hall: the seats spread out fanwise and were arranged in steps so that a separate gangway to each seat was provided from galleries running under the rows of chairs. Each row was cut off completely from its higher and lower neighbours. Only when she sat down with Evda did Chara notice the ancient craftsmanship of the chairs, reading desks and barriers, all of which were made from real pearl-coloured African wood. Nobody today would waste so much time and effort on something that could be cast and polished in a few minutes. Perhaps it was due to the love of old things that lives in all people that Chara found the wood warmer and more full of life than plastic. Gently she stroked the curved arms of her chair, all the time looking round the hall.

As usual many people had gathered in the hall although powerful transmitters would carry telepictures of the proceedings over the whole planet. Mir Ohm, Secretary of the Council, opened the proceedings by the usual reading of brief announcements that had accumulated since the last meeting. Not a single unattentive face, not a single person occupied with his own thoughts, could have been found amongst the hundreds in the hall. A tactful attention to everything was a typical feature of the people of the Great Circle Era. Nevertheless Chara missed the first communication as she continued looking round the hall and reading citations from famous scientists written under the planet maps. She liked most of all an appeal to be receptive to natural phenomena written under the map of Jupiter: “Look how we are surrounded by facts that we do not understand — they thrust themselves upon us but we neither see nor hear the great things hidden in their faint outlines and awaiting discovery.” In another place, farther to the left, an inscription said: “The curtain hiding the unknown cannot be lifted easily — it is only after persistent labour, retreats and deviations that we begin to fathom true meanings and new boundless horizons open up before us. Never try to avoid that which at first seems useless and inexplicable, incomprehensible….”

There came a movement on the rostrum and the lights in the hall went out. The strong, calm voice of the Council Secretary quivered with excitement.

“You will now see that which was but recently considered impossible, a photograph of our Galaxy taken from the side. More than a hundred and fifty thousand years ago — one and a half galactic minutes — the inhabitants of planetary system….” Chara let the, to her, meaningless figures go, “in the Centaurus Constellation sent an appeal to the inhabitants of the Great Magellanic Cloud, the only extra-galactic stellar system near us that we know to contain worlds inhabited by intelligences capable of communicating with our Galaxy through the Circle. We still cannot give the exact coordinates of the Magellanic planetary system but we have received their transmission, a photograph of the Galaxy. Here it is!”

On the huge screen a wide cluster of stars, narrowing towards the ends, gleamed with a distant silver light. The profound darkness of space drowned the edges of the screen. The same blackness filled the gaps between the smaller spiral branches with their ragged tips. A pale glow spread over a ring of spherical clusters, the oldest stellar systems in our universe. Flat stellar fields alternated with clouds and strips of black condensed matter. The photograph had been taken from an awkward angle, the Galaxy was taken diagonally and from above so that the central core was a scarcely visible burning convex mass in the centre of a thin lentil-shaped cluster. Obviously if we wanted to get a complete picture of our Galaxy we should have to ask more distant galaxies that were situated at a higher galactic latitude. Not once since the inception ot the Great Circle had any of the galaxies shown signs of intelligent life.

The people of Earth watched the screen intently. For the first time man could look at his stellar Universe from the side and from a terrific distance in space.

It seemed to Chara that the entire planet was holding its breath as it looked at its Galaxy in millions of screens on all six continents and on all the oceans wherever islands of human life and labour were scattered.

“That is the end of the news received by our observatories and not previously broadcast in the world news circuit,” announced the Secretary in a calm voice. “We will now go over to projects submitted for general discussion.

“Juta Gay’s proposal to create an atmosphere for Mars suitable for human respiration by means of the extraction of the light gases from deep-lying rocks deserves attention as it is supported by sound calculations. The air so produced will be sufficient for breathing and for the heat insulation of our settlements which will then be able to come out of their glass houses. Many years ago, after oceans of oil and mountains of hard carbohydrates were discovered on Venus, automatic installations had been set working there to create an artificial atmosphere under a gigantic dome of transparent plastic. These installations enabled man to plant vegetation and build factories to provide tremendous quantities of everything organic chemistry could produce.

“We usually announce new proposals ourselves,” continued Mir Ohm, “but today you will hear an almost finished piece of research. Its author, Eva Djann, will give you material that will require most careful thought.”

The Secretary laid aside a metal sheet and smiled in a friendly way. At the end of the row of seats nearest to the rostrum Mven Mass appeared; in his dark-red costume he looked at once gloomy, solemn and calm. As a sign of respect for the assembly he raised his folded hands above his head and then sat down.

Mir Ohm left the rostrum to make way for a young woman with short, golden hair and green eyes that had a look of permanent surprise in them. Grom Orme, the President of the Council, stood beside her.

Eva Djann began speaking in a suppressed voice and was so shy that she seemed afraid to make the slightest movement. She started from the well-known fact that southern vegetation is distinguished by its blue foliage. This is a colour that is typical of ancient forms of vegetable life on Earth. An investigation of plant life on other planets had shown that blue foliage belongs to an atmosphere that is either more transparent than that of Earth or to one that is subjected to greater ultra-violet radiation from its luminary than Earth is from the Sun. It had long been known, she said, that the Sun, whose red radiation is stable, shows great instability at the blue and ultraviolet end of the spectrum. About two million years earlier there had been a sharp change in the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation that had continued over a lengthy period. It was then that the blue foliage appeared, the birds and beasts of the open spaces acquired black protective covering and birds that nested in the open began laying blade eggs.

At this time Earth’s axis lost its stability owing to changes in the electromagnetic regime of the solar system. For a long time astronomers had based their calculations on the mechanics of gravitation alone and had paid no attention to electromagnetic equilibrium which is much more changeable than gravitation.

There had long been in existence schemes for the transfer of seas into depressions on the continents in order to bring about a shift of Earth’s axis. If this problem be approached from the standpoint of the electromagnetic forces of the system and not as a problem in elementary mechanics it would be more easily and cheaply achievable. It would be remembered, she continued, that in the early days of space travel the creation of artificial gravitation had required such a tremendous expenditure of power that it had been practically impossible. Since the discovery of meson forces, however, our spaceships had been equipped with simple and reliable artificial gravity installations. And Renn Bose’s experiment had indicated a way of by-passing gravitation.

Eva Djann stopped. A group of six people, the heroes of the Pluto Expedition, seated in the centre of the hall, applauded her by extending their folded hands. The young woman’s cheeks flushed for a moment before the screen lit up with the phantom contours of stereometric drawings.

“I realize that the problem is one that can be developed on a wider scale and that we can then think of changing the orbits of planets and bringing Pluto nearer to the Sun. But so far I have in mind only the shifting of the planet’s axis of rotation to improve climatic conditions on the continental hemisphere. Renn Bose’s experiment showed the possibility of the inversion of the gravitational field in its second aspect, that is, in the aspect of the electromagnetic field, with subsequent vectoral polarization in these directions,” she pointed to geometric figures on the screen that had become elongated and were rotating, “Earth’s axis of rotation would lose its stability and the planet could be turned in the desired direction for the better illumination of the continents.”

Rows of parameters that had been computed by machines beforehand now appeared on the long glass under the screen and everybody who could understand them saw that Eva Djann’s project was, at any rate, not without sound foundation.

Eva Djann stopped the movement of the drawings and symbols and, her head bowed, left the rostrum. Her audience exchanged glances and whispered amongst themselves. The young commander of the Pluto Expedition, exchanging a scarcely perceptible glance with Grom Orme, mounted the rostrum.

“There is no doubt that Renn Bose’s experiment will have a trigger action and set off a chain of important discoveries. It seems to me to be leading us to distant vistas of science that were formerly unattainable. It was the same way with the quantum theory — the first approach to an understanding of the repagulum or mutual transition with the subsequent discovery of the antiparticle and the antifield. Then came the repagular calculus that scored a victory over the principle of indefiniteness proposed by the ancient mathematician Geisenberg. And, lastly, Renn Bose made the next step, the analysis of the space-field system, leading to an understanding of antigravitation and antispace, or, by the repagulum law, to zero space. All the formerly unaccepted theories have, in the long run, become the foundations of science!

“In the name of the Pluto exploration group I propose transmitting the problem over the universal information network for general discussion. The inclination of Earth’s axis would reduce the expenditure of energy for the warming of the polar regions, would smooth out the polar fronts and increase the planet’s water supply.”

“Is the question now being submitted to the vote clear to everybody?” asked Grom Orme.

A large number of green lights flashed up in answer to the question.

“All right, we’ll begin,” said the President and pushed his hand under the book-rack in front of his seat. There were three buttons there connected with a calculating machine, the one on the right signalled “yes,” the middle one, “no” and the one on the left “abstain.” Every member of the Council sent a signal which the others could not see. Evda Nahl and Chara also pressed buttons working a separate machine which counted the votes of the audience to control the correctness of the Council’s decision.

A few seconds later large symbols appeared on the demonstration screen — the problem had been accepted for discussion by the whole planet.

Grom Orme took the floor.

“For a reason that I shall not disclose until the case is over, we shall now examine the action of Mven Mass, the former Director of the Outer Stations of the Astronautical Council and will then decide the question of the 38th Cosmic Expedition. Does the Council believe that I have sufficient motives for my request?”

Green lights signalled unanimous consent.

“Does everybody know the details of what happened?”

Again a flash of green lights.

“That will speed up our business! I will ask Mven Mass, the former Director, to outline his motives for an action that had such dire results. The physicist, Renn Bose, has not yet sufficiently recovered from his injuries and has not been sent for as a witness. He is not answerable for the experiment.”

Grom Orme noticed a red light burning at Evda Nahl’s seat.

“Attention everybody! Evda Nahl wants to make an additional statement about Renn Bose.”

“I would like to speak in his place.”

“What are your motives?”

“I love him!”

“You may speak after Mven Mass.”

Evda Nahl extinguished the red light and sat down.

Mven Mass appeared on the rostrum. Calmly, in no way excusing himself, he told of the results that were expected from the experiment, related what had actually happened and the vision in which he did not quite believe. Their foolish hurry in carrying out the experiment on account of the secretiveness and illegality of their action, left them no time to devise special recording machines, they had relied on the usual memory machines and they had been destroyed in the first instant. Another mistake had been the conduct of the experiment through the satellite. They ought to have attached an old planetship to Satellite 57 and set up instruments on it to orientate the vector. He, Mven Mass, was guilty in all respects. Renn Bose made the arrangements for the ground installations but the transmission of the experiment into the Cosmos was exclusively the competency of the Director of the Outer Stations.

Chara clenched her fists, Mven Mass’ self-accusation seemed weighty enough to her.

“Did the observers on the satellite know that a catastrophe was the possible outcome?” asked Grom Orme.

“Yes, they were warned and willingly gave their consent.”

“I am not surprised that they consented, thousands of young people take part in dangerous experiments that are carried out every year on the planet and it sometimes happens that they are killed. And new volunteers come to the fore undaunted,” said Grom Orme, grimly “to do battle with the unknown. When you, however, warned the young people, you were showing that you suspected that such an outcome was possible. Nevertheless you carried out a risky experiment without even taking the necessary steps to ensure that definite results would be obtained.”

Mven Mass lowered his head in silence and Chara suppressed a profound sigh, feeling Evda Nahl’s hand on her shoulder.

“Outline the motives that led you to undertake the experiment,” said the President after a pause.

Mven Mass spoke again, this time with impassioned excitement. He said that from early youth he had always regarded as a reproach the millions of nameless graves of people defeated by inexorable time, and that he could not allow this opportunity to pass, for the first time in the history of this and neighbouring worlds, of making an attempt at the conquest of space and time, of erecting the first landmarks on that great path, a path which many great minds would follow…. He did not believe that he had the right to postpone, perhaps for a century, this experiment, merely because he was subjecting a few people to danger and himself to great responsibility.

Mven Mass spoke and Chara’s heart beat faster in pride for her fiance elect. Now the African’s guilt did not seem so great.

Mven Mass returned to his place and stood there waiting, in view of all.

Evda Nahl handed over a record of Renn Bose’s speech. His weak, gasping voice filled the hall through the amplifiers. The physicist exonerated Mven Mass. As he did not know all the implications of the experiment the Director of the Outer Stations could do nothing but trust him, Renn Bose, and he had convinced him that success was certain. The physicist, however, did not consider that he was in any way to blame, either. Every year, he said, important experiments are mounted and some of them have a tragic end. Science is a struggle for the happiness of man and it demands its victims in the same way as any other struggle. Cowards who are afraid to risk their own skins never know the fulness and joy of living, nor do such scientists ever make any advances.

Renn Bose concluded with a brief explanation of the experiment and an analysis of the mistakes and expressed his confidence in future successes. The tape recorder stopped.

“Renn Bose did not say anything about his observations during the experiment,” said Grom Orme, raising his head and addressing Evda Nahl. “You wanted to speak in his place.”

“I expected that question and for that reason asked for the floor,” answered Evda. “Renn Bose lost consciousness a few seconds after the F station was switched in and did not see anything else. On the verge of consciousness he noticed and remembered only the readings of the instruments that indicated zero space. Here is his record from memory.”

A few figures appeared On the screen and were immediately copied down by many people.

“Allow me to add on behalf of the Academy of Sorrow and Joy,” said Evda, “that a poll of public opinion taken since the catastrophe gives the following….”

A series of eight-figure numbers flashed on the screen in columns headed condemnation, exoneration, doubt with regard to the scientific approach and accusation of haste. The total was undoubtedly in favour of Mven Mass and Renn Bose: the faces of those present brightened up.

A red light was switched on at the far end of the hall and Grom Orme gave the floor to Pour Hyss, the astronomer of the 37th Cosmic Expedition. He spoke loudly and temperamentally, waving his long arms and stretching his neck so that his Adam’s apple was prominent.

“A group of us, astronomers, condemn Mven Mass. The conduct of an experiment without the sanction of the Council, was an act of cowardice that gives rise to the suspicion that his action was not as selfless as it would appear from what has been said.”

Chara burned with indignation and only remained in her seat in obedience to Evda Nahl’s cold glance. Pour Hyss finished his speech.

“Your accusation is a serious one but not clearly worded,” said Mven Mass when the President gave him the floor, “will you please explain what you mean by cowardice and selfishness?”

“Immortal fame should the experiment succeed — that is the thought of self that underlies your experiment. And I say cowardice because you were afraid that you would not get permission for the experiment and conducted it hastily and in secret!”

Mven Mass’ face expanded in a smile, he spread his arms like a child and sat down without speaking again. Pour Hyss was the very picture of malignant triumph. Evda Nahl again asked for the floor.

“I do not see any grounds for Pour Hyss’ suspicions. His statement was made too hurriedly and too maliciously for the solution of such a grave question. His views on the secret motives underlying people’s actions belong to the Dark Ages. Only people of the distant past could speak in that way about immortal fame. They did not know the joy and fulness of real life, they did not feel that they were particles of mankind engaged in collective creative activity, they were afraid of inevitable death and clung to the faintest hope of immortality. Pour Hyss, a scientist, an astronomer, does not understand that only those remain alive in the memory of mankind whose ideas, will and achievements remain active and once their activity has ceased the people are forgotten. It is a long time since I came into contact with such a primitive understanding of immortality and fame and am amazed to find it in a cosmic explorer.”

Evda Nahl stretched herself to full height and turned towards Pour Hyss who cringed in his chair illuminated by a large number of red lights of disapproval.

“Let us put aside all absurdity,” continued Evda Nahl, “and examine the action of Mven Mass and Renn Bose by the criterion of human happiness. They were advancing along an untrodden path. I do not possess sufficient knowledge in their field but it is obvious, even to me, that their experiment was premature. In that respect both are guilty and are responsible for considerable material losses and for the loss of four human lives. This, by the laws of Earth, constitutes a crime, but it was not committed for personal gain and, therefore, does not merit heavy punishment. The noble aspirations of the chief accused, Mven Mass, should be regarded as an extenuating circumstance.”

Evda Nahl returned slowly to her place. Grom Orme asked if anyone else wished to speak but nobody responded.

The members of the Council asked the President to propose final judgement. The thin, wiry figure of Grom Orme leaned forward on the rostrum and his piercing glance penetrated to the back of the hall.

“The circumstances on which we have to give judgement are quite simple. I do not hold Renn Bose in any way responsible. What scientist would not take advantage of such possibilities, placed at his disposal, especially if he were certain of success? The disastrous failure of the experiment will serve as a lesson. There has, however, been something gained that will, to a certain extent, recompense us for the material losses; the experiment will help solve a number of problems that the Academy of the Bounds of Knowledge has only just begun to think about.

“We have long since given up petty economies when it comes to the solution of great problems or the employment of our productive forces and have abandoned the tendency to utilitarian adaptation typical of the old economic system. Problems that arise during the reconstruction of production processes or during research are solved on a grand scale. Even today, however, the moment of success is sometimes incorrectly understood because there are people who forget that the laws of development are immutable. It seems to them that progress must be endless….

“The wisdom of a leader lies in his ability to recognize the highest permissible level at a given stage and in his ability to stop, wait or change his course. Mven Mass has proved incapable of such leadership. The Council made a wrong choice and the Council are as much responsible as the man they selected. In the first place I am at fault myself, since I supported the proposal of two members of the Council to invite Mven Mass for the post.

“I propose that the Council exonerate Mven Mass as having acted from the highest motives but forbid him to occupy any post in the governing bodies of the planet. I should also be removed from my position as President of the Council and sent to make good the damage done by my unfortunate selection — I should help build the new satellite.”

Grom Orme cast a glance round the hall and saw the sincere regret expressed on many faces. The people of the Great Circle Era, however, did not try to persuade one another but respected other people’s decisions and trusted to their correctness.

Mir Ohm discussed the matter with the other members of the Council and the calculating machine announced the result of the voting. Grom Orme’s proposal was accepted without dissension but with the proviso that he conduct the present meeting to the end of the session.

He bowed and his face, controlled by his iron will, did not change its expression.

“I must now explain my reason for postponing the discussion of the Cosmic Expedition,” continued the President in a calm voice. “It was obvious that the matter would end favourably and I think the Control of Honour and Justice will agree with us. I may now ask Mven Mass to take his seat in the Council as we are faced with a serious discussion. His knowledge is essential to us for the correct solution of our problems, especially as Erg Noor cannot participate in today’s discussion.”

Mven Mass walked over to the Council seats and green lights of good-will flashed up all over the hall, lighting his way.

The maps of the planets moved noiselessly aside and their place was taken by grim black charts with the stars shown in coloured lights, the blue lines of the interstellar routes proposed for the next century linking them up. The President of the Council was a changed man. His cold passionless attitude had vanished, a warm glow lit up his greyish cheeks, his steel-grey eyes grew darker. Grom Orme mounted the rostrum.

“Every Cosmic expedition is a long-cherished dream; it is a new hope that is carefully nurtured for many years, it is another step upward in the great ascent. It is also the labour of millions of people for which there must be due recompense, a very substantial economic or scientific gain, otherwise our forward movement would cease and there would be no further victories over nature. That is why we enter into such detailed discussions and make such careful calculations before a new ship shoots off into interstellar space.

“It was our duty to send out the 37th Cosmic Expedition to learn the fate of Zirda instead of continuing our own exploration. To compensate for this we have been able to discuss the 38th Expedition more thoroughly.

“A number of events that occurred last year have brought changes that necessitate a re-examination of the route and objectives of the expedition that had been approved by previous Councils and by a planet-wide discussion. The discovery of methods of processing alloys under high pressure at absolute zero temperature gives us material of higher durability for the hulls of the ships. Anameson motors have been improved and are now more economical which, of course, increases the ship’s radius of activity. The spaceships Aella and Tintagelle that had been earmarked for the 38th Expedition are now out of date in comparison with the newly built Lebed, a round-hulled vessel of the vertical type with four stability keels. Longer flights are becoming possible.

“Erg Noor, now back from the 37th Expedition, has informed us of his meeting with a black star of the T class, on whose planet his expedition discovered a spaceship of unknown construction. Efforts made to enter it nearly cost the whole party their lives but they managed to bring back a piece of the metal of its hull. It is a substance that we do not know, here on Earth, although it resembles the 14th isotope of silver discovered on the planets of the very hot Os class star long since known by the name of Zeta Carinae.

“The spaceship is a disc, convex on both sides, with a crudely spiral surface, a design that has been discussed by the Academy of the Bounds of Knowledge.

“Junius Antus has been through the information records of the Great Circle for the entire eight hundred years since we joined it. A spaceship of this type cannot be built by science and engineering that follow our line of development and are at our present level of knowledge. Such ships are unknown in those worlds of the Galaxy with whom we have exchanged information.

“A disc spaceship of such gigantic proportions is undoubtedly a visitor from some inconceivably distant planet, perhaps, even, from some extragalactical world. It could have continued its journey millions of years after the death of its crew before landing on the planet of the iron star in our desert region on the fringe of the Galaxy.

“There is no need for me to enlarge on the importance of a study of that ship by a special expedition to star T.”

Grom Orme switched on the hemispherical screen and the hall disappeared. The records of the memory machines moved slowly across the screen.

“This is a recently received communication from planet CR 519, I will omit the detailed coordinates for the sake of brevity, about their expedition to the Achernar system.”

The positions of the stars seemed peculiar and even the most experienced eye could not recognize well-known heavenly bodies. The screen showed patches of dully luminous gas, dark clouds and, lastly, huge dead planets that reflected the light of a terrifically bright star.

Achernar had a diameter only three and a half times that of our Sun but its luminosity was 280 times greater: it was an indescribably bright blue star belonging to spectral class B5. The spaceship that had made the record had travelled a long way to one side, dozens of years’ journey, perhaps.

Another star appeared on the screen, a bright green star of class S. It grew in size, became brighter and brighter as the spaceship from another world drew nearer to it. The surface of a new planet then appeared. It showed a country of high mountains clothed in every possible shade of green. Deep canyons and steep slopes were marked by dark green, almost black shadows, the gentler slopes and valleys were bathed in greens in which a blue tint predominated, the snow on the mountain tops and high plateaux was aquamarine and there were also patches of yellowish green where the sun had scorched the earth. Rivers the colour of malachite ran down slopes to lakes and seas hidden beyond the mountains.

Next came a plain dotted with round hills that stretched as far as a sea that from a distance looked like a gleaming sheet of green iron. Blue trees carried masses of dense foliage and the glades were bright with purple strips and patches of unknown bushes and grasses. Gold-green rays came in a mighty stream from the amethyst heavens. The earthlings were dazzled by the beauty of the planet. Mven Mass searched his encyclopaedic memory for the exact coordinates of the green star.

“Achernar is Alpha Eridani, it is high up in the southern sky not far from Tucana… distance — 21 parsecs… the return of a spaceship with the same crew ia impossible,” were the thoughts that flashed through his mind.

The screen was switched off and the sight of the closed hall, adapted for contemplation and conferences by Earth-dwellers, seemed suddenly strange to behold.

“That green star,” the voice of the President continued, “with an abundance of zirconium in its spectrum, is slightly larger than our Sun.” Here Grom Orme gave the coordinates of the zirconium star very rapidly.

“There are two planets in its system,” he continued. “They are twins revolving opposite each other at a distance from the star that ensures them about the same amount of energy as Earth receives from the Sun.

“The depth and composition of the atmosphere and the amount of water are similar to those of Earth. These are the preliminary data obtained by the expedition sent out from planet CR 519. The same report speaks of the absence of intelligent life on the twin planets. Higher forms of intelligent life transform nature to such an extent that it is visible even from a spaceship flying at a great height. We must assume that higher forms of life have not been able to develop or have not yet developed there. This is unusually favourable to us. If there were higher forms of life there the planets would be closed to us. In year 72 of the Great Circle Era, over seven centuries ago, our world discussed the question of settling a planet with higher forms of intelligent life even if they had not reached our level of civilization. It was then decided that any invasion of such a planet would only lead to acts of violence due to the profoundest misunderstandings.

“We now know how great is the diversity of worlds in our Galaxy. There are blue, green, yellow, white, red and orange stars; they are all of the hydrogen-helium type but their mantles and cores are of different composition — carbon, cyanogen, titanium, zirconium — and they have different kinds of radiation, high or low temperatures and atmospheres of different composition. There are planets whose volume, density, depth and composition of atmosphere and hydrosphere, distance from their sun, conditions of rotation all differ very greatly. We also know that our planet, with water covering seventy per cent of its surface in combination with its proximity to a sun that pours a tremendous amount of energy on to it, enjoys conditions favouring the development of powerful living organisms, a rich variety of biological forms that are undergoing constant transformation, a case that is not often met with in the Universe.

“Life on our planet, therefore, developed more quickly than in other worlds where it is hampered by a shortage of water or solar energy or by insufficient dry land. And more quickly, too, than on the planets that have too much water! In the Circle transmissions we have seen the evolution of life on the planets that are under water, life that is crawling desperately upwards on stems of plants sticking out of the water.

“Our planet also has large expanses of water and the area of the continents is relatively small for the accumulation of solar energy through food plants, trees or simply by means of thermoelectric installations.

“In the earliest periods of Earth’s history life developed more slowly in the swamps of the low-lying continents of the Palaeozoic Era than it did on the high land of the Cainozoic where there was a struggle for water as well as for food.

“We know that for an abundant and powerful life there must be a certain ratio of land to water and our planet is very close to the optimum in its composition. There are not many such planets in the Cosmos and every one of them is an invaluable acquisition for mankind as new land where man can settle and continue to develop.

“Man has long since ceased to fear the catastrophic over-population that at one time greatly disturbed our distant ancestors, but still we persist in our exploration of the Cosmos, extending the region settled by our people, for this, too, is progress, this, too, is an unavoidable law of development. So great are the difficulties involved in settling on a planet with physical properties differing from those of Earth that there have long been projects in existence to settle man in the Cosmos on gigantic, specially constructed installations, something like our artificial satellites magnified many times over. You will remember that an island of this type was built on the eve of the Great Circle Era, Nadir, situated more than 18 million kilometres from Earth. A small colony of people still live there but the failure of such closely confined and restricted quarters to satisfy the needs of human life if it is to spread boldly throughout the Cosmos is so obvious that we can only express amazement at our ancestors even though we admire the audacity of their engineering.

“The twin planets of the green zirconium star are very similar to ours. They are unsuitable or difficult to settle for the fragile inhabitants of planet CR 519 who discovered them and passed the information on to us in the same way as we pass our discoveries on to them.

“The green star is situated at a greater distance from our planet than any spaceship has yet covered. If we reach the planets of that star we shall have moved far out into the Universe. We shall move forward, not on the tiny world of an artificial island but on big planets where there is every opportunity for the organization of comfortable life and for mighty technical achievements.

“You now see why I have taken up so much of your time with a detailed description of the planets of the green star — they seem to me to be important objectives for exploration. The distance of seventy light years is feasible for a spaceship of the Lebed type and I think that we should, perhaps, send the 38th Cosmic Expedition to Achernar?”

Grom Orme finished at that point and returned to his place, pushing over a switch on the rostrum as he did so.

A small screen rose up before the audience and on it appeared the head and shoulders of Darr Veter, a massive figure known to many of those present. The former Director of the Outer Stations smiled as he was silently greeted with flashing green lights.

“Darr Veter is now in the Arizona Radioactive Desert from where he is sending groups of rockets 57,000 kilometres into space to build a satellite,” explained Grom Orme. “He wishes to speak and give his opinion as a member of the Council.”

“I propose the simplest possible solution,” came his jolly voice to which the portable transmitter had added some metallic tones. “We should send out three expeditions and not just one!”

The members of the Council and the visitors were taken completely by surprise. Darr Veter was no orator and did not take advantage of the effective pause.

“Our first plan was to send both spaceships of the 38th Expedition to the triple star EE7723….”

Mven Mass immediately pictured the triple star that had been known as Omicron 2 Eridani in olden times. It was situated less than five parsecs from the Sun and was a system of yellow, blue and red stars with two lifeless planets which in themselves were of no interest. The blue star in this system was a white dwarf as big as one of the larger planets but with a mass half that of the Sun. The average specific weight of matter in that star was 2,500 times greater than of Earth’s heaviest metal, iridium.

Gravitation, electromagnetic fields, thermal processes and the creation of heavy chemical elements on that star were of colossal interest and the importance of studying them at close quarters was very great, especially as the 10th Cosmic Expedition that had been sent to Sirius had been lost but had managed to send a warning of the danger. Sirius, a double blue star and near neighbour of the Sun, also possessed a white dwarf of lower temperature and larger dimensions than Omicron 2 Eridani and with a density twenty-five times that of water. It proved impossible to reach this near star owing to gigantic streams of meteorites crossing each other and encircling the star; they were so widely dispersed that it was found impossible to determine the area over which these treacherous fragments were spread. It was then that the expedition to Omicron 2 Eridani had first been mooted, 315 years before….

“… now, after the experiment made by Mven Mass and Renn Bose, it is of such importance that it cannot be rejected.

“But then, the study of a strange spaceship from a far distant world may give us knowledge that will by far exceed that acquired at the first examination.

“We may ignore former safety regulations and send the ships out separately. Aella can be sent to Omicron 2 Eridani and Tintagelle to star T. They are both first class spaceships like Tantra that managed alone against overwhelming odds.”

“Romanticism!” said Pour Hyss loudly and unceremoniously but cringed in his seat when he noticed the disapproval of the audience.

“Yes, it is, it’s genuine romanticism!” exclaimed Darr Veter, jauntily. "The very romanticism that was not properly appreciated in the past when it was killed by literature, education and experience. Romanticism is nature’s luxury but in a well-ordered society it is indispensable! A craving for something new, for frequent changes, is engendered in every person by a superfluity of physical and spiritual strength. From this emerges a particular attitude to the phenomena of life, a desire to see more than the even tread of humdrum everyday existence, the expectation that life will provide a greater quota of trials and impressions.

“I can see Evda Nahl in the hall,” continued Darr Veter, “and she’ll tell you that romanticism is not only psychology but physiology as well! It is the task of our epoch to make romanticists of all the inhabitants of the planet. But let me continue: let us send the new spaceship Lebed to Achernar, to the green star, because we shall only know the result in a hundred and seventy years’ time. Grom Orme is right in saying that the exploration of similar planets and the establishment of bases for advance into the Cosmos is our duty to posterity.”

“We have anameson supplies for two ships only,” objected Mir Ohm, the Council Secretary. “It will take ten years to build up supplies for a third ship without interfering with our economy. I must also remind you that a large part of our production potential is going into the restoration of the satellite.”

“I have foreseen all that,” answered Darr Veter, “and propose, if the Economic Council will agree, to appeal to the population of the planet. Let everybody abandon all pleasure trips and holiday journeys for one year, let us switch off the television cameras in our aquariums and in the ocean depths, let us stop bringing precious stones and rare plants from Venus and Mars and stop the factories producing clothing and ornaments. The Economic Council can tell you better than I what must be stopped in order to economize energy to make anameson. Which of us would refuse to curtail his needs for one year only in order to make a wonderful gift to our children — two new planets in the vitalizing rays of a green sun so pleasant to terrestrial eyes!”

Darr Veter spread out his arms as he appealed to the whole world, knowing that thousands of millions of eyes were on him; he nodded and disappeared, leaving a nickering bluish light behind. Out there, in the Arizona Desert, a dull thunder shook the earth periodically as the rockets bore their loads way out beyond the blue vault of heaven. In the Council hall the whole audience rose to their feet and raised their left hands as an open expression of agreement with the speaker.

The President of the Council turned to Evda Nahl.

“Will our visitor from the Academy of Sorrow and Joy please let us know her opinion from the standpoint of human happiness?”

Evda Nahl went to the rostrum again.

“The human psyche is so organized that it is incapable of lengthy excitation or frequent repetitions of excitation. This constitutes its defence against the rapid exhaustion of the nervous system. Our distant ancestors almost annihilated mankind by ignoring the fact that frequent rest is physiologically essential to man. We were at first afraid of repeating the mistake and began to take too much care of the psyche because we did not understand that the best way to get rid of impressions and to rest is to be found in work. A change of employment is essential but that is not all — there must be a regular alternation of work and rest. The heavier the work the longer must be the rest and it will be seen that the harder the task performed the greater the pleasure it will bring, the more fully the worker will be absorbed in his task.

‘“We may speak of happiness as a constant sequence of work and rest, of difficulties and pleasures. The longevity of man has widened the bounds of his world and he feels the urge to get out into the Cosmos. The struggle for the new — that’s where we find real happiness! From this we may conclude that the dispatch of a spaceship to Achernar would bring more direct happiness to mankind than any two other expeditions because the planets of the green sun will make a gift of a new world to our senses while the investigation of the physical phenomena of the Cosmos, despite all its significance, is so far perceived only by the intellect. In the struggle to increase the sum of human happiness, the Academy of Sorrow and Joy would no doubt find the expedition to Achernar the most beneficial, but if it is possible to dispatch all three expeditions, so much the better!”

The excited audience rewarded Evda Nahl with a shower of green lights.

Grom Orme rose to speak.

"The question and the Council’s decision have already been made clear so that my speech will, apparently, be the last. We are going to ask mankind to curtail consumption for the year 809 of the Great Circle Era. Darr Veter did not mention the golden horse dating back to the Era of Disunity that the historians found. These hundreds of tons of pure gold can be used for the production of anameson so that a supply sufficient for the flights will soon be ready. For the first time in world history we are sending out three simultaneous expeditions to different stellar systems and for the first time we are trying to reach worlds that are seventy light years away!”

The President closed the meeting requesting only the members of the Council to remain. A demand for all requirements had to be drawn up for the Economic Council and a request had to be made to the Academy of Stochastics and Prognostication to investigate all possible hazards on the way to Achernar.

Weary Chara plodded along behind Evda wondering how it was that the famous psychiatrist’s pale cheeks were as fresh as ever. The girl wanted to be alone as quickly as possible so that she could quietly enjoy the exoneration of Mven Mass. It had been a red-letter day! It is true the African had not been crowned as a hero in the way Chara had secretly hoped; he had been removed from the list of leaders for a long time, if not for ever. But he had been allowed to remain in society! Was not the wide and tortuous road of love, research and labour open to them both?

Evda Nahl forced the girl to go to the nearest dining-room. Chara stared at the menu so long that Evda decided to take action, and called the numbers of the dishes and the index of their table into the speaking tube. They sat down at a little oval table for two in the centre of which a trapdoor opened almost immediately and a container with their order appeared. Evda Nahl offered Chara a glass containing the opalescent invigorating drink Lio but was herself satisfied with a glass of cold water and a baked pudding of chestnuts, walnuts and bananas served with whipped cream. Chara ate a dish made from the minced meat of the rapt, a bird that has replaced both the domestic fowl and game birds in the modern cuisine. After Chara had eaten, Evda let her go and watched her as she ran down the staircase, with a grace that was astonishing even in the Great Circle Era, passing between statues of black metal and lanterns on posts of the most whimsical shapes.