The Lost Kafoozalum Page 3
it now.
I say, "Look. You are tired and worried and maybe not thinking so welljust now.
"I know this is a very risky job, don't think I missed that at all. Itried hard to imagine it like you said over the speaker. I cannotquite imagine dying but I know how Dad will feel if I do.
"I did my level best to scare myself sick, then I decided it is justplain worth the risk anyway.
"To work out a thing like this you have to have a kind of arithmetic,you add in everybody's feelings with the other factors, then if youget a plus answer you forget everything else and go right ahead.
"I am not going to think about it any more, because I added up the sumand got the answer and upsetting my nerves won't help. I guess youworked out the sum, too. You decided four million people were worthrisking twenty, even if they do have parents. Even if they are yourstudents. So they are, too, and you gave us all a chance to say No.
"Well nothing has altered that, only now the values look different toyou because you are tired and worried and probably missed breakfast,too."
Brother some speech, I wonder what got into me? M'Clare is wondering,too, or maybe gone to sleep sitting, it is some time before he answersme.
"Miss Lee, you are deplorably right on one thing at least. I don'tknow whether I was fit to make such a decision when I made it, but I'mnot fit now. As far as you personally are concerned...." He trails offlooking tireder than ever, then picks up again suddenly. "You areagain quite right, I am every bit as responsible for the other peopleon board as I am for you."
He climbs slowly to his feet and walks out without another word.
The door is left open and I take this as an invitation to freedom andshoot through in case it was a mistake.
No because Ram is opening doors all along the corridor and ten ofRussett's brightest come pouring out like mercury finding its ownlevel and coalesce in the middle of the floor.
The effect of release is such that after four minutes Peter Yeng Sen'shead appears at the top of a stairway and he says the crew is liftingthe deck plates, will we for Time's sake go along to the ConferenceRoom which is soundproof.
* * * * *
The Conference Room is on the next deck and like our cabins showssigns of hasty construction; the soundproofing is there but theacoustics are kind of muffled and the generator is not boxed in buthas cables trailing all over, and the fastenings have a strong buttemporary look.
Otherwise there is a big table and a lot of chairs and a smallprojection box in front of each with a note-taker beside.
It is maybe this very functional setup or maybe the dead flatness ofour voices in the damped room, but we do not have so much to talkabout any more. We automatically take places at the table, all at oneend, leaving seven vacant chairs near the door.
Looking round, I wonder what principle we were selected on.
Of my special friends Eru Te Whangoa and Kirsty Lammergaw are presentbut Lily Chen and Likofo Komom'baratse and Jean LeBrun are not; wehave Cray Patterson who is one of my special enemies but not BlazerWeigh or the Astral Cad; the rest are P. Zapotec, Nick Howard, AroMestah, Dillie Dixie, Pavel Christianovitch, Lennie DiMaggio andShootright Crow.
Eru is at the end of the table, opposite the door, and maybe feelsthis position puts it up to him to start the discussion; he opens byremarking "So nobody took the opportunity to withdraw."
Cray Patterson lifts his eyebrows ceilingwards and drawls out that thedecision was supposed to be a private one.
B says "Maybe but it did not work out that way, everyone who learnedMorse knows who was on the ship, anyway they are all still here sowhat does it matter? And M'Clare would not have picked people who weregoing to funk it, after all."
My chair gets a kick on the ankle which I suppose was meant for B; Eruis six foot five but even his legs do not quite reach; he is the onlyone of us facing the door.
M'Clare has somehow shed his weariness; he looks stern but fresh as adaisy. There are four with him; Ram and Peter looking serious, onestranger in Evercleans looking determined to enjoy the party andanother in uniform looking as though nothing would make him.
M'Clare introduces the strangers as Colonel Delano-Smith and Mr.Yardo. They all sit down at the other end of the table; then he frownsat us and begins like this:
"Miss Laydon is mistaken. You were not selected on any such grounds asshe suggests. I may say that I was astonished at the readiness withwhich you all engaged yourselves to take part in such a desperategamble; and, seeing that for the last four years I have been trying topersuade you that it is worth while, before making a decision of anyimportance, to spend a certain amount of thought on it, I wasdiscouraged as well."
Oh.
"The criterion upon which you were selected was a very simple one. AsI told you, you were picked not by me but by a computer; the one inthe College Office which registers such information as your homeaddresses and present whereabouts. You are simply that section of theclass which could be picked up without attracting attention, becauseyou all happened to be on holiday by yourselves or with other membersof the class; and because your nearest relatives are not on Earth atpresent."
Oh, well.
All of us can see M'Clare is doing a job of deflation on us forreasons of his own, but it works for all that.
He now seems to feel the job is complete and relaxes a bit.
"I was interested to see that you all, without exception, hit onvariations of the same idea. It is of course the obvious way to dealwith the problem." He smiles at us suddenly and I get mad at myselfbecause I know he is following the rules for introducing a desiredstate of mind, but I am responding as meant. "I'll read you the mostsuccinct expression of it; you may be able to guess the author."
Business with bits of paper.
"Here it is. I quote: 'Drag in some outsider looks like he is goingfor both sides; they will gang up on him.'"
Yells of laughter and shouts of "Lizzie Lee!" even the two strangersproduce sympathetic grins; I do not find it so funny as all thatmyself.
"Ideas as to the form the 'outsider' should take were more varied.This is a matter I propose to leave you to work out together, with theassistance of Colonel Delano-Smith and Mr. Yardo. Te Whangoa, youtake the chair."
Exit M'Clare.
* * * * *
This leaves the two halves of the table eying one another. Ram andPeter have been through this kind of session in their time; now theyare leaning back preparing to watch us work. It is plain we aresupposed to impress the abilities of Russett near-graduates on the twostrangers, and for some moments we are all occupied taking them in.Colonel Delano-Smith is a small, neat guy with a face that has all themuscular machinery for producing an expression; he just doesn't careto use it. Mr. Yardo is taller than any of us except Eru and flesh isspread very thin on his bones, including his face which splits now andthen in a grin like an affable skeleton. Where the colonel fits isguessable enough, Mr. Yardo is presumably Expert at something but nodata on _what_.
Eru rests his hands on the table and says we had better start; willsomebody kindly outline an idea for making the Incognitans "gang up"?The simpler the better and it does not matter whether it is workableor not; pulling it to pieces will give us a start.
We all wait to see who will rush in; then I catch Eru's eye and see Iam elected Clown again. I say "Send them a letter postmarked OuterSpace signed BEM saying we lost our own planet in a nova and will takeover theirs two weeks from Tuesday."
Mr. Yardo utters a sharp "Ha! Ha!" but it is not seconded; thecolonel having been expressionless all along becomes more so; Erusays, "Thank you, Lizzie." He looks across at Cray who is opposite me;Cray says there are many points on which he might comment; to takeonly one, two weeks from Tuesday leaves little time for 'ganging up',and what happens when the BEMs fail to come?
We are suddenly back in the atmosphere of a seminar; Eru's glancemoves to P. Zapotec sitting next to Cray, and he says, "These BEMs wholost their home
planet in a nova, how many ships have they? Without abase they cannot be very dangerous unless their fleet is very large."
It goes round the table.
Pavel: "How would BEMs learn to write?"
Nick: "How are they supposed to know that Incognita is inhabited? Howdo they address the letter?"
The Crow: "Huh. Why write letters? Invaders just invade."
Kirsty: "We don't want to inflame these people against alien races. Wemight find one some day. It seems to me this idea might have all sortsof undesirable by-products. Suppose each side regards it as a ruse onthe part of the other. We might touch off a war instead of preventingit. Suppose they turn over to preparations for repelling the invaders,to an extent that cripples their economy? Suppose a panic starts?"
Dilly: "Say, Mr. Chairman, is there any of