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have made some kind of sense, because it certainly fired Charlot's volatile
imagination.
"It's a chance," he said. "A definite chance."
"There's one thing that worries me," I told him.
"What's that?"
"Messing about with triggers. Seems to me you'll have to be very careful. I
mean, jerk it too hard, and the damn thing might go off."
He nodded. "We ll have to be careful, but that's only a minor point. If this
is all correct, we have a way of attacking the viruses, and that's what
matters. That's what we need and quickly."
"Quickly?" I queried. "I thought the rush was all over. As long as we all stay
peaceful, that is." "You haven't thought this thing through," he said.
Not unnaturally, I was somewhat offended by that remark. "Haven't thought it
through! My God, I've thought about nothing else. I've just brought you a
complete diagnosis of the trouble. It might not be right, but my God, it
represents some pretty solid thinking. And you tell me I haven't thought
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things through. Had you worked out what I've just given you?"
"I would have," he said. "In time. But I'm not trying to minimise that. If
you're right, you'll have contributed to a virtual miracle. And I hope you are
right. What I
meant about the time factor was that a ship from New Alexandria will be here
in a matter of days."
"To help us," I said.
"If we can be helped. If not..."
"Then what?"
"You know perfectly well what these viruses could do to the people out there."
"So what? They're not going to do any harm while they're confined to the
planet. We have all the time in the world to sort it out."
"And what about the Trisha Mellys of the galaxy?"
"Trisha? She's an idiot. But she's not dangerous."
"Oh, but she is. How many people do you think there are out there who would
just love a chance to enforce peace on us all? How many men are there that
would see these viruses as a gift from God rather than a possible disaster?
How many men are there that would be infatuated with the idea of a Paradise
such as we have here? What sort of demand do you think the whole Paradise Game
is trying to satisfy?"
"But how could any man have that much confidence in himself?" I demanded.
"Hell, I know we're all doing pretty well, but we're living in hope of a cure.
If we thought we had this to put up with forever... How can any man be certain
that he'll never again give way to anger, or hatred, or the impulse to strike
someone?"
"Do you really want an answer to that?" asked Charlot.
"No," I said. "I get the drift."
"You see what I mean? We just couldn't afford to have a planet like this in
the galaxy, unless we had a specific and definite way of counteracting the
effects of its produce. I'm afraid that ship coming out from New Alexandria
will be carrying a bigger responsibility than aiding us. Someone, somewhere,
will take upon themselves the responsibility of ordering our destruction."
"The whole world?"
"The whole world."
"Nobody else knows about this?"
"Unless they've worked it out for themselves. It's not the sort of thing that
anyone going to talk about in the present predicament."
is
"You think they'd actually destroy us?"
"I'm sure of it."
"New Alexandria?"
"They're not the only ones involved. You know that. The galaxy is full of
destructive people. Look at it from their point of view. Pharos is a matter of
destroy or be destroyed. What other choice have they? We don't have time,
Grainger. We don't have time at all. I don't know how long we have how much
they can afford to give us in their ultimate generosity but I do know that if
we can't cure this thing within their deadline, we won't be living out our
lives in peace and harmony on Paradise.
We'll be booked on a one-way trip into the sun."
"You're right," I said, feeling a little dazed. "You're quite right. I hadn't
thought it through. Well, that being the case, I guess I'm doubly glad to have
been of
service in this little matter. I also think that perhaps I agree with Trisha
Melly after all.
I shouldn't have rejected her opinions out of hand like that. You're right I
hadn't thought the thing through. It honestly had not occurred to me that they
couldn't even stand to let us live.
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They!
Not Caradoc not the out and out villains that nobody loves, but just they.
New Alexandria and New Rome and the lot. You know, Titus, sometimes I think
I'm stupid. Other times I think I might have been better off on that lousy
lump of rock called Lapthorn's Grave." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]