The Gods Themselves Part 5

"It's not enough, Professor. There's no evidence. I haven't built my reputation by shooting down -targets at random. My missiles have sped true to the mark every time because I knew what I was doing."

"But when I get the evidence-"

"Then I'll back you. If the evidence satisfies me, I a.s.sure you neither Hallam nor the Congress will be able to resist the tide. So get the evidence and come see me again."

"But by then it will be too late,"

Chen shrugged. "Perhaps. Much more likely, you will find that you were wrong and no evidence is to be had."

"I'm not not wrong." Lamont took a deep breath, and said in a confidential tone, "Mr. Chen. There are very likely trillions upon trillions of inhabited planets in the Universe, and among them there may be billions with intelligent life and highly developed technologies. The same is probably true of the para-Universe. It must be that in the history of the two Universes there have been many pairs of worlds that came into contact and began Pumping. There may be dozens or even hundreds of Pumps scattered across junction points of the two Universes." wrong." Lamont took a deep breath, and said in a confidential tone, "Mr. Chen. There are very likely trillions upon trillions of inhabited planets in the Universe, and among them there may be billions with intelligent life and highly developed technologies. The same is probably true of the para-Universe. It must be that in the history of the two Universes there have been many pairs of worlds that came into contact and began Pumping. There may be dozens or even hundreds of Pumps scattered across junction points of the two Universes."

"Pure speculation. But if so?"

"Then it may be that in dozens or hundreds of cases, the mixture of natural law advanced locally to an extent sufficient to explode a planet's Sun. The effect might have spread outward. The energy of a supernova added to the changing natural law may have set off explosions among neighboring stars, which in turn set off others. In time perhaps an entire core of a galaxy or of a galactic arm will explode."

"But that is only imagination, of course."

"Is it? There are hundreds of quasars in the Universe; tiny bodies the size of several Solar systems but shining with the light of a hundred full-size ordinary galaxies."

"You're telling me that the quasars are what are left of Pumping planets."

"I'm suggesting that. In the century and a half since they were discovered, astronomers have still still failed to account for their sources of energy. Nothing in this Universe will account for it; nothing. Doesn't it follow then-" failed to account for their sources of energy. Nothing in this Universe will account for it; nothing. Doesn't it follow then-"

"What about the para-Universe? Is it full of quasars, too?"

"I wouldn't think so. Conditions are different there. Para-theory makes it seem quite definite that fusion takes place much more easily over there, so the stars must be considerably smaller than ours on the average. It would take a much smaller supply of easily-fusing hydrogen to produce the energy our Sun does. A supply as large as that of our Sun would explode spontaneously. If our laws permeate the para-Universe, hydrogen becomes a little more difficult to fuse; the para-stars begin to cool down."

"Well, that's not so bad," said Chen. "They can use Pumping to supply themselves with the necessary energy. By your speculations, they're in fine shape."

"Not really," said Lament. Until now, he hadn't thought the para-situation through. "Once our end explodes, the Pumping stops. They can't keep it up without us, and that means they'll face a cooling star without Pump-energy. They might be worse off than we; we'd go out in a painless flash while their agony would be long-drawn-out."

"You have a good imagination, Professor," said Chen, "but I'm not buying it. I don't see any chance of giving up Pumping on nothing more than your imagination. Do you know what the Pump means to mankind? It's not just the free, clean, and copious energy. Look beyond that. What it means is that mankind no longer has to work for a living. It means that for the first time in history, mankind can turn its collective brains to the more important problem of developing its true potential.

"For instance, not all the medical advances of two and a half centuries have succeeded in advancing man's full life-span much past a hundred years. We've been told by gerontologists over and over that there is nothing, in theory, to stand in the way of human immortality, but so far not enough attention has been concentrated on this."

Lament said angrily, "Immortality! You're talking pipe dreams."

"Perhaps you're a judge of pipe dreams, Professor," said Chen, "but I intend to see ,that research into immortality begins. It won't begin it it Pumping ends. Then we are back to expensive energy, scarce energy, dirty energy. Earth's two billions will have to go back to work for a living and the pipe dream of immortality will remain a pipe dream." Pumping ends. Then we are back to expensive energy, scarce energy, dirty energy. Earth's two billions will have to go back to work for a living and the pipe dream of immortality will remain a pipe dream."

"It will anyway. No one is going to be immortal. No one is even going to live out a normal lifetime."

"Ah, but that is your theory, only."

Lament weighed the possibilities and decided to gamble. "Mr. Chen, a while ago I said I was not willing to explain my knowledge of the state of mind of the para-men. Well, let me try. We have been receiving messages."

"Yes, but can you interpret them?"

"We received an English word."

Chen frowned slightly. He suddenly put his hands in his pockets, stretched his short legs before him, and leaned back in his chair. "And what was the English word?"

"Fear!" Lament did not feel it necessary to mention the misspelling.

"Fear," repeated Chen; "and what do you think it means?"

"Isn't it clear that they're afraid of the Pumping phenomenon?"

"Not at all. If they were afraid, they would stop it. I think they're afraid, all right, but they're afraid that our side will stop it. You've gotten across your intention to them and if we stop it, as you want us to do, they've got to stop also. You said yourself they can't continue without us; it's a two-ended proposition. I don't blame them for being afraid."

Lament sat silent.

"I see," said Chen, "that you haven't thought of that. Well, then, we'll push for immortality. I think that will be the more popular cause."

"Oh, popular causes," said Lamont slowly. "I didn't understand what you found important. How old are you, Mr. Chen?"

For a moment, Chen bunked rapidly, then he turned away. He left the room, room, walking rapidly, with his walking rapidly, with his hands hands clenched. clenched.

Lamont looked up his biography later. Chen was sixty and his father had died at sixty-two. But it didn't matter.

9.

"You don't look as though you had any luck at all," said Bronowski.

Lamont was sitting in his laboratory, staring at the toes of his shoes and noting idly that they seemed unusually scuffed. He shook his head. "No."

"Even the great Chen failed you?"

"He would do nothing. He wants evidence, too. They all want evidence, but anything you offer them is rejected. What they really want is their d.a.m.ned Pump, or their reputation, or their place in history. Chen wants immortality."

"What do you want, Pete?" asked Bronowski, softly.

"Mankind's safety," said Lamont. He looked at the other's quizzical eyes. "You don't believe me?"

"Oh, I believe you. But what do you really really want?" want?"

"Well, then, by G.o.d," and Lamont brought his hand down flat on the desk before him in a loud slap. "I want to bright, and that I have, for A and that I have, for Aim right." right."

"You are sure?"

"I am sure! And there's nothing I am worried about, because I intend to win. You know when I left Chen, I came near to despising myself."

"You?"

"Yes, I. Why not? I kept thinking: At every turn Hallam stops me. As long as Hallam refutes me everyone has an excuse not to believe me. While Hallam stands like a rock against me, I must fail. Why, then, didn't I work through him; why didn't I b.u.t.ter him up, indeed; why didn't I maneuver him into supporting me instead of needling him into fighting me?"

"Do you think you could have?"

"No, never. But in my despair, I thought-well, allsorts of things. That I might go to the Moon, perhaps. Of course, when I first turned him against me there was as yet no question of Earth's doom, but I took care to make it worse when that question arose. But, as you imply, nothing could have turned him against the Pump."

"But you don't seem to despise yourself now."

"No. Because my conversation with Chen brought a dividend. It showed me I was wasting time."

"So it would seem."

"Yes, but needlessly. It is not here on Earth that the solution lies. I told Chen that our Sun might blow up but that the para-Sun would not, yet that would not save the para-men, for when our Sun blew up and our end of the Pump halted, so would theirs. They cannot continue without us, do you see?"

"Yes, of course I see."

"They why don't we think in the reverse. We can't continue without them. In which case, who cares whether we stop the Pump or not. Let's get the para-men to stop."

"Ah, but will they?"

"They said F-E-E-R. And it means they're afraid. Chen said they feared us; they feared we would stop the Pump; but I don't believe that for a moment. They're They're afraid. I sat silent when Chen made his suggestion. He thought he had me. He was quite wrong. I was only thinking at that moment that we had to get the para-men to stop. And we've got to. Mike, I abandon everything, except you. You're the hope of the world. Get through to them somehow." afraid. I sat silent when Chen made his suggestion. He thought he had me. He was quite wrong. I was only thinking at that moment that we had to get the para-men to stop. And we've got to. Mike, I abandon everything, except you. You're the hope of the world. Get through to them somehow."

Bronowski laughed, and there was almost a childlike glee in it. "Pete," he said, "you're a genius."

"Aha. You've noticed."

"No, I mean it. You guess what I want to say before I can say it. I've been sending message after message, using their symbols in a way that I guessed might signify the Pump and using our word as well. And I did my best to gather what information I've scrabbled together over many months to use their symbols in a way signifying disapproval, and using an English word again. I had no idea whether I was getting through or was a mile off base and from the fact that I never got an answer, I had little hope."

"You didn't tell me that's what you were trying to do."

"Well, this part of the problem is my baby. You take your sweet time explaining para-theory to me."

"So what happened?" '

"So yesterday, I sent off exactly two words, our language. I scrawled: P-U-M-P B-A-D."

"And?"

"And this morning I picked up a return message at last and it was simple enough, and straightforward, too. It went Y-E-S P-U-M-P B-A-D B-A-D B-A-D. Here look at it."

Lament's hand trembled as it held the foil. "There's no mistaking that, is there? That's confirmation, isn't it?"

"It seems so to me. Who will you take this to?"

"To no one," said Lament decisively. "I argue no more. They will tell me I faked the message and there's no point in sitting still for that. Let the para-men stop the Pump and it will stop on our side too and nothing we can do unilaterally will start it up again. The entire Station will then be on fire to prove that I was right and the Pump is dangerous."

"How do you figure that?"

"Because that would be the only way they could keep themselves from being torn apart by a mob demanding the Pump and infuriated at not getting it. ... Don't you think so?"

"Well, maybe. But one thing bothers me."

"What's that?"

"If the para-men are so convinced that the Pump is dangerous, why haven't they stopped it already? I took occasion to check awhile ago and the Pump is working swimmingly."

Lament frowned. "Perhaps they don't want a unilateral stoppage. They consider us their partners and they want a mutual agreement to stop. Don't you suppose that might be so?"

"It might. But it might also be that communication is less than perfect; that they don't quite understand the significance of the words B-A-D. From what I said to them via their symbols, which I might well have twisted utterly, they may think that B-A-D means what we consider G-O-O-D."

"Oh, no."

"Well, that's your hope, but there's no pay-off on hopes."

"Mike, just keep on sending messages. Use as many of the words they use as possible and keep ringing the changes. You're the expert and it's in your hands. Eventually, they'll know enough words to say something clear and unmistakable and then we'll explain that we're willing to have the Pump stopped."

"We lack the authority to make any such statement."

"Yes, but they won't know, and in the end we'll be mankind's heroes."

"Even if they execute us first?"

"Even so. ... It's in your hands, Mike, and I'm sure it won't take much longer."

10.

And yet It did. Two weeks pa.s.sed without another message and the strain grew worse.

Bronowski showed it. The momentary lightness of heart had dissipated, and he entered Lament's laboratory in glum silence.

They stared at each other and finally Bronowski said, "It's all over the place that you've received your show-cause."

Lament had clearly not shaved that morning. His laboratory had a forlorn look about it, a not-quite-definable, packing-up look. He shrugged. "So what? It doesn't bother me. What does bother me is that Physical Reviews Physical Reviews rejected my paper." rejected my paper."

"You said you were expecting that."

"Yes, but I thought they might give me reasons. They might point out what they thought were fallacies, errors, unwarranted a.s.sumptions. Something I could argue about."

"And they didn't?"

"Not a word. Their referees did not consider the paper suitable for publication. Quote, unquote. They just won't touch it. ... It's really disheartening, the universal stupidity. I think that I wouldn't grieve at mankind's suicide through sheer evilness of heart, or through mere recklessness. There's something so d.a.m.ned undignified at going to destruction through sheer thickheaded stupidity. What's the use of being men if that's how you have to die."

"Stupidity," muttered Bronowski.