Measure for a Loner

by Jim Harmon

it wasa test."

  I would do it for him. I didn't need to do it for myself.

  I motioned the technician to open both channels.

  "The ship you are in," I said, with no need to tell them of each other,"is not the real _Evening Star_. It will _not_ take you to the stars.This has been only a _test_ to credit your fitness to pilot the realinterstellar craft of the Star Project. You must return to the LunarSatellite. This is a direct order."

  The two screens remained blank. Only the windless silence of spaceechoed over Johnson's channel, but the tapes later proved that Iactually did hear a whispered laugh from Meyverik.

  I faced Madison.

  "They won't come back. They could have passed any test except the factthat what we put them through was only a test. For their own reasons,they will keep going. As far as they can."

  Madison took out his notebook and seemed to look for vital information.Except that he never cracked the cover.

  "Of course, we can't get them back if they won't come," he said. "Ifcybernetic remotes functioned operationally at this distance we wouldn'thave to send men at all."

  He replaced the pocket secretary and looked at me edgewise,speculatively.

  I touched his arm.

  "Let's find another bottle," I said.

  He stepped back.

  "You found them. You tested them. You killed them."

  And the government man walked away and left me standing with a murderer.

  * * * * *

  You see it now, don't you, General?

  What I'm carrying around on my back is guilt. Not guilt complex, notguilt fixation, just plain old Abel-Cain _guilt_.

  In this nice, well-ordered age I'm a killer and everybody knows it.

  You see our mistake, General.

  We sent men with variable amounts of loneliness. These amounts couldalter. But now we have a golden opportunity.

  The _Evening Star_ is waiting and I have found for you a man with thetrue measure of loneliness. It is impossible for this man to become anymore or any less lonely. It isn't the Ultimate Possible Loneliness,understand that, General.

  It's just that by himself or with others he is always in a crowd ofthree, no more, no less.

  The interstellar ship is waiting.

  So tell me, General, have you ever seen a lonelier man than me, yourhumble servitor, Dr. Thorn? No, I mean it. Have you?

  THE END

  Transcriber's Note

  This etext was produced from _Amazing Science Fiction Stories_ March1959. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling andtypographical errors have been corrected without note.