The Test Colony

by Winston K. Marks

female natives for baby-sitters. This led to the first basicbehaviour change we had noticed. The females began to pay more attentionto their own offspring. It was as if they had just discovered thepleasure of fondling their babies and watching them crawl and kick andgurgle. Even after the first week they were still carrying them around,finding choice morsels of fruit for them, fanning off the insects andsinging them to sleep with their new-found abilities to make music.

  Benson noticed it and called a meeting of the secret six. He said, "Ourlittle program had better work this time or we are in for it. Apparentlythis _koodi_ animal that Sam had the tussle with is the principalpopulation control, and now the mothers are packing their kids arounduntil they're old enough to fight off the _koodi_."

  Donnegan shook his head. "Damned if I can find out where we slipped up.Frost and I just finished a series of tests with native ova and humansperm. They don't mix. Of course, we didn't expect them to, but what inhell is the answer?"

  I hadn't known of this project. I said, "You didn't think that our malecolonists--"

  Benson scowled with exasperation. "We don't know what to think, Sam! Westerilized 481 native males last fall, and the babies are just as thickas ever."

  I said, "Well, we got to 496 of them this time. That should do it forsure. Joe says he'll keep a lookout for any males without the two stainson his shoulder."

  Benson narrowed his eyes. "You know, it strikes me that Joe is beingawfully helpful. What reason did you give him for wanting thisinformation?"

  "He didn't ask," I said.

  * * * * *

  Our 12-month year was composed of 37-day months, except February whichwe shorted six days to make it come out even.

  According to this calendar the "May-flies" came in July, just a monthbefore our first anniversary. The little winged insects were a seasonallife-form, one more item that escaped the exploratory party, and forwhich we were unprepared.

  They came out of the north, and they struck us before we could takeshelter in the ship or our plastic-screened huts. They were a littlesmaller than flying ants, and even their long wings were jet-black.Their bites were infinitesimal, but each one smarted like a prick with ahot needle.

  In the midst of the confusion of rescuing babies and herding everyone indoors, I noticed that all the natives had disappeared into the forest.Everyone had suffered a hundred bites or more, and we were sorry,swollen sights. Sue insisted that I cover myself and make a run for theclinic to see if Dr. Bailey had any remedies for the bites. RichardJoseph was crying loudly from the irritation, so I agreed.

  It was only 75 yards to the clinic, and I made it without collectingmany more stings. But the doctors had nothing to offer. They weredabbing various salves, astringents and pastes on test patches of theirown skin, but nothing seemed to have any effect at all.

  "All we hope," said Sorenson, "is that the flies aren'tmicrobe-carriers."

  I started out the door to return then stepped back and peered throughthe screen. The forest was erupting with natives. They staggered intothe clearing, headed for the center of it and sank down as if with greatweariness. On and on they came until the ground among our buildings wasliterally paved with their prone bodies.

  "Poor devils." Bailey murmured as the clouds of flies continued to sweepthrough our village. "Nothing we can do, though. I wonder why they comeout in the open? You'd think they had better protection in the trees."

  I had no answers, so I covered my head again and made a dash for my ownhut. Inside I brushed off the clinging flies and stamped on them. "Themedics don't have any help for us," I said. Then I saw him.

  Sue was struggling to hold Joe on his feet. His arms were draped looselyover her shoulders, and for a second I couldn't decided whether he wasill or making a pass at Sue.

  I pulled him off her by one shoulder. He swung around and toppled intomy arms. Remarkably few insect bites showed under the transparent hazeof golden hair, but he reeked of tala.

  "You're drunk," I yelled at him. "A lot of help you are at a time likethis!"

  "Tala," he said from loose lips. "Much tala."

  "You've had much tala, all right!" I said disgusted.

  Sue said, "We've got to let him stay in here, Sam. The flies will eathim alive out there." She went to the window and knocked the flies fromthe outside of the screen. Then she screamed. I thought she had justdiscovered the massed natives, but she kept on screaming until I went toher and looked out.

  In the late afternoon sun, fuzzy little brown animals were waddling outof the forest, closing in on the 900 or more natives lying senseless inthe clearing. _Koodi!_ Dozens of them.

  I forgot my screaming wife, my crying infant, the drunken wife-stealerslumped on the floor. I forgot the torture of my own stings. All Iremember is snatching my pistol from its holster that hung by the doorand plunging out and pulling the trigger until fire ceased to come outof it. Then I was kicking and smashing with a tree limb, and every blowsmashed one of the vile little ghouls into the grass. I thought I sawBenson firing and kicking, but I blacked out before I could be sure.

  I regained consciousness with the flies still keening in my ears. Suewas calling my name and slapping me sharply in the face. Joe was tryingto pull me to my feet, but the last thing I remember is the both of uscollapsing to the ground.

  * * * * *

  I awoke days later with a burning fever and gloriously drunken sensationof floating. Joe brought a fruit to me when he saw I was stirring. Idrank the thin, tangy juice in one breath and sank back into a deepsleep again.

  My next drink came from the long, slender fingers of a pretty littlefemale native. This time it was water, and I stayed awake. Joe came in,saw I was awake and came back in a few minutes with Benson and Dr.Bailey.

  They both looked terrible, Benson especially. Bailey said, "Take iteasy. Sue's at the clinic. She and the baby are all right, but youdamned near didn't make it."

  Benson said, "Can you talk?"

  I cleared my throat and decided I could. He waved Joe and the femaleout. Then he and Bailey sat down beside me. I asked, "Any casualties?"

  "Two of our babies and thirty-six native babies. Some of the _koodi_came in after dark."

  It sounded strange, Benson's listing native casualties with our own.

  The memory of the _koodi_ attack brought a wave of nausea over me. Isaid, "Benson, I'm sorry, but I'm all done trying to murder Joe's race.I want no further part of it."

  Benson's face was thin and drawn, and he stared at the floor. "If wehaven't murdered it already," he said, "there will be no more attemptswhile I am in charge." He covered his face with his hands. "Bailey. Tellhim, Bailey."

  The doctor's voice was gravelly and weak. "If it hadn't been for thenatives we'd all have died. The venom from the flies paralyzed everyonethe second day after the swarm hit us. The flies were gone the nextmorning, but every soul in the colony passed out. Joe and his friendstook care of us, poured tala down our throats and fed us."

  "But they were soused," I said.

  "Their only defense against the flies. The little black devils left thenatives pretty well alone, and it appears that the tala was responsible.Could be that the stuff is what neutralized the toxin, too. They musthave poured a gallon of it down me, judging from the empty skins by mybed. At any rate, they kept us alive until we could get up and feedourselves."

  "Why did they come into the clearing when they drank the tala?" I asked.

  Bailey said, "Joe told us that the day he saw Sue kill the _koodi_ thatwas attacking you, he got the idea that he should do something aboutthem himself. Through his efforts the natives no longer take the littledevils as an inevitable evil. They kill them wherever they find themnow. And when they had to get drunk to save themselves from the flies,Joe passed the word for them to head for the clearing. The _koodi_usually avoid the sunlight, but it was late in the afternoon. They cameanyway."

  "Phil," I said, "did I see you out there with me, killing the littlebast
ards?"

  He nodded silently.

  "You had changed your mind about the natives at that time?"

  "I--I suppose so. Don't rub it in, Sam. It's hard enough to live withthe thought of how wrong I was. All I can do now is pray that whateverfailed in our first try failed again. Joe's people have made the humanrace look pretty dismal. They have every right to their planet, and ifwe are foolish enough to go native, well--at least we have a strongersurvival instinct."

  At that point Susan came in carrying Richard. He had the hiccoughs. Suekissed me. "Richard just drew his ration of sterile tala from theclinic. He still has a slight fever. But thanks to Joe and Harmony--"

  "Harmony? Who's that?"

  "The native girl who helped Joe nurse us. Her name is reallyHah-ah-arm-ig-hin-ih-hee, or something like that. She answers toHarmony, though."

  And she did. Hearing her name the little golden girl came through thedoor towing Joe by one hand.

  I said, "One of your favorites, Joe?"

  He ran a caressing, four-fingered hand over her shoulder. "I like her,"he admitted. "She wants to call me husband like Sue calls you."

  Bailey smiled. "It seems there is a new fad among the natives. Somethinglike monogamy, I understand."

  I said, "What do you think of the idea, Joe?"

  He thought it over. "I have not made up my mind."

  Sue pressed him, "Why not marry Harmony, Joe?"

  In the blunt manner in which he so often made his curious revelations,Joe blurted out, "Because I am in much demand among all the females. Itis--very pleasant."

  Bailey's eyes widened. He ordered, "Bend over, Joe."

  Joe obliged so we could all examine his back. There were two brownstains on his shoulder blades as there should be, but Bailey was notsatisfied. He poked a finger into them and examined the skin under thehair. "Mango pitch!" he announced. "Stained clean down to the skin. Didyou do that, Joe?"

  "Yes."

  "Why?"

  "I knew you would force me to go into the ship with the others if Ididn't have the stain."

  Benson looked up, shocked. "Then you--you knew what we were trying todo?"

  "Yes. You and Samrogers spoke of it outside the hut one day. You thoughtI was asleep. Some of your words puzzled me, so I stayed away from theship. Then I found out what they meant."

  "But you helped us get the others to go into the ship!"

  "It was what you wanted," Joe said simply. "Later, when we went south,the females saw that only Joe's favorites continued to have babies. SoJoe became very--popular."

  I said, "You mean they figured it out?"

  Joe smiled. "Did you think we do not know about--" he paused to dredgeamong his amazing store of human idioms, "--the facts of life?"

  Bailey shook his head. "What a man! What a race! Think what they wouldbe if they had a human's survival instinct!"

  "And thumbs," I added.