by Andre Norton
“This one of those rolls from the carrier?”
But Dard did not answer. For now the screen was in use. He began to watch…
“Turn it off! Turn that off!”
His frenzied fingers found the proper button. They were surrounded by honest light, clean red-yellow walls.
Kimber’s face was in his hands, the harshness of his breathing filled the room. Dard, shaken, sick, dared not move. He gripped the edge of the shelf which supported the projector, gripped so tightly that the flesh under his nails turned dead white. He tried to concentrate upon that phenomenon-not on what he had just seen.
“What- what did you see?” he moistened his lips and asked dully. He had to know. Maybe it was only his own reaction. But-but it couldn’t be! The very thought that only he had seen that led to panic-to a terror beyond bearing.
“I don’t know…” Kimber’s answer dragged out of him word by painful word. “It wasn’t meant-ever meant for man—our kind of man—to see—”
Dard raised his head, made himself stare at that innocuous screen, to assure himself that there was nothing there now.
“It did something to me—inside,” he half whispered.
“It was meant to, I think. But-Great Lord-what sort of minds-feelings-did they have! Not human-totally alien. We have no common meeting point-we never shall have-with that!”
“And it was all just color, twisting, turning color,” Dard began.
Kimber’s hand dosed about his wrist with crushing intensity.
“I was right,” Dard did not feel the pain of that grip, “they used color as a means of communication. But— but—”
“What they had to say with it! Yes, not for us-never for us. Keep your mind off it, Dard. Five minutes more of that and you might not have been human—ever again!”
“We couldn’t establish contact with them— with— ”
“Minds that could conceive that? No, we can’t. So that was what brought you here-you wanted to see if Harmon was right in his neutral policy? Now you know-with that we have no common ground. And we’ll have to make the others understand. If we do meet Those Others—the result will undoubtedly be war.”
“Fifty- three of us-maybe a whole nation of them left.” Dard was still sick and shaken-sensing a deep inner violation.
First there had been the tyranny of Pax, which had been man-made and so understandable, in all its narrow cruelty, because it had been the work of human beings. And now this-which man dared not-touch!
Kimber had regained control of himself. There was even a trace of the familiar impish grin on his face as he said:
“When the fighting is the toughest, that’s when our breed digs in toes. And we needn’t borrow trouble. Get Kordov and Harmon in here. If we are going to discuss the offer of the mermen we want them to know what to expect from overseas.”
But- to Dard’s dismay-the projection of Those Others’ tapes aroused in Harmon no more than a vague uneasiness -though it shook Kordov. And, as they insisted on the rest of the men viewing it, they discovered that it varied in its effects upon different individuals. Rogan, sensitive to communication devices, almost fainted after a few moments’ strict attention. Santee admitted that he did not like it but couldn’t say why. But, in the end, the weight of evidence was that they could not hope to deal with Those Others.
“I’m still sayin’,” Harmon insisted, “that we shouldn’t get pulled into anything them sea people has started. You say them pictures make Those Others regular devils. Well, they’re still across the sea. We shouldn’t go lookin’ for trouble-then maybe we don’t find none!”
“We’re not suggesting an expeditionary force, Tim,” Kimber answered mildly. “But if they are alive overseas they may just get the idea to reclaim this land-and you’d want to know about it ahead of time if they did. The mermen will keep us informed. Then we could supply them with better arms.”
“Yeah, and right there you’ve got trouble! You make sea-goin’ ray guns and the first thing you know they’re gonna use ’em. They hate Those Others don’t they? Back on earth we picked off a Peaceman whenever we got the chance, didn’t we? And let that happen a coupla times and Those Others are gonna come lookin’ for where those new guns came from. I ain’t sayin’ we oughta turn our backs on the mermen-they seem peaceful. But we’re plain foolish if we get mixed up in any war of theirs. I said it before and I’m gonna keep on sayin’ it!”
“All right, Tim. And you’re speaking the truth. But this is good land, ain’t it?”
“Sure, it’s good land! We’re gonna have a mighty fine farm here. But farmin’ and fightin’ don’t mix. What about that fella what lived fight over there? He didn’t live out the last war, did he?”
“Suppose they want this good land back? How long can we defend it?”
For the first time a shadow of doubt appeared in Tim Harmon’s eyes.
“Okay!” he flung up a hand in surrender. “I’ll go with you halfway. I say be friends with the mermen and help ’em-some. But I’m not gonna vote for no gangin’ up with ’em in a private war!”
“That’s all we want you to do, Tim. We’ll ally with the mermen and make plans for defense,” Kordov soothed him.
Dard smiled wryly. Inside he was amused, amused and tired. They had come across the galaxy to escape to freedom, only to live again under the shadow of fear. It was a long way to travel to come-home!
A new frontier to guard. What was that thing Kimber had once quoted while standing on a mountainside in the Terran winter?
"Frontiers of any type, physical or mental, are but a challenge to our breed. Nothing can stop the questing of men, not even Man. If we will it, not only the wonders of space, but the very stars are ours!”
They had known the wonders of space, the stars were theirs-if they could hold them! But who-or what-dared to say that they could not? Why, Dard savored the new pride growing hotly within him, they had broken the bonds of space-
There was a wide world before them, unlimited in its possibilities. On distant Terra this ill-assorted group had drawn into tight alliance because they believed alike-in what? Freedom-Man’s freedom! They had faced the sterility of Pax clear-eyed and refused to be bound by it- entrusting their lives to the knowledge Pax had outlawed- and it had brought them here. They-if they willed it-worked for a united goal-they could do anything!
Dard’s eyes were on the painted cliffs but inwardly he saw beyond-across the wide and waiting land. Alliance with the merpeople-taming of the land-building a new civilization-his breath came faster. Why a lifetime was not going to be time enough to do everything that even he could see had to be done.
Could their breed be defeated? He gave his answer to the uncertain future with a single word:
"NO!”
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