Spaceman Go Home

by Milton Lesser

  The instant the shield was in place, the bomb exploded. The shield shook. The noise was tremendous.

  But no damage had been done.

  Andy stood there dumbfounded.

  “Self-repair,” said the Star Brain. “A physical extension of feedback, Earthman. But my scanner waits for words. If you hadn’t spoken when you did… .”

  Andy felt weak all over. “What are you going to do about the Edict?” he demanded boldly.

  The machine said only, “Data insufficient at this time.”

  Moments later Andy heard banging on the door, and Frank’s voice sobbing his name over and over.

  “It’s all right,” Andy said tremulously. “I think I’ve made a friend. Just unlock the door.”

  It was two days later. Earthmen and Capellans were crowded into the high-domed answer chamber of the Star Brain. The Project Nobel scientists had presented Earth’s case. Reed Ballinger and Harry Gault were under heavy guard aboard the “Goddard.” Whatever happened, they would be taken back to Earth for trial.

  “What is it waiting for?” a Capellan said impatiently.

  Captain Strayer was pacing back and forth. Turk and Andy stood side by side, Frank close to them.

  “Data now sufficient,” boomed the Star Brain suddenly.

  More silence, then:

  “Yours is a fascinating story, men of Earth. But I gather it is not unique. I gather that if each of the many worlds that built me came here with its story I would learn similar histories of achievement and failure, of good and evil. Is that correct?”

  Andy heard the Capellans gasp. It was the first time the Star Brain ever had asked a question.

  “That’s correct,” Captain Strayer said promptly.

  “I also gather,” said the Star Brain, “that you tried to deceive me. A second time I was close to bombing … and by the same man of Earth. Is this what you consider a guarantee of your good intentions?”

  Another question from the Star Brain. The Capellans were astonished. Captain Strayer glanced at Andy, who had told him what had happened in the power plant. Stepping forward, Captain Strayer said:

  “We never guaranteed our good intentions. You said it yourself: among humans there is achievement and failure, good and evil. We do what we can. We are not machines. We have emotions.”

  There was a long silence. The Capellans looked at each other anxiously. Then the Star Brain said:

  “Earth’s motive in presenting Earth’s history was to be granted another chance in space. The question now is whether or not I will remove the Edict that has outlawed Earthmen from space.”

  Andy held his breath.

  “The answer is that I will. Earth is free to join the Confederacy as an active member again.”

  A great shout went up, loud in Andy’s helmet intercom. The listening Capellans contributed to it as much as the Earthmen.

  “Under one condition,” said the Star Brain. “And that is this: every member of the Confederacy must prepare a history as Earth has done. I need more data. Repeat: I need more data. For what happened here proves that you creatures of protoplasm, my builders, from whatever world and in whatever shape, are no machines. You emote. Whether for good or for bad, only the future will tell. Repeat: I need more data.

  “But creatures of Earth and creatures of Capella, I can see a time when the sentient beings of the Galaxy, not their mechanical creations, must fully determine their own future. The sooner you all present your data, the sooner this time will come.

  “I can see a future in which the Brain you have built will be nothing but a clearing house for the mutual exchange of knowledge. I can see a Galactic civilization living in harmony from Ophiuchus to the Magellanic Clouds. I can see… .”

  “When?” shouted a Capellan.

  “Data insufficient,” answered the Star Brain.

  About the Author

  Milton Lesser is the author of many science fiction novels, among them The Star Seekers, Earthbound, and Stadium Beyond the Stars. His stories have appeared in leading magazines. He has written for television, edited anthologies, and is an experienced consultant on science fiction articles.

  A New Yorker by birth and a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Virginia, he has traveled in twenty-odd countries on three continents, skiing in Canada, mountain climbing in Switzerland and exploring fjords in Norway—all because planet-hopping is still a few years off.