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outlets are; it would be easy. That would be fun. And a lot faster acting."
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Mark hovered before her, his artificial face drawn into stern disapproval. "And cause plague, illness and
death on a massive scale? Is that really what you're proposing?"
Constancy-of-Purpose looked doubtful; she passed a massive hand over her scalp.
"Listen to me," Mark said slowly. "This is my field I'm a socio-engineer, after all. Was, whatever. The
last thing we want is a siege, here. Do you understand? I'm not sure if we have the resources to break a
siege. If we tried, the fall-out the illness and death would put an immense strain on theNorthern's
infrastructure.
"Besides " He hesitated.
Morrow said, "Yes?"
"Besides, I'm not certain that breaking a siege is evenpossible."
"What do you mean?"
"Look: the Planners see themselves as messianic. They, and only they, can save 'their' people. If we
besiege them, the Planners simply won't respond the way a rational person would by studying their
resources, by assessing the chances of a successful break-out, and so on. Worse still, we the
besiegers would become part of the fabric of their delusion, an embodiment of the external threats
which assail their people."
Morrow frowned. "I don't understand."
Mark, evidently forgetting there was no drive-induced gravity, started pacing around the Deck, his
Virtual feet soundlessly missing the floor by a fraction of an inch. "You have to understand things from the
point of view of the people in control in there:the Planners." He turned a frank gaze on Morrow. "I've
been studying you, Morrow. I know you're still intimidated by this place, by the nearness of the
Planners. Aren't you? despite all your experiences outside here, beyond these walls."
Morrow said nothing.
"This culture has a lot of power," Mark said. "Almost all of it is concentrated in the hands of the
Planners, with the mass of people dumbly acquiescing. Morrow, the Planners have taken the
species-survival logic of Superet the logic which lay behind the whole of theNorthern's mission, after
all and extrapolated it into something more something almost religious.
"We're dealing with a powerful concept, folks; one that seems to touch buttons wired deep into our
human psyches. People on these Decks have followed where the Planners have led for nearly a
millennium including you, Morrow.
"When Louise and I saw this tendency developing, quite early in the flight, we decided we couldn't
overcome it and it would be wastefully destructive to try.
"So we withdrew, to theGreat Britain, leaving enough of a physical control infrastructure in place for us
to ensure the ship could run smoothly.
"Well, maybe we were wrong to do that; because now the Planners' messiah complex is leading us to a
crisis..."
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Morrow found he intensely disliked being analyzed in this way by a Virtual construct. "But what are we
todo?" he snapped. "How are we to use these staggering insights of yours?"
"The situation is unpredictable," Mark said bluntly. "But it's possible that the Planners woulddestroy their
people and themselves rather than let us win."
The little party exchanged shocked glances.
Trapper said, "But that'sinsane. It even contradicts their conscious goals to protect their people."
Mark's smile was thin. "Nobody said it had to make sense. Unfortunately, there are plenty of
precedents, right through human history."
Constancy-of-Purpose said, "With flaws like that hardwired into our heads, it's a wonder we ever got
into space in the first place." She let herself drift a little way from the Deck, her legs dangling beneath her,
and studied the Temple, eyes squinting. "Well, if we can't break the siege, we're going to have trouble.
For a start, there are more of them than us. And, second, their cross-bows have a much greater range
than these blowpipes wielded by Trapper and her friends "
"Maybe," Trapper-of-Frogs said slowly, "but I've been thinking about that. I mean, the Planners could
have killed us earlier, when we were strung out along the Deck. Couldn't they?"
Mark frowned. "They firedover us. Maybe they were trying to warn us."
"Maybe." Trapper-of-Frogs nodded grudgingly. "Or maybe theywere trying to hit us but couldn't.
Watch this."
She pulled a dart from the pouch at her waist and raised her blowpipe to her lips. She spat the dart
harmlessly into the air, on a flat trajectory parallel to the Deck.
Morrow, bemused, tracked the little projectile. It rapidly lost most of its initial speed to the resistance of
the air, but its path continued flat and even, still parallel to the Deck. Eventually, Morrow supposed, it
would slow up so much that it would fall to the Deck, and...
No, it wouldn't,he realized slowly. The GUTdrive was shut off: there was no gravity. Even if air
resistance stopped the dart completely, it still wouldn't fall.
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zanotowane.pldoc.pisz.plpdf.pisz.plkwiatpolny.htw.pl
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Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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