There was nothing marking them out as obviously different. Many physical types were in evidence here, from the tall fair islanders to the stocky arctic dwellers or the sunburned southern folk; and costumes varied accordingly, though even strangers tended to wear some form of the light local summer dress. If perhaps a tendency toward higher foreheads and more clean-cut features than the Galactic average existed, it was not striking, and there was as wide deviation from it as could be found anywhere. The long hair of both sexes and the full beards worn by many men screened any intellectuality of appearance behind a hirsute veil associated with the peripheral barbarians.
No—the difference from any other world in the Galaxy was real and unmistakable, but it wasn’t physical. It was in the clear air of the city, where all chimneys were smokeless, and in the clean-swept streets. It was in the orderliness of traffic, easy movement without jostling and confusion. It was in the clean bodies and soft voices of the people, in the casually accepted equality of the sexes even at this primitive level of technology. It was negative, in the absence of slums and jails, and positive, in the presence of parks and schools and hospitals. There were no weapons or uniforms in sight, but many in the street carried books or wore chemical-stained smocks. There were no ranting orators, but a large group sat on the grass of one park and listened to a lecture on ornithology. Laughter was quiet, but there was more of it than Heym had heard elsewhere in the Empire.
Goram muttered once: «I seem to hear quite a few languages here.»
«Oh, yes,» replied Heym. «Each region naturally developed its own tongue and generally sticks to it for sentimental reasons and also because the thoughts of a people are best expressed in the speech they themselves developed. But as soon as contact between the lands became common, an international language was worked out and learned by all concerned. In fact, only about fifty years ago a completely new world language was adopted, one correct according to the newly established principles of semantics. That’s more than the Empire has yet done. We can talk Terrestrial safely enough, it’ll pass for some local dialect, and I can do the talking for both of us with the natives.»
«Still»—Goram scowled—«I don’t like it. Everybody here has a higher I.Q. than myself—that’s not right for a bunch of barbarians. I feel as if everyone was looking at me.»
«Most of them observe us, yes, geniuses being naturally observant,» said Heym. «But we aren’t conspicuous in any way. Our men have often been on the planet in person without attracting attention.»
«Didn’t you say you’d appeared openly?»
«Yes—a few times, some centuries back, we made the most awe inspiring possible descents, coming down through the air on gravibeams in luminous clothes and performing seeming miracles. You see, even the primitive tribes had shown no signs of organized religion beyond the usual magic rites which they soon outgrew. We wanted to see if god-worship couldn’t be induced.» Heym smiled wryly. «But after the generation which had actually seen us, there was no sign of our manifestation. I suppose the young, being of independent mind, simply refused to believe their elders’ wild stories. Not that the people are without religious sense. There is a high proportion of unbelievers, but there is also a large philosophical and even devotional literature. But nobody founds a school of thought, rather everybody reaches his own conclusions.»
«I don’t see how progress is possible then.»
You wouldn’t, thought Heym contemptuously, but he only smiled and said, «Apparently it is.»
An aircraft roared low overhead, and a wagon driver fought to control his suddenly panicky animals. Goram said: «The biggest paradox here is the anachronism. Sail ships and oilburners docked side by side, animal power in the same street with chemical engines, stone and wood houses with efficient smoke precipitators—how come?»
«It’s partly a matter of the extremely rapid progress,» declared Heym, «A new invention appears before the economy has become geared to it. There won’t be many machines until mass-production factories are set up to produce them in quantity, and that will have to wait till mechanical knowledge is sufficiently advanced to develop factories almost entirely automatic—for few if any geniuses could stand to work on an assembly line all day. Meanwhile, the people are in no hurry to advance their standard of living. Already they have sufficient food, clothing, and other necessities for all, as well as abundant free time—why strain themselves to go beyond that? This isn’t the first time a brilliantly creative civilization has existed without interest in material progress; I might cite the Hellenic phase of the ancient Classical culture on Earth as another case.»
Goram, who had obviously heard nothing and cared less about Hellenic culture, was silent for a while, then at last a blurted protest: «But they’re working on rockets!»
«Oh, yes—but there’s a difference: between exploration and exploitation. The social system here is unique, and doesn’t lend itself to imperialism. The Empire doesn’t have to fear Station Seventeen.»
«I’ve told you before I’m not worried about their military power,» snarled Goram.
Heym fell silent, for he felt the sudden sickening fear that the marshal might, without reason or provocation, decide to annihilate the colony—destroy it out of pure spite, pique with the psychologists and, their dominion over the soldiers, vent for a gathering wrath at the subconscious, frantically denied realization of his own basic inferiority to these barbarians. If he killed them, it would be proof, the militarists’ twisted proof, that he was superior after all.
With a growing desperation, Heym looked around at the people—the fortunate children of an open sky, quiet, glad, urbane, and strong with the unconquerable strength of intelligence. Here was truly Homo sapiens, man the wise—man who had plucked fire from the mouth of a volcano, far back in the lost ages of the ice, and started on a long journey into darkness. He had come far since then, but he had ended in a blind alley. Only here, on this one insignificant world of the countless millions swarming around the stars, only here was the old quest being renewed, the path of hope being trodden. Elsewhere lay only the sorry road of empire and death. Where the path of Station Seventeen led, Heym could not imagine. Unguessably far it went, out beyond the glittering stars his mind reeled at thought of the infinities open to mankind if he took the right turning.
The psychologist said, with desperation raw in his voice, «Goram—Marshal Goram—surely you can see the experiment is harmless. More than that, it’s the most beneficial thing that has yet happened in all human history. Good Spirit, here’s hope for the Empire! A race which can progress as this has done can show us the way.»
«The Empire,» said Goram tightly, «isn’t interested in progress. It’s only interested in survival.»
«But—this is the way to survive. Every civilization—yes, every species—that quit advancing has become extinct.»
«I’m a practical man,» snapped Goram. «I’m not interested in crackpot schemes to save the universe.»
«What’s so practical about clinging to a system that in all history has consistently failed to work?» When the officer’s face remained cold and shut, Heym said with forced persuasiveness, «After all, in physical science the planet is still centuries behind us. In fact, strangely enough, though their advance in that branch of knowledge has been as extremely rapid as you can see, they have shown a proportionately greater concentration on biological and sociological work. I don’t know why, unless it is that genius is less afraid than mediocrity to study subjects which strike close to home. On Earth, astronomy, the most remote science, was the oldest, and psychiatry and sociology the youngest, but here all the sciences have got off to an even start. The mere absence of war is enough to show how far ahead of us these people are, and I could list any amount of supporting evidence. Their social system has achieved the miracle of combining progressiveness and stability. Just give the Foundation a chance to learn from them—or even, if they do work out an interstellar drive, give them a chance to teach us themselves, They’re the most reasonable race in the universe—they’ll be on the side of civilization, and even while overhauling it they’ll be better able to preserve it than we ourselves.»