A. E. van Vogt by The Twisted Men

Author:The Twisted Men [Men, The Twisted]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-01-25T20:41:13+00:00

As he came up, he saw that the other was staring down at a small area of sand. It reminded Hanley that Rogan had paused twice previously, and both times had looked at similar patches of sand.

The discovery briefly drained Hanley’s anger. He had been looking for a pattern in Rogan’s activity; and here it was. He stopped, and studied the area. It looked like ordinary sand, a grayish yellow-brown in color, quite unassuming, and about as unlikely a source of life as anything he had ever seen.

Hanley hesitated. He wanted to ask questions, but the man was so discourteous that he hesitated to expose himself to further insults. He half-turned away—and then saw that Rogan was looking at him. Rogan said in his soft voice:

“Mr. Hanley, I sense in your attitude that you spoke to me a short time ago, and that you are incensed because I did not answer. Is that correct?”

Hanley nodded, not trusting himself to speak. The wording seemed to imply—he couldn’t decide, but it re-stimulated his anger. “Sense in your attitude,” indeed. Was Rogan trying to suggest that he had not heard the words? Hanley waited, fuming.

Rogan went on, “I find myself in this situation so often that, for the most part, I do not bother to explain it any more.” His green eyes glowed as with a light of their own. “However, since it may be necessary for us to cooperate in the coming crisis, I ask you to believe me when I say that I do not hear when I am concentrating. I shut off all extraneous phenomena.” He finished gently, “If that statement violates your sense of reality, I’m sorry.”

Hanley said grudgingly, “I’ve heard of such things. Hypnosis.”

“If you need a label,” said Rogan, and his tone was almost indifferent, “that’s as good as any. But, actually it is not the answer.”

Belatedly, it struck Hanley that the other had made an effort to be friendly. He said quickly, “Thank you, Mr. Rogan, I appreciate the explanation. But would you mind telling me, what are you looking for in that sand?”

“Life.” Rogan was turning away. “Life is so simple a state that it is generally not even thought of as such. You see, Mr. Hanley, every planet has its own initial life-process, the state where inorganic matter and organic are almost indistinguishable. This process goes on continuously; and it is the building block of all subsequent life on that particular world. I cannot prove this to you. There is no instrument I know of except my own brain for detecting its existence. You will not immediately realize to what extent that fact rules my actions. And so, I suggest that you do not start feeling friendly toward me because I have made this rather involved explanation. You’ll probably regret it.”

Hanley, who was already disposed to be more friendly, felt uneasy. It seemed clear that Rogan meant exactly what he had said.

He saw that the man was looking at the sand. Hanley turned, and strode back to his instruments.

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