City at World's End by Hamilton Edmond

Author:Hamilton, Edmond [Hamilton, Edmond]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Post-1930
Publisher: manybooks.net

Chapter 12

-- crisis

Three men of Earth stared at the big Capellan, and for a long, long moment no one spoke. Gorr Holl became absorbed in the glass he held between his hands. Magro watched them with his bright cat eyes. The beautiful streaming light poured over them, and the men were like three images of stone.

Bertram Garris found his tongue at last. But it was only to repeat Gorr Holl's words, as Kenniston had translated them.

"Evacuation?" he said. And again,"Evacuation?"

"To the world of another star," said Kenniston slowly. His mouth twitched, and he leaned close to Gorr Holl, and cried, "What do you think we're made of?"

Gorr Holl looked around their faces, and then said ruefully, "I guess I've talked too much." His ruefulness was no more convincing than his earlier surprise.

Mayor Garris had begun to tremble. A fury was building up in him, a genuine fury that had nothing to do with display. He glared at Magro and at Gorr Holl.

"They knew this all along, that woman and the others," he said. "They came in here, pretending to be our friends, and all the time behind our backs..." He stopped. His wrath and fear were all but choking him, coming so swiftly after joy. His voice went up and octave. "You tell them, Kenniston, tell them from me-- if they think we're going to move clear off the Earth to some-- some--" he stammered over the sheer impossibility of what he was saying, "-- some damn fool place out in the sky-- well, they're crazy!"

Hubble said to Kenniston, "Ask him if this is a thing they do, these Governors? I mean, this moving of whole populations from one world to another?"

Gorr Holl nodded to that. "Oh, yes. Whenever life on some planet becomes economically unsound, or the margin of survival is too small, the Governors evacuate the people to a better world. There are lots of them, good warm fertile planets that are uninhabited or nearly so. They did it to some of my own people, moved them from Capella Five to Aldebaran."

Kenniston cried out of his anger, "And people let that be done to them? They didn't even resist it?"

Gorr Holl said, "People-- human people, I mean-- have got millions of years of civilization behind them. They're used to peaceful government, used to obedience, and they've been moving from world to world ever since they left Earth ages ago, so that one planet doesn't mean much more than another to them. But the primitive humanoid folk, lately civilized, like my own and Magro's, aren't so reasonable. There's been a good bit of resentment among them about this evacuation business. In fact, they hate it-- just as much as you do."

"Here!" said Hubble sharply. "Where are you going?" He was talking to the Mayor, who was striding suddenly toward the door. He caught Garris by the coat and pulled him back. The Mayor struggled sullenly to free himself.

"I'm going to tell them," he said, jerking his head toward the sounds of revelry that came from the crowd of Middletowners in the plaza.

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