Neanderthal Parallax 2 - Humans by Robert J. Sawyer

Author:Robert J. Sawyer [Sawyer, Robert J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780312876913
Publisher: Tor Books
Published: 2003-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-three

“ Fascinating,” said Jurard Selgan. “Fascinating.”

“ What?” Ponter’s voice was tinged with irritation.

“ Your behavior, while at the memorial wall commemorating those Gliksins who had died in southeast Galasoy.”

“ What about it?” said Ponter. His voice was sharp, like that of someone trying to talk while a scab was being picked off.

“ Well, this was not the first time your beliefs— our beliefs, as Barasts—had been in conflict with those of the Gliksins, was it?”

“ No, of course not.”

“ Indeed,” said Selgan, “such conflicts must have come up on your first visit there, no?”

“ I guess.”

“ Can you give me an example?” asked Selgan.

Ponter folded his arms in front of his chest. “All right,” he said, in a smug, I’ll-show-you tone. “I mentioned this to you right at the beginning: the Gliksins have this silly notion that the universe has only existed for a finite time. They’ve completely misconstrued the redshift evidence, thinking it indicates an expanding universe; they don’t understand that mass varies over time. Further, they think the cosmic microwave background radiation is the lingering echo of what they call ‘the big bang’—a vast explosion they believe started the universe.”

“ They seem to like things blowing up,” said Selgan.

“ They certainly do. But, of course, the uniformity of the background radiation is really caused by repeated absorption and emission of electrons trapped in plasma-pinching magnetic-vortex filaments.”

“ I’m sure you’re right,” said Selgan, conceding that this wasn’t his territory of expertise.

“ I am right,” replied Ponter. “But I didn’t fight with them over that issue. During my first visit, Mare said to me, ‘I don’t think you’re going to convince many people that the big bang didn’t happen.’ And I told her that was fine; I said: ‘Feeling a need to convince others that you’re right is something that comes from religion; I’m simply content to know that I am right, even if others don’t know it.’”

“ Ah,” said Selgan. “And do you really feel that way?”

“ Yes. To the Gliksins, knowledge is a battle! A territorial war! Why, to have their equivalent of the title ‘Scholar’ conferred upon you, you have to defend a thesis. That’s the word they use: defend! But science isn’t about defending one’s position against all comers; it’s about flexibility and open-mindedness and valuing the truth, no matter who finds it.”

“ I concur,” said Selgan. He paused for a moment, then: “But you didn’t spend much time looking for any evidence as to whether the Gliksins might have been right in their belief in an afterlife.”

“ That’s not true. I gave Mary every opportunity to demonstrate the validity of that claim.”

“ Before this encounter at the memorial wall, you mean?”

“ Yes. But she had nothing!”

“ And so, as in the case of their finite cosmology, you let the matter go, content to know that you were right?”

“ Yes. Well, I mean…”

Selgan raised his eyebrow. “Yes?”

“ I mean, all right, sure, I argued with her about this belief in an afterlife. But that was different.

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