Blish,James – And all the Stars a Stage

mycobacterial infection, opposition to the Matriarchy, or about two hundred

other genetic or possibly genetic defects; no one with a personal history

of (nearly five thousand) medical conditions; no one convicted of a major

crime.

Item: No one who had left a job without cause within three years before the

launching. (The “without cause” clause was window-dressing; the government

had no intention of making any check on causes, let alone entertaining any

appeals.)

Item: No parasitic skills, such as brokerage or advertising.

Item: No doctors, no engineers, no mathematicians, no astronomers, no

unique skills in the sciences or in engineering not already included in the

crews.

… And much more. It was a chillingly inclusive list. Some of its

categories included the equivalents of whole nations. Very little of it was

ever made public; there were some parts of it which were never even written

down; and some others so coldly slaughterous that they could not even be

deduced by anyone not charged with the choices involved.

But it served, for a while. It cut the choices back especially during the

privileged period when the world did not know that they were being cut

back. At term, there were left only a single million possible choices for

each passenger.

And in the end, it became impossible to disguise

66 fames Blish

this piece of elementary arithmetic, or to protect the migration from it,

even with the greatest ill-will in the world.

“And besides,” Dr. Chase-Huebner said gently, “I am afraid that in all

conscience we must also leave the animals behind.”