subdued chorus of mutterings broke out around the room. Here and
there a light flared as individuals succumbed to the suggestion
from the screen. Hunt continued:
“The native Minervan land species left on the planet soon died out.
But the immigrant types from Earth enjoyed a better adaptability
and survived. Not only that, they were free to roam unchecked and
unhindered across the length and breadth of Minerva, where any
native competition rapidly ceased to exist. The new arrivals were
thus free to continue the process of evolutionary
development that had begun millions of years before in the oceans
of Earth. But at the same time, of course, the same process was
also continuing on Earth itself. Two groups of animal species,
possessing the same genetic inheritance from common ancestors and
equipped with the same evolutionary potential, were developing in
isolation on two different worlds.
“Now, for those of you who have not yet had the pleasure, allow me
to introduce Cyril.” The picture of Hunt vanished and a view of the
man-ape retrieved from the Ganymean ship appeared.
Hunt’s voice carried on with the commentary: “Chris’s team has made
a thorough examination of this character in the Jupiter Four
laboraties. Chris’s own summary of their results was, quote:
‘We consider this to be something nearer the direct line of descent
toward modern man than anything previously studied. Many fossil
finds have been made on Earth of creatures that represented various
branches of development from the early progressive apes in the
general direction of man. All finds to date, however, have been
classed as belonging to offshoots from the main stream; a specimen
of a direct link in the chain leading to Homo sapiens has always
persistently eluded us. Here, we have such a link.’ Unquote.” The
image of Hunt reappeared. “We can be fairly sure, therefore, that
among the terrestrial life forms left to develop on Minerva were
numbers of primates as far advanced in their evolution as anything
back on Earth.
“The faster evolution characteristic of Minerva thus far, was
repeated, possibly as a result of the harsher environment and
climate. Millions of years passed. On Earth a succession of manlike
beings came and went, some progressive, some degenerate. The Ice
Age came and moved through into its final, glacial phase some fifty
thousand years ago. By this time on Earth, primitive humanoids
represented the apex of progress-crude cave dwellers, hunters,
makers of simple weapons and tools chipped out of stone. But on
Minerva, a new technological civilization already existed:
the Lunarians-descended from the imported stock and from the same
early ancestors as ourselves, human in every detail of anatomy.
“I won’t dwell on the problems that confronted the developing
Lunarian civilization-they’re well-known by now. Their history was
one long story of war and hardship enacted around a racial quest to
escape from their dying world. Their difficulties were
compounded by a chronic shortage of minerals, possibly because the
planet was naturally deficient, or possibly because it had been
thoroughly exploited by the Ganymeans. At any rate, the warring
factions polarized into two superpowers, and in the showdown that
followed they destroyed themselves and the planet.”
Hunt paused again at this point to allow another period of
consolidation for the audience. This time, however, there was
complete silence. Nothing he had said so far was new, but he had
formed a set selected from the thousand and one theories and
speculations that had raged around Navcomms for as long as many
could remember. The silent watchers in the theater sensed that the
real news was still to come.
“Let’s stop for a moment and examine how well this account fits in
with the evidence we have. First, the original problem of Charlie’s
human form. Well, that’s answered: He was human- descended from the
same ancestors as the rest of us and requiring nothing as unlikely
as a parallel line to explain him. Second, the absence of any signs
of the Lunarians on Earth. Well, the reason is quite obvious: They
never were on Earth. Third, all the attempts to reconcile the
surface geography of Charlie’s world with Earth become unnecessary,
since by this account they were indeed two different planets.