direction took place. We can trace this record quite clearly right
up to the time in question, fifty thousand years ago. By that time
the most advanced stage reached on Earth was that represented by
Neanderthal man. Now, the Neanderthals have always been something
of a riddle. They were hardy, tough, and superior in intelligence
to anything prior to them or coexisting with them. They seemed well
adapted to survive the competition of the Ice Age and should, one
would think, have attained a dominant position in the era that was
to follow. But that did not happen. Strangely, almost mysteriously,
they died out abruptly between forty and fifty thousand years ago.
Apparently they were unable to compete effectively against a new
and far more advanced type of man, whose sudden appearance, as if
from nowhere, has always been another of the unsolved riddles of
science:
Homo sapiens-us!”
Danchekker read the expressions on the faces before him and nodded
slowly to confirm their thoughts.
“Now, of course, we see why this was so. He did indeed appear out
of nowhere. We see why there is no clear fossil record in the soil
of Earth to link Homo sapiens back to the chain of earlier
terrestrial man-apes: He did not evolve there. And we see what it
was that so ruthlessly and so totally overwhelmed the Neanderthals.
How could they hope to compete against an advanced race, weaned on
the warrior cult of Minerva?”
Danchekker paused and allowed his gaze to sweep slowly around the
circle of faces. Everybody seemed to be suffering from mental
punch-drunkenness.
“As I have said, all this follows purely as a chain of reasoning
from the observations with which I began. I can offer no evidence
to support it. I am convinced, however, that such evidence does
exist. Somewhere on Earth the remains of the Lunarian spacecraft
that made that last journey from Luna must still exist, possibly
buried beneath the mud of a seabed, possibly under the sands of
one of the desert regions. There must exist, on Earth, pieces of
equipment and artifacts brought by the tiny handful who represented
the remnant of the Lunarian civilization. Where on Earth, is
anyone’s guess. Personally, I would suggest as the most likely
areas the Middle East, the eastern Mediterranean, or the eastern
regions of North Africa. But one day proof that what I have said is
true will be forthcoming. This I predict with every confidence.”
The professor walked around to the table and poured a glass of
Coke. The silence of the room slowly dissolved into a rising tide
of voices. One by one, the statues that had been listening returned
to life. Danchekker took a long drink and stood in silence for a
while, contemplating his glass. Then he turned to face the room
again.
“Suddenly lots of things that we have always simply taken for
granted start falling into place.” Attention centralized on him
once again. “Have you ever stopped to think what it is that makes
man so different from all the other animals on Earth? I know that
we have larger brains, more-versatile hands, and so forth; what I
am referring to is something else. Most animals, when in a hopeless
situation will resign themselves to fate and perish in ignominy.
Man, on the other hand, does not know how to give in. He is capable
of summoning up reserves of stubbornness and resilience that are
without parallel on his planet. He is able to attack anything that
threatens his survival, with an aggressiveness the like of which
the Earth has never seen otherwise. It is this that has enabled him
to sweep all before him, made him lord of all the beasts, helped
him tame the winds, the rivers, the tides, and even the power of
the Sun itself. This stubbornness has conquered the oceans, the
skies, and the challenges of space, and at times has resulted in
some of the most violent and bloodstained periods in his history.
But without this side to his nature, man would be as helpless as
the cattle in the field.”
Danchekker scanned the faces challengingly. “Well, where did it
come from? It seems out of character with the sedate and easygoing