TUNNEL IN THE SKY by ROBERT A. HEINLEIN

“I’m not going to sign with anybody else.”

“Got that, Mac?”

“Canned.”

Evans turned to Rod. “You don’t object to answering questions in the meantime, do you? And maybe a few pictures?”

“Uh, I don’t care.” Rod was finding them puzzling and a little annoying, but they were company and he was bitterly lonely.

“Fine!” Evans drew him out with speed and great skill. Rod found himself telling more than he realized he knew. At one point Evans asked about dangerous animals. “I understand they are pretty rough here. Much trouble?”

“Why, no,” Rod answered with sincerity. “We never had real trouble with animals. What trouble we had was with people . . . and not much of that.”

“You figure this will be a premium colony?”

“Of course. The others were fools to leave. This place is like Terra, only safer and richer and plenty of land. In a few years say!”

“Say what?”

“How did it happen that they left us here? We were only supposed to be here ten days.”

“Didn’t they tell you?”

“Well . . . maybe the others were told. I never heard.”

“It was the supernova, of course. Delta, uh”

“Delta Gamma one thirteen,” supplied Mac.

“That’s it. Spacetime distortion, but I’m no mathematician.”

“Fluxion,” said Mac.

“Whatever that is. They’ve been fishing for you ever since. As I understand it, the wave front messed up their figures for this whole region. Incidentally, brother, when you go back”

”I’m not going back.”

“Well, even on a visit. Don’t sign a waiver. The Board is trying to call it an ‘Act of God’ and duck responsibility. So let me put a bug in your ear: don’t sign away your rights. A friendly hint, huh?”

“Thanks. I won’t well, thanks anyhow.”

“Now how about action pix for the lead stories?”

“Well . . . okay.”

“Spear,” said Mac.

“Yeah, I believe you had some sort of spear. Mind holding it?”

Rod got it as the great Ellie joined them. “Wonderful!” she breathed. “I can feel it. It shows how thin the line is between man and beast. A hundred cultured boys and girls slipping back to illiteracy, back to the stone age, the veneer sloughing away . . . reverting to savagery. Glorious!”

“Look here!” Rod said angrily. “Cowpertown wasn’t that way at all! We had laws, we had a constitution, we kept clean. We” He stopped; Miss Ellens wasn’t listening.

“Savage ceremonies,” she said dreamily. “A village witch doctor pitting ignorance and superstition against nature. Primitive fertility rites” She stopped and said to Mac in a businesslike voice, “We’ll shoot the dances three times. Cover ’em a little for ‘A’ list; cover ’em up a lot for the family listand peel them down for the ‘B’ list. Got it?”

“Got it,” agreed Mac.

“I’ll do three commentaries she added. “It will be worth the trouble.” She reverted to her trance.

“Wait a minute!” Rod protested. “If she means what

I think she means, there won’t be any pictures, with or without actors.”

“Take it easy,” Evans advised. “I said you would be technical supervisor, didn’t I? Or would you rather we did it without you? Ellie is all right, brother. What you don’t know and she does is that you have to shade the truth to get at the real truth, the underlying truth. You’ll see.

“But”

Mac stepped up to him. “Hold still.”

Rod did so, as Mac raised his hand. Rod felt the cool touch of an air brush.

“Hey! What are you doing?”

“Make up.” Mac returned to his gear.

“Just a little war paint,” Evans explained. “The pic needs color. It will wash off.”

Rod opened his mouth and eyes in utter indignation; without knowing it he raised his spear. “Get it, Mac!” Evans ordered.

“Got it,” Mac answered calmly.

Rod fought to bring his anger down to where he could talk. “Take that tape out,” he said softly. “Throw it on the ground. Then get out.”

“Slow down,” Evans advised. “You’ll like that pic. We’ll send you one.

“Take it out. Or I’ll bust the box and anybody who gets in my way!” He aimed his spear at the multiple lens.

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