Jay looked worried, and Bernard appalled. “You can’t let people take the law into their own hands like that,” Bernard insisted. “Unchecked violence-mob rule–God alone~ knows what else. It’s plain uncivilized–barbaric. You’re going to have to change the system sooner or later.”
“You’re getting it all wrong,” Nanook. said, smiling faintly to be reassuring. “It’s not So bad. Things like that don’t happen all the time–in fact, hardly ever. Just sometimes.. .’
Juanita saw the expressions on Bernard’s and lay’s faces. “Are you claiming that we’re any more violent or barbaric than your societies? We’ve never had a war. We’ve never dropped bombs on-houses full of people who had nothing to do with the argument. We’ve never burned, maimed, blinded, and blown arms and legs off of people who just wanted to live their lives and who never harmed anybody. We’ve never shot anyone who didn’t ask for it. Can you say the same? Okay, so the system’s not perfect. Is yours?”
“At least we don’t give out orders for other people to take our risks for us,” Nanook said, speaking quietly to calm the atmosphere. Juanita was staring to get emotional. “The people who take the risks are the ones who believe it’s
worth it. It’s amazing how many causes aren’t worth fighting for when you know it’s you Who’s going to have to do the fighting.” He shook his head slowly. “No, we don’t get too much of that kind of thing.”
“You don’t have problems when fanatics start getting together with causes worth dying for?” Jay asked.
Nanook shifted his eyes and shook his head again. “Fanatics are gullible fools. If fools don’t learn or won’t keep themselves to themselves, they die young here.”
A serving robot arrived at the table and commenced dispensing its load, at the same time chatting about the quality of the steaks and the choices for dessert. Bernard turned to stare out of the window and think. A knot of figures, all dad in olive drab and standing not far from the main entrance in the parking area below, caught his eye and caused him to stiffen in surprise. They were wearing uniforms—U.S. Army uniforms. Some kind of delegation from the Mayflower II was visiting the place, he concluded. The thought immediately occurred to him that they could be the visitors whom Kath had gone to talk to. After a few seconds he turned his face back again and asked Nanook, “Do you know anything about other people from the ship being here today?”
Nanook looked mildly surprised. “Sure. I thought you’d know about it. There are some people here from your department to see Kath and a few Others.”
“My department?”
“Engineering. That’s the one you’re with, isn’t it?”
Bernard frowned suddenly. “Yes, it is. And I didn’t know about it.” His concern intensified as the implications sank in. “Who are they?”
“Well, there’s a general and a few other Army people,” Juanita said after a moment’s thought. “And from Engineering there’s a, . . Merrick–Leighton Merrick, that’s right.” She looked at Nanook. “And one called Walters,
wasn’t there… and some other guy …”
“Hoskins,” Nanook supplied.
“Yes, Frank Hoskins,” Juanita said. “And that funny man who made the speech and led the act up in the Kuan-yin is in charge—Farnhill,”
Bernard’s concern changed to a deep, uneasy, suspicion as he listened. Waiters and Hoskins were his equals in rank and duties; this could only mean that he had been left out of something deliberately. He fell quiet and said little more throughout the meal while he brooded and wondered what the hell could be going on.
“I bet she does,” Stanislau maintained. “They all do.
Carson made it last night with a chick at Canaveral.” “Who says?” Driscoll demanded.
“He did. She’s got a place in the city–just across from the base.”
“Carson doesn’t know what to do with it,” Driscoll
scoffed derisively. “He still thinks it’s for playing with.” “I’m just telling you what the guy said.”
“Oh, in that case it just has to be true, doesn’t it. Now tell me that Swyley’s color-blind.”
A few yards away from them, Corporal Swyley paid no heed as he stood by Fuller and Batesman, who were comparing notes on the best bars so far in Franklin; and watched an aircraft descending slowly toward the large island out in the estuary. He couldn’t see any reason why travel shouldn’t come free on Chiron, just like everything else, and wondered what kinds of connections could be made from Port Norday to the more remote reaches of the planet. Interesting. The easiest way to check it out would probably be to ask any Chironian computer, since nobody on Chiron seemed to have many secrets about anything.