The Project Gutenberg EBook of World Without War, by E. G. von Wald
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: World Without War
Author: E. G. von Wald
Illustrator: Ed Emsh
Release Date: May 5, 2010 [EBook #32254]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORLD WITHOUT WAR ***
Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from If Worlds of Science Fiction September
1954. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S.
copyright on this publication was renewed.
World Without War
BY E. G. VON WALD
_Illustrated by Ed Emsh_
_Cooperation was all right back in the dark ages but this
was an era of super culture and hi-psi intelligence. And
love was no laughing matter. People who cooperated, even
biologically, were unlawful and...._
* * * * *
Mark knew he shouldn't stop. He was already late for Jennette's
birthday party, but the sight of three people out in the open like
this was too much.
He pulled around and hovered over the undulating flow of glassy magma,
frozen on its way to the long, dry Potomac river bed, with its shallow
caverns and fascinating mile-wide potholes. Just under an overhanging
cliff of half-vitrified soil were two cars, obviously damaged. The
three men were standing beside them.
Mark laughed out loud. It was not often that one found three people at
once. And so close to each other. The scene there, with the long,
slanting rays of milky sunlight glancing off the ribbing of the flats
and sparkling through the million brittle shards of collapsed debris,
filled him with a certain poetic exultation.
"By the stars," he murmured to himself happily.
Bubbling with good humor, he slipped down a little closer to the hole,
staying up hard against the overhanging cliff. He was feeling too
cheerful to use his rightful advantage over them, and decided to use a
handgun, since they had nothing better.
This was a mistake, of course. He was only moving along at a hundred
miles an hour now. Too slow for safe shooting, particularly with the
bumpy air in the hole. But he happily disregarded this, as he pushed
open a view port and blazed away with a zuzz pistol.
Almost immediately the ship lurched in the uneven air, and he could
see the tiny thin trace of violet as it swept up and away off the
targets. One of the men went down, sliced cleanly in two. But the
others had seen him.
Mark cursed mildly, some of his high good humor gone, and pulled the
car about for another run. The chronometer pinged warningly at him,
notifying him that he was now a full hour late for Jennette's birthday
party, but the code required the second try.
There was nothing that required handweapons for this, however, and he
slipped his strong young hands around the main gun control. A single
burst of violet, and one of the men vanished in a puff of steam. Good
and clean, he told himself with satisfaction. But the last man opened
his pistol onto broad-beam, burning a red flare of general destruction
at him.
Mark veered around and bore down sharply for the last burst. He had to
get it over with and on to Jennette. But the deadly broad beam swept
below the car, evacuating the air and throwing the vehicle momentarily
out of control. Close behind, the cliff became suddenly alive as the
beam engaged it, bubbling and spewing out huge gouts of molten rock.
The aircar burst into a brief, brilliant, sodium-colored fire and
fell, with Mark burning inside of it, yelling and screaming in pain.
[Illustration:]
It took almost five seconds before the charred brain of Mark's body
stopped functioning. Then it released him.
He was conscious of the humming of his transmitter. Almost immediately
the remembered pain brought perspiration running down inside the
helmet into his eyes. He reached up and removed the headpiece with
unsteady hands, groaning softly.
It had been some decades since he had last been involved in trouble
like this. Killed, yes--but in a painless, fair fight. Being burned to
death was no joke. And that body had been one of his best, with the
finest reflex sensory system manufactured.
The machine purred softly beside him. He thought suddenly and emptily
of Jennette, and stood up.
"Damn," he muttered, crossing the floor, feeling the pleasant warmth
of the soft plastic under his feet. "Damn, damn, damn." He stopped
before the transparent cover of a storage cabinet, gazing sourly at
its contents.
Eleven humanoid forms were stiffly erect behind the cover, all broadly
resembling him in feature, and differing only in such minor things as
height, hair, perhaps the color of the eyes. Each bore the scars of
some past clumsiness or accident.
"Damn," Mark said again. "That was the only decent body I had to wear.
Now what do I do?"
He went into the next room and bathed himself in the tepid perfumed
mist that fell perpetually from its domed ceiling. If it were anybody
but Jennette, there would be no problem. He just would have to shoot
off a quick RT, explaining the situation and excusing himself. Nobody
would have minded, least of all himself. Particularly a no-fight
affair like this one was supposed to be.
But not Jennette. Ohhh, Jennette.
Mark grinned and rubbed the pleasant fluid over his well-cared-for
skin. Oh yes, Jennette. There was something about Jennette that he
could not quite put his finger on, but it was good. It was wonderously
good. Like the bodies she wore. No matter what it was, it was always
perfect. She just had the knack of dressing well.
Idly he wondered what her protobody was like. There must be some
resemblance, of course. That was the law. Identification was very
important, and few manufacturers would violate that, even as a simple
matter of good taste. But there still would be considerable
difference.
As he thought about it, he got a strange wistful feeling that he did
not quite understand. There was a sort of sadness about it. Jennette
seemed oddly different from other people. He liked her much too much.
Guiltily he brushed the thoughts aside. Anyway, it didn't matter, he
told himself. Due to his carelessness in that last fight, he probably
wouldn't even see her tonight, since he had nothing to wear.
He stalked out of the shower and gazed again at the bodies in the
store room. The only halfway decent one there was that six foot black
fellow with the little ears. It used to be his favorite, until he got
it smashed one night during a party at his nearest neighbor's. A half
smile tugged at Mark's lips as he recalled the incident. That had been
a no-fight party, too; but he had managed to smuggle in a small bomb,
and set it off right in the middle of the main bedroom. There were at
least ten couples there, since it was a big party, and none of them
lived. The trouble was, Mark had been pretty badly smashed up himself,
and just managed to get away without losing his body.
Now the thing was all scarred up and practically useless for anything
except manual labor.
Mark shook his head disgustedly. There was nothing to do but send off
the RT to Jennette.
But this was her birthday--
He caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection from his transmitter
housing and automatically straightened his shoulders a little, then
laughed at his image.
Then he stopped and contemplated himself further. There was one thing
he could do. Many years before, he had an exact duplicate of himself
produced, when the vogue for copper colored bodies was at its height.
Since then the fashion had changed back to the pink, but that old job
must still be around somewhere.
He hated to do it, though. He had never liked that body. It had been
just too accurate, and every time he wore it, it embarrassed him. It
had been almost as if he were going outside in his protobody. Which,
of course, nobody did. People used their own bodies hundreds of years
ago, but it was most uncivilized. Besides, it was tiring, and
dangerous, too. Yet--was it more fun? He wondered.
He simply had to make Jennette's party. Otherwise he wouldn't see her
for months at least, and the thought of that made him feel funny in
his stomach.
Mark grinned again, admiring her image in his mind, and set about his
catalogue to find the fundamental frequency of that old copy of
himself. Fuse it, he told himself resolutely. Nobody would know it was
an exact duplicate.
He located the data and set it up in the transmitter. He had no idea
where the body was, but that would take care of itself if it were
still in good shape. Placing the helmet on his head, he punched the
controls and relaxed back on the table.
* * * * *
Two levels below, under a pile of dust-covered trash, the body became
suddenly conscious. Mark opened his eyes and looked around,
recognition slowly returning. He had forgotten all about this old
room, but then--one could hardly remember everything about a full
shelter system, what with the hundreds of compartments, endless
automatic equipment and innumerable connecting passages. Whoever it
was who built this one sure had liked complexity.
He bathed and carefully braided the long, blueblack hair, simulating
somewhat the fashion of the day, and spent some time adjusting a
purple scarf over his left shoulder. The purple scarf was sort of a
trade mark with him, and Jennette always admired it. Purple was her
favorite color. He made a joke out of it and called it Their color,
which was typical of the strange, dangerous behavior she engendered in
him.
Mark was a little worried as he plunged up toward the stratosphere in
his extra car. This time he kept clearly in his mind the fact that
this was his last serviceable body, and he could take no chances with
it getting ruined. Even if he saw a whole multitude of people, all
clustered together, he would ignore them, he told himself.
Halfway there, however, he spotted a peculiar marking on the scope,
and detoured. The peculiar marking followed him.
Anxiously, he looked out a clear view panel, but could see nothing in
the cold, mist-laden night. The marking grew more definite as he
hesitated. It was another car, and there could be no question what it
was after. A shot at Mark.
He cursed and sucked in his breath, making quick calculations. There
was a rolling billow of cobalt fog off to one side, a whole bank of
the stuff. Somebody apparently had been having a little game nearby.
It was still hot enough, according to his indicators, to discharge
anything the other car sent after him, and he would have the added
advantage of being invisible to the other man's instruments. The only
trouble was, once in the fog, he couldn't see anything either, and
could be ambushed without difficulty on the way out.
The marking on the scope became more definite, and the question
settled itself as the other car came between Mark and the cloud.
Growling with irritation, Mark swung around and sent a wide angle beam
in the direction of his pursuer, watching nervously as the indicators
described the pitiful short range of his fire at this setting.
The assailant veered off, however, scurrying into the cobalt cloud.
Mark grinned. He knew the man would expect him to wait for him to come
out, so he swooped down at max acceleration toward the surface. In
five minutes he was signaling into Jennette's shelter for permission
to enter.
There were servants everywhere--mechanical things, controlled by
electronics and not alive, although they looked it. This was
Jennette's specialty. She owned a factory that manufactured them for
mining on the scalding plains of Mercury, and these had been
superficially remodelled to act as servants. There was the usual
government man there, too, running the party. He strutted around under
his official sash with ill-concealed self-importance.
"Hey you, there--wait a minute," he called to Mark, waving a zuzz
pistol in his direction.
"Yes?" Mark hesitated, eyed the pistol, and obeyed.
"That scarf--get it off," the man ordered sternly as he approached.
The zuzz pistol was level and steady.
"Why?" Mark demanded. "It's just a scarf. I always wear one."
"You know why," the other man said coldly. "This is a tetotal party.
If I let somebody slip a weapon or something in, it would be an awful
brawl in no time. You know how people are."
The man was right, of course. You can conceal a lot of things in the
fabric of a sheer scarf. Reluctantly, Mark undid the catch and handed
it over.
"Okay. You can pick it up at the entrance when you leave." The
officer's amused eyes wrinkled as he looked Mark up and down. "Say,
that's a pretty nice job you've got there, man. Mind if I ask who made
it?"
"It's pretty good." Mark said cautiously. "It's custom made to a
private specification."
The officer grinned goodnaturedly. "Sure, I understand. That's all
right. I'm not from the revenue department. I don't have to do
anything about bootlegging."
"I don't mean that." Mark protested. "There's nothing illegal--"
The man waved his disregard anyway. "Forget it. It's a nice one,
though. And that copper color is coming back soon, too. These fashions
run in cycles, you know."
"Yes," Mark murmured diffidently. "I thought so, too."
"Sure." The officer eyed it speculatively for a moment. "Two point oh
one centimeter naval, isn't it? They're the best, of course." Mark
nodded shortly, looking away from the talkative officer, hoping he
would stop. But the man went on. "And I don't have any use for these
new non-feeders they've been coming out with recently."
"No," Mark mumbled.
"It's all right to fix it so that the food is not necessary, and it
really is a bother to have to feed those old models whether you want
to or not. But sometimes you like to eat something just for the fun of
it, and with the non-feeder models there's no receptacle for it."
Mark nodded, his eyes searching the huge anteroom, gazing hopefully
between the moving ranks of robot servants. Then he saw her and caught
his breath.
* * * * *
Jennette. His lips formed a low whistle in time-honored acclamation of
excellence. The officer followed his gaze and agreed.
"Yes," he said in a low voice, "that girl is really something. Private
spec for everything, and she sure knows how to use it. Take that
little golden job she's wearing tonight. Nothing to it. But with her,
it's terrific."
He was right. Jennette was wearing a slender, soft-looking golden
little body that Mark had never seen before. But it was a real prize.
Being hostess, she could have clothes on, and sported a half dozen
little bracelets and a jet black bandana around her throat. The thing
was draped down over her left breast, and the whole effect was really
quite stunning.
"Oh Mark!" she exclaimed, running up with an odd sort of
breathlessness. "You're late."
"Sorry Jennette," he replied. "Ran into a little trouble and had to go
back for another body."
"You must have missed," she said with amused accusation. "I'm
surprised at you."
"Aw, there were three of them," he protested. "And the last one used a
broad beam."
"Never mind. I forgive you," she told him. "Come along. Let's go look
at my garden."
Mark grinned happily. "Wonderful idea. But what about your guests? Are
you just going to leave them like that?"
"This is my birthday," she said. "They can amuse themselves."
Then she pulled him down and put her lips to his ear. "Besides," she
whispered. "I've got an identical copy with electronic works. No one
will even know I've left, unless they get too friendly with it."
"Pretty clever," Mark admitted thoughtfully. "But I wouldn't always be
so ready to break the law like that."
"Who's to know except you, Mark?" She looked up at him with burning,
gold-flecked eyes. "You wouldn't tell anybody, would you?"
Mark shook his head uncomfortably.
"All right, then."
They entered the elevator that took them down another half mile to the
central living quarters of the ancient shelter. It had been built
early in the flux period and remodelled several times. It was one of
the best equipped on the planet.
"Tell me," Jennette said, gazing appreciatively at the heavy bronze
shoulders, "where on earth did you get that?"
"I--Oh, it was just lying around somewhere," Mark mumbled.
"I bet," she said. "But it's nice. I like it."
Mark just grinned at her, happy for the moment, secure in the
knowledge that it would be impossible for her ever to know that it was
really identical with his protobody. Not that it would matter, just so
long as it was artificial. He listened to the humming of the elevator
for a few minutes. When it stopped the door vanished, and the two of
them moved out into a sea of wild, colorful beauty. High above them
was a simulated sun that made as good a substitute for the real thing
as had been developed since the underground movement.
"Bright," Mark commented.
"Oh, that's right. I've been forcing some Venerian puffers and scent
flowers, and raised the radiation level ten decibels. They always do
well under a strong sun, you know." She left his arm and moved to a
control panel beside the entrance to the elevator. She manipulated
something and the sun dimmed a little. "There," she turned around.
"Better?"
Mark looked at the landscape, then back to her. He grinned. "Too much
light."
"Oh you--" she murmured. She touched the controls, and the sun
disappeared, being replaced by a huge, mellow moon that sailed
majestically on the simulated horizon. It was impossible to tell it
from the real thing.
"How's that?"
"A little dark."
Ignoring his comment, she came back and took his arm, and they went
strolling across the flowers and grass. "Don't you like my moon,
Mark?"
"Sure. It's fine. Sort of aphrodisiac, of course, but--"
"Isn't that what it's for?" Jennette asked innocently.
"I dunno. I never had a moon."
"Let's sit down here," she said abruptly.
* * * * *
They were eating pomegranates, biting briefly into them and sucking on
the sour juices. The moon had risen higher during the past hour,
becoming a little smaller in appearance. It was a peaceful,
contemplative scene. Jennette snuggled up against Mark, thoughtfully
tracing a design with fruit juice on his arm.
"This is fun," she said softly. "So much more fun than the usual
things a person has to do."
"Mmmm?"
"Oh, you know. Checking reports from the factory, making sure there is
plenty of ammunition all the time, pestering the body manufacturers so
you'll always have something decent to wear. Always watching or
somebody will sneak in and blow up part of your shelter."
"Yeah. Well, guess that's life."
Jennette sighed and picked up another fruit. "It gets so tiresome,
always having to keep on the look-out and fighting people. Don't you
get bored by it."
"Sure, sometimes. It's gotta be done though. Otherwise you couldn't
tell what might happen."
"Mark--" Jennette said hesitantly.
"Yes?"
"Mark, would you shoot me if you found me outside your shelter?" She
looked coyly up at him.
"Well, sure, unless you had a proper, government-authorized permit to
be there." Mark turned astonished eyes on her. "What else could I do?"
"Oh, but you _know_ I wouldn't do anything to harm your place."
"Aw, Jennette," Mark said uncomfortably, "of course you would. Anybody
would. If people started acting like that, the whole balance would be
upset."
She gently stroked his arm where the fruit juice had dried. Her face
crinkled up and she giggled. "Maybe you just don't know me."
"Let's talk about something else," Mark suggested.
"What's the matter? Do I shock you?"
Mark laughed and brushed his lips against her shoulder. "I'm pretty
hard to shock. Especially by you."
"See?" she replied archly. "You're just as anti-social as I am."
Mark's face clouded. "It's nothing to brag about, though."
"I'm not bragging." She sighed again, and resumed her fruit. Eying it
speculatively, she said, "I guess I'm just bored with life, that's
all. Sometimes things seem so silly. Like all the times you have to
get a new body. You'd think the manufacturers were giving them away
free."
"Yeah. Not like it used to be. Guess business is pretty good."
"Something ought to be done about it."
Mark grinned mischievously. "What do you suggest? Build another
factory?"
"Oh, you know you can't do that. Somebody is always blowing it up."
"Well, don't worry. In another hundred years or so, people will start
dying off again. These protobodies aren't as serviceable as the
manufactured kind."
"Yes, but if they keep producing new people in the Decanting Centers,
what good is that going to do?"
"I dunno. Blow up the Decanting Centers, maybe."
"Maybe," Jennette said, glancing impishly at the man beside her, "we
ought to just stop wearing these silly old manufactured bodies
entirely."
"Yes?" Mark tasted a pomegranate, made a face, and tried another.
"Just what do you suggest people wear?"
"They could go around in their protobodies."
"What?" Mark looked swiftly and searchingly at her, alarm on his face.
"Why Mark," she laughed disarmingly. "You're such a righteous beast,
aren't you?"
"Great Atoms, Jennette," he said, gazing intently at her
golden-flecked eyes, wondering what strange things went on inside that
lovely head. "You mean go around all the time as if we were savages?
Why that's illegal, immoral, and besides--besides, it's dangerous.
Suppose somebody took a shot at you? You've only got one protobody,
you know."
"A clever fighter like you shouldn't have too much trouble with that,
if you're careful," she said gaily. "And I'm pretty good at that
myself."
Mark took a slow deep breath as he decided that she was just teasing
him. "I'm surprised at you, Jennette."
She shrugged. "I'm bored, I guess. I'd like to try something new, just
for excitement. Personally, sometimes I think the whole social system
we have is pretty silly, anyway."
"Atoms," Mark mumbled.
"No need to swear about it," she chided him. "Come on, Mark. Just
think about it for a minute. And be consistent."
"Consistency is all right for a free psi," he said. "It sure doesn't
do a protobody any good."
Jennette laughed scornfully. "I'll bet you believe all that stuff they
feed you in the Decanting Center about ancient history."
"'Course not," Mark said defensively.
"All right then. Why follow all these rules of social conduct if
there's no good basis for them?"
"Aw, but there is," he replied seriously. "There was a big war--way
back centuries before we were decanted out at Center."
"Hah," said Jennette.
"Sure. And it was a whole lot of people who cooperated with each other
in it. There must have been hundreds of them--it was an awfully big
war. Hundreds of people, all on one side, all fighting together
against the other side."
"I don't believe it."
"It's true, I tell you," Mark insisted religiously. "Hundreds and
hundreds of people. Maybe even as many as a thousand, all dressed
alike--with clothes, I mean. And they didn't shoot each other--they
just killed the people they were fighting--the hundreds of people on
the other side."
"Other side of what?"
Mark frowned. "Oh, I guess that is just an expression. But that's what
happened, anyway. Before civilization got started, people cooperated
like that."
"That's just a whole lot of theory," Jennette insisted. "Nobody's
going to make me ever believe people used to act like that. Besides,
there just aren't enough people around to have all those mythical
wars."
Patiently, Mark continued. "I'm telling you, Jennette, this is more
than theory. There are still some records left from those days."
"Prove it."
"All right. That's not hard. Somebody had to build the factories,
didn't they? And the Decanting Centers?"
"Robots."
"Who built the first robot factory?"
Jennette considered. Then she shrugged petulantly. "Oh all right.
Maybe a few people did cooperate. But not hundreds of them. People
just don't act like that."
"Well, they did. And, of course, the obvious thing happened. Since
they cooperated in some things, they cooperated in a lot of things,
even fighting. That's how they could make war, you know--not the nice,
social sort of fighting we do now. And you can imagine what happened.
You can kill an awful lot of people awful fast, if a gang gets
together on it like that. If they didn't have the artificial bodies
and the psi transfer transmitters to make them come alive, there
wouldn't have been anybody left after a while. That cooperation is
rough stuff."
"Obviously," she commented dryly.
"Well, that's the reason for everything, then. Pretty soon the
factories couldn't turn out hypnobodies fast enough and people had to
fight in their protobodies sometimes. But after a few centuries, the
leaders began to get civilized, and decided to put an end to all this
cooperative killing. I guess they all got together and agreed not to
cooperate with each other in anything in the future."
"It stands to reason," Mark concluded, "people had to learn to be
civilized. They weren't just born that way. It's--it's culture."
"Pouf," said Jennette critically.
"All right," he growled, biting viciously into a pomegranate. "Let's
hear your big story if it's so good."
* * * * *
Jennette stretched out her legs and contemplated her wiggling toes.
"Oh, I don't know. I don't have any real ideas. But I know better than
to believe that sort of nonsense. People just aren't like that, and
you know it." She hesitated thoughtfully, then continued. "Maybe a few
of them got together now and then for a party or something like this.
But not hundreds of them."
When Mark did not reply, she laughed and said, "I guess I'm just
feeling risque tonight."
"You sure are," he mumbled.
"Of course there are parts of the old mythology that seem rather
interesting--beautiful, even--"
"It's not mythology."
"Like the part that deals with marriage."
She waited. Mark dutifully echoed, "Deals with what?"
"Marriage."
Mark considered it. Then he shook his head. "What's that?"
"See?" she taunted him. "You don't know everything like you think you
do. Marriage," she explained, "was a sort of cooperative agreement
that the ancient people were supposed to have entered into."
"Sure, just like I said," Mark stated with assurance. "Hundreds of
people did it. They got involved in this marriage agreement, and made
war on each other with it."
"What a dope. Marriage was an agreement between just two people. And
that much I might believe. Hundreds is too much."
"It was hundreds," Mark insisted.
"It was not. It was just two. And what's more, it was between a man
and a woman. They lived together with their protobodies and agreed to
cooperate together, and they made children and took care of them until
they grew up."
"Why that's thirty or forty years," Mark exclaimed. "Even the wars
didn't last that long. That's really nonsense. Besides, you can only
make children in the Decanting Centers. And it's all done by
machines."
"Well, maybe it is a little far fetched. But I think it's cute."
"Humph."
There was a few minutes silence. Then Jennette said softly, "Mark--"
"Yes?"
"Mark, you like me a lot, don't you?"
Mark squirmed uncomfortably, and stared at the artificial moon.
"Don't you?" she insisted. "More than you ever have anybody else?"
"Well, guess that's right," he admitted lamely. "A whole lot more than
I should."
She reassuringly patted his hand with her little one. "That's all
right, Mark. I won't tell anybody. Besides, I feel just the same way
about you."
Mark nodded without speaking, worriedly studying the vague markings on
the bright luminous disk in the simulated sky.
"Mark, don't you ever want to see the real me?" she inquired urgently.
"Don't you sometimes feel kind of empty because you can never really
have me--know me, because all you ever see is a manufactured thing
that only somewhat resembles what I am really like?"
Mark blushed. She had come a little too close to the uncomfortable
truth. But he refused to admit it, at least to her. He mumbled an
indistinct denial.
"Are you sure?" she said, grabbing his hands, gazing intently into his
eyes, forcing him to look at her. "Wouldn't you sometime like to come
down to my transmitter quarters?"
"But--"
"And see and touch my protobody--the thing I really am?"
"Aw--"
"Scared?"
"Maybe I am."
"That's silly."
Mark swallowed and said stiffly, "Just because there is a no-fight
clause in your invitation tonight doesn't necessarily mean I have to
follow it, you know. You don't need weapons. I could strangle your
protobody easily."
"You wouldn't," she said confidently.
"You sure don't think much of me, do you?"
"I think just the same of you as you do of me," she said simply.
With impulsive hunger, Mark threw his arms around her, holding her
tightly against him, nuzzling her, smelling the perfume of her hair,
incoherently mumbling into her ear. "Jennette, Jennette," he sang, "I
think more of you than anything. I love you. I know it's wrong, but I
would never even shoot you, because sometimes it hurts you, and I
wouldn't want you to feel even the slightest discomfort." He stopped,
took a deep breath, and added meekly, "I'm sorry."
"But Mark," she whispered. "Why is it really so wrong?"
"You know."
"Suppose I told you that this body is my protobody right now?" she
asked earnestly.
"But it isn't."
"It is," she said faintly.
Mark's breath hissed as he gasped. Jennette was blushing all over her
body, heightening the golden color of it. He let her go, and she slid
off his lap onto the shadowed grass beside him. She bit her lip. "I
didn't really mean to tell you--yet."
There was silence. Mark said quietly, "That's all right, Jennette."
"You aren't angry with me, are you?"
"No," he said slowly. "Not angry."
"Mark--"
"Yes?"
"Now that we're into this thing," she asked hopefully, "why don't we
try this marriage agreement--you know, like the ancients did. It seems
like such a beautiful thing to do when two people like us--you know."
"I don't know." Mark shook his head doubtfully. "I just don't know
about it."
"Why not? You wouldn't have to really stay here. It could be just a
secret agreement between us. And you could come and see me whenever
you liked."
"It all seems so unreal," he muttered.
They lapsed into thought, both avoiding looking at the other. There
was no sound except a faint sighing of wind in the leaves of the well
trimmed shrubbery.
"Suppose," Mark said finally, "suppose other people started doing this
thing? This cooperative agreement? Lots of people must want to, just
like we do."
"I suppose so," she admitted.
"I went through this once before," he went on absently. "About ninety
years ago I met this woman--she was awfully nice. Clever. Understood
things. Not like you, of course, but still she was very nice. I
thought about it then."
"What happened to her?" Jennette asked numbly.
"She died after a while. She was pretty old. Oh, we didn't do
anything," he hastened to add. "We kept it all on a perfectly moral
and honest plane--never saw each other except at authorized government
sex parties, like this, and all. Fought whenever we ran across each
other outside. But I remember thinking at the time that some sort of
agreement would be nice. We got along awfully well. I could never
understand what she saw in me."
"I can," Jennette whispered.
"This is just the same, only a lot more so," Mark went on
thoughtfully. "And it's wrong. You know it's wrong. Suppose a lot of
people started it. First thing you know, whole groups of people would
be cooperating with each other again. And when they got into trouble
outside, or planned an innocent little raid on somebody's shelter,
they would all work together on it. And pretty soon, there would be
other groups cooperating in fighting back again. They'd have to.
"And that, of course, would be the end of civilization. Pretty soon,
there would be nothing left, and everybody would be dead."
Jennette did not reply when he stopped. She turned her head away, but
Mark could hear her uneven breathing.
"We have a responsibility toward society at large. We know it. We've
been well educated and we aren't savages. Neither one of us can get
away from it. It might be wonderful at first, but our conscience would
come out sooner or later, and the whole thing would be ruined."
She rubbed her face with her cupped hands, shaking her head. "I
suppose--" she murmured unhappily.
"You'd hate yourself for it after a while," he said.
For a few minutes, Jennette stared at the grass before her feet,
pulling up little blades of it one by one. Then Mark stood up, and she
flashed him a small, wistful, damp smile. Together they walked back
toward the elevator, stepping quietly and almost furtively on the soft
ground. "If it weren't for that--" he started.
"I understand," she replied quickly. Taking hold of his arm, she said,
"I'm sorry."
"Sure." Mark grinned affectionately at her. "Come on. Let's see if
they've been having any good fights upstairs." They stepped into the
elevator and disappeared. The artificial moon continued its regular
motion through the simulated sky.
* * * * *
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of World Without War, by E. G. von Wald
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORLD WITHOUT WAR ***
***** This file should be named 32254.txt or 32254.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
https://www.gutenberg.org/3/2/2/5/32254/
Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules,
set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project
Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you
do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is
subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
redistribution.
*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
https://gutenberg.org/license).
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the
collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an
individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked
to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg-tm License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
that
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
of receipt of the work.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the
Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with
the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy
is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists
because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at
809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
[email protected]. Email contact links and up to date contact
information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
page at https://pglaf.org
For additional contact information:
Dr. Gregory B. Newby
Chief Executive and Director
[email protected]
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit https://pglaf.org
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily
keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
https://www.gutenberg.org
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
