The Project Gutenberg EBook of Out Of Mind, by William W. Stuart
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/license
Title: Out Of Mind
Author: William W. Stuart
Release Date: December 30, 2019 [EBook #61051]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUT OF MIND ***
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
OUT OF MIND
By WILLIAM W. STUART
Nirva was a real bore. The food was
always great, the climate tediously
fine, the view monotonously lovely,
the girls relentlessly amiable.
But, oddly, everybody went there!
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1961.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
"Vacation trip to Nirva?!?" snapped Secad Screed--Galactic Sector
Administrator J. Gomer Screed, a serious-minded man who rarely lost
his temper. That was a pity; it was a lousy temper. "A mindless
excursion, and completely outside my Sector at that! Woman, are both
you and Garten out of your minds? Who do you think is going to run my
administration with both Garten and I on a childish vacation to this
absurd 'Dream Planet' of yours?"
"Well--there is Deputy Assistant Prinot and--"
"Ha! And then what do you suppose would be left of my record here and
my prospects of promotion--after Depast Prinot and the others put in
five solid weeks wrecking all my work?"
Secast Garten, short, a little chubby, the opposite of his chief
(who looked like a deep-thinking, bald stork scheduled for delivery
of Siamese quintuplets in a typhoon,) grinned. He was seated out of
the direct line of verbal fire, on a rock-hard hassock at one side of
the barely furnished Screed apartment. He grinned, knowing what Secad
Screed would do with a similar opportunity at Division Hq.
"Oh, now, dear," soothed Mrs. Screed, a mousey, chronically anxious
little woman with five years experience as secretary and ten as wife in
learning to soothe her husband. "Prinot is such a nice man. Don't worry
so about things. Just put them out of your mind; they'll be all right."
"What?" Fifteen years experience she had soothing him, but she never
did seem to get the knack of it. Or, perhaps, it was a matter of
Screed's conscientiously refusing to be soothed, as a matter of
discipline. A wife should know her place. Women being what they were,
light minded, he felt it only fair that he should regularly point it
out to her. He didn't want to spoil her. And he didn't either--unless
it was in the matter of favoring her with his personal attentions
weekly, at 11:30 p.m., each Friday.
This was big of him. She was lucky. Secad Screed was a big man,
Administrative Officer in full command of a major sun system at only
56, wedded to his work and dedicated to becoming more and more
important. Mrs. Screed's position was, in a way, almost bigamous. She
had a rich, full fifteen minutes every Friday, and what more could any
woman want of life?
At the moment, this one imagined she wanted to take a vacation trip
to some nonsensical, little known, semi-mythical dream planet that
Garten--the fool!--had been telling her about. "Garten--"
"You are so right, J.G., so right. Give Prinot and those boys an inch
and they'll be measuring you out for a grave with it, while they
sharpen their knives. Half a chance and they'd foul up your whole
Sector Administration. But--you know, sir, after five straight years on
the job for both you and me, a five-week vacation is compulsory. We do
have our orders."
"Mf-f-f!" That was true and that was the rub. "But we don't have to
chase off so far we can't keep an eye on things!"
"Of course, sir. Or--an idea you gave me just the other day, sir--with
the recent Truad activity over in Sector Y, we could put this
whole system into an emergency invasion alert drill, sir. For the
duration--of our vacation. Then every move Prinot makes will have
to follow the book--or a court-martial when we get back. With you
presiding, eh?"
* * * * *
Secad Screed smiled a thin smile. "I thought of that, of course,
Garten. Clever of you to see it. Given time, I may be able to make a
passably capable assistant of you after all."
Garten was necessarily more skilled at soothing Screed than was Mrs.
S., whose somewhat special status brought her very limited privileges
but considerable job security. Garten had hung on, sometimes narrowly,
for some five years now.
"Yes sir. I hope so, sir."
"But not as long as you come up with asinine suggestions for us to
throw away valuable time on some scarcely heard of 'dream planet.' Even
though Centrad does enforce these foolish compulsory vacations, there
is no reason why the time cannot be turned to some useful account."
"But, dear," murmured Mrs. Screed wistfully.
"No! Viola, you seem to have lost whatever few wits you once possessed.
Why in the Galactic Universe would I go to some tiny, sink-hole,
single planet system not even important enough to have a Service
Administration? Even I have scarcely heard of the place. Garten, what
ever got into you?"
"Uh--ah, well, sir. You see I--uh--have always admired so your report
on waste and extravagance on Primus that you made following your
last vacation five years ago just before coming here. The way you
toppled the entire Sector Administration, forced a dozen or more early
retirements and--"
"And got me my promotion to Secad."
"Yes, sir. A sensational job, and much talked of at Centrad, I know.
Well sir, I just thought that, since this Nirva is so little known,
something of a mystery you know, and something of a sore point with
Centrad too, perhaps it might be ripe for an expose."
"Mph. Nonsense, Garten. Not important enough--though, come to consider,
it is odd how little public information there is about the place.
Centrad is covering something.... Hm-m. Never bothered to check the
secret files on it myself. Just for curiosity, Garten, what _is_ the
detail on the thing?"
Mrs. Screed leaned back in her chair; glanced blankly about the bare
apartment; picked idly at a cuticle; tried, with apprehensively
expressive features, to register total disinterest. Once, before
discouragement set in, she had been a modestly pretty young woman. Now
she was merely modest.
"Viola," snapped Screed, "go fix some refreshment. Ice water,
crackers, something. Can't have you sitting there mooning over this
Nirva nonsense of Garten's. Your mind has too great an affinity for
nonsense."
"Yes, sir. Well, sir--"
* * * * *
Mrs. Screed threw him a fleeting, timid smile over her shoulder as she
left the room through the kitchen door, back of Screed's arm chair.
Inside of two minutes she was back, standing very quietly in the
doorway with a pitcher of water and a dish of plain, protein crackers
on a tray. Garten talked on.
"Nirva, as you know, is the single planet of a small sun off on the
fringes of this region of the Galaxy. It seemed so insignificant it
was never even visited until something like fifty years ago. Then a
questionable prospector ship had a minor breakdown and was forced to
come out of an inter-space jump near the Nirva system. The prospectors
had been ten years out. They were coming back empty-handed, nothing to
show, not one valuable planet found. There they were. Spectroanalysis
of Nirva didn't show much, but they decided to check anyway. They were
desperate, dreaming out of all reason of a last-ditch success--dreaming
of a civilized, friendly planet, hospitable natives, rich beyond
belief, foolishly ready for exploitation, eager to load them up with
fissionable minerals and so on. You know how those old space tramp
adventurers used to be, sir."
"Hmph. Tramps, yes. So?"
"So they landed and discovered Nirva; the Dream Planet. Of course they
didn't find that out at the time."
"What did they find?"
"They found a civilized, friendly planet, hospitable natives, rich
beyond belief, foolishly ready for exploitation, eager to load them up
with fissionable minerals and so on. There wasn't even a communication
problem. The people, handsome, human type, were telepathic. Well. Their
visit, although no two of the eleven men on the ship could agree on
the details, was one glorious celebration. Liquor and no hangovers.
Women, the most beautiful in the universe, competing with each other
to do everything--I mean _everything_--for the pleasure of the space
heroes. In fact, it seemed a space tramp's dream of heaven. They hated
to leave."
"If the place was such a degenerate's delight, why did they leave?"
"Just simple greed, apparently. Their ship was loaded with the most
valuable cargo in history. They couldn't resist the urge to take it
back and cash in; to strut around and be big heroes, men of wealth and
power back home. Finally, and with plenty of regrets, they blasted off.
A couple of jumps, six months--travel was slow then, of course--and
they landed at the regional capital. They reported their discovery and
claims, turned in the cargo for analysis and sale--and, listening for
the cheers, sat back to collect their fortunes. Instead of cheers, they
got the universal horse laugh."
"A laugh? At a fortune? Why--oh, yes. Of course; turned out they made a
pretty stupid mistake about that cargo, eh?"
* * * * *
"Well, it seemed a funny mistake. Their whole cargo of rare,
fissionable elements was nothing but perfectly ordinary sand and rock.
Now, this crew was rough, but prospecting was their business. They
knew their business. It just wasn't possible that they could have made
such a mistake. At first the officials were inclined to drop the whole
thing as a pointless hoax. But it _was_ so pointless. Somebody was
sharp enough to push for an investigation on that account. They rounded
up the prospectors, who were all hustling around trying to promote
supplies to get them back to Nirva. They got a psychiatric team to run
them all through a complete check. The clues to the truth of the matter
turned up then; but they were not, at least not generally understood."
"What--?"
"The psychiatric team found that each of the eleven told a similar
story, and actually had a similar mental picture of Nirva. But,
examined closely, the detail, the artifacts, the--uh--types
and--ah--um--habits of the women were startlingly, if not
sensationally, different. So different that, in fact, the planet seemed
to be perfect. Perfect according to each crewman's idea of the perfect
planet. Some of them had pretty crude ideals of perfection, of course.
The psychiatric team pushed through an order grounding all members of
the crew. All of them ended badly, by the way--seven suicides, two
murders, two violent mental cases. The team submitted a completely
inconclusive report. Then they proposed that they all be sent to
examine Nirva."
"Well? Get to the point, Garten!"
"The expedition went out. It never came back. No word ever came back.
The administration jumped to a conclusion that the planet, Nirva, had
become hostile and the expeditionary force captured. A battle cruiser,
advised to expect resistance and with orders to use all force necessary
to pacify the planet and rescue prisoners, was sent out. The cruiser
went. It met resistance near Nirva and won a brilliant victory. The
Nirva forces surrendered. The ship landed and officers and crew were
feted by the defeated population. Prisoners were rescued. Finally, and
with some little reluctance the captain, a devoted family man, gave
orders and the cruiser headed back. But--at the first jump away, the
prisoners and something like two-thirds of the cruiser's crew vanished.
Naturally there was a good deal of excitement.
"Arrant nonsense."
"Yes, sir. Of course. But--two further rescue expeditions ran into much
the same thing. It seemed that only individuals with the most vital
and binding ties or absorbing interests back home ever came back from
Nirva. Others, especially anyone with the least trace of instability,
stayed there."
"A lunatic planet for the feeble-minded!"
* * * * *
"Uh--yes, sir. In a manner of speaking. At least the officially
approved conclusion regarding Nirva is this. No way to be certain but,
presumably, from sample materials and distance observation, it appears
a rather ordinary, Earth-type planet physically. It is inhabited by a
race, physical characteristics doubtful, probably humanoid, having,
unique mental properties. Imaginative, very powerful, hypnotic. And,
the theory goes, these people exercise a sort of group mind power with
individualistic overtones. To all intents and purposes, they modify
their physical--and social--surroundings to suit themselves. Each then
lives quite literally in a world of his own. The world of his dreams.
For visitors from outside, same thing. Each person who lands on Nirva,
or even approaches it without a powerful force shield, sees what he
imagines he should see. He finds whatever he may be looking for. A man
who has mental air castles, you might say, can go to Nirva and move
right into them. As they say, sir, the planet of dreams."
"Hallucinations!"
"Yes, sir. But controlled, pleasant--and having all the force, feel and
effect of reality. So the theory has it, that is. Of course, travel to
Nirva is so restricted as to be almost completely prohibited now and
the information wiped from public records. The administration could see
that it might become disastrously over popular."
"Why not wipe out the whole lunatic asylum of a system?"
"Ah--yes. Well--uh--perhaps some of the men at the top thought perhaps
it might turn out to be useful in--uh--some way."
"There have been rumors of mysterious disappearances of officials.
Weakness."
"Yes sir. Exactly."
"A haven for weak-minded idiots to be taken in by stupid, parlor
hypnotics. Why should I waste my time and talent exposing something so
totally and transparently stupid?"
"Of course, sir. It would be a difficult thing to try to manage. I'm
sure--in spite of the enormous publicity and promotional possibilities
in clearing up the mystery--that it's not the sort of thing a solid
administrator would care to get mixed up in."
The Secad looked interested.
"A perfectly horrible sounding place," interrupted Viola from her
doorway, "I had no idea it would be anything like that. It sounds
immoral, actually. I wouldn't go."
The Secad looked thoughtful.
"Besides," added Garten, "I'm certain, now I consider it, we couldn't
possibly manage to get a clearance to visit Nirva anyway."
"Well, then," said Viola firmly. "You know how the Secad needs a rest.
I do hope you can find something more suitable for our vacation than
that. Some place that's _quiet_ and _respectable_ and--"
The Secad looked convinced. "Oh, shut up, Viola. And you too, Garten.
If we must go on a vacation, we must--but I shall decide where we will
go. Is that clear?"
That was clear.
* * * * *
Nirva stuck in the mind of Secad Screed. He was, certainly, the sanest,
soundest, solidest and most sensible of men. It was not possible to
trick him into any hasty, ill-considered action.
Still, it rankled to have Garten and, of all people, Viola tell him he
couldn't go to Nirva--and couldn't succeed in doing anything about it
if he did.
Of course, it is true that a man can trust no one but himself. It was
transparently obvious that Viola and that pip-squeek Garten were trying
to con him into taking them to Nirva. But it was an irritation. And
maybe the thing did, actually, offer the possibility for something
sensational in the way of a coup.
Naturally, Garten and Viola were interested only in the supposed cheap
thrills of the dream planet, the chance to escape from practical,
business-like reality into some degenerate make-believe. They both
needed a lesson. They should be shown how poor and weak a thing a
romantic dream is, when brought up short by the trained, superior,
analytical administrative mind.
The next day at work he set Garten to work drafting up orders for an
emergency invasion alert drill "just in case." He then consulted with
his Neuro-Surgeon General.
"Naturally, Dr. Treadmel, I would never dream of directing any illegal
actions within my own jurisdiction--where, of course, I am Secad
and therefore the judge of all questions of legality. And of your
Department too, Doctor, you may take note. However, the information I
am endeavoring to extract from you I shall apply, if at all, solely to
the planet Nirva. Not to any of ours."
"Yes, sir."
"Very well, Doctor. Now. You are familiar with hypnotics, are you not?"
"Sir!" The Doctor was hurt. "One of the primary duties--"
"All right. You are familiar with hypnotics. You use them all the time
in legal questions, crime, employment interviewing in depth and so on.
Naturally. And you are also aware of various measures--yes, yes, I
know they are specifically barred by the Public Safety Amendment--some
mechanical and some narcotic, that may be taken to counteract or
prevent hypnosis. So. My question is this. Would such measures as your
low power, hyper-electronic broadcast and your anti-hypnotic drugs be
effective against the spell or illusion the inhabitants of Nirva use on
visitors and, perhaps, themselves?"
"Well, now, Secad Screed, that is an extremely interesting question."
"I am interested only in the answer, Doctor."
"Uf. Yes, sir. Well, I can see no reason why they wouldn't be
effective--always supposing the subjective hypnotic theory of the place
is correct. That is--in theory--this group mind, which is supposed
to provide the basis, should be totally disrupted by the random or
scrambling effect of the electronic broadcast. The drugs, on the other
hand, would render the individual who took the drug, during the period
of its effectiveness, totally un- or non-receptive to the impulse,
whereas--"
"All right, Doctor. You are trying to say, in your obfuscating manner,
that the measures would be effective. Right?"
"Subjectively, not taking into account the hypothetical possibility of
random foci--and, of course, barring circumstances outside the range
of--"
"Doctor! Yes? Or no?"
"Well--uh--yes."
"Doctor, when you have quite finished the duties I am about to assign
you, I suggest you visit my legal staff for a game of circumlocution.
In the meantime--get me that drug."
"Yes, sir. You understand the limitations--"
"And give Chief Engineer Barstow the specifics for an anti-hypnotic
electronic amplifier, suitable for placing in satellite orbit."
"But--"
"Around Nirva. _Good-by_, Doctor!"
And that would take care of that.
* * * * *
Of course Nirva, the Dream Planet, was a fake. It was a fairy story
for childish minds, not capable of affecting the mature intellect. But
there was nothing like being doubly sure. Secad Screed was always sure.
The only thing that upset him more than being not quite sure was the
idea of something being wrong. But of course this never happened.
"All right, Viola," he said that night, after letting her sit, fidgety,
looking the question she didn't quite dare to ask all evening long. "So
you want to go to this ridiculous planet, Nirva. Don't you?"
"Dear, of course not! Not if you don't think--that is, you said it was
stupid. So of course we wouldn't--"
"Please, Viola. You should know better than to try to deceive me. And
so should Garten. It is completely and transparently clear to me that
both of you are trying to get me to take you to this so-called dream
world. Childish escapism. You know that?"
"Yes, of course, dear."
"Very well. We are going."
"Oh! How wonderful. Thank you!"
"Don't thank me now. Later, afterward, you can thank me. When I have
done you and Garten the service of showing you the infantile immaturity
of your own minds. I am, Viola my dear, going to expose to the Galaxy
this tawdry charlatanism for the little carnival illusion that it is. I
shall show you the superior mental power of a mind--mine--that can face
reality. You, and possibly even Garten, like drug addicts think you can
escape from fact into a dream world."
"Oh, no."
"You will learn that there is no escape. I shall show you to
yourselves. And you will see that run-down, sink-hole planet of lotus
eaters for the degenerate mental slum it truly must be and is."
"Oh? Well, it is good of you to go to so much trouble."
Smugly, "The expose may prove of some advantage in my Service career."
"Of course, dear."
Of course. Of course, there was a period of frantic, forced-draft
preparation by certain of the Administration Departments. Garten was
voluble in his admiration of the plan for the electronic broadcast,
anti-hypnotic satellite for Nirva. On the drugs, he had no comment.
He was not, in fact, informed of this part of the plan. Clearance for
Secad Screed and party to visit the "Limited Access" Planet, Nirva, was
obtained from Inter-Regional Headquarters with surprisingly, if not
suspiciously, little difficulty. Screed smiled a sour little smile.
Jealousy, perhaps. He would show them, too.
* * * * *
In two weeks standard time, they--Secad Screed, Mrs. Viola Screed
and Secast Garten--were on the way. It was a small ship, with a crew
specially screened for the stop at Nirva, bound for the farther reaches
of the Galaxy. At the end of three inter-space jumps it would orbit in
to leave them on Nirva. Five weeks later, on the return trip, it would
put in again to pick them up.
At the end of the third jump, Secad Screed and party, VIP's certainly,
visited the ship's captain in the control room.
"We are coming in to the planet now, Captain," announced Screed
informatively. "I want to be certain that the satellite is functioning
properly and placed in planned orbit, regular, between sixty and ninety
minutes."
"Yes, sir," sighed the captain, a morose-looking man with an
anachronistic, drooping moustache, "Believe me, Secad Screed, within my
deplorably narrow limits I do know my business. Your satellite is being
attended to now. We are within the field of Nirva. We will make our run
in, fingers crossed, so you may debark."
"Fingers crossed, Captain? Hmph! Well--let's have a look at the thing
on the view screen."
"Sorry--but no, sir. We go in on automatic instruments, with special
electric power shield up all the way. I'll cut the shield just long
enough for you to land and back up she goes. Likely I'll lose a couple
of my crew at that."
"Nonsense! Have you no confidence in the satellite?"
The captain shrugged. "I take no chances."
This was a line of reason Screed could well appreciate--in himself.
From the captain it seemed foolishness.
"Surely, Captain, if you were to lose crewmen you could and would
insist upon their immediate return?"
"Insist, Secad Screed? How? You do not, I think, have quite the full
picture of this thing. Its appeal, the pull of your own personal
perfect dream world, is very strong. If I didn't have a wife and
six sweet kids back home that I only see a month or two out of the
year--well. This Nirva problem is like this. We go in. Down screen.
Off you and your party go. My crew? All present. OK, back up with the
screen--and _then_ we find out who is actually on the ship."
"But if they were all present--?"
"Maybe present; maybe nothing but projected illusions. It is not
possible to distinguish. So, say a couple are missing when the screen
goes up. Suppose I down screen again. Protest. The natives are all
apology. The men return."
"All right then."
"Not exactly. When the screen is up again--maybe instead of two
missing, by then I would have four gone. The temptation gets too
strong. Fighting it is like doubling bets to get even on a crooked
wheel."
* * * * *
"Hmph!" Slack handling. Incredibly slack. It certainly was time a man
who knew his own mind took over.
The satellite was orbiting. He had taken an anti-hypnosis pill. So
too, although he hadn't bothered to tell them about it, had Viola and
Garten, in their coffee. "Well, Captain. Your problems with Nirva are
over. I--" he drew himself up in full executive-command stance--"am
going to straighten the place out. In five weeks, when you return to
pick us up, you will find Nirva, under my administration, a sound,
sensible, stable colony. And we three will all return with you."
"Oh?" The captain was a skeptic.
"Of course," said Viola, "When my husband says a thing will be done,
you can count it done."
"And this other gentleman, Secast Garten?"
"Naturally, sir. Secad Screed is a man of his word. Not even Nirva
could alter his determination."
"I see. Well, I'm not a betting man, of course. Regulations. But if I
were--"
"Yes, Captain?" Secad Screed's voice cracked icily.
"I would like to bet a year's salary that all three of you won't go
back with me."
"Well, Captain. As Senior Service Officer aboard, I make the
regulations here. I'll just take that bet. A year's salary, against
yours. Nice odds for you there, Captain. That is a bet. Garten, you and
Viola are witness."
The Captain smiled sourly and nodded. Screed turned on his heel,
annoyed. "Come Viola; Garten." Viola bowed her head and followed.
Garten lingered a minute.
"Captain? If you'd care to hedge a bit of that bet, I'll take, say,
half of it?"
The captain looked at him. An ordinary man. Not young, not old; not
big, not small. Just a man, almost extraordinarily ordinary. And
certainly not too bright since, as he clearly intended to stay on
Nirva, what good would it do him to win half of that old snake Screed's
bet? The Captain shook his head. "Thanks, Secast Garten, but since you
won't--well. No, thanks, I'll keep it."
Garten shrugged regretfully. "So? Well, I could use the money but no
matter. I think you have a good bet, Captain. It's my bet, too."
A half hour and the ship settled gently on the surface of the planet.
The three passengers for Nirva were ready at the air-lock.
"_Down screen!_"
Screed heard the words over the intercom. For a moment a sense of
confusion, of uncertainty of purpose touched with dizzying, empty fear,
swept over him. Abruptly it was gone. Confidence, more certain and
invincible than ever, flooded back. He knew what he must do. And he
knew that he would surely do it.
A thrill of anticipatory triumph brought a little twisted smile to his
thin lips but, half turning his head toward Viola and Garten, all he
said was, peremptorily, "Come."
* * * * *
They stood, three small figures, on the surface of Nirva, the dream
planet, beside the space ship.
They were edged away from it by a discomforting mental pressure as the
ship's force field snapped back on. Nirva. It seemed nothing so much.
Pleasant enough, perhaps, but in a shockingly disordered, unimproved
sort of way. Much the sort of thing Screed had expected.
There was a bright sun overhead with a slight rosy-pink tint to
it, low green hills and some sort of town or settlement in the
near distance. The sky was a deep blue, almost purple, dotted with
feathery, pinkish clouds. All right. Probably it was quite suitable for
exploitation as an agricultural planet. Not too much quick profit in
it, perhaps, but well worth salvage.
Screed, Viola and Garten were standing near the center of a cleared
field, possibly a bungled excuse for a space port. Across it, a
ramshackle building leaned tiredly to one side. As the space ship rose
silently behind them, some sort of wheeled vehicle started toward them
from the building, raising a small cloud of pinkish-white dust as it
came.
"How awful," said Viola, echoing Screed's thoughts. "It's so shamefully
run-down and neglected looking."
"A Galactic disgrace," agreed Garten from the other side.
"So," said Secad Screed, the leader. "You see?"
The native vehicle, a rattle-trap affair reminiscent of ancient earth
internal combustion wagons, clattered up. The driver was unclearly
human under a slovenly, unkempt exterior; he was also middle-aged, fat
and anxious as he stumbled out. "Ah," he said eagerly, "distinguished
visitors! And--uh--is it possible--that is, I mean to say, I--we all
in fact, wonder if it could be you who is responsible for the sudden,
total change that seems to have affected our--ah--perceptive climate?"
"And if we are," snapped Screed, "it was certainly a degenerative
situation that desperately needed changing. You and all your people
should thank me for it. And you will."
"Oh yes," said the native. "We already do, indeed. But--uh--the thing
is, not that we aren't grateful for the awakening, but it is all so
horribly confusing to us. You see, what I mean to say, we don't know
exactly what--"
"You need leadership! Strong, efficient leadership."
"That's it exactly. If only you would--"
"I shall." He made an expansive, condescending gesture. "I, with the
help of Mrs. Screed--I, by the way, am Secad Screed, the Leader--and my
assistant, will take full command of all administration immediately.
You will find that I will soon whip you into shape."
"Ah, sir, how can we ever repay you?"
"Perhaps something may be worked out. Now, we must get started. Take me
at once to your ruling body."
"Ah. Do you suppose the Council of Dreamers--?"
"Hmph; just the sort of thing we shall have done with once and for
all. But we must start someplace, I suppose. Let us proceed."
They all climbed somewhat apprehensively into the vehicle. They
proceeded.
Screed proceeded.
* * * * *
He proceeded, with Viola and Garten cheering and trailing along some
little distance to the rear, to carry out his total plan. It was almost
too easy.
"Almost," thought Screed as the obedient, grateful citizens of Nirva
labored frantically to remake their world into a model Class II,
Galactic Service AgPlan. "But then, no one else could ever make a start
here. It is simply that, to a mind and character like mine, all things
are easy."
He was, not for the first time, mildly surprised at his own brilliance,
and totally admiring.
Perhaps he was justified. Certainly both Viola and the sometimes
cynical seeming Garten were all awed respect. The reformation of Nirva
advanced at a remarkable pace. The people, rudely awakened from a
generations-long dream, were confused, aimless, purposeless. Like the
bewildered representative at the space port, they wanted nothing more
than a firm leader to give them direction. Having apparently no will of
their own, they went to work with a will. Screed's will.
Screed was pleasantly surprised. It seemed that before the development
of the "dream world of the group mind," some five hundred years before,
they had been a progressive people with a modestly advanced technology.
With the group mind, all of the old knowledge and technical abilities
had, quite inadvertently, been passed on from generation to generation.
Direction was all they needed. Having no power of resistance, they
accepted it with total obedience. When Screed said, as he often did,
"You people are not here to think; you're here to do what I tell you,"
they smiled in whole-hearted agreement and did just what he told them.
It was delightful.
In five short weeks the reconstruction of Nirva was well advanced. New
cities and smoke-belching factories were rising from old ruins. Fields
were plowed and sowed.
And the space ship came back.
* * * * *
Reluctantly Screed cut short a series of final instruction conferences
with his newly appointed deputy directors and administrators. He picked
up Viola and Garten from their quarters in the refurbished ruin of an
ancient mansion on a hill overlooking the new capital and they rode
to the space port in his vehicle, primitive in design but gleaming,
shining like new in the rosy-pink sunshine.
The citizenry lined the roadway, torn between sobs and cheers. Screed,
smiling, and sternly gracious, waved a regretful farewell. At the
ship he paused for a last word with his senior deputy. In unfamiliar
tones of anxious concern, he said, "Now, you have all my memos and
instructions. You're sure you can handle it? Carry on just the way I
have directed?"
"Of course, glorious supreme leader. In your wisdom you have pointed us
the way. We shall not stray."
"Well--everything has been going well, very well. In a way I hate to
leave and take the chance on your fouling everything up."
"We shall do our poor best, great leader."
"Yes," said Screed, doubtfully. "True enough. But even so--"
They could feel the space ship's screen cut off. The port opened.
From the vast crowd of Nirvans spread across the space port there came
a great whispering noise, something between a sigh and a moan of sad
farewell, as Screed turned and followed the other two through the port
and into the ship.
"Ah, Captain," said Screed, smiling a thin smile of triumph. "You
doubted my ability to remake Nirva. But now you have seen it. Quite a
change, eh?"
"Oh sure. Quite a change. Of course, there always is."
"And, Captain, you will note that we are all here. All three of us. You
have, I fear, lost your bet."
The Captain shrugged. "Better get to your cabin now, ready for take
off."
In the cabin Screed settled back in a chair and looked up at the other
two with an odd air of defiance. "All right," he said, "I did it,
didn't I? Just the way I told you."
"Screen on," said the Captain over the intercom.
To the three in the cabin the air seemed to turn shimmery, hazy,
indistinct for a moment. Then it cleared.
Garten and Viola stood by the doorway, arm in arm, staring. Screed,
Secad Screed, the leader, was gone.
* * * * *
"There," said Garten with deep satisfaction, "He did do it."
Viola sighed, smiling. "Darling! He did! It worked just the way you
said it would. But I'm still not sure I quite understand why--or how."
"It doesn't really matter. But--you noticed he quit taking the
anti-hypnotic pills after the first week?"
"Yes. Did that make any difference? The satellite worked, didn't it?
And everything else went just the way he wanted it. It all seemed
perfect--for him."
"Sure it did. And that was what he couldn't face losing."
"Hmm?"
"Well, it seemed that everything went exactly the way he imagined it
would. The satellite worked. The people followed him. Everything. But
maybe we all only imagined it. How can we be sure? After all, those
things--plus our purely personal concerns that he was far too busy to
take any note of--"
Viola blushed, quite charmingly for a plain, mousy little woman.
"--were what we were expecting too. How can we know, for sure, what was
real and what was illusion?"
Viola looked suddenly offended.
"About the planet, I mean."
Viola looked mollified.
"But the planet--I think Screed is running the thing; I'm not sure. As
long as he is there, he _knows_ he is running it. Here--who knows? That
was the chance he couldn't take, the chance his mind refused to face.
If he were here, _could he still be sure he was right_?"
Viola smiled the feminine smile that dismisses a question no longer of
personal consequence and snuggled closer to Garten. "Well," she said,
"at least we know he isn't here. That's all that matters."
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Out Of Mind, by William W. Stuart
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUT OF MIND ***
***** This file should be named 61051.txt or 61051.zip *****
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/6/1/0/5/61051/
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://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
http://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/license
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 1.F.3. 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 MERCHANTABILITY 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 http://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
http://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 http://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 http://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 checks, online payments and credit card donations.
To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works.
Professor Michael S. Hart is 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:
http://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.
