"[theme music plays]" "[motorboat chugs quietly] [narrator] He was still young." "He had been stranded on Mars ever since Earth blew up, and he'd grown fond of the calm, gentle Martians." "[motorboat chugs]" "So Bert made the best of it." "Perhaps there wasn't much future travelling round Mars as a kind of tinker, but Bert had got to like the Martians and anyway, it seemed then that that was all the future there could be." "[thinking] Bells." "It can't be far now." "[motor boat chugs] [tinkling]" "[water splashes] [motorboat chugging]" "[chugging continues]" "[creaking]" "[chugging stops]" " So, you've come at last!" " I'm late again am I, Annika?" "We've been expecting you every day." "It's difficult to keep count of time." "I never know the date, but a visit seemed about due." "There are a lot of things you can do for us." "The Bannikuks are still with you I see." "I've brought them some nuts." "[bannikuks squeak]" "How's the family, Annika?" "All are very well." "Guila has had a baby since you were here last." "Zaylo, Zaylo is no longer a child." " You were worried about Guila." " I was foolish." "There was no trouble, and the baby is beautiful." "They are all in the fields, but they will be back soon." "Your second crops are coming along nicely." "The Great Ones remember." "You are tired?" "I've been tired for a long time now." "You are not like the others who came from Earth." "I should hope not." "I'm ashamed of what they did when they first came to Mars." "It was cruel." "They did not understand our customs, and it has stopped" "It's stopped, yes, but..." "And now they want to get away, but since Earth exploded they can't." "They sit there rotting away, hoping for a miracle that can't happen." "How long is it that you've been going around now?" "About seven of your years." "That's nearly 1 4 of ours." "It's too long." "Far too long for a man to be living all by himself." "But you people from Earth, aren't like us." "We're not so very different, some of us." "Anyway, I'm all right as I am." "[water trickling]" "Well, now, what have you got for me to do this time?" "There are pots and pans to mend and we need some new ones." "The boys tried, but they leak and they don't look nice, and there's the water-wheel..." "It's working." "Yes, but it doesn't raise as much water as it used to." "We need more because of the good crops this season." "I'll have a look at it." "Anything else?" "Yes plenty." "I don't know why it is, but you can do things in a few hours and they work." "Sometimes we try for months, and in the end they break down again." "Tannack tried to re-hang the door there, but it still is not right." "We seem to have lost the knack." "Perhaps you didn't need to do such things in the old days?" "The Great Ones, whoever they were, they knew how." "This tower and canals hundreds of miles wide..." "They were Gods and the Sons of Gods." "Perhaps." "I'm neither, Annika, as you know too well, but I have the knack, too." "The family will be in from the fields soon." "It is nearly time for supper." "There must be an easier way to do that." "I'll have to think about it." "It is good enough." "[door creaks] [bannikuks squeak]" "Man was born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward." "That's what happened to the Earth, my Earth, my world." "Nobody left knows how or why." "It's broken up now, disintegrated." "Nothing but a shower of cosmic pebbles chasing around the sun." "[almost silently] There's nothing left..." "You've never told us that story before." "No, Zaylo." "There are plenty of other stories, happier stories." "I think what you say matters less than why you say it." "Tell us the story about the Earth burning up." "Unless you don't want to talk about it." "No, it doesn't matter now." "My God, what a thing to say, untold thousands of years of civilization, beauty, sublime poetry, music, and, it doesn't matter!" "But you saw." "Tell us." "I was 21 then, in Earth years." "It was my first rocket flight to Mars, and my last." "Somebody roused me from my bunk, and dragged me to a porthole." "There was the Earth, old, familiar, with its funny, endearing face, split open" "and white-hot fire pouring from the widening cracks." "What had happened?" "Nobody knows." "Some say an atomic pile must have set up a chain reaction, but nobody knows and they never will." "We kept straight on for Mars." "There was nothing else we could do." "The Moon and its space stations had gone streaking off towards Jupiter, and although Venus was colonized, it was too far for our fuel supply." "The worst thing was the feeling, the knowledge, that we were almost alone." "But there were others who escaped and came here." "Hundreds, they say." "No, only a couple of dozen Spaceships made it:" "research vessels from the Asteroid Belt and traders from the Jovian moons." "The men are still here, getting older and older, with nothing to do but get drunk and mope about the past." "But you do not do that." "Not very often." "I quite like roaming around on my own, and I'm pretty good with my hands." "There's not much future in being a tinker, you might say, but it's the only one I've got left." "All the same, it's not good for a man to be alone." "Well, it suits me, Annika, and I ought to know." "Well..." "Thank you for the supper." "Good night." "[twig snaps]" "Here is your breakfast." "Thank you, Annika." "Annika, I'm sorry I was depressed last night." "I shouldn't talk about the Earth, but sometimes I can't help it." "I understand." "It must have been very beautiful." "Mars must seem harsh and barren after that." "Oh, Mars is beautiful too, in its own way." "The silence, the tawny desert and the strange canals, the great forgotten cities of the past, but..." "Mars is not my home." "It is now." "You must try and accept that." "You cannot live backwards." "Yesterday was never the future." "The future!" "What future has Mars?" "It's old, senile, dying." "One can only wait with it for death." "But was not Earth too beginning to die from the moment it started to cool?" "Yet it was worth building on, worth making a civilization there, was it not?" "Well, that's the question." "Was it?" "For what?" "If it were not, then it would be better if we had never been." "Well?" "You don't believe that, not really." "What else is there left for me to believe?" " Don't go." " What?" "Stay here with us." " I can't do that." " Why not?" "You could help a lot here." "For you, things are easy that we find difficult." "If you stayed we could have more fields, more animals, and life would be better for all of us." "You do like us?" "Yes, Annika." "Yes, I've always liked coming here, better than anywhere else, but" "But what?" "I don't belong here with you." "I don't belong anywhere any more." "So I keep moving on." "You could belong here, if you would." "Life isn't something that can be stopped just because you don't like it." "You aren't apart from life, you are a part of it." " That may have been true, once." " It is still true." "You are merely existing now, and it is not enough." "One exists by barter, but one lives by giving, and taking, when it is offered." "I see." "No, I don't think that you do, not yet." "But it would be better for you to see, and better for us for you to stay." "And there is Zaylo." "Zaylo?" "Goodbye, Annika." "See you next year, sometime." "Well, Zaylo?" "You aren't going already?" "Yes, yes, I have to." "I've finished all the odd jobs here." "I'm on my way to Farga's." "They have a place by the ruins of that old city the Great Ones built." "Thalkia." "I have never been there." "Oh, it's extraordinary." "Why are you going so soon?" "I've just told you, Zaylo." "Will you come back?" "Of course, I always do." "Zaylo." "[explosion]" "What the..." "No, that's impossible." "There aren't any Spacecraft left." "They're all grounded, they ran out of fuel years ago!" "I saw it for a second, silver, and shaped like, this..." "Yes, like a saucer!" "Like one of the old Spacebuses, but they were obsolescent when I first..." "What does it mean?" "It means, Zaylo..." "I don't know." "Somewhere, somehow, they got a Spacecraft to work again!" "The other Earthmen, here on Mars?" "No." "No, I'd have heard." "They couldn't, anyhow, not the lot at the Settlement." "They rotted their hearts out years ago." " But I know what it means." " What?" "It means, somewhere out there, somewhere in the Universe, there are other men who haven't given up." "Goodbye, Zaylo." "Goodbye." "Come back, come back soon!" "He will come back..." "One day." "[motorboat engine starts] [thinking] # Speed bonny boat like a bird on the wing #" "#Goodbye, Zaylo, I must leave you #" "#Though it breaks my heart to go #" "Oh, my God, Zaylo, her lips and her eyes and her smile." ""O Brave New World!"" "And somewhere they're building it, only better than before." "[chugging]" "[Bert, thinking] Zaylo, goodbye." "#Zaylo #" "#A hunting we will go #" "#Hay, ho, Zaylo, a hunting we will go. #" "#Zaylo, Zaylo, Zaylo #" "[low chatter] Hey, Bert." "Fellows, you take my advice, put your names down now." "I'm willing to bet you get chosen for the first batch to go." "You too, friend." "We want men like you, half of them here have gone rotten." "You only need to look at them." "They'd never pass the medical, or stand the climate change." "I'll put your names down, fellows, marked priority, just say the word." "Once the MO's looked you over you'll be all set." "How about it?" "Okay, Captain Blane, you can count me in." "George Harris." "Me too." "Carter, Winston Charles." "Come on, Bert." "Well?" "I'm only just in." "What's it all about?" "You haven't heard?" "Where have you been?" "Up country." "All I've heard is the rumour that a Spacecraft has come in." " Rumour?" "It's here now!" " In from Venus!" " Well, what's the story?" " Ever been to Venus?" "No, my trip here was my first and my last." "That's what we all thought." "Look what it did to these poor devils." "We don't want that type on Venus." "Things are moving ahead there, I can tell you." "We'd have been in touch with you years ago if it wasn't for the static layer over the place that cuts out radio contact." "I learned that at Space School." "But can people really live on Venus?" "Well, I thought I was proof enough of that." "And it has a future, which is more than you can say for any of the other planets." "What's wrong with Mars?" "Finished." "Dying." "Well on the way out." "But Venus, that's altogether different!" "It's more like home!" "What?" "Like Earth you mean?" "Not yet." "I don't want to fool you, but one day it will be." "Present conditions are, very roughly, like those on Earth millions of years ago, damn hot." "But the atmosphere on Venus helps, it's denser and that offsets the increased heat of the sun." "So that human beings can live and work and build a new world!" "It's almost incredible, it seems like a miracle!" "Of course conditions in the tropics are much too hot, but at the poles they are quite pleasant." "That's what they always said," "I remember the recruiting blarney, bands, flags, receptions and all that." "When I was a kid I wanted to go myself." "There was more to it than window dressing." "We had to get things as descent as we could for the colonists when they got there." "We did too, and a pension at the end of five years' service." "Now you sign on for life, of course, but there's nothing anybody can do about that." "There were another 25 families due for take-off the week after we left." "They made it too, just in time." "Now we've got a colony with several hundred men, women and children, and more growing up all the time." "Lucky devils, ours weren't allowed to come." "There's only been the natives to take up with here." "You'll have no trouble like that on Venus." "Once you're established, you'll be allocated a wife." "Another advantage we have is a planet with its best years to come, we've got something to work with and to work for!" "What we need right now is as many men we can get to help us." "With men supervising the work, we'd be getting along a lot faster." "Supervise?" "What, each other?" "No, looking after Griffas." "We've got them working for us." "Griffas." "But, they're animals!" "So were our ancestors, they say." "[laughter]" "Griffas are more than just good for making fur coats." "I remember." "Every woman wanted one." "Because of the price, nobody bothered to get nearer than shooting range." "Instead of finding out what they were really like." "They're useful." "They can do useful work, they're intelligent, and there is any amount of them." "The snag is, we have to have a man in charge and that's our chief limitation." "So what you're offering is a kind of foreman job?" "That's about the size of it, to begin with." "But there's opportunity." "Venus is a place that's going to grow, one day it's going to have more that Earth ever had." "Oh, maybe the climate is not too good... [loud murmuring] ...but there are houses and already civilization." "Here on Mars there's nothing to do but rot." "So how about it?" "You took a long time to find out that you needed us." "No, we knew that from the start, the trouble was to get here." "We'd no fuel left and only one ship." "One day we stumbled across some fissile material." "We managed to refine it and get the Rutherford A-4 back into use." "As far as we know, all the other atomic ships bought it." "Now, we've room for 42 men this trip, providing they're fit." "What about it, fellows?" "How about you?" "You haven't let yourself go to seed." "You'll make the grade easy." "Want me to put your name down?" "I'll think about it." "You'll...!" "[sniggers]" "I don't know." "It's almost a miracle to get off this blasted sandheap, and he'll think about it!" "[scoffs]" "Hey, Johnson, what about you?" "[murmuring, chatter]" "[lapping water]" "[thinking] They do not sweat and whine about their condition." "They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins." "No one is dissatisfied." "Not one is demented with the mania of owning things." "[Beethoven's 9th Symphony plays]" "[thinking] A new Heaven and a new Earth." "You won't see nothing, son." "You're on Venus now." "Nothing but mist and rain and grey grass and grey trees." "Every stupid thing is grey on Venus." "But surely the sun shines sometimes?" "That's what they tell you." "Maybe it shines somewhere behind the mist." "[intercom squawks] [over intercom] Rolling Mill Work Party stand by." "You will join the next train." "On arrival you will report to Major Schultz." "Repeat, you will report to Major Schultz." "[man] That's us." "Come on." " Good luck!" " So long, Bert!" "[bell ringing]" " What've they put you on?" " Quarries." "Major Khan." "[sucks air through teeth]" " Why?" "Is he a...?" " [clears throat]" "That thing works both ways." "Keep your voice down." "You mean they spy on people?" "Freeman's my name and my nature, least it used to be." "Oh, they don't call it spying." "They call it Security." "Some very poor types on this planet, discontented, don't like being bossed around no more than the Griffas do." "What's that building with a tall palisade and spikes on the top?" "That?" "That is the Seraglio." "The what?" "The Seraglio, the place where they keep the women." "And that's all you're likely to see of it, the wall and the spikes." " I don't get you." " Pie in the sky." "Jam tomorrow." "The old and immemorial dangling carrot." "You must be one of that lot just in from Mars?" " Is it that obvious?" " It is." "So you think that one day they'll say, you've been a good little boy, and let you in there among all the lovely houris?" "Well, I've passed the MO, and they immunized me against every stinking thing anybody ever heard of, and I've a certificate which says that I'm healthy and fit for parenthood." "We've all got them." "Don't mean a thing." " But it does." "It says, I'm" " I know, son, I know." "But what would you have done if it didn't?" "You'd have stayed on Mars when they need you here." "So naturally they give you a certificate." "It's dead easy." "It could be genuine." "So, you're going to do your job and prove you're a good reliable type." " That's reasonable enough." " Sure." "Only you'll find that they, and it hurts them more than it hurts you..." "They can't quite make up their mind about you in this job, so they'll give you another, maybe two or three more, before they do." "And then, if you're very, very good and respectful, they make you a citizen." "If not, you just go on and on, trying to make the grade." "But supposing you do become a citizen?" "Pat you on the back, say you're a credit to the community, worthy to become one of the founding fathers of the new Venusian nation, but..." "Well, what's the snag this time?" "This." "Only this." "Unfortunately, they'll say," ""Unfortunately, there's not a wife available for you at the moment." "In fact, there's a bit of a list ahead of you."" "The trouble is, the boys took to the climate here better than the girls." "But it'll be okay later on, all you've got to do is be patient." "And suppose you're not?" "Suppose you kick up a row?" "You lose your citizenship." "Like me." "But, surely they can't take away a man's citizenship, not once it's been granted?" "They do." "And one of these fine days, if I don't learn to keep my trap shut," "I'll just kind of disappear." "Oh, no." "You mean all they tell you about freedom and democracy and building a new civilization is a lot of" "You said it." "It stinks, like mock rose." "Mock rose?" "Yeah, the flower that ought to be the Venus national emblem." "It's a dusty pink and even looks kind of healthy, about the only thing that does on this lousy planet, but it stinks of corruption." " Do you know why?" " No." "It devours flesh." "Anything that gets too near." "Insects, Griffas, humans." "And anyone they don't care for." "The mock rose snaps them up and swallows them. [gulps]" "Just like that." "So watch your step." "It's no good, I don't understand." "What ever happened here?" "It wasn't meant to be like this." "Surely it didn't start this way." "I dare say." "But the day the Earth blew up and we knew we were on our own, a fellow called Davey took over." "Davey and his cronies, that is." "It sounds like a dictatorship." "Wasn't there any opposition?" "A little, but it soon petered out when the leader disappeared." "Discouraging effect on heroes." "So this fellow, Davey, has made himself kind of, king of Venus?" "That's it. lf you're one of Davey's mob you wear a gun." "A badge of rank." "If you're not, you don't." "Oh, he's sitting pretty with everything going his own way." "The trouble is, whether you like it or not, he's making a job of it." "He's building the place up in his own way." "I suppose they've got some results to show for it." " The steel mills and all that." " [scoffs]" "It's the Griffas mostly, doing the donkey work, I mean." "There's plenty of Griffas, all you like to round up in the forests." "that's just as well for you and me." "Why?" "Davey's mob need us to supervise." "That makes even them think twice before they wipe one of us out." "And what do the Griffas get out of it?" "The chance to live a little longer, if they work." "Same as us." "[door slams open] [indistinct chatter, grunting]" "Are they the...?" "It's horrible!" "Probably a new batch from the forest." "But why chained?" "To stop them running away." "Poor little coves, they don't know what's hit them." "And they ain't seen nothing yet." "[intercom squawks] [over intercom] Quarry detail will stand by." "Forestry detail will stand by." "You will both join the next train." "[bell ringing]" "Cheer up, son." "We're alive, anyway." "That's more than can be said for most." "I was alive on Mars." "Then what the devil brought you here?" "It sounds stupid when you try and put it into words, but..." "I thought, I hoped, that on Venus there would be the chance to build a better world than before." "The sort of thing that men have struggled for and dreamed about." "A new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." "Something like that." "You must have been very young when you left Earth." " I was 21 ." " And still trailing clouds of glory." "Yes, it was a grand thing that old Abraham..." " What is his name?" " Abraham Lincoln?" "Lincoln said, but have you ever thought how many empires had to grow up and be knocked down, or how many billions had to die in slavery before one man could stand up and say that?" "I hadn't." "But it has been said, so why can't this be a "nation conceived in liberty"?" "With all the knowledge from Earth behind them, and the chance to build a new Earth here, surely they aren't going to pour half history down the drain?" "Son, I guess you got it kind of wrong." "Building a new Earth is exactly what they're doing." " No." " Yes." "What you're complaining about is that they've not started in building a new Heaven." "Earth was better than this." "I can remember it, you know." "Me too." "What did you do there?" "I went to school, then to college, then to the School of Space Training." " And you?" " I worked all over the place." "Factories, ships, dock yards, spaceports, railroads." "Oh, I knocked about quite a stretch." "I see you did." "Well, do you think I got to know what Earth was really like my way, or was your way better?" "On Earth there were some fine cities." "And fine men, too." "Ever seen an iceberg?" "What you do see looks mighty pretty in the sunshine." "There was enough of it to see the way a world might be, and ought to be." "We all know what ought to be." "We've all got our private heavens." "But here things are going back." "They seem to have forgotten every lessons we've learned." "We have to go on, not back." "Even the people on Mars believe that." "[over intercom] Station 32." "The following will disembark." "Foster." "You will report to Major Khan." "Repeat, you will report to Major Khan." "[bell ringing]" "No, son, I go on to the end of the line." "Good luck though and don't you forget, that's the only thing we can do." "Best trash can ever, the mock rose." "Squeamish, eh?" "You fellows often are." "It doesn't last." "Plenty more Griffas where that one came from." "[whip cracks]" "Keep them at it." "That's your job, Foster." "Remember, they're bone idle by nature, so don't threaten, just let them know who's boss from the word go." "Go on, man." "Look at that one at the end, give it to him!" "[whip cracks limply] No, like this, fellow." "[whip cracks loudly] [Griffa groans] [chuckles lightly]" "You'll soon get the hang of it." "They're sharp, Griffas, and if they think an Overseer is soft, they'll soon take advantage." "So keep them on the hop." "Remember, fellow, my Quarry Section keeps a high standard." "We may have a big turnover in Griffas, but we have a high output in iron ore too." "Well, get to it." "We're all in the same boat." "Come on, get on with it." "This pattern exploder was obsolete on Earth years ago, but it still does the job." " I remember." "I can use it." " You won't need to, fellow." "Only Officers Commanding Sections are allowed to." "Why's that?" "Security." "This thing works at a range of 20 miles." "Could do a lot of damage." "One day there might be a Griffa, a little brighter than the rest, and he might get his hands on it." "I see that." "After all, they've got plenty to want revenge for." "Their minds don't work like that, fellow." "Just as well for them." "Are they all clear?" " Yes." " Then stand by." "[explosion and rumbling]" "Okay, get that lot loaded up." "Report to me when it's done." "Yes, sir." "No need to call me that, fellow." "Venus is a democracy." ""Yes, Major" is good enough." "[whip cracks]" "Foster!" "Get them working!" "Yes, Major!" "[thinking] Venus, The Goddess of Love." "Mist and rain, rain and mist." "Grey grass, grey trees, grey faces." "Even the pink of the mock rose is a kind of dusty grey too." "The Griffas' fur is grey too, silver grey and not so bad to look at." "Bone idle, are they?" "And why not?" "What should a Griffa know about work, why should he care?" "Nobody calls a flower or a tree bone idle, what do they know about work, or duty?" "All they understand now is fear and pain." "[whip cracking followed by a scream]" "Foster!" "Yes, Major." "What is it?" "Your production's down, the skips are half empty." "Why?" "Your job is to keep the little rats working, why don't you do it?" " They are working." " Don't make me laugh." "Look at that one!" "[whip cracking followed by a scream]" " You don't like that, do you?" " No." "I've heard about you lot from Mars." "You've gone soft." "Not all of us." "Building up this place is a man's job." "When you've been here a bit you'll learn." "No, thanks." "You'd better." "I didn't come here to help build a slave state." "No, you'd just like to start at the top, with none of the dirty work, wouldn't you?" "Well, it can't be done, fellow." "You just tell me one great nation or empire on Earth that didn't have this behind it at one stage!" "Go on, tell me!" "But it's wrong." "Maybe you know a better way?" "Love and kindness?" "You're soft." "I still say that if there's no better way of building a new world than driving fellow creatures crazy with pain and fear until they die, then it's not worth doing at all." "There's only one way to get the work done that's got to be done..." "This!" "[whip cracking followed by a scream]" "And this!" "That's enough, Khan." "[screams]" "[Griffas squeaking]" "Go on." "Off you go, you're free!" "Go on, shoo!" "This is your last chance." "[shouts]" "Accident or murder?" "What does it matter now?" "They wouldn't give a damn." "Freeman..." "What happened?" "You've been posted missing, you and one of the overseers." "We are missing." "The overseer fell into a mock rose." "Fell, son?" "He was clumsy and tripped." "Well, they won't find him then, will they?" "But they'll find you, son, and when they do..." "Hey, son." "Sorry." "Haven't eaten for days, only grass and roots." "I've got something left." "It's not much." "Easy, easy, son." "I've been thinking what to do next." "You're in a spot, I reckon." "We all are." "Look, we ought to get together." "I've got a revolver and a pocketful of explosive." " You're crazy!" " It's our only chance, don't you see?" "Your only chance, you mean." "Think again, son." "They've got hundreds of men, all armed." "It'd be suicide." "At the moment they're blaming the poor old Griffas, as usual." "Your best bet is to spin them a yarn and hope they believe you." "But it's our duty, Freeman." "Not only to ourselves but to the future." "Our duty is to stay alive." "They've smelt some kind of a rat, nobody can move outside without a pass." "Even the next spaceflight to Mars has been held up." "I didn't know there was another one." "It's the last one this season." "If they don't get away in the next few hours, they'll have to wait the best part of a year." "Lucky for Mars." "Take my advice, spin them a yarn, blame the Griffas and the other fellow." "They can't prove nothing." "Maybe you're right." "Thanks, Freeman." "You'd better forget you've ever met me." "I've already forgotten." "Good luck, son, all the same." "Yes?" "Pretty slow off the mark, fellow." "Sorry, Major." "I've been around here some time." "Nobody challenged me." "Why?" "Don't know, Major, just come on duty." "Well, I suppose I can't steal a Spaceship, so there's no harm done." "I guess not, Major." "Better keep your eyes skinned all the same." "Can't trust those blasted Griffas." "Where's the Captain?" "D'you know?" "He was here just now, Major." "Maybe he's gone aboard." "Okay." "Go about your business." "Well, Chief, you got the order?" "Take off at 01 :00 hours." "Yes, Captain, Ground Control informed me." "About time, any more nonsense and we'll never make it." "You won't do it then." "The administration knows better than to risk our only serviceable ship." " Crew all reported now?" " Present and correct." "Trust the Griffas to cause trouble." "Still they're not our problem." "Stand by for take-off." "Stand by." "Ten." "Nine." "Eight." "Seven." "Six." "Five." "Four." "Three." "Two." "One." "Zero." "Routine Log, Spaceship Rutherford A-4:" "Venus-Mars trajectory." "Speed: normal, cruising." "Conditions, normal." "Handing over to auto-control." "Major?" " Yes?" " What are you doing here?" "I was taking a look at Mars." "Not many people can have seen it from this angle." "That's not what I meant, Major." "I've been checking up and you don't seem to be listed." "Well, I'm here, as you can see." "I think you'd better come and have a word with the captain." "Sure, why not?" "This is the extra passenger, Captain." "I've checked every one else." "What's the trouble?" "The trouble is you're not listed." "How did you get on board, Major?" "In the usual way, Captain." "They told me that you'd be informed." "Well, I wasn't." "I know nothing about you, Major." "Another administrative slip up." "I was only put on this job yesterday, at very short notice." "What job?" "It's pretty confidential, Captain." "But since you ought to have been informed," "I have no doubt I can tell you." "I'm a sort of recruiting officer." "I speak four Martian dialects, and I can get along in most of the rest." "You don't mean they're sending you to recruit, Martians?" "That's the idea." "Spin them the usual phoney yarn, and get them back to Venus." "They'll never stand the difference in gravity!" "That's what was said about us, remember?" "Oh, there'll be wastage." "No good denying it." "But those that survive will be good enough for managing Griffas if nothing else." "All the same, I ought to have been informed." "Some damn bad staff work somewhere." "Look, why not get radio confirmation of my appointment and blast them about it at the same time." "Major, have you any idea what radio conditions are like on Venus?" "No, but on Mars we" "On Mars there is no static belt." "We can't communicate with Venus." "That's too bad." "I'm sorry." "I'm only obeying orders." "Well, I suppose nobody would go to Mars, unless they were ordered to." "The Chief Officer will put you on the list, and we will straighten it out when we get back." "You do that." "No native corn liquor and no fraternizing." "No native liquor and no contact with native women." "I guess I don't need to warn you, Major?" "No, you don't have to warn me." "[water rippling]" "[engine splutters]" "[thinking] Goodbye to the Rutherford A-4." "There will be no more slaving expeditions to Mars." "#A hunting we will go #" "#Hay, ho, Zaylo, a hunting we will go #" "Well, Annika, I've come home." "You have been ill?" "No." "Not, ill." "Not, in the body, perhaps, but in the spirit." "Annika, I've been thinking." "Do you remember what you said the last time I was here?" "That if Earth was re-created now it would be stranger to me than Mars?" "And so it would be." "Now I think I know what you meant." "It seems to me now that..." "Well, maybe there never was a place like the Earth that I was remembering." "A heaven behind you is no good." "A heaven in the future is better." "But to make a heaven around you now, that is best of all." "I've stopped fooling myself." "I've stopped crying for the Moon or for the Earth." "I'm going to be content just to live, and to enjoy living." "The water wheel needs mending again." "I'll have another look at it." "[water rippling]" "[creaking]" "It needs mending." "I'll see to it, Zaylo." "This time I've come to stay."