"A hundred thousand miles an hour," Barrent said, naming the first figure that came into his head.
The boy nodded, and his father nodded. "Very fast," the father said.
"And much faster in subs.p.a.ce of course," Barrent said.
"Of course," the man said. "Starships are very fast indeed. They have to be. Quite long distances involved. Isn"t that right, sir?"
"Very long distances," Barrent said.
"How is the ship powered?" Ronny asked.
"In the usual way," Barrent told him. "We had triplex boosters installed last year, but that comes more under the cla.s.sification of auxiliary power."
"I"ve heard about those triplex boosters," the man said. "Tremendous things."
"They"re adequate," Barrent said judiciously. He was certain now that this man was just what he purported to be: a citizen with no particular knowledge of s.p.a.cecraft simply bringing his son to the starport.
"How do you get enough air?" Ronny asked.
"We generate our own," Barrent said. "But air isn"t any trouble. Water"s the big problem. Water isn"t compressible, you know. It"s hard to store in sufficient quant.i.ties. And then there"s the navigation problem when the ship emerges from subs.p.a.ce."
"What _is_ subs.p.a.ce?" Ronny asked.
"In effect," Barrent said, "it"s simply a different level of real s.p.a.ce.
But you can find all that in your encyclopedia."
"Of course you can, Ronny," the boy"s father said. "We mustn"t keep the pilot standing here. I"m sure he has many important things to do."
"I _am_ rather rushed," Barrent said. "Look around all you want. Good luck on your thesis, Ronny."
Barrent walked for fifty yards, his spine tingling, expecting momentarily to feel the blow of a needlebeam or a shotgun. But when he looked back, the father and son were turned away from him, earnestly studying the great vessel. Barrent hesitated a moment, deeply bothered.
So far, the whole thing had been entirely too easy. Suspiciously easy.
But there was nothing he could do but go on.
The road from the starport led past a row of storage sheds to a section of woods. Barrent walked until he was out of sight. Then he left the road and went into the woods. He had had enough contact with people for his first day on Earth. He didn"t want to stretch his luck. He wanted to think things over, sleep in the woods for the night, and then in the morning go to a city or town.
He pushed his way past dense underbrush into the forest proper. Here he walked through shaded groves of giant oaks. All around him was the chirp and bustle of unseen bird and animal life. Far in front of him was a large white sign nailed to a tree. Barrent reached it, and read: FORESTDALE NATIONAL PARK. PICNICKERS AND CAMPERS WELCOME.
Barrent was a little disappointed, even though he realized that there would be no virgin wilderness so near a starport. In fact, on a planet as old and as highly developed as Earth, there was probably no virgin land at all, except what had been preserved in national forests.
The sun was low on the horizon, and there was a chill in the long shadows thrown across the forest floor. Barrent found a comfortable spot under a gigantic oak, arranged leaves for a bed, and lay down. He had a great deal to think about. Why, for example, hadn"t guards been posted at Earth"s most important contact point, an interstellar terminus? Did security measures start later at the towns and cities? Or was he already under some sort of surveillance, some infinitely subtle spy system that followed his every movement and apprehended him only when ready? Or was that too fanciful? Could it be that--?
"Good evening," a voice said, close to his right ear.
Barrent flung himself away from the voice in a spasm of nervous reaction, his hand diving for his needlebeam.
"And a very pleasant evening it is," the voice continued, "here in Forestdale National Park. The temperature is seventy-eight point two degrees Fahrenheit, humidity 23 per cent, barometer steady at twenty-nine point nine. Old campers, I"m sure, already recognize my voice. For the new nature-lovers among you, let me introduce myself. I am Oaky, your friendly oak tree. I"d like to welcome all of you, old and new, to your friendly national forest."
Sitting upright in the gathering darkness, Barrent peered around, wondering what kind of a trick this was. The voice really did seem to come from the giant oak tree.
"The enjoyment of nature," said Oaky, "is now easy and convenient for everyone. You can enjoy complete seclusion and still be no more than a ten-minute walk from public transportation. For those who do not desire seclusion, we have guided tours at nominal cost through these ancient glades. Remember to tell your friends about your friendly national park.
The full facilities of this park are waiting for all lovers of the great outdoors."
A panel in the tree opened. Out slid a bedroll, a Thermos bottle, and a box supper.
"I wish you a pleasant evening," said Oaky, "amid the wild splendor of nature"s wonderland. And now the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Otter Krug brings you "The Upland Glades," by Ernesto Nestrichala, recorded by the National North American Broadcasting Company. This is your friendly oak tree signing off."
Music emanated from several hidden speakers. Barrent scratched his head; then, deciding to take matters as they came, he ate the food, drank coffee from the Thermos, unrolled the bedroll, and lay down.
Sleepily he contemplated the notion of a forest wired for sound, equipped with food and drink, and none of it more than ten minutes from public transportation. Earth certainly did a lot for her citizens.
Presumably they liked this sort of thing. Or did they? Could this be some huge and subtle trap which the authorities had set for him?
He tossed and turned for a while, trying to get used to the music. After a while it blended into the background of windblown leaves and creaking branches. Barrent went to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Five
In the morning, the friendly oak tree dispensed breakfast and shaving equipment. Barrent ate, washed and shaved, and set out for the nearest town. He had his objectives firmly in mind. He had to establish some sort of foolproof disguise, and he had to make contact with Earth"s underground. When this was accomplished, he had to find out as much as he could about Earth"s secret police, military dispositions, and the like.
Group Two had worked out a procedure for accomplishing these objectives.
As Barrent came to the outskirts of a town, he hoped that the Group"s methods would work. So far, the Earth he was on had very little resemblance to the Earth which the Group had reconstructed.
He walked down interminable streets lined with small white cottages. At first, he thought every house looked the same. Then he realized that each had one or two small architectural differences. But instead of distinguishing the houses, these niggling differences simply served to point up the monotonous similarities. There were hundreds of these cottages, stretching as far as he could see, each of them set upon a little plot of carefully tended gra.s.s. Their genteel sameness depressed him. Unexpectedly he missed the ridiculous, clumsy, make-shift individuality of Omegan buildings.
He reached a shopping center. The stores repeated the pattern set by the houses. They were low, discreet, and very similar. Only a close inspection of window displays revealed differences between a food store and a sports shop. He pa.s.sed a small building with a sign that read, ROBOT CONFESSIONAL--_Open 24 hours a day._ It seemed to be some sort of church.
The procedure set by Group Two for locating the underground on Earth was simple and straightforward. Revolutionaries, he had been told, are found in greatest quant.i.ty among a civilization"s most depressed elements.
Poverty breeds dissatisfaction; the have-nots want to take from those who have. Therefore, the logical place to look for subversion is in the slums.
It was a good theory. The trouble was, Barrent couldn"t find any slums.
He walked for hours, past neat stores and pleasant little homes, playgrounds and parks, scrupulously tended farms, and then past more houses and stores. Nothing looked much better or worse than anything else.
By evening, he was tired and footsore. As far as he could tell, he had discovered nothing of significance. Before he could penetrate any deeper into the complexities of Earth, he would have to question the local citizens. It was a dangerous step, but one which he could not avoid.
He stood near a clothing store in the gathering dusk and decided upon a course of action. He would pose as a foreigner, a man newly arrived in North America from Asia or Europe. In that way, he should be able to ask questions with a measure of safety.
A man was walking toward him, a plump, ordinary-looking fellow in a brown business tunic. Barrent stopped him. "I beg your pardon," he said.
"I"m a stranger here, just arrived from Rome."
"Really?" the man said.
"Yes. I"m afraid I don"t understand things over here very well," Barrent said, with an apologetic little laugh. "I can"t seem to find any cheap hotels. If you could direct me--"
"Citizen, do you feel all right?" the man asked, his face hardening.