Voyage To Eternity Page 4

  CHAPTER IV

  "Petrovitch, S. A.!" called the Comrade standing abreast of the headof the line, a thin, nervous man half a head shorter than the girlherself. Sophia Androvna Petrovitch strode forward, took a pair oftrim white shorts from the neat stack at his left.

  "Is that all?" she said, looking at him.

  "Yes, Comrade. Well, a woman. Well."

  Without embarrassment, Sophia had seen the men ahead of her in linestrip and climb into the white shorts before they disappeared througha portal ahead of the line, depositing their clothing in a growingpile on the floor. But now it was Sophia's turn, after almost a twohour wait. Not that it was chilly, but....

  "Is that all?" she repeated.

  "Certainly. Strip and move along, Comrade." The nervous little manappraised her lecherously, she thought.

  "Then I must keep some of my own clothing," she told him.

  "Impossible. I have my orders."

  "I am a woman."

  "You are a volunteer for the Stalintrek. You will take no personalproperty--no clothing--with you. Strip and advance, please."

  Sophia flushed slightly, while the men behind her began to call andtaunt.

  "I like this Stalintrek."

  "Oh, yes."

  "We are waiting, Comrade."

  Quickly and with an objective detachment which surprised her, Sophiaunbuttoned her shirt, removed it. Her one wish--and an odd one, shethought, smiling--was for wax for her ears. She loosened the threesnaps of her skirt, watched it fall to the floor. She stood therebriefly, lithe-limbed, a tall, slim girl, then had the white shortsover her nakedness in one quick motion. She still wore a coarsehalter.

  "All personal effects, Comrade," said the nervous little man.

  "No," Sophia told him.

  "But yes. Definitely, yes. You hold up the line, and we have aschedule to maintain. The Stalintrek demands quick, prompt obedience."

  "Then you will give me one additional item of clothing."

  The man looked at Sophia's halter, at the fine way she filled it. Heshrugged. "We don't have it," he said, clearly enjoying himself.

  In volunteering for the Stalintrek, Sophia had invaded man's domain.She had watched not with embarrassment but with scorn while the men infront of her got out of their clothing. She had invaded man's domain,and as she watched them, the short, flabby ones, the bony ones withprotruding ribs and collar-bones, those of milky white skin and softhands, she knew most of them would bite off more than they could chewif ever they tried what was the most natural thing for men to try witha lone woman in an isolated environment. But she _was_ in a man'sworld now, and if that was the way they wanted it, she would ask noquarter.

  She reached up quickly with one hand and unfastened the halter,catching it with her free hand and holding it in front of her breastswhile the nervous little man licked his lips and gaped. Sophia grabbedanother pair of the white shorts, tore it quickly with her strongfingers, fashioning a crude covering for herself. This she pulledaround her, fastening it securely with a knot in back.

  "You'll have to give that back to me," declared the nervous littleComrade.

  "I'll bet you a samovar on that," Sophia said quietly, so only the manheard her.

  He reached out, as if to rip the crude halter from her body, butSophia met him half-way with her strong, slim fingers, wrapping themaround his biceps and squeezing. The man's face turned quickly towhite as he tried unsuccessfully to free his arm.

  "Please, that hurts."

  "I keep what I am wearing." She tightened her grip, but gazed serenelyinto space as the man stifled a whimper.

  "Well--" the man whispered indecisively as he gritted his teeth.

  "Fool!" said Sophia. "Your arm will be black and blue for a week.While you men grow soft and lazy, many of the women take theirgymnastics seriously, especially if they want to keep their figureswith the work they must do and the food they must eat. I am strongerthan you and I will hurt you unless--" And her hand tightened aroundhis scrawny arm until her knuckles showed white.

  "Wear what you have and go," the man pleaded, and moaned softly whenSophia released his numb arm and strode through the portal, stilldrawing whistles and leers from the other men, who missed the by-playcompletely.

  * * * * *

  "So we're on Mars!"

  "It ain't Nowhere after all, it's Mars."

  "Wait and see, buster. Wait and see."

  "Kind of cold, isn't it? Well, if this was Venus and some of thembeautiful one-armed dames was waiting for us--"

  "That's just a statue, stupid."

  "Lookit all them people down there, will you?"

  "You think they're Martians?"

  "Stupid! We ain't the first ones went on the Nowhere Journey."

  "What are we waiting for? It sure will feel good to stretch yourlegs."

  "Let's go!"

  "Look out, Mars, here I come!"

  It would have been just right for a Hollywood epic, Temple thought.The rusty ochre emptiness spreading out toward the horizon in alldirections, spotted occasionally with pale green and frosty white, thesky gray with but a shade of blue in it, distant gusts of Martian windswirling ochre clouds across the desert, the spaceship poised on itsungainly bottom, a great silver bowling ball with rocket tubes forfinger holes, and the Martians from Earth who had been here on thisalien world for seven-hundred-eighty days or twice seven-eighty orthree times, and who fought in frenzied eagerness, like savages, toreach the descending gangplank first.

  Earth chorus: Hey, Martians, any of you guys speak English? Hah-ha, Isaid, any of you guys....

  Where are all them canals I heard so much about?

  You think maybe they're dangerous? (Laughter)

  No dames. Hey, no dames....

  Who were you expecting, Donna Daunley?

  What kind of place is Mars with no women?

  What do they do here, anyway, just sit around and wait for the nextrocket?

  I'm cold.

  Get used to it, brother, get used to it.

  Look out, Mars, here I come!

  Martian chorus: Who won the Series last year, Detroit?

  Hey, bud, tell me, are dames still wearing those one piece things, allcolors, so you see their legs up to about here and their chests downto about here? (Gestures lewdly)

  Which one of you guys can tell me what it's like to take a bath? Imean a real bath in a real bath tub.

  Hey, we licked Russia yet?

  We heard they were gonna send some dames!

  Dames--ha-ha, you're breaking my heart.

  Tell me what a steak tastes like. So thick.

  Me? Gimme a bowl of steamed oysters. And a dame.

  Dames. Girls. Women. Females. Chicks. Tomatoes. Frails. Dames. Dames.Dames....

  They did not seem to mind the cold, these Earth-Martians. Templeguessed they never spent much time out of doors (above ground, forthere were no buildings?) because all seemed pale and white. While thesun was weaker, so was the protection offered by a thinner atmosphere.The sun's actinic rays could burn, and so could the sand-driving wind.But pale skins could not be the result of staying indoors, for Templenoted the lack of man-made structures at once. Underground, then. TheEarth-Martians lived underground like moles. Doing what? And for whatreason? With what ultimate goal, if any? And where did those men whodid not remain on Mars go? Temple's head whirled with countlessquestions--and no answers.

  Shoulder to shoulder with Arkalion, he made his way down thegangplank, turning up the collar of his jumper against the stingingwind.

  "You got any newspapers, pal?"

  "Magazines?"

  "Phonograph records?"

  "Gossip?"

  "Newsfilm?"

  "Who's the heavyweight champ?"

  "We lick those Commies in Burma yet?"

  "Step back! Watch that man. Maybe he's your replacement."

  "Replacement. Ha-ha. That's good."

  All types of men. All ages. In torn, tattered clothing, mostly. In
rags. Even if a man seemed more well-groomed than the rest, on closerexamination Temple could see the careful stitching, the patches, thefades and stains. No one seemed to mind.

  "Hey, bud. What do you hear about rotation? They passed any laws yet?"

  "I been here ten years. When do _I_ get rotated?"

  "Ain't that something? Dad Jenks came here with the first ship. Don'tyou talk about rotation. Ask Dad."

  "Better not mention that word to Dad Jenks. He sees red."

  "This whole damn planet is red."

  "Want a guided tour of nowhere, men? Step right up."

  Arkalion grinned. "They seem so well-adjusted," he said, thenshuddered against the cold and followed Temple, with the others,through the crowd.

  * * * * *

  They were inoculated against nameless diseases. (Watch for the needlewith the hook.)

  They were told again they had arrived on the planet Mars. (Nokidding?)

  Led to a drab underground city, dimly lit, dank, noisome with mold andmildew. (Quick, the chlorophyll.)

  Assigned bunks in a dormitory, with four men to a room. (Be it ever sohumble--bah!)

  Told to keep things clean and assigned temporarily to a garbage pickupdetail. (For this I left Sheboygan?)

  Read to from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution andPublic Law 1182 (concerned with the Nowhere Journey, it told themnothing they did not already know).

  Given as complete a battery of tests, mental, emotional and physical,as Temple ever knew existed. (Cripes, man! How the hell should I knowwhat the cube root of -5 is? I never finished high school!)

  Subjected to an exhaustive, overlong, and at times meaninglesspersonal interview. (No, doc, honest. I never knew I hada--uh--anxiety neurosis. Is it dangerous?)

  "How do you do, Temple? Sit down."

  "Thank you."

  "Thought you'd like to know that while your overall test score is notuncanny, it's decidedly high."

  "So what?"

  "So nothing--not necessarily. Except that with it you have a very wellbalanced personality. We can use you, Temple."

  "That's why I'm here."

  "I mean--elsewhere. Mars is only a way station, a training center fora select few. It takes an awful lot of administrative work to keepthis place going, which explains the need for all the stationpersonnel."

  "Listen. The last few weeks I had everything thrown at me.Everything, the works. Mind answering one question?"

  "Shoot."

  "What's this all about?"

  "Temple, I don't know!"

  "You what?"

  "I know you find it hard to believe, but I don't. There isn't a manhere on Mars who knows the whole story, either--and certainly not onEarth. We know enough to keep everything in operation. And we knowit's important, all of it, everything we do."

  "You mentioned a need for some men elsewhere. Where?"

  The psychiatrist shrugged. "I don't know. Somewhere. Anywhere." Hespread his hands out eloquently. "That's where the Nowhere Journeycomes in."

  "Surely you can tell me something more than--"

  "Absolutely not. It isn't that I don't want to. I can't. I don'tknow."

  "Well, one more question I'd like you to answer."

  The psychiatrist lit a cigarette, grinned. "Say, who is interviewingwhom?"

  "This one I think you can tackle. I have a brother, Jason Temple.Embarked on the Nowhere Journey five years ago. I wonder--"

  "So that's the one factor in your psychograph we couldn't figureout--anxiety over your brother."

  "I doubt it," shrugged Temple. "More likely my fiancee."

  "Umm, common enough. You were to be married?"

  "Yes." _Stephanie, what are you doing now? Right now?_

  "That's what hurts the most.... Well, yes, I can find out about yourbrother." The psychiatrist flicked a toggle on his desk. "Jamison,find what you can on Temple, Jason, year of--"

  "1987," Temple supplied.

  "1987. We'll wait."

  After a moment or two, the voice came through, faintly metallic:"Temple, Jason. Arrival: 1987. Psychograph, 115b12. Mental aggregate,98. Physcom, good to excellent. Training: two years, space perceptionconcentrate, others. Shipped out: 1989."

  So Jase had shipped out for--Nowhere.

  "Someday you'll follow in your brother's footsteps, Temple. Now,though, I have a few hundred questions I'd like you to answer."

  The psychiatrist hadn't exaggerated. Several hours of questioningfollowed. Once reminded of her, Temple found it hard to keep histhought off Stephanie.

  He left the psychiatrist's office more confused than ever.

  * * * * *

  "Good morning, child. You Stephanie Andrews?"

  Stephanie hadn't felt up to working that first morning after Kit'sfinal goodbye. She answered the door in her bathrobe, saw a small,middle-aged woman with graying hair and a kind face. "That's right.Won't you come in?"

  "Thank you. I represent the Complete Emancipation League, MissAndrews."

  "Complete Emancipation League? Oh, something to do with politics.Really, I'm not much interested in--"

  "That's entirely the trouble," declared the older woman. "Too many ofus are not interested in politics. I'd like to discuss the C.E.L. withyou, my dear, if you will bear with me a few minutes."

  "All right," said Stephanie. "Would you like a glass of sherry?"

  "In the morning?" the older woman smiled.

  "I'm sorry. Don't mind me. My fiance left yesterday, took his finalgoodbye. He--he embarked on the Nowhere Journey."

  "I realize that. It is precisely why I am here. My dear, the C.E.L.does not want to fight the government. If the government decides thatthe Nowhere Journey is vital for the welfare of the country--even ifthe government won't or can't explain what the Nowhere Journeyis--that's all right with us. But if the government says there is arotation system but does absolutely nothing about it, we're interestedin that. Do you follow me?"

  "Yes!" cried Stephanie. "Oh, yes. Go on."

  "The C. E. L. has sixty-eight people in Congress for the current term.We hope to raise that number to seventy-five for next election. It's along fight, a slow uphill fight, and frankly, my dear, we need all thehelp we can get. People--young women like yourself, my dear--areentirely too lethargic, if you'll forgive me."

  "You ought to forgive _me_," said Stephanie, "if you will. You know,it's funny. I had vague ideas about helping Kit, about finding someway to get him back. Only to tackle something like that alone.... I'monly twenty-one, just a girl, and I don't know anyone important. Noone ever comes back, that's what you hear. But there's a rotationsystem, you also hear that. If I can be of any help...."

  "You certainly can, my dear. We'd be delighted to have you."

  "Then, eventually, maybe, just maybe, we'll start getting them rotatedhome?"

  "We can't promise a thing. We can only try. And I never did say we'dtry to get the boys rotated, my dear. There is a rotation system inthe law, right there in Public Law 1182. But if no men have ever beenrotated, there must be a reason for it."

  "Yes, but--"

  "But we'll see. If for some reason rotation simply is not practicable,we'll find another way. Which is why we call ourselves theC.E.L.--Complete Emancipation League--for women. If men must embark onthe Nowhere Journey--the least they can do is let their womenvolunteer to go along with them if they want to--since it may beforever. Let a bunch of women get to this Nowhere place and you'llnever know what might happen, that's what I say."

  Something about the gray haired woman's earthy confidence imbuedStephanie with an optimism she never expected. "Well," she said,smiling, "if we can't bring ourselves to Mohammed.... No, that's allwrong! ... to the mountain...?"

  "Yes, there's an old saying. But it isn't important. You get the idea.My dear, how would you like to go to Nowhere?"

  "I--to Kit, anywhere, anywhere!" _I'll never forget yesterday, Kitdarling. Never!_

  "I make no
promises, Stephanie, but it may be sooner than you think.Morning be hanged, perhaps I will have some sherry after all. Umm, youwouldn't by any chance have some Canadian instead?"

  Humming, Stephanie dashed into the kitchen for some glasses.

  * * * * *

  There were times when the real Alaric Arkalion III wished his fatherwould mind his own business. Like that thing about the NowhereJourney, for instance. Maybe Alaric Sr. didn't realize it, but beingthe spoiled son of a billionaire wasn't all fun. "I'm a dilettante,"Alaric would tell himself often, gazing in the mirror, "a boreddilettante at the age of twenty-one."

  Which in itself, he had to admit, wasn't too bad. But having renegedon the Nowhere Journey in favor of a stranger twice his age who nowcarried his, Alaric's, face, had engendered some annoyingcomplications. "You'll either have to hide or change your ownappearance and identity, Alaric."

  "Hide? For how long, father?"

  "I can't be sure. Years, probably."

  "That's crazy. I'm not going to hide for years."

  "Then change your appearance. Your way of life. Your occupation."

  "I have no occupation."

  "Get one. Change your face, too. Your fingerprints. It can be done.Become a new man, live a new life."

  In hiding there was boredom, impossible boredom. In the otheralternative there was adventure, intrigue--but uncertainty. One partof young Alaric craved that uncertainty, the rest of him shunned it.In a way it was like the Nowhere Journey all over again.

  "Maybe Nowhere wouldn't have been so bad," said Alaric to his father,choosing as a temporary alternative and retreat what he knew couldn'tpossibly happen.

  Couldn't it?

  "If I choose another identity, I'd be eligible again for the NowhereJourney."

  "By George, I hadn't considered that. No, wait. You could be olderthan twenty-six."

  "I like it the way I am," Alaric said, pouting.

  "Then you'll have to hide. I spent ten million dollars to secure yourfuture, Alaric. I don't want you to throw it away."

  Alaric pouted some more. "Let me think about it."

  "Fair enough, but I'll want your answer tomorrow. Meanwhile, you arenot to leave the house."

  Alaric agreed verbally, but took the first opportunity which presenteditself--that very night--to sneak out the servants' door, go downtown,and get stewed to the gills.

  At two in the morning he was picked up by the police for disorderlyconduct (it had happened before) after losing a fistfight to a muchpoorer, much meaner drunk in a downtown bar. They questioned Alaric atthe police station, examined his belongings, went through his wallet,notified his home.

  Fuming, Alaric Sr. rushed to the police station to get his son. He wasmet by the desk sergeant, a fat, balding man who wore his uniform in aslovenly fashion.

  "Mr. Arkalion?" demanded the sergeant, picking at his teeth with atoothpick.

  "Yes. I have come for Alaric, my son."

  "Sure. Sure. But your son's in trouble, Mr. Arkalion. Serioustrouble."

  "What are you talking about? If there are any damages, I'll pay. Hedidn't--hurt anyone, did he?"

  The sergeant broke the toothpick between his teeth, laughed. "Him?Naw. He got the hell beat out of him by a drunk half his size. Itain't that kind of trouble, Mr. Arkalion. You know what an 1182 cardis, mister?"

  Arkalion's face drained white. "Why--yes."

  "Alaric's got one."

  "Naturally."

  "According to the card, he should have shipped out on the NowhereJourney, mister. He didn't. He's in serious trouble."

  "I'll see the district attorney."

  "More'n likely, you'll see the attorney general. Serious trouble."