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Authors: Edmund Cooper
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refurbished so often during its long existence that hardly any of the original components remained. The last time it had been used was when radio and visual telescopes had tracked the wreck of the
Dag Hammarskjold
. Then the
Amazonia
had lifted off from Talbot Field to effect the most dramatic space rescue in the whole of human history.
According to legend and the known facts of Minervan history, the bulk of the fleet that had brought the Martian refugees to Minerva had been destroyed on the orders of Garfield Talbot, its commander. The exodus fleet, hastily assembled, badly equipped, was originally destined to shoot for the nearer stars—Alpha Centauri, Sirius, Altair, Procyon. But, to Garfield Talbot, an intensely religious man, the discovery of the tenth planet had seemed like a sign. The fact that it could be made to support human life, even if only subterraneously, seemed like an invitation. He argued that it was better for the refugees from devastated Mars to accept an austere but certain future on Minerva than to try to cross the light-years in the hope of discovering systems that might not exist.
So the original plans were cancelled after the fleet had been in space for less than two thousand hours. The fleet would not disperse to its assigned stars—which there was little hope of reaching anyway—but would touch down on the outermost solar planet, which at least offered a sanctuary that should not be beyond the ingenuity of man to improve.
One adventurous and rebellious captain refused to accept the change of plan. Garfield Talbot considered his refusal to be an affront to divine guidance, and promptly blasted his vessel out of space with an atomic torpedo. The remaining space-ships—twelve in all—obediently changed course for Minerva.
After touch-down, after the colonists had established underground bases large enough to support them, Talbot ordered the destruction of the fleet, his argument being that God, in his infinite mercy, had offered mankind a third chance. If the race of man could not learn to live in peace in the solar system, it would not manage to do so elsewhere. Conditions on—-or under—the surface of Minerva were extremely hard. But that was simply God’s punishment and his way of testing.
Garfield Talbot was forty-three years old when he brought the remnants of Martian civilisation to Minerva. He lived to the ripe age of one hundred and twenty-one, working with almost fanatical dedication for nearly eighty years to establish a harmonious and stable community. For him, stability and harmony meant strict discipline, strict adherence to the law, swift and stern justice.
He had set down his ideas on the purpose and nature of society and of human destiny in a book called simply
Talbot’s Creed
. Over the centuries it had attained the stature of a testament. It was the only authoritative bible on Minerva. The Judeo-Christian mythologies had lost their significance even before the Martian culture had disintegrated. But the mythological parallel was obvious. Garfield Talbot, the Moses of deep space, had brought his chosen people to the promised land of Minerva. It was an inhospitablewilderness frozen in everlasting night. Therefore it was the perfect place for mankind to atone for previous sins and to establish a new harmonic order of society.
Since Garfield Talbot’s great passion was for order and balance, Minervan culture had not evolved greatly in the thirty Earth-centuries that the tenth planet had been colonised. Government, in the form of the Five Cities Council, had found it convenient and necessary to adhere strictly to the teachings of
Talbot’s Creed
.
Although a fanatic and a dreamer, Talbot had been acutely aware of the limits of the technological skills brought by the original colonists. Therefore he had ordained that the maximum population should be ten thousand. That maximum had been religiously kept despite new scientific discoveries and new technological development.
Dag Hammarskjold
. Then the
Amazonia
had lifted off from Talbot Field to effect the most dramatic space rescue in the whole of human history.
According to legend and the known facts of Minervan history, the bulk of the fleet that had brought the Martian refugees to Minerva had been destroyed on the orders of Garfield Talbot, its commander. The exodus fleet, hastily assembled, badly equipped, was originally destined to shoot for the nearer stars—Alpha Centauri, Sirius, Altair, Procyon. But, to Garfield Talbot, an intensely religious man, the discovery of the tenth planet had seemed like a sign. The fact that it could be made to support human life, even if only subterraneously, seemed like an invitation. He argued that it was better for the refugees from devastated Mars to accept an austere but certain future on Minerva than to try to cross the light-years in the hope of discovering systems that might not exist.
So the original plans were cancelled after the fleet had been in space for less than two thousand hours. The fleet would not disperse to its assigned stars—which there was little hope of reaching anyway—but would touch down on the outermost solar planet, which at least offered a sanctuary that should not be beyond the ingenuity of man to improve.
One adventurous and rebellious captain refused to accept the change of plan. Garfield Talbot considered his refusal to be an affront to divine guidance, and promptly blasted his vessel out of space with an atomic torpedo. The remaining space-ships—twelve in all—obediently changed course for Minerva.
After touch-down, after the colonists had established underground bases large enough to support them, Talbot ordered the destruction of the fleet, his argument being that God, in his infinite mercy, had offered mankind a third chance. If the race of man could not learn to live in peace in the solar system, it would not manage to do so elsewhere. Conditions on—-or under—the surface of Minerva were extremely hard. But that was simply God’s punishment and his way of testing.
Garfield Talbot was forty-three years old when he brought the remnants of Martian civilisation to Minerva. He lived to the ripe age of one hundred and twenty-one, working with almost fanatical dedication for nearly eighty years to establish a harmonious and stable community. For him, stability and harmony meant strict discipline, strict adherence to the law, swift and stern justice.
He had set down his ideas on the purpose and nature of society and of human destiny in a book called simply
Talbot’s Creed
. Over the centuries it had attained the stature of a testament. It was the only authoritative bible on Minerva. The Judeo-Christian mythologies had lost their significance even before the Martian culture had disintegrated. But the mythological parallel was obvious. Garfield Talbot, the Moses of deep space, had brought his chosen people to the promised land of Minerva. It was an inhospitablewilderness frozen in everlasting night. Therefore it was the perfect place for mankind to atone for previous sins and to establish a new harmonic order of society.
Since Garfield Talbot’s great passion was for order and balance, Minervan culture had not evolved greatly in the thirty Earth-centuries that the tenth planet had been colonised. Government, in the form of the Five Cities Council, had found it convenient and necessary to adhere strictly to the teachings of
Talbot’s Creed
.
Although a fanatic and a dreamer, Talbot had been acutely aware of the limits of the technological skills brought by the original colonists. Therefore he had ordained that the maximum population should be ten thousand. That maximum had been religiously kept despite new scientific discoveries and new technological development.
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