Adaptation | Page 2

distance, but never intruded.'
His eyes went from one of his listeners to the other. "No comments or
questions, thus far?"
Mayer said, "This is one thing that surprises me. The colonies are so
small to begin with. How could they possibly populate a whole world
in one millennium?"
The Co-ordinator said, "Man adapts, Amschel. Have you studied the
development of the United States? During her first century and a half
the need was for population to fill the vast lands wrested from the
Amer-Inds. Families of eight, ten, and twelve children were the
common thing, much larger ones were not unknown. And the
generations crowded one against another; a girl worried about
spinsterhood if she reached seventeen unwed. But in the next century?
The frontier vanished, the driving need for population was gone. Not
only were drastic immigration laws passed, but the family shrunk
rapidly until by mid-Twentieth Century the usual consisted of two or
three children, and even the childless family became increasingly
common."
Mayer frowned impatiently, "But still, a thousand years. There is
always famine, war, disease ..."
Plekhanov snorted patronizingly. "Forty to fifty generations, Amschel?
Starting with a hundred colonists? Where are your mathematics?"
The Co-ordinator said, "The proof is there. We estimate that each of
Rigel's planets now supports a population of nearly one billion."
"To be more exact," Plekhanov rumbled, "some nine hundred million
on Genoa, seven and a half on Texcoco."
Mayer smiled wryly, "I wonder what the residents of each of these
planets call their worlds. Hardly the same names we have arbitrarily
bestowed."

"Probably each call theirs The World," the Co-ordinator smiled. "After
all, the basic language, in spite of a thousand years, is still Amer-
English. However, I assume you are familiar with our method of
naming. The most advanced culture on Rigel's first planet is to be
compared to the
Italian cities during Europe's feudalistic era. We have named that planet
Genoa. The most advanced nation of the second planet is comparable to
the Aztecs at the time of the conquest. We considered Tenochtitlan but
it seemed a tongue twister, so Texcoco is the alternative."
"Modernizing Genoa," Mayer mused, "should be considerably easier
than the task on semiprimitive Texcoco."
Plekhanov shrugged, "Not necessarily."
The Co-ordinator held up a hand and smiled at them. "Please, no
debates on methods at present. An hour from now you will be in space
with a year of travel before you. During that time you'll have
opportunity for discussion, debate and hair pulling on every phase of
your problem."
His expression became more serious. "You are acquainted with the
unique position you assume. These colonists are in your control to an
extent no small group has ever dominated millions of others before. No
Caesar ever exerted the power that will be in your educated hands. For
a half century you will be as gods. Your science, your productive
know-how, your medicine-if it comes to that, your weapons-are many
centuries in advance of theirs. As I said before, your position should be
humbling."
Mayer squirmed in his chair. "Why not check upon us, say, once every
decade? In all, our ship's company numbers but sixteen persons.
Almost anything could happen. If you were to send a department craft
each ten years ..."
The Co-ordinator was shaking his head. "Your qualifications are as
high as anyone available. Once on the scene you will begin

accumulating information which we, here in Terra City, do not have.
Were we to send another group in ten years to check upon you, all they
could do would be interfere in a situation all the factors with which
they would not be cognizant."
Amschel Mayer shifted nervously. "But no matter how highly trained,
nor how earnest our efforts, we still may fail." His voice worried. "The
department cannot expect guaranteed success. After all, we are the
first."
"Admittedly. Your group is first to approach the hundreds of thousands
of planets we have seeded. If you fail, we will use your failure to
perfect the eventual system we must devise for future teams. Even your
failure would be of infinite use to us." He lifted and dropped a shoulder.
"I have no desire to undermine your belief in yourselves but-how are
we to know? -perhaps there will be a score of failures before we find
the ideal method of quickly bringing these primitive colonies into our
Galactic Commonwealth."
The Co-ordinator came to his feet and sighed. He still hated to see them
go. "If there is no other discussion ..."

II
Specialist Joseph Chessman stood stolidly before a viewing screen.
Theoretically he was on watch. Actually his eyes were unseeing, there
was nothing to see. The star pattern changed so slowly as to be all but
permanent.
Not that every other task on