The Burning Bridge | Page 8

said Teresa with a hint of her smile.
"You actually show a bit of human sympathy."
And, thought a far-off part of Coffin, you showed enough to put me at
ease by getting me to lecture you with safe impersonal figures. But he
didn't mind. The fact was that now he could free-sit, face to face, alone,
and talk to her like a friend.
"Since we could only save about seven years by giving up at once," he
said, "I admit I'm puzzled why so many people are so anxious about it.
Couldn't we go on as planned and decide things at Rustum?"
"I think not," said Teresa. "You see, nobody in his right mind wants to
be a pioneer. To explore, yes; to settle rich new country with known
and limited hazards, yes; but not to risk his children, his whole racial
future, on a wild gamble. This group was driven into space by a
conflict which just couldn't be settled at home. If that conflict has
ended--"
"But ... you and Lochaber ... you pointed out that it had not ended. That
at best this is a breathing spell."
"Still, they'd like to believe otherwise, wouldn't they? I mean, at least
believe they have a fighting chance on Earth."
"All right," said Coffin. "But it looks a safe bet, that there are a number

of deepsleepers who'd agree with you, who'd think their chances are
actually better on Rustum. Why can't we take them there first? It seems
only fair."
"Uh-uh." Her hair was short, but it floated in loose waves when she
shook her head, and light rippled mahogany across it. "You've been
there and I haven't, but I've studied your reports. A handful couldn't
survive. Three thousand is none too many. It will have to be unanimous,
whatever is decided."
"I was trying to avoid that conclusion," he said wearily, "but if you
agree--Well, can't we settle the argument at Rustum, after they've
looked the place over?"
"No. And I'll tell you why, captain," she said. "I know Coenrad de Smet
well, and one or two others. Good men ... don't get me wrong ... but
born politicians, intuitive rather than logical thinkers. They believe,
quite honestly, it's best to go back. And, of course, the timid and lazy
and selfish ones will support them. They don't want to risk having
Rustum there, a whole new world for the taking--and the vote to go
against them. I've seen plenty of your photographs, captain. They were
so beautiful, some of them, that I can hardly wait for the reality. I
know--and so does de Smet--High America is a magnificent place.
Room, freedom, unpoisoned air. We'll remember all that we hated on
Earth and that isn't on Rustum; we'll reflect much more soberly how
long a time will have passed before we could possibly get back, and
what a gamble we'd be taking on finding a tolerable situation there. The
extra quarter gee won't seem so bad till it's time for heavy manual labor;
the alien biochemistry won't bother us much till we have to stop eating
rations and start trying to farm; the isolation won't really be felt till
your spaceships have departed and we're all the humanity there is for
more than twenty light-years.
"No ... de Smet won't risk it. He might get caught up in the glamour
himself!"
Coffin murmured thoughtfully: "After only a few days of deceleration,
there won't be enough reaction mass to do anything but continue

home."
"De Smet knows that, too," said Teresa. "Captain, you can make a hard
decision and stick to it. That's why you have your job. But maybe you
forget how few people can--how most of us pray someone will come
along and tell us what to do. Even under severe pressure, the decision
to go to Rustum was difficult. Now that there's a chance to undo it, go
back to being safe and comfortable--but still a real risk that by the time
we get home, Earth will no longer be safe or comfortable--we've been
forced to decide all over again. It's agony, captain! De Smet is a strong
man, in his way. He'll compel us to do the irrevocable, as soon as
possible, just because it will make a final commitment. Once we've
turned far enough back, it'll be out of our hands and we can stop
thinking."
He regarded her with a sort of wonder. "But you look calm enough," he
said.
"I made my decision back on Earth," she answered. "I've seen no
reason to change it."
* * * * *
"What do the women think?" he asked, leaping back to safely
denumerable things.
"Most want to give up, of course." She said it with a mildness which
softened the judgment. "Few of them