The two Section G agents put down their cups and came to their feet.
“Certainly not,” Dorn Horsten said. “I am Doctor Dorn Horsten and this… ”
“Is the famed Ronald Bronston,” the other smiled, advancing. “My name is Fredric.”
They shook hands, Earth-style.
Fredric said, “I am one of the committee elected to meet you. It is a pleasure. That coffee smells excellent. I think I shall go to Rosemary’s dining room and get a cup.”
Ronny and Dorn sat down again and took up their beverages.
Ronny said, “He doesn’t sound any more of an egghead than anybody else.”
The dog came over and extended his right paw and said to Ronny, “Hello, glad, to meet you.”
Ronny looked at him for a long empty moment, before shaking the paw.
The dog said, “What’s your name again?”
“Ronny. What’s yours?”
The golden dog hung his long red tongue out from the side of his mouth and gave a double pant before saying, looking all the world as though he was embarrassed. “Boy. These people have no imagination. I suppose I shouldn’t complain. I’ve got a friend they call Fido.”
He turned and went over to Dorn Horsten, who was gaping at him as much as was Ronny. He held out his paw and said, “Glad to meet you, too.”
Dorn shook and said, “The feeling is mutual. I am absolutely fascinated to meet you.”
The dog sat down on the floor and looked up at him. “You’re from Earth, aren’t you? I understand that dogs don’t talk on Earth. Why not?”
The eminent biologist looked at him blankly. “It never occurred to me to wonder about it,” he said.
Fredric came back from the dining room, coffee cup in hand. He was smiling and had evidently heard the last of the conversation. He said to Boy, “On Earth, practically no animals, save man, have voice boxes. Some that do, such as the parrot, the Myna bird, and, to a certain extent, the higher anthropoid apes, have insufficient brain capacity to utilize them intelligently. Now, that will be all for the time, Boy.”
“Okay,” Boy said and stretched out on the floor.
“Now wait a minute,” Dorn blurted. “This isn’t a farce, is it? I mean, you’re not a ventriloquist?”
“No. Certainly not,” Fredric told him, after taking a sip of his coffee. “When our people left Earth for Einstein, we brought with us quite a bit of the fauna of the mother planet. Man’s immediate pets, such as the dog and cat, who have come down with him through the millenia, almost as though there was a symbiotic relationship, we chose on the basis of intelligence. In the case of the cat, the Siamese. With the dog, the Poodle and Vizsla. Boy is a Vizsla.”
“I’ve never heard of the breed,” Ronny said unhappily. “But even if I had, I doubt if they talk on Earth. You must be one hell of a trainer.”
The other smiled, as though Ronny was making a joke. He said, “The Vizsla is one of the oldest breeds. They came with the Magyars from the steppes of Siberia to Europe. They were originally war dogs, then hunting hounds, and are the most versatile of all. They were pointers as well as retrievers and would hunt any game from birds to wild boar, to elk, or bear, for that matter.”
“That was a long time ago,” Boy said. “There’s nothing to hunt on Einstein.”
Dorn Horsten said, “But… but, this talking.” The other shrugged. “Man has had the dog for as long as we can trace him back. The relationship has become almost a necessity. However, we found it inconvenient for our pets to be so very less intelligent than we. So we performed genetic surgery and altered their DNA to produce a voice box, and upgraded their intelligence considerably through selective breeding and other devices.” I He seemed to think that was sufficient explanation.
Ronny stared at Boy, who was lying there on the floor, his tongue dangling out the side of his mouth.
Ronny said, “I’ve always liked dogs. I’d give my right arm for… ”
“The animal is yours,” Fredric said. Ronny boggled at him. He said, “Oh, really, now. That’s very kind of you, but… ”
“What’s the matter?” Boy said. “Don’t you want me?” Aside from a guttural quality, his voice tone was quite good and very understandable.
Fredric said, “Think nothing of it. Dogs are a hobby of mine but I have quite a few and was planning to dispense with some of them. Boy is one of the few I’ve ever taught Amer-English. The others speak our version of Esperanto. He even reads Amer-English quite well, though his taste in novels is atrocious.”
“But, well in my whole life I never expected a dog like Boy to belong to me.”
“We’ll soon find out who belongs to whom,” the dog muttered.
“Good. It’s done,” Fredric said. “None of the others of the committee have shown up as yet, eh?”
The dog had got up, walked over to Ronny, gave his leg a good smell, seemed to approve, and stretched out at his feet.
Dorn Horsten said, “Rosemary has been kind enough to inform us of some of your usages. She mentioned that you have no officials on Einstein. But this committee of yours? Aren’t you officials?”
“Oh, no. Not in the ordinary sense of the word. We’re a temporary committee elected to meet this particular situation. That is, to answer any questions you might wish to ask about Einstein, or to show you anything you might wish to see.”
“Who elected you?” Ronny said.
The other scowled slightly at him, as though the question didn’t make much sense. “Why, the people.”
“All of the people?”
“All who bothered to vote.”
Dorn Horsten pushed his glasses further back on the bridge of his nose. He said, “Well, who nominated you, Citizen Fredric?”
“Just Fredric,” the other said. “Anyone who wished to.”
Ronny had reached down to give the dog’s back a scratch and was rewarded with a double wag of the tail. He said, “That’s not very clear. Would you elucidate?”
“Certainly. When the news was released that you were on your way, it became obvious that there would have to be a committee. The computers were consulted as to what citizens would be best suited to act. Then our people nominated whomever they wished. The twelve who received the most nominations were put up for the vote. Those of us who were interested voted and the six who received the largest number of votes became the committee.”
“How did Rosemary get into the act?” Ronny said.
Fredric looked at him, and said, “We of the committee selected her.”
“Let’s go back for a moment,” Dorn Horsten said. “You said all of the people, and Rosemary have already mentioned that you have complete sexual equality. But what is the minimum age of the electorate?”
“There is none.”
Ronny frowned. “You mean a ten year old child can vote in your elections?”
“If he or she so wishes. Usually a child of that age has little interest in elections, or has insufficient knowledge of whatever subject is being considered. But if the vote is being taken on some subject in which he is interested and has an opinion, why yes, he can and does vote.”
Ronny shook his head. This was a new one. He said, “To return to this no-officials thing. You’ve got to have at least some officials to run your government.”
The other shook his head. “Didn’t Rosemary tell you? We have no government.”
While the two Section G agents were gawking at him, Rosemary walked in. She was attired in practically identical clothing to that she had worn the day before and she made a little yawn before smiling her bright smile. “Good morning, Dorn and Ronny. Good morning, Fredric. Did everyone sleep well?” Without waiting for an answer, she departed into the dining room, obviously in search of coffee herself.