“Naturally,” Dolpha said, “I do not like the sound of those two suppositions. Let us take the first one. A new weapon. I am sorry but I cannot conceive of any weapon more powerful than those now possessed by both sides. It has been pretty obvious for more years than I care to count that the only thing which keeps us alive, both the Center and the League, is the fact that we share the same geographical areas, thus making it unfeasible to use major weapons without suicidal implications.
“And that single fact has kept our civilization alive. Were we to separate and withdraw to allotted planets each side could very readily destroy the other. No new weapons are needed for that.”
“How about a selective weapon,” quavered Renaen, “that could kill League personnel without damage to Center personnel?”
Kama pursed his lips and shook his head. “No. As soon as that started to happen those of us left would release the major weapons which have no selectivity. Their thinking is clearer than that. I can see that we are face to face with the possibility of their having founded a new base.
“I have been very proud and satisfied with our system of the recording of any space-flights which could be assumed to be predominantly Center flights. During the past year not one flight has taken off for unknown areas and all arrivals have been accounted for.”
Dolpha sighed. “We have never quite caught up with their science, Kama. Could they make a certain area of one planet impregnable, withdraw their key personnel to that area and then let fly?”
“Not only would we detect any such movement but I doubt that should a planet cease to exist any area would remain unaffected. Here is another point I have just thought of and believe me it does not make me feel any better. They surely know that their best method of concealment of any advantage would be to continue their regular activities. And yet they have given us cause for suspicion. That indicates their degree of confidence. Frankly I am a bit afraid. It is too bad because things had been going very well.”
Dolpha said heavily, “It is unthinkable that this great race might eventually be subjected to the dictatorship of the scientific mind. We can safely assume that our civilization fell a hundred and fifty thousand years ago because men of that stamp were the leaders.
“Only in the hands of the League is the future of civilization safe. The faulty assumption was that a scientific group and an administrative group could work together. Should we be defeated each one of their petty little people will have untold power, live in palaces, grind down the populace.”
“You’re creating a very heavy breeze,” said Renaen in her trembling voice, “and not only that, I seem to have heard a rumor that you live very well indeed, Dolpha, in that little retreat of yours.”
Dolpha coughed and Kama said quickly, “I suggest that in view of their lack of activity in objective operations we take the risk of it being a trick and detach all League agents from preventative operations and assign them to objective operations. With sufficient manpower we may be able to snatch someone with key knowledge in this affair and drain his mind.
“And just in case we fail I suggest that we contact the A-list of all League personnel and advise them to ready themselves for basic flight procedure. We have statistically determined that even with maximum efficiency, one in ten on the A-list will be spaceborn in time but I feel that this is a necessary move.”
“Meeting adjourned,” said Dolpha. “Work out the details.”
Lofta, the monitor, was properly subdued and respectful when he entered the presence of the Chief of the Center. It was the second time in his life that he had been so honored. The Chief was a smallish negative-looking man.
“All right,” he said. “Sit down and report.”
“The three agents have been properly substituted. They are on a deserted stretch of coastline in the company of an Earth female. I thought it best not to arrange substitution for her as yet due to the possibility of their being customs not covered by the captured texts. Though, if you will forgive me the thought, I quite fail to see the necessity for this extreme caution. We could move there in force and there is nothing that could be brought against us that—”
“You are too eager, Lofta. There will be ample time for that later. Solve one problem at a time. We have made the basic and very important discovery of a twin planetary system corresponding to our own, separated from us only by a symbolic logician’s definition of reality. This is not a completely physical and technical phenomenon. It is a philosophical phenomenon.
“In simplest terms the formula can be expressed this way: The twin world exists because any definitive explanation of reality presupposes alternate realities. Thus the doorway was achieved by the creation of unreality. Call it negative matter if you will. A sphere where there is no reality must, through the application of the basic formula, be a bridge between realities. The bridge had been achieved but there is much that we don’t know.
“Are we in turn available to another reality on the opposite ‘side’ of us. And when equipment is transported to Earth can we create once again a negative matter bridge to another reality ‘beyond’ their world. Also are other planets subject to this same bridging technique?
“All we can safely say is that it is a very sound assumption that our remote ancestors found this bridge and populated Earth or the converse. We have no reason to suppose that they on Earth did not have the great knowledge in their forgotten past. To get back to the point, Lofta, the very meagerness of our knowledge requires careful and cautious procedure.
“Would there be any effect on that world of the sudden elimination of this one? Can our more complicated equipment, once transposed to that world, be made to function? Have we any hope of concealing from the League a methodical emigration to that world?
“There are many things to be decided and in this connection I do not care to have to erect defenses against the people of Earth, no matter how primitive their forms of attack may be. At the moment it is sufficient to know that we have alarmed and alerted the League.
“In their anixety they will make poor moves. We shall take advantage of those in the usual way. I anticipate that they will withdraw agents from defensive operations. We are prepared to take advantage of that.”
Lofta said, “It’s a new world beyond that doorway. It sometimes seems—” He stopped abruptly.
The Chief finished the sentence for him. “—seems as though we should go through the doorway and close it after us and forget our responsibilities here, heh?”
“No, I didn’t mean—”
“But you did. What is there for us here? A slow building of tension until at last we blow our own heads off. Oh, we prattle about the leadership of science and the venality of the administrators in the League. All it is in essence, Lofta, is two hungry groups after the same meal only large enough for one group.
“We said, five thousand years ago, ‘Reach the other planets of the system and there will be enough for all.’ So we cut up the planets. Then it was, ‘Reach the stars.’ The distant island universes, the furthest galaxies, the discovery of an almost infinite number of habitable planets — all that was not enough. Why, Lofta? Have you ever wondered why?”
“You’re talking as though — as though there might be no point in fighting for what we believe to be right. That is treason.”
“Treason, is it? To wonder why? I’m just very tired, Lofta, and a bit querulous these days. The fault is deep within us. During the periods of expansion it did not lie dormant because then space and time were the enemies to be conquered. It never lies dormant, Lofta. This is the secret of our race. There must be an enemy — always.