“About half a century ago, there came the climax to the big trend toward genetic engineering—”
“I know. It flopped and was thrown out of court. It’s illegal now—that whole type of study—insofar as research can be made illegal. I know people who’ve done work on it just the same.”
“I dare say. On Intuitionism?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Ah. But that’s my point. At the height of the push for genetic engineering, there was this attempt to stimulate Intuitionism. Almost all the great scientists had intuitive ability, of course, and there was the feeling that this was the single great key to creativity. One could argue that superior capacity for intuition was the product of a particular gene combination and there were all sorts of speculations as to which gene combination that was.”
“I suspect that there are many possible types that would satisfy.”
“And I suspect that if you are consulting your intuition here, you are correct. But there were also those who insisted that one gene, or one small related group of genes, was of particular importance to the combination so that you might speak of an Intuition Gene.... Then the whole thing collapsed.”
“As I said.”
“But before it collapsed,” Denison went on, “there had been attempts to alter genes to increase the intensity of Intuitionism and there were those who insisted that some success had been achieved. The altered genes entered the gene pool, I’m positive, and if you happened to inherit— Were any of your grandparents involved in the program?”
“Not as far as I know,” said Selene, “but I can’t rule it out. One of them might have been, for all I can say. ... If you don’t mind, I’m not going to investigate the matter. I don’t want to know.”
“Perhaps not. The whole field grew fearfully unpopular with the general public and anyone who can be considered the product of genetic engineering would not exactly be greeted gladly.... Intuitionism, they said, for instance, was inseparable from certain undesirable characteristics.”
“Well, thank you.”
“They said. To possess intuition is to inspire a certain envy and enmity in others. Even as gentle and saint-like an Intuitionist as Michael Faraday aroused the envy and hatred of Humphry Davy. Who’s to say that it doesn’t take a certain flaw in character to be capable of arousing envy. And in your case—”
Selene said, “Surely, I don’t rouse your envy and hatred?”
“I don’t think so. What about Neville, though?”
Selene was silent.
Denison said, “By the time you got to Neville, you were well-known as an Intuitionist, I suppose.”
“Not well known, I would say. Some physicists suspected it, I’m sure. However, they don’t like to give up credit here any more than on Earth, and I suppose they convinced themselves, more or less, that whatever I had said to them was just a meaningless guess. But Barron knew, of course.”
“I see.” Denison paused.
Selene’s lips twitched. “Somehow I get the feeling that you want to say: ‘Oh, that’s why he bothers with you.’ ”
“No, of course not, Selene. You’re quite attractive enough to be desired for your own sake.”
“I think so, too, but every little bit helps and Barron was bound to be interested in my Intuitionism. Why shouldn’t he be? Only he insisted I keep my job as tourist guide. He said I was an important natural resource of the Moon and he didn’t want Earth monopolizing me the way they monopolized the synchrotron.”
“An odd thought. But perhaps it was that the fewer who knew of your Intuitionism, the fewer would suspect your contribution to what would otherwise be put to his sole credit.”
“Now you sound like Barron himself!”
“Do I? And is it possible he gets rather annoyed with you when your Intuitionism is working particularly well.”
Selene shrugged. “Barron is a suspicious man. We all have our faults.”
“Is it wise to be alone with me, then?”
Selene said, sharply, “Now don’t get hurt because I defend him. He doesn’t really suspect the possibility of sexual misbehavior between us. You’re from Earth. In fact, I might as well tell you he encourages our companionship. He thinks I can learn from you.”
“And have you?” asked Denison, coldly.
“I have.... Yet though that may be his chief reason for encouraging our friendship, it isn’t mine.”
“What’s yours?”
“As you well know,” said Selene, “and as you want to hear me say, I enjoy your company. Otherwise, I could get what I want in considerably less time.”
“All right, Selene. Friends?”
“Friends! Absolutely.”
“What have you learned from me, then? May I know?”
“That would take awhile to explain. You know that the reason we can’t set up a Pump Station anywhere we want to is that we can’t locate the para-Universe, even though they can locate us. That might be because they are much more intelligent or much more technologically advanced than we are—”
“Not necessarily me same thing,” muttered Denison.
“I know. That’s why I put in the ‘or.’ But it might also be that we are neither particularly stupid nor particularly backward. It might be something as simple as the fact that they offer the harder target. If the strong nuclear interaction is stronger in the para-Universe, they’d be bound to have much smaller Suns and, very likely, much smaller planets. Their individual world would be harder to locate than ours would be.
“Or then again,” she went on, “suppose it’s the electromagnetic field they detect. The electromagnetic field of a planet is much larger than the planet itself and is much easier to locate. And that would mean that while they can detect the Earth, they can’t detect the Moon, which has no electromagnetic field to speak of. That’s why, perhaps, we’ve failed to set up a Pump Station on the Moon. And, if their small planets lack a significant electromagnetic field, we can’t locate them.”
Denison said, “It’s an attractive thought.”
“Next, consider the inter-Universal exchange in properties that serves to weaken their strong nuclear interaction, cooling their Suns, while strengthening ours, heating and exploding our Suns. What might that imply? Suppose they can collect energy one-way without our help but only at ruinously low efficiencies. Under ordinary circumstances that would therefore be utterly impractical. They would need us to help direct concentrated energy in their direction by supplying tungsten-186 to them and accepting plutonium-186 in return. But suppose our Galactic arm implodes into a quasar. That would produce an energy concentration in the neighborhood of the Solar system enormously greater than now exists and one that might persist for over a million years.
“Once that quasar forms, even a ruinously low efficiency becomes sufficient. It wouldn’t matter to them, therefore, whether we are destroyed or not. In fact, we might argue that it would be safer for them if we did explode. Until we do, we might end the Pump for any of a variety of reasons and they would be helpless to start it again. After the explosion, they are home free; no one could interfere.... And that’s why people who say, ‘If the Pump is dangerous, why don’t those terribly clever para-men stop it?’ don’t know what they’re talking about.”
“Did Neville give you that argument?”
“Yes, he did.”
“But the para-Sun would keep cooling down, wouldn’t it?”
“What does that matter?” said Selene, impatiently. “With the Pump, they wouldn’t be dependent on their Sun for anything.”
Denison took a deep breath. “You can’t possibly know this, Selene, but there was a rumor on Earth that Lament received a message from the para-men to the effect that the Pump was dangerous, but that they couldn’t stop it. No one took it seriously, of course, but suppose it’s true. Suppose Lamont did receive such a message. Might it be that some of the para-men were humanitarian enough to wish not to destroy a world with cooperating intelligences upon it, and were prevented by the opposition of an oh-so-practicai majority?”