“Let’s put it this way,” Englehardt said. “Mr. Bahr, when the Chinese landed their guerrilla army in South America two years ago, what was the first thing you looked for?”
“Their supply routes,” Bahr said. “They weren’t a true guerrilla army; the civilian population would not willingly support them, so we knew they had to have outside channels of supply.”
“Exactly,” Englehardt said. “Now, why shouldn’t the same apply to an invasion force of aliens? Assuming that the alien maneuvers so far have been preliminary junkets, we can expect them to mount larger maneuvers in the future. But for that they will have to have supply routes. Now, where would they stockpile their supplies?”
There was an uneasy stir in the room. Adams was suddenly sitting upright, very alert. Timmins cleared his throat nervously. “Mr. Englehardt . . . .”
“Somewhere off the planet,” Bahr answered the question. “Probably in orbit.”
Adams turned sharply to Englehardt. “Just what are you proposing? That we develop a radar system to pick up some sort of . . . of space warehouse? Some missile artillery which could intercept them when they try to land personnel or supplies?”
“You mean anti-aircraft?” Englehardt said angrily. “Never! All the defensive maneuvers in the world won’t stop them. Look, what is the one biggest advantage that the aliens have over us? Invulnerability! They can get to us any time they want to—witness the Wildwood mess—but we can’t get to them because they come from space!”
“But we can’t build spaceships!” Adams exploded.
“Why can’t we? We were on the verge of it in the Nineties. We had all the technology and engineering we needed; it was just a matter of time.”
“But Englehardt—for God’s sake, man—the spaceships caused the crash. The whole country went insane over that. You know that, you lived through it.”
“The crash came because we could not build those spaceships the way we were building them at that time,” Englehardt said. “The crash was not because of the spaceships; it was because of the expense, the drain on our resources.”
“But it would be the same thing again. Do you want us to go through another crash?”
“We have the Vanner-Elling system now, and the computers. We can harness them to provide a surplus in the form of spaceships the same as you have them set up now to provide a surplus in the form of entertainment.”
But the entertainment is necessary for social control,” Adams said. “If we took away the entertainment and counseling, and expression programs, the tensions would begin to build up all over again.”
“And isn’t a spaceship an expression just the same as a city, or a set of laws? Doesn’t it represent a definite step in the development of the people?”
“A backward step,” Adams said angrily. “A regression.”
“Nonsense,” said Englehardt.
Adams attempted to laugh. “Really, Mr. Englehardt, I think you’re disturbed. Emotionally upset. It’s not an unusual syndrome among formerly technical people, of course—a fixation on spaceships. Tell me, have you ever . . . .”
“Gone to a psychiatrist?” Englehardt’s face blanched. “No! Nor felt the urge, and let me tell you something else while we’re on the subject of fixation and living in the past: your precious DEPCO for the past fifteen years has been doing nothing but trying to stay in one place, and keep the whole country and economy in one place, and if that isn’t fixation, then I’d like you to please explain just what else it is!”
“Hold it,” Bahr said sharply. “We aren’t interested in holding DEPCO up for inspection right now, nor Mr. Englehardt’s psyche, for that matter. But one thing is certain: we have to have an aggressive plan of action. I personally can see many points in favor of being able to mount a small space fleet, if for no other reason than investigation and early-warning. It’s certainly a better solution than simply digging holes for ourselves, or sitting with stunners across our laps waiting for whatever the aliens are going to do next. The question is, can we do it?”
“We have the technology,” Englehardt said.
“How do you know that?” Bahr asked.
“I know the men and techniques I have available. My University . . .” Englehardt habitually spoke of the Robling-owned Harvard University as his personal property “. . . Has an astronautics library of four thousand tapes. There are plenty of good engineers in my . . . er . . . in the private industries who could pick up where the men in the Nineties left off. I can guarantee that we have the technology.”
Adams was shaking his head violently. “There’s no use even debating it. Psychologically it’s out of the question. We’re only now getting stabilized on the Oedipal corrections that Larchmont introduced.”
“Aberrations, you mean,” Englehardt said. “The man was psychotic. I was around Washington when he broke. He tried to disembowel himself with a fingernail file.”
Adams glared at him. “You do have ego problems.”
“Let’s forget the smears for a while,” Bahr said. “I’ll go along widi Carl Englehardt, at least to the point of letting him show us that it is technologically practical to build spaceships. We don’t know that it is, any more than we know what the public reaction to the idea would be.” He stood up, and the rising clamor of voices and disagreement stopped. “I put it to a vote,” he said. “To determine whether spaceships are possible and practical on engineering grounds.”
Adams lurched to his feet. “This is not something to be voted on,” he cried. “We can’t just brush aside fifteen years’ policies of social control. DEPCO has the power to approve the plans and projects formulated by the other departments, and we cannot accept spaceships as a solution. They are hostility symbols, and an economic peril.”
“All right,” Bahr said harshly. “You’re opposing the idea without the slightest factual grounds for opposition. DEPCO hasn’t investigated the spaceship problem for twenty years. You don’t have a legal leg to stand on.”
“The Stability Act of ’05 specifically states . . . .”
“You can recite amendments for us some other time,” Bahr broke in. “I’d like to see right now how many here agree with me that an investigation is a reasonable solution.” He looked around, counting thumbs.
The military, of course, went along with Englehardt. DEPEX, always willing to implement new programs, went along. DEPOP, conservative and crusty as usual, opposed. DEPRE, always willing to take on another research job, and politically jealous of DEPCO’s restraints on their research into DEPCO methods, went along with Bahr.
“It looks like an investigation is in order,” Bahr said.
Adams jerked to his feet. “I’ll stop that if I have to drop every other project in the department,” he said.
“What are you afraid of?” Bahr said to him. “Does a big, tall tower give you bad dreams? Maybe you’re the one that should be seeing the analyst.” The military and Englehardt were chuckling.
“I think, Mr. Bahr, that we may be over to interview you very presently,” Adams said acidly.
“Well, before you come, you’d better have some explanation for the fact that as soon as a constructive idea is proposed to meet this problem of aliens, you immediately try to block it,” Bahr said. He saw his error, he shouldn’t have ridden Adams so far. But now there was no turning back. “Maybe when we know more about the aliens’ operations, we’ll understand why . . . .”
“That is a preposterous accusation, and you’ll answer for it,” Adams said, his voice so tight it was hardly audible.