Anne McCaffrey - Doona 1 - Decision At Doona

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VERSION 1.1 (Feb 16 00). If you find and correct errors in

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Contents

Characters

I Conference

II Escape

III Surprise

IV Contact

V Return

VI Reaction

VII Bridge

VIII Interference

IX Arrival

X Problem Child

XI The Feast

XII Rescue

XIII Red Letter Day

XIV Third Message

XXIII Intervention

XXIV Proof Positive

XXV Vigil

XXVI Tumult and Shouting

L'ENVOI

Sixth Speaker for Production

Seventh Speaker for Management

Eighth Speaker for Computers

Senior Scout Chief Hrral

Hrrestan -- elder of village

Mrrva -- his mate

Hrriss -- their son

Hrrula -- young man of the village

Hrran -- Duty Officer on Hrruba

Mrrim -- Technician

Terran:

Kenneth Reeve, jack of all trades

Patricia Reeve, his wife

Ilsa, 10, Todd, 6

Hu Shih and Phyllis Hu

Sam and Aurie Gaynor

Victor and Anne Solinari

Lee and Sally Lawrence

Macy and Dot McKee

Captain Ali Kiachif of the ship Astrid

Commander Al Landreau, Spacedep

Mr. E. K. Chaminade, Codep (Colonial Department)

Admiral Afroza Sumitral, Alreldep (Alien Relations

Department)

the Senior Scout whose inner apprehension defied his attempts to sup-

press it.

"Thank you, Senior Scout, for such an effective visual presenta-

tion," the First Speaker began blandly. "The planet is, as you have re-

ported, a pastoral jewel."

"Exactly!" And the Third Speaker rose to his feet, turning slightly to

First but not waiting for permission to address the group. "Exactly. A pas-

toral jewel and utterly useless since its mineral and metal deposits are too

negligible to warrant the high cost of extraction. We'd do much better

working on that turbulent volcanic planet in Sector -- " he glanced at his

notes, "9A-23. It's far more important for us to increase our stores of the

rare elements so abundant there than to mess around with pastoral jewels."

The Senior Scout and the Chief of Extraterritorial Explorations ex-

changed quick, concerned glances, but when the Chief leaned forward to

their sponsor, the Second Speaker, he received a barely perceptible nod of

reassurance.

"I believe Fourth has information relevant to 9A-23 and its exploita-

tion," First suggested.

The Fourth Speaker rose, shrugging his robe into place over his

shoulder.

courses in recent years except . . ."

"We'll go into your report in detail in a few minutes, Fourth," the

First Speaker broke in smoothly. "However, Fourth merely underscores one

of the many reasons why we are here to consider the opening of that lovely

pastoral planet to colonization."

"Colonization?" Third exploded.

"Exactly. And immediately."

"I fail to see how opening that useless planet to colonization can

help us get trained personnel to man a mining operation on 9A-23."

"With your kind permission?" said First, his irony so uncharacteris-

tic that Third subsided instantly, looking chagrined. "This lovely place, gra-

ciously endowed with clean, fresh air, land, water, lakes, streams, fields,

mountains, deserts, abounding with all manner of wild life, yet none sen-

tient enough to violate our Prime Rule, vast stretches of uninhabited space

-- " and he caught the involuntary shudder that seized the Third Speaker.

"A planet so close to what our home world once was as to be its twin is

perfect as a retraining ground."

Undaunted, the Third Speaker rose to his feet, his eyes round, his

visage reflecting distaste and concern.

"Good sir, a hundred years ago the Ruar System proposal was

overwhelmingly rejected by 87% of the voting adults. You cannot be pro-

I fear for the future of the race itself. In our search for freedom from want

and to remedy the inequalities of opportunity by the suppression of physical

competition on all levels, we have literally destroyed initiative, ambition and

vitality. The once vigorous hunter has become the enervated observer.

"Fourth Speaker will shortly give us his report but let me repeat the

most distressing statistic: in the generation now approaching maturity, only

one half of one percent have indicated interest -- oh, nothing as decisive or

binding as actually applying; just an interest -- in training for technical or

administrative careers. I need not tell you that this falls disastrously below

even the minimum requirements for the replacement of essential person-

nel.

"We have become a people so passive, so pacifist, so detached

and unemotionally involved that even the effort to propagate our species

has become too great."

The Fifth Speaker for Public Health and Medicine nodded gravely,

his fingernails unconsciously tapping on his own distressing report.

"The Computers predict that, unless we immediately -- " and First

paused to impress on each of the Seven Speakers the gravity of his pro-

nouncement, "immediately begin to reverse this effect, our civilization will

collapse of its own dead weight within three generations. "Therefore," and

the First Speaker rose to his feet, "I, as First Speaker, have already chosen

intelligence or sensitivity. It is, as you saw from the films, ecologically bal-

anced on the kill-or-be-killed natural order. Yet, even if we were forced now

-- on some other planet -- to consider the destiny of another rising species,

I trust that we have come far enough along evolution's scale by now to

remember the terrible lessons of past errors and to profit by them. Indeed,"

and his smile was grim, "we have almost come too far along that scale for

the perpetuation of our own race. Therefore, as the truly rational intelligent

beings we profess to be, let us discuss this necessity from all angles. I

cannot, of course, presume to override anyone's honest beliefs and princi-

ples. Fifth Speaker, you have comments relevant to this crisis do you not?"

With a haste inconsonant with the dignity of his office and his

years, the Fifth Speaker rose and, in a voice hoarse with distress, gave his

devastating report. He did not try to gloss over the frightening rise of sui-

cide deaths, including the irrational waves of mass, masochistic self-

destruction; a crushing apathy in some strata balanced by insensate vio-

lence in others, the decreasing birth rate in the higher intelligence percen-

tiles; a disproportionate increase of mental retardation in the lower brack-

ets; an overall picture of racial decay and indifference.

The Fourth Speaker was asked to report more fully on Education.

The good gentleman glanced down at his thick report for a moment, then

let it fall from his hands to the table.

attitude of disconsolate defeat.

The Sixth Speaker stood, clearing his throat, trying to dispel the

gloom cast by the Fourth.

Halfway through his own report on production and manufacturing

he,

too, stopped and his report slapped quietly back to the table.

"There's no point in my going on either. Perhaps I'm fortunate in

that most of my department's operations are automatic, so personnel

training is not presently a problem. It will be. And soon."

The Third Speaker glared around at his peers, unable to catch

anyone's eye, until he reached the Second Speaker.

"And I suppose that you, too, are going to hang your head with

still more disgraceful mouthings of inefficiency and indifference."

"On the contrary," Second replied, looking first to his left for

the Prime Speaker's permission. "My Department attracts trainees

constantly. Of course, we have to reject many of them due to physical

unfitness. Others are disappointed because, unfortunately, the

appropriation for Exploration and Defense falls woefully behind its

needs.

Consequently, we get the best of our vital young men and women. If

Sixth is

be exaggerations of actual fact. Moreover, the whole thing smacked of

collusion. He intended to check the print-outs in the Computer. How-

ever,

before he had a chance to gather his arguments, the First Speaker was

taking a vote on colonizing his pet project. The Third Speaker naturally

felt obliged to abstain from voting and was then forced to suppress his

horrified indignation when the other six Speakers voted in its favor.

The First Speaker wasted no further time but turned the meeting

over to the Chief of Extraterritorial Explorations.

The Chief rose, feeling a respect bordering on admiration for the

Prime Speaker's masterly handling of a tricky meeting. The Chief bowed

him, catching no hint in the benign eyes that the re-education program

which the Chief was about to outline had, in actual fact, been initiated

twenty years ago.

Chapter II

ESCAPE

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VERSION1.1(Feb1600).Ifyoufindandcorrecterrorsinthetext,pleaseupdatetheversionnumberby0.1andredistribute.ContentsCharactersIConferenceIIEscapeIIISurpriseIVContactVReturnVIReactionVIIBridgeVIIIInterferenceIXArrivalXProblemChildXITheFeastXIIRescueXIIIRedLetterDayXIVThirdMessageXXIIIInterventionXXIVProo...

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Anne McCaffrey - Doona 1 - Decision At Doona

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