Part 18 (1/2)

”All right. Think back. That was last year. And since the first of this year, what's happened to the standard size meat-ration?”

”They cut it in half,” Eric admitted. ”But that's because of Ag shortages, according to the telescreen reports--” He stood up, gulping. ”Look here, I'm not going to listen to any more of this kind of talk. By rights, I ought to turn your name in.”

”Go ahead.” Wolzek waved his hand. ”It's happened before. I was reported when I blasted the Yardsticks who shot my father down when he tried to land his jet in a southern field. I was reported when they killed Annette.”

”Annette?”

”You remember that name, don't you, Eric? Your first girl, wasn't she?

Well, I'm the guy who married her. Yes, and I'm the guy who talked her into having a baby without the benefit of Leff shots. Sure, it's illegal, and only a few of us ever try it any more, but we both agreed that we wanted it that way. A real, life-sized, normal baby. Or abnormal, according to the Yardsticks and the stupid government.

”It was a dirty sc.u.m of a government doctor who let her die on the table when he discovered the child weighed seven pounds. That's when I really woke up, Eric. That's when I knew there was going to be only one decision to make in the future--kill or be killed.”

”Annette. She died, you say?”

Wolzek moved over and put his hand on Eric's shoulder. ”You never married, did you, Eric? I think I know why. It's because you felt the way I did about it. You wanted a regular kid, not a Yardstick. Only you didn't quite have the guts to try and beat the law. Well, you'll need guts now, because it's getting to the point where the law can't protect you any more. The government is made up of old men, and they're afraid to take action. In a few years they'll be pushed out of office all over the world. We'll have Yardstick government then, all the way, and Yardstick law. And that means they'll cut us down to size.”

”But what can you--we--do about it?”

”Plenty. There's still a little time. If we Naturalists can only get together, stop being just a name and become an organized force, maybe the ending will be different. We've got to try, in any case.”

”The Yardsticks are human beings, just like us,” Eric said, slowly.

”We can't just declare war on them, wipe them out. It's not their _fault_ they were born that way.”

Wolzek nodded. ”I know. Nothing is anybody's fault, really. This whole business began in good faith. Leffingwell and some of the other geniuses saw a problem and offered what they sincerely believed was a solution.”

”But it didn't work,” Eric murmured.

”Wrong. It worked only too well. That's the trouble. Sure, we eliminated our difficulties on the physical level. In less than thirty years we've reached a point where there's no longer any danger of overcrowding or starvation. But the psychological factor is something we can't cope with. We thought we'd ended war and the possibilities of war a long time ago. But it isn't foreign enemies we must fear today.

We've created a nation divided into Davids and Goliaths--and David and Goliath are always enemies.”

”David killed Goliath,” Eric said. ”Does that mean we're going to die?”

”Only if we're as stupid as Goliath was. Only if we wear our telescreens like invincible armor and pay no attention to the slingshot in David's hands.”

Eric lit a reef. ”All right,” he said. ”You don't have to lecture. I'm willing to join. But I'm no Goliath, really. I never had a fight in my life. What could I do to help?”

”You're a rental agent. You have the keys to this building. The guards don't bother you by day, do they? You come and go as you please. That means you can get into the cellars. You can help us move the stuff down there. And we'll take care of the guards some night, after that.”

”I don't understand.”

The friendly pressure on Eric's shoulder became a fierce grip. ”You don't have to understand. All you do is let us plant the stuff in the cellars and let us get rid of the guards afterwards in our own way.

The Yardsticks will do the rest.”

”You mean, take over the building when it's not protected?”

”Of course. They'll take it over completely, once they see there's no opposition. And they'll remodel it to suit themselves, and within a month there'll be ten thousand Yardsticks sitting in this place.”

”The government will never stand still for that.”