Page 9 - Tales Apocalyptic and Dystopian

The Stars Impel

“We cannot. It is that simple. Now, to continue: after the first
suitable planet for repopulation had been discovered, and the means
to transport vehicles through induced worm-holes in spacetime were
developed, it remained to select the colonists. The space station held
about seven thousand persons at that time, all genetically fit. The
sociobiologists ran everyone’s DNA through the computer to pick a
group conforming to carefully determined requirements. These
included metabolic, psychological, and genotypical parameters, the
nature of which need not concern you. The point is that the colonists
represented a narrow subset of human traits and abilities; the
members of that group resembled each other more closely than any
other closed non-inbred population in history.”
The man leaned back in his chair, both creaking. His hands, which
had briefly been gripping the edge of the desktop, returned to their
habitual shuffling and straightening of books and papers.
“When the party left,” Yarsis continued, “it consisted of eighty-
three young married couples. The Agency has since found other
planets meeting its standards, and other groups have been dispatched
from our space station to begin life anew on an Earth-like planet free
from radiation and chemical contaminants. They do not concern this
inquiry—yet. It is the situation of the first population, sent to
Eufloria, the planet projected on this hologram, which brings us here
today.”
Jay Trovu examined the image. Clouds swirled about a multi-
colored sphere, reminding him of an old faded magazine photograph
he had once seen of the earth, taken from the Agency space station
when it was no more than a platform for research and exploration. A
single moon, somewhat larger than Luna, circled Eufloria, crossing
the ecliptic plane at an angle slightly greater than that of Terra’s
satellite. A clutch of minor and major planets also swung around
Arcana, within and beyond Eufloria’s orbit. All in all, quite similar to
the solar system of origin; Jay could imagine human beings living
there happily after a brief period of adjustment.
“Well,” he said, shifting his gaze from the starmap to the eyes of
his interlocutor. “This is not the usual sort of problem I am called
upon to deal with. Most of my clients subscribe to a deterministic
view of nature and destiny, so they pay me to provide a glimpse into
their future. Of course, the future for any of us still living in this hell

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