Childhood's End (22 page)

It was observed, however, that after the concert Thanthalteresco sought out the three composers who had been present,

and complimented them all on what he called their "great

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ingenuity". This caused them to retire with pleased but vaguely baffled expressions.

It was not until the third day that George Greggson had a chance of meeting the Inspector. The theatre had arranged a kind of mixed grill rather than a single dish-two one-act plays, a sketch by a world-famous impersonator, and a ballet sequence. Once again all these items were superbly executed and one critic's predicnon-"Now at least we'll discover if the Overlords can yawn"-was falsified. Indeed, the Inspector laughed several times, and in the correct places.

And yet-no-one could be sure. He might himself be putting on a superb act, following the performance by logic alone and with his own strange emotions completely untouched, as an anthropologist might take part in some primitive rite. The fact that he uttered the appropriate sounds, and made the expected responses, really proved nothing at all.

Though George had been determined to have a talk with the Inspector, he failed utterly. After the performance they exchanged a few words of introduction, then the visitor was swept away. It was completely impossible to isolate him from his entourage, and George went home in a state of extreme frustration. He was by no means certain what he wished to say even if he had had the chance, but somehow, he felt sure, he could have turned the conversation round to Jeff. And now the opportunity had gone.

His bad temper lasted two days. The Inspector's flyer had departed, amid many protestations of mutual regard, before the sequel emerged. No-one had thought of questioning Jeff, and the boy must have been thinking it over for a long time before he approached George.

"Daddy," he said, just prior to bedtime. "You know the Overlord who came to see us?"

"Yes," replied George grimly.

"Well, he came to our school, and I heard him talk to some of the teachers. I didn't really understand what he said-but I think I recognized his voice. That's who told me to run when the big wave came."

"You are quite sure?"

Jeff hesitated for a moment.

"Not quite-but if it wasn't him, it was another Overlord. I wondered if I ought to thank him. But he's gone now, hasn't he?"

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"Yes," said George. "I'm afraid he has. Still, perhaps we'll

have another chance. Now go to bed like a good boy and don't

worry about it any more."

When Jeff was safely out of the way, and Jenny had been attended to, Jean came back and sat on the rug beside George's chair, leaning against his legs. It was a habit that struck him as annoyingly sentimental, but not worth creating a fuss about.

He merely made his knees as nobbly as possible.

"What do you think about it now?" asked Jean in a tired, flat voice. "Do you believe it really happened?"

"It happened," George replied, "but perhaps we're foolish to worry. After all, most parents would be grateful-and of course, I am grateful. The explanation may be perfectly simple. We know that the Overlords have got interested in the Colony, so they've undoubtedly been observing it with their instruments-despite that promise they made. Suppose one was just prowling round with that viewing gadget of theirs, and saw the wave coming. It would be natural enough to warn anyone who was in danger."

"But he knew Jeff's name, don't forget that. No, we're being watched. There's something peculiar about us, something that attracts their attention. I've felt it ever since Rupert's party. It's funny how that changed both our lives."

George looked down at her with sympathy, but nothing more. It was strange how much one could alter in so short a time. He was fond of her: she had borne his children and was part of his life. But of the love which a not-clearly-remembered person named George Greggson had once known towards a fading dream called Jean Morrel, how much remained?

His love was divided now between Jeff and Jennifer on the one hand-and Carolle on the other. He did not believe that Jean knew about Carolle, and he intended to tell her before anyone else did. But somehow he had never got round to it.

"Very well-Jeff is being watched-protected, in fact.

Don't you think that should make us proud? Perhaps the Overlords have planned a great future for him. I wonder what it can be?"

He was talking to reassure Jean, he knew. He was not greatly disturbed himself~ only intrigued and baffled. And quite suddenly another thought struck him, something that

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should have occurred to him before. His eyes turned autonatically towards the nursery.

"I wonder if it's only Jeff they're after," he said.

In due course the Inspector presented his report. The Islanders would have given much to see it. All the statistics md records went into the insatiable memories of the great omputers which were some, but not all, of the unseen powers hehind Karellen. Even before these impersonal electric minds had arrived at their conclusions, however, the Inspector had given his own recommendations. Expressed in the thoughts and language of the human race, they would have run as follows:

'We need take no action regarding the Colony. It is an interesting experiment, but cannot in any way affect the future. Its artistic endeavours are no concern of ours, and there is no evidence that any scientific research is progressing along dangerous channels.

"As planned, I was able to see the school records of Subject Zero, without arousing curiosity. The relevant statistics are attached, and it will be seen that there are still no signs of any unusual development. Yet, as we know, Breakthrough seldom gives much prior warning.

"I also met the Subject's father, and gathered the impression that he wished to speak to me. Fortunately I was able to avoid this. There is no doubt that he suspects something, though of course he can never guess the truth nor affect the outcome in any way.

"I grow more and more sorry for these people."

George Greggson would have agreed with the Inspector's verdict that there was nothing unusual about Jeff. There was just that one baffling incident, as startling as a single clap of thunder. on a long, calm day. And after that-nothing.

Jeff bad all the energy and inquisitiveness of any other seven-year-old. He was intelligent-when he bothered to be

-but was in no danger of becoming a genius. Sometimes, Jean thought a little wearily, he filled to perfection the classic recipe for a small boy: "a noise surrounded by dirt". Not that it was very easy to be certain about the dirt, which had to accumulate

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for a considerable time before it showed against Jeff's normal sunburn.

By turns he could be affectionate or morose, reserved or ebullient. He showed no preference for one parent rather than the other, and the arrival of his little sister had not produced any signs of jealousy. His medical card was spotless; he had never had a day's illness in his life. But in these times, and in such a climate, there was nothing unusual about this.

Unlike some boys, Jeff did not grow quickly bored by his father's company and desert him whenever possible for assodates of his own age. It was obvious that he shared George's artistic talents, and almost as soon as he was able to walk had become a regular back-stage visitor to the Colony's theatre, Indeed, the theatre had adopted him as an unofficial mascot and he was now highly skilled at presenting bouquets to visiting celebrities of stage and screen.

Yes, Jeff was a perfectly ordinary boy. So George reassured himself as they went for walks or rides together over the Island's rather restricted terrain. They would talk as sons and fathers had done since the beginning of time-except that in this age there was so much more to talk about. Though Jeff never left the Island, he could see all that he wished of the surrounding world through the ubiquitous eye of the television screen. He felt, like all the Colonists, a slight disdain for the rest of mankind. They were the elite, the vanguard of progress. They would take Mankind to the heights that the Overlords had reached-and perhaps beyond. Not tomorrow, certainly, but otie day.

They never guessed that that day would be all too soon.

18

T~ dreams began six weeks later.

In the darkness of the sub-tropical night, George Greggson swam slowly upwards towards consciousness. He did not know what had awakened him, and for a moment he lay in a puzzled stupor. Then he realized that he was alone. Jean had got up and gone silently into the nursery. She was talking quietly to Jeff, too quietly for him to hear what she was saying.

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George heaved himself out of bed and went to join her. The Poppet had made such nocturnal excursions common enough, but then there had been no question of his remaining asleep through the uproar. This was something quite different and he wondered what had disturbed Jean.

The only light in the nursery came from the fluoro-paint patterns on the walls. By their dim glow, George could see Jean sitting beside Jeff's bed. She turned as he came in, and whispered, "Don't disturb the Poppet."

"What's the matter?"

"I knew that Jeff wanted me, and that woke me up."

The very matter-of-fact simplicity of that statement gave George a feeling of sick apprehension. "I knew that Jeff wanted me." How did you know? he wondered. But all. he asked was:

"Has he been having nightmares?"

"I'm not sure," said Jean, "he seems all right now. But he was frightened when I came in."

"I wasn't frightened, Mummy," came a small, indignant voice. "But it was such a strange place."

"What was?" asked George. "Tell me all about it."

"There were mountains," said Jeff dreamily. "They were ever so high and there was no snow on them, like on all the mountains I've ever seen. Some of them were burning."

"You mean-volcanoes ?"

"Not really. They were burning all over, with funny blue flames. And while I was watching, the sun came up."

"Go on-why have you stopped?"

Jeff turned puzzled eyes towards his father.

"That's the other thing I don't understand, Daddy. It came up so quickly, and it was much too big. And-it wasn't the right colour. It was such a pretty blue."

There was a long, heart-freezing silence. Then George said quietly, "Is that all?"

"Yes. I began to feel kind of lonely, and that's when Mummy came and woke me up."

George tousled his son's untidy hair with one hand, while tightening his dressing-gown around him with the other. He felt suddenly very cold and very small. But there was no hint of this in his voice when he spoke to Jeff.

"It's just a silly dream: you've eaten too much for supper. Forget all about it and go back to sleep, there's a good boy."

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"I will, Daddy," Jeff replied. He paused for a moment, then added thoughtfully, "I think I'll try and go there again."

"A blue sun?" said Karellen, not many hours later. "That

must have made identification fairly easy."

"Yes," Rashaverak answered. "It is undoubtedly Aiphanidon 2. The Sulphur Mountains confirm the fact. And it's interesting to notice the distortion of the time scale. The planet rotates fairly slowly, so he must have observed many hours in a few minutes."

"That's all you can discover?"

"Yes, without questioning the child directly."

"We dare not do that. Events must take their natural course without our interference. When his parents approach us- then, perhaps, we can question him."

"They may never come to us. And when they do, it may be

too late."

"That, I am afraid, cannot be helped. We should never forget this fact-that in these matters our curiosity is of no importance. It is no more important, even, than the happiness of mankind."

His hand reached out to break the connection.

"Continue the surveillance, of course, and report all results

to me. But do not interfere in any way."

Yet when he was awake, Jeff still seemed just the same.

That at least, thought George, was something for which they

could be thankful. But the dread was growing in his heart.

To Jeff~ it was only a game: it had not yet begun to frighten him. A dream was merely a dream, no matter how strange it might be. He was no longer lonely in the worlds that sleep opened up to him. Only on that first night had his mind called out to Jean across whatever unknown gulfs had sundered them.

Now he went alone and fearless into the universe that was opening up before him.

In the mornings they would question him, and he would tell what he could remember. Sometimes his words stumbled and failed as he tried to describe scenes which were clearly not only beyond all his experience, but beyond the imagination of Man. They would prompt him with new words, show him pictures

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and colours to refresh his memory, then build up what pattern

they could from his replies. Often they could make nothing of the result, though it seemed that in Jeft's own mind his dream worlds were perfectly plain and sharp. He was simply unable to communicate them to his parents. Yet some were clear enough- Space-no planet, no surrounding landscape, no world

underfoot. Only the stars in the velvet night, and hanging against them a great red sun that was beating like a heart.

Huge and tenuous at one moment, it would slowly shrink, brightening at the same time as if new fuel was being fed to its

internal fires. It would climb the spectrum and hover at the

edge of yellow, and the cycle would reverse itself, the, star

would expand and cool, becoming once more a ragged, flame-red cloud....

("Typical pulsating variable," said Rashaverak eagerly.

"Seen, too, under tremendous time-acceleration. I can't identify it precisely, but the nearest star that fits the description is Rhamsandron 9. Or it may be Pharanidon 12."

"Whichever it is," replied Karellen, "he's getting further away from home."