"From the earliest of established dates, taken from the stones of Assyria and the artifacts of Maya, some seven thousand years." Charalas added a lengthy discussion setting the length of a Terran year. "Ertinian history is perhaps a bit longer," said Terokar. "And so who can say 'forever'?" "No comment," said Guy with a slight laugh. "But my statements concerning stability are not to be construed as the same type of instability suffered by an itinerant human. He has no roots, and few friends, and he gains nothing nor does he offer anything to society. No, I am wrong. It _is_ the same thing. Ertene goes on through the eons of wandering. She has no friends and no roots and while she may gain experience and knowledge of the universe just as the tramp will, her ultimate gain is poor and her offering to civilization is zero." "I dispute that. Ertene's life has become better for the experience she has gained and the knowledge, too." "Perhaps. But her offering to civilization?" "We are not a dead world. Perhaps some day we may be able to offer the storehouses of our knowledge to some system that will need it. Perhaps we are destined to become the nucleus of a great, galactic civilization." "Such a civilization will never work as long as men are restrained as to speed of transportation. Could any pact be sustained between planets a hundred light-years apart? Indeed, could any pact be agreed upon?" "I cannot answer that save to agree. However, somewhere there may be some means of faster-than-light travel and communication. If this is found, galactic-wide civilization will not only be possible but a definite expectation." "You realize that you are asking for Ertene a destiny that sounds definitely egotistic?" "And why not? Are you not sold on the fact that Terra is the best planet in the Solar System?" "Naturally." "Also," smiled Charalas, "the Martians admit that Mars is the best planet." "Granted then that Ertene is stable. Even granting for the moment that Ertene is someday to become the nucleus of the galaxy. I still claim that Ertene is missing one item." Guy waited for a moment and then added: "Ertene is missing the contact and commerce with other races. Ertene is self-sufficient and as such is stagnant as far as new life goes. Life on Ertene has reached the ultimate--for Ertene. Similarly, life on Terra had reached that point prior to the opening of space. Life must struggle against _something_, and when the struggle is no longer possible--when all possible obstruction has been circumvented--then life decays." "You see us as decadent?" "Not yet. The visiting of system after system has kept you from total decadence. It is but a stasis, however. Unless one has the samples of right and wrong from which to choose, how may he know his own course?" * * * * *