Bordman was aware of an extreme unhappiness on her account. For
himself, of course, the tragedy was less. He had no family, and very
few friends. But he could see something that had not occurred to them
as yet.
"Of course," he said, "it's not only their trouble. If the solar
constant is really dropping like that, things out here will be pretty
bad, too. A lot worse than they are now. We'll have to get to work to
save ourselves!"
Riki did not look at him. Bordman bit his lips. It was plain that their
own fate did not concern them immediately. When one's home world is
doomed, one's personal safety seems a trivial matter.
There was silence save for the cackling, confused noises that came out
of the speaker on Herndon's desk.
"We," said Bordman, "are right now in the conditions they'll face a
good long time from now."
Herndon said dully:
"We couldn't live here without supplies from home. Or even without
the equipment we brought. But they can't get supplies from anywhere,
and they can't make such equipment for everybody! They'll die!" He
swallowed. "They--they know it, too. So they warn us to try to save
ourselves because they can't help us any more."
There are many reasons why a man can feel shame that he belongs to a
race which can do the things that some men do. But sometimes there are
reasons to be proud, as well. The home world of this colony was doomed,
but it sent a warning to the tiny colony so that they could try to save
themselves.
"I wish we were there to--share what they have to face," said Riki. Her
voice sounded as if her throat hurt. "I don't want to keep on living if
everybody who ever cared about us is going to die!"
Bordman felt lonely. He could understand that nobody would want to
live as the only human alive. Nobody would want to live as a member
of the only group of people left alive. And everybody thinks of his
home planet as all the world there is. _I don't think that way_,
thought Bordman. _But maybe it's the way I'd feel about living if
Riki were to die._ It would be natural to want to share any danger
or any disaster she faced.
"L-look!" he said, stammering a little. "You don't see! It isn't a case
of your living while they die! If your home world becomes like this,
what will this be like? We're farther from the sun, colder to start
with. Do you think we'll live through anything they can't take? Food
supplies or no, equipment or no, do you think we've got a chance? Use
your brains!"
Herndon and Riki stared at him. And then some of the strained look left
Riki's face and body. Herndon blinked, and said slowly:
"Why, that's so! We were thought to be taking a terrific risk when we
came here. But it'll be as much worse here. Of course! We are in the
same fix they're in!"
He straightened a little. Color actually came back into his face. Riki
managed to smile. And then Herndon said almost naturally:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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