A colony from Earth implied an atmosphere, and several planets in the
group indeed looked fuzzy. The two Divers skimmed rapidly from one to
another in a general survey, selected the largest of those which might
support man, and sank down through its belts of radiation.
The central mass of land lay beneath thin clouds, through which the
local sun shone in drifting spotlights over the cultivated areas and
irregular groups of cities.
"When we get closer," her voice said, "you'll see them walking about
inside their minds, which to us will be cloudy colored eggs around
them. They cannot see this, of course, any more than a non-Psi or we
ourselves on Earth. If it isn't obvious what they are thinking, we'll
have to go close enough to touch their minds with ours. But be very
careful before you do that. If they are very empty-minded, there is a
risk that their body magnetism will polarize your mind in temporarily.
You can get out again, but it's messy and unpleasant while it lasts.
And it's almost impossible to avoid being sucked into a medium's mind,
so I hope they haven't got any."
They were now over the main city and headed toward a large domed
building, apparently modeled on the Capitol.
"How did they get here?" he asked.
"We don't really know. The contacts so far have been by radio to a
very early investigating fleet. Obviously they must have come out
after the hyper-space drive was invented--we're over twenty thousand
light-years from Earth, here, I'm told--but they don't seem to realize
the difficulties of sending them the envoy they asked for. Assuming
these are the people that wanted one."
"Look, an old landcar--down there on the street!" he exclaimed.
The colony apparently still used ground vehicles. As they came closer,
they could see people walking in the streets and moving in and out
of doorways. There were no moving sidewalks, personal vertijets,
anti-gravs. It was cleaner but otherwise as old-fashioned as the
quarter in which Fred Williams lived on Earth.
"Imagine coming so far--to find this," he said, disappointed.
"You'll find colonies are usually several generations behind, but let's
not be too hasty," she said. "We can have a look around later. First,
let's see if we have the right planet and get this envoy matter out of
the way. Down through the dome, here."
They passed through the weather sheathing and curved girders of the
dome into an assembly hall full of human beings, seated around a
central dais. The colonists had apparently been inspired by Congress. A
quick glance at their minds showed they were politicians, no better and
no worse than the Earth variety, intent on compromise and the exchange
of benefits between the groups of interests they seemed to represent.
Several carried visibly in their minds one fixed interest and a quick
count showed that agriculture was, in one form or another, the main
business of the colony.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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