and we call something else. We'd like tostart that trade.
"But you're desperately close to smashing things. So we've had to rushthings. We did stop that Bulgarian raid. When you proved too sharp to befooled, we grew hopeful. Here might be our entering wedge. We hammeredat you. We managed to make your people suspicious that there might besomething in what you said. We proved it. It was rugged for you, but wehad to let you people force us into the open. If we'd marched out shylywith roses in our hair--what would you have thought?"
Coburn said doggedly: "I'm still waiting for the terms. What do youwant?"
The General said something plaintive from his chair. It was to theeffect that Coburn still believed that Earth was in danger of conquestfrom space.
"Look!" said Dillon irritably. "If you people had found the trick ofspace travel first, and you'd found us, would you have tried to conquerus? Considering that we're civilized?"
Coburn said coldly, "No. Not my particular people. We know you can'tconquer a civilized race. You can exterminate them, or you can breakthem down to savagery, but you can't conquer them. You can't conquerus!"
Then Dillon said very painstakingly: "But we don't want to conquer you.Even your friends inside the Iron Curtain know that the only way toconquer a country is to smash it down to savagery. They've done thatover and over for conquest. But what the devil good would savages be tous? We want someone to trade with. We can't trade with savages. We wantsomeone to gain something from. What have savages to offer us? A planet?Good Heavens, man! We've already found sixty planets for colonies, muchbetter for us than Earth. Your gravity here is ... well, it'ssickeningly low."
"What _do_ you want then?"
"We want to be friends," said Dillon. "We'll gain by it exactly what youEarth people gained when you traded freely among yourselves, beforeblocked currencies and quotas and such nonsense strangled trade. We'llgain what you gained when you'd stopped having every city a fort andevery village guarded by the castle of its lord. Look, Coburn: we've gotpeople inside the Iron Curtain. We'll keep them there. You won't be ableto disband your armies, but we can promise you won't have to usethem--because we certainly won't help you chaps fight among yourselves.We'll give you one of our ships to study and work on. But we won't giveyou our arms. You'll have your moon in a year and your whole solarsystem in a decade. You'll trade with us from the time you choose, andyou'll be roaming space when you can grasp the trick of it. Man, youcan't refuse. You're too near to certain smashing of your civilization,and we can help you to avoid it. Think what we're offering."
Then Coburn said grimly: "And if we don't like the bargain? What if werefuse?"
Dillon carefully put the ash from his cigarette into an ashtray. "If youwon't be our friends," he said with some distaste, "we can't gainanything useful from you. We don't want you as slaves. You'd be no goodto us. For that reason we can't get anything we want from the IronCurtain people. They've nothing to offer that we can use. So ourultimatum is--make friends or we go away and leave you alone. Take it orleave it!"
There was a dead, absolute silence. After a long time Coburn said:"Altruism?"
Dillon grinned. "Enlightened self-interest. Common sense!"
* * * * *
There was a clicking in the ceiling. A metallic voice said: "Mr.Coburn, the conversation just overheard and recorded has to bediscussed in detail on high diplomatic levels. It will take time forconferences--decisions--arrangements. Assuming that your guests areacting in good faith, they have safe conduct from the villa. Their offeris very attractive, but it will have to be passed on at highpolicy-making levels."
Dillon said pleasantly, to the ceiling: "Yes. And you've got to keep itfrom being public, of course, until your space ships can discover ussomewhere. It will have to be handled diplomatically, so your people areback of a grand offer to make friends when it happens." He added wryly,"We're very much alike, really. Coburn's very much like us. That'swhy--if it's all right with you--you can arrange for him to be our pointof confidential contact. We'll keep in touch with him."
The ceiling did not reply. Dillon waited, then shrugged. The Greekgeneral spoke. He said that since they had come so far out fromSalonika, it was too early to leave again. It might be a good idea tohave a party. Some music would be an excellent thing. He said he likedEarth music very much.
* * * * *
A long time later Janice and Coburn were alone in the one room of thehouse which was not wired for sound. There were no microphones here.
Coburn said reluctantly in the darkness: "It sounds sensible all right.Maybe it's true. But it feels queer to think of it...."
Janice pressed closer to him and whispered in his ear: "I made friendswith that girl who passed for Helena. I like her. She says we'll beinvited to make a trip to their planet. They can do something about thegravity. And she says she's really going to be married to the ... personwho was with her...." She hesitated. "She showed me what they reallylook like when they're not disguised as us."
Coburn put his arm around her and smiled gently. "Well? Want to tellme?"
Janice caught her breath. "I--I could have cried.... The poor thing--tolook like that. I'm glad I look like I do. For you, darling. For you."
Transcriber's Note:
This etext was produced from _Amazing Stories_ April-May 1953. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note.
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