The Sinners of Erspia

'Klystar’ rotated his head to regard him with a single middle eye. He spoke in a reedy voice which was much weaker than before. “You have successfully sabotaged Klystar's body replacement. It is defunct.

He was forced to take refuge in this body temporarily."

“Then do I now address the real Klystar?"

“No, you do not. Klystar lingered only long enough to obtain the Erspia data from me, though he would have preferred to review the results for himself. He has already left for a new destination.” With no change of tone, ‘Klystar’ added, “It may please you to hear that inadvertently you have forestalled the imminent destruction of the specimens. Klystar is meticulous in his actions. He would have closed down the experiment on completion, reducing the Erspia worlds to the rubble from which they were formed."

To realize that he had emptied his bucket into the tank in the nick of time gave Laedo a sense of destiny.

“Then will you do that yourself? Or continue in charge as before?"

“I am unable to do either. You have killed not only the new body, but the old one as well. In a few minutes both will lie dead on the floor of this chamber."

“I don't understand,” puzzled Laedo.

“It is simple enough. Immediacy of Thought is like stretching a piece of elastic and letting one end go. It snaps forward and stings the fingers. The longer the stretch, the greater the violence of contraction. A transfer from galaxy to galaxy delivers a shock so great it is lethal to an aged body such as speaks to you now."

“But that doesn't make sense,” protested Laedo. “You did not receive Klystar from another galaxy, only from across the room!"

'Klystar’ made no immediate answer. He appeared to be gathering his remaining strength. When he responded, it was in a dry voice. “Are you hungry for knowledge, or merely argumentative?” Again his head rotated slowly, dim eyes staring in turn. “Immediacy of Thought, though described as instantaneous, in practice takes several minutes to accomplish in full. The essence of the traveller is projected in a wave train stretching the length of the distance to be traversed. That is the ‘elastic band'. It is the leading end which makes instant contact with the target. The rear end is then released, and the wave train contracts into its new location in a non-zero time interval. The Klystar who spoke to you was not the whole Klystar but a partial representation, the vanguard of the wave train. On finding that the new body was poisoned he switched the target to me in order to collect the Erspia data. I-Klystar received the full force of the remaining wave train."

Now Laedo understood. He had frustrated Klystar, denying him a receptacle. The polymath had been forced to depart and could not have remained. It was to be hoped he had no further reason to return.

'Klystar's’ voice was growing weaker. He slumped. The lack of rancour on his part was a striking element. Laedo had wreaked considerable inconvenience on Klystar, yet there was no hint of seeking revenge. And why should there be? Such attitudes were part of the social dimension, which in Klystar was absent.

Also curious was the readiness to spend one's last moments explaining technical matters to a near-stranger and proven enemy. It was the dying reflex of one dominated by the compulsive hunt for knowledge.

The next words, however, were far from reassuring. “It took Klystar only seconds to evaluate the data and render a judgment. It is this. Your species is unstable in evolutionary terms. Its survival index is low.

True intelligence will begin its appearance in this galaxy in about two billion years time. Klystar may well be still alive then. But homo sapiens , as you term yourselves, will have devolved back to the simian level in less then half a million years from now, your spurious intelligence evaporated..."

'Klystar’ was losing his ability to stand upright. Slowly he toppled. As he lay on the floor Laedo made a hurried, if impudent, request.

“Can you release control of the projector station to me?"

'Klystar’ was still. “Projector station..." he whispered.

And then was silent.

Laedo stepped to the inert body and kicked it. “Speak!"

There was no response.

At the other end of the gallery the extra-tall door clicked open. Half a dozen men and women, all clad the same, in loose blue trousers and blouses patterned in silver-and-gold, entered. On seeing the two dead Klystar bodies they halted.

“What has happened?"

The shocked question came from a man somewhat older than the others, with streaks of grey in his hair.

These would be the body servitors referred to by ‘Klystar', a team charged with maintaining the flesh tank.

“Klystar has returned, and gone away again,” Laedo announced. “You can close the project down now.

He will not return a second time. The tank needs no more victims."