Cubs of the Wolf Raymond Fisher Jones

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter one of Cubs of the Wolf. This is a
LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Recording by Zach Katstein. Cubs of the Wolf by Raymond F. Jones,

(00:26):
Chapter one. It may be that there's a weapon that,
from the viewpoint of the one it's used on, is
worse than lethal. You might say that death multiplies you
by zero. What would multiplication by minus one do? In

(00:48):
the spring, the cherryblossoms are heavy in the air over
the campus of Solarian Institute of Science and Humanities, on
a small slope that rims the park area, Cameron Wylder
lay on his back, squinting through the cloud of pink
white petals to the sky beyond. Beside him, Joyce Farquhar

(01:11):
drew her jacket closer with an irritated gesture. It was
still too cold to be sitting on the grass, but
Cameron didn't seem to notice it or anything else. Joyce thought,
if you don't submit a subject for your thesis now,
she said, you'll take another six months to get your doctorate.

(01:33):
Sometimes I think you don't even want it. Cameron stirred.
He shifted his squinting gaze from the sky to Joyce
and finally sat up, But he was staring ahead through
the trees again as he took his pipe from his
pocket and began filling it slowly. I don't want it

(01:56):
if it's not going to mean anything after I get it,
he said belligerently. I'm not going to do an investigation
of some silly subject like the transience of Venusian immigrants
in relation to the Martian polar ice cap cycle. Solarian

(02:17):
sociologists are the butt of enough ridicule. Now do something
like that, and for the rest of your life you
get knocking of the knees whenever anybody inquires about the
specialty you worked in and threatens to read your thesis.
Nobody's asking you to do anything you don't want to.

(02:38):
But you picked the field of sociology to work in. Now.
I don't see why you have to act like such
a purist that it takes months to find a research
project for your degree. Pick something anything, I don't care
what it is. But if you don't get a degree
and an appointment out of the next session, I don't

(02:59):
think we'll ever get married not ever. Cameron removed his
pipe from his mouth with a precise grip and considered
it intently as it cupt in his hands. I'm glad
you mentioned marriage, he said, I was just about to
speak of it myself. Well, don't, said Joyce. After three

(03:25):
years three years, he turned to face her and smiled
for the first time. He liked to lead her along
occasionally just to watch her explode, but he was not
always sure when he had gone too far. Joyce had
a mind like a snapping random matching calculator, while he

(03:47):
operated more on a slow, carefully shaping analog basis, knowing
things were never quite what they seemed, but trying to
get as close to an approximation of the true picture
as possible. Will you marry me now? He said? The
question did not seem to startle her. No degree, no appointment,

(04:11):
and no chance of getting one. We couldn't even get
a license. I hope you aren't suggesting we try to
get along without one or on a forgery. Cameron shook
his head. No, darling, this is a perfectly bonafide proposal,
complete with the license, appointment, the works. What do you say?

(04:33):
I say this spring sun is too much for you.
She touched the dark mass of his hair, warmed by
the sun's rays, and put her head on his shoulder.
She started to cry, don't tease me like that, Cameron.
It seems like we've been waiting forever and they's still

(04:54):
forever ahead of us. You can't do anything you want to.
Ca put his arms around her, not caring if the
whole institute faculty leaned out the windows to watch. That's
why you should appreciate being about to marry such a
resourceful fellow, he said, more gently, and now he dropped

(05:17):
all banter. I've been thinking about how long it's been too.
That's why I decided to try to kill a couple
of sparrows with one pebble. Joyce sat up. You aren't serious,
Cameron sucked on his pipe once more. Ever, hear of
the Markov nucleus, he said thoughtfully. Joyce nodded her head. Oh,

(05:45):
I think I've heard the name mentioned, she murmured, But
nothing more than that. I've asked for that as my
research project. But that's clear out of the galaxy in
trans space. Yes, and obviously out of bounds for the

(06:06):
ordinary graduate researcher. But because of the scholarship record I've
been able to rack up here. I took a chance
on applying to the Corning Foundation for a grant, and
they've decided to take a chance on me after considerable
and not entirely painless investigation. That's why you were followed

(06:26):
around like a suspected disloyalist for a month. My application
included a provision for you to go along as my wife.
Professor Father Gill notified me this morning that the grant
had been awarded. Cam Joyce's voice was brittle. Now you

(06:47):
aren't fooling me, He gathered her in his arms. Again.
You think I would fool about something like that, darling.
In a week you'll be missus c Wylder, and as
soon as school is out, on your way to the
Markovian nucleus. And besides, it took me almost as much

(07:08):
work preparing the research prospectus as the average guy spends
on his whole project. Sometimes Joyce Farquhar wished Cameron were
a good deal different than he was, But then he
wouldn't have been Cameron, and she wouldn't have wanted to

(07:28):
marry him. She supposed, and somehow, while he fell behind
in the mid stretch, he always managed to come in
at the end with the rest of the field, or
just a little bit ahead of it, or a good
deal ahead of it. As now, it took her a
few moments to realize the magnitude of the coup he

(07:50):
had actually pulled off. For weeks she had been depressed
because he had refused to use some trivial breeze research
to get his degree. He could have started it as
much as a year ago, and they could have been
married now if he'd set himself up a real cinch.
But now they were getting married anyway, and Cameron was

(08:14):
getting the kind of research deal that would satisfy his
frantic desire for integrity in a world where accounted for little,
and his wish to contribute something genuine to the sociological
understanding of sentient creatures. Their marriage, as was customary, would
be a cut and dried affair, a call to the

(08:37):
Licensed Bureau, receipt of formal sanction in the mail. She
supposed Cameron had already made application, and a little party
with a few of their closest friends on the campus.
She wished she had lived in the days when getting
married was much easier to do and something to make
a fuss about. She stirred and sat up, loosening the

(09:01):
jacket as the sun came from behind a puff of cloud.
You could have told me about this a long time ago,
couldn't you, she said, accusingly. Cameron nodded. I could have,
but I didn't want to get false hopes aroused. I
didn't have much hope the deal would actually go through myself.

(09:25):
I think Father Gill is pretty much responsible for it. Transface,
Joyce said, dreamily, tell me about the Markovian nucleus. Why
is it important enough for a big research study anyway?
It's a case of a leopard who changed his spots,

(09:45):
said Cameron. Nobody knows how or why. The full title
of the project is a study of the metamorphosis of
the Markovian Nucleus. What happened? How are they different from
the way they used to be? One hundred and fifty
years ago? The Markovians were the meanest, nastiest, orneriest specimens

(10:11):
in the entire Council of Galactic Associates. The groups of
worlds in one corner of their galaxy which make up
the nucleus, controlled a military force that outweighed anything The
Council could possibly bring to bear against them. With complete

(10:32):
disregard for any scheme of interplanetary rules or order, they
harassed and attacked peaceful, shipping and inoffensive cultures throughout a
wide territory. They were something demanding the Council's military action,
but the Council lacked the strength. For years, the Council

(10:54):
dragged on, debating and threatening ineffectively, but nothing was ever done.
And then so gradually it was hardly noticed, the harassments
began to die down. The warlike posturing was abandoned by
the Markovians. Within a period of seventy or eighty years.

(11:16):
There was a complete about face. They wound up as
good Indians, peaceful, cooperative and intelligent members of the Council.
Didn't anybody ever find out why, asked Joyce. No nobody
wanted to find out. In the early years, the worlds

(11:38):
of the Council were hiding behind their collective hands, hoping
with all their might that the threat might go away
if they kept their eyes closed long enough, and by
some miracle of all miracles, when they parted their fingers
for a scared glimpse, the threat had disappeared. When they

(12:00):
could breathe a little more easily. It seemed a foolish
thing to bring out this old skeleton from the closet again,
so a perpetual state of hush was established. Finally, the
whole thing was practically forgotten, except for a short paragraph
in an occasional history text. But no politician or historian

(12:25):
has ever dared publicly to question the mysterious why of
the Markovians about face. Sociologists should have done it long ago,
said Joyce. There was always the political pressure, of course,
said Cameron. But the real reason was simply our preoccupation

(12:47):
with making bibliographies of each other's papers. It's going to
take a lot of leg work, something in which our
formal courses don't give us any basic training. Father Gill
understands that. That's why he pushed me so hard with
the foundation, and Riley up there is capable of seeing

(13:08):
it too. I showed him that here was a complex
of at least one hundred and ten major planets inhabited
by a fairly homogeneous civilized people, speaking from a technological
point of view, at least, and almost overnight, some force

(13:28):
changed the entire cultural posture. I made him see that
identification of that force is of no small interest to
us right now. If it operated once, it could operate again,
and would its results be as happy a second time?

(13:50):
Riley got the foundation to kick through enough for you
and me to make a start. A preliminary survey is
about all it will amount to, actually, But if we
show evidence of something tangible, I'll get my degree, you'll
get your basic certification, and we'll both return in charge
of a full scale inquiry with the staff big enough

(14:13):
to really dig into things next year. Now about this
matter of marriage, which you don't want me to speak of,
Keep talking, Cam, you're doing wonderfully. They got married at once,
even though there were several weeks of school which had

(14:34):
to be finished before they could leave. Among their friends
on the campus, there were a good many whispered remarks
about the insanity of Joyce and Cameron implanning such a
fantastic excursion. But Joyce was certain there was as much
envy as criticism in the eyes of her associates. It

(14:55):
might be true when they asserted that every conceivable so
sociological factor or combination of factors could be found and
analyzed right here in the solar system. But a husband
who could finagle away to combine a honeymoon trip halfway
across space with his graduate research thesis was a rare specimen.

(15:18):
Joyce played her advantage for all it was worth. Two
weeks before their departure time, however, Cam was called into
the office of Professor Fothergill. As he entered, he found
a third man present, wearing a uniform he recognized at
once as belonging to the Council Secretariat. Oh wait outside,

(15:42):
he said abruptly, as Fathergill turned, I got your message
and came right over. I didn't know. Sit down, said
Father Gil Cameron. This is mister Ebbing, whose position you
no doubt recognize. Mister Ebbing, mister Wylder. The men shook

(16:03):
hands and took seats across from each other. Father Gill
sat between them at the polished table. The Council, it seems,
has taken an interest in your proposed research among the Markovians,
he said, I'll let mister Ebing tell you about it.
Cameron felt a sinking anticipation within him as he turned

(16:24):
to the secretary. Surely the Council wasn't going to actively
oppose the investigation after so long a time. The Secretary
coughed and shuffled the papers he drew from his case.
It's not actually the Council's interest, he said, and Cameron
was immediately relieved. But I have been asked by the

(16:47):
Markovian Nucleus through their representative, to suggest that they would
like to save you a long and unnecessary trip. He
offers to cooperate to the fullest degree by causing all
necessary materials to be transferred to your site of study
right here. He feels this is the least he can do,
since so much interest appears to exist in the nucleus.

(17:12):
Cameron stared at the secretary, trying to discern what the
man's attitude might be, but Ebing gave no sign of
playing it anyway. But straight it sounds like a polite
invitation to stay home and mind our own business, said Cameron. Finally,
they don't want company, the Secretary's expression changed to acknowledgment

(17:37):
of the correct appraisal. They don't want any investigation into
the metamorphosis of the Markovian nucleus. There is no such thing.
It is entirely a myth, says the Markovians. Ebing nodded,
says the Markovians other worlds, both within and without the

(17:58):
Council have persisted and spreading tales and rumors about the
Markovians for a long time. They don't like it. They
are willing to cooperate in having a correct analysis of
their culture published, but they don't want any more of
these infamous rumors circulated. Then why aren't they willing to

(18:19):
promote such an investigation? This would be their big chance
if their ridiculous position were true. They are willing. I've
told you, the representative has offered to send you all
needed materials showing the status of their culture. Cameron looked

(18:39):
at the secretary for a long time before speaking again.
What's your position, he asked. Finally, are we being ordered
off the investigation? The Markovian representative doesn't want to go
to quite that extreme. He knows that too would reflect

(19:00):
unfavorably towards his people. Here's his point. So far, he's
blocked news of your proposed research getting to his homeworlds,
but he knows that if you carry it out in
the manner you propose, it is going to make a
lot of the home folks mighty unhappy, and they'll demand
to know why he didn't stop it. So he's trying

(19:22):
to satisfy both sides at once. Why will the people
of the Nucleus be made unhappy by our coming, because
you'll go there trying to track down the basis for
the rumors that to fame the Markovian character. You'll bring
forcibly to their attention the fact that the rest of

(19:44):
the universe believes the Markovians are basically a bunch of pirates,
and the Markovians don't like to hear these things. Definitely not.
So you tell me the research is not being forbidden,

(20:04):
but that the Markovians won't like it. Suppose I tell you, then,
I'm not going to give up short of an order
from the Council itself, but I am willing to camouflage
the investigation if necessary. I'll make no open mention of
what outside opinion says of the Markovians. I'll simply make

(20:27):
a study of their history and character as it becomes
available to me. Eving nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on
Cameron's face. I would say that would be eminently satisfactory,
he said, I will inform the Representative of your decision.
Then his face became more severe. The Council will be

(20:51):
pleased to learn of your willingness to be discreet. I
wonder if you understand that the foundation came to us
upon receipt of your application for official clearance of the project.
It coincided quite fortuitously with the plans of the Council itself.
For a long time, we have been concerned with the

(21:12):
lack of information regarding the Markovian situation, and have been
at a loss as to how to improve our situation.
Your proposed investigation seemed the answer, but we anticipated the
Markovian objection and had to make certain you would cooperate
to his satisfaction. I believe this will do it. Why

(21:36):
is the Council concerned, said Cameron. Have the Markovians changed
their attitude in any way? No? But the rest of
us remember, even if we don't speak of it, that
the Nucleus was never punished for its depredations, nor was
it ever defeated. Its strength is as great as ever

(21:58):
in proportion to the other Council worlds. What are the
chances and potentialities of the Nucleus worlds ever again becoming
the marauders they once were? That is the question which
we feel must be answered. Without knowing we are sitting
on a powder keg, in which the fuse may or

(22:21):
may not be lighted. Will you bring us back the
answer we need? Cameron felt a sudden grimness which had
not been present before. I'll do all I can, he said, soberly.
If the information is there, I'll bring it back. After

(22:45):
the secretary had gone and Father gil turned from the
door to rejoin him, Cameron sat in faintly shocked consideration
of the Council's unexpected support. It took his research out
of the realm of the purely sociological and projected it
into politics and diplomacy. He was pleased by their confidence,

(23:08):
but not cheered by the added responsibility. That's a lucky break,
said Father Gill enthusiastically, and I'm beginning to suspect you
may be rather badly in need of all the breaks
you can get once you land among the Markovians. Don't
forget for a single minute that you are dealing with

(23:29):
the sons and grandsons of genuine pirates. The professor sat
down again. There's one other little item of interest I
turned up the other day. You should know about it
before you leave. The Markovian nucleus is somewhat of a
hotbed of IDEs IDEs. You mean the idealists, father Gill nodded.

(23:57):
Know anything about them, not much, except that they are
a sort of parasitic group living usually in a servant
relationship to other races on terran type worlds. As I recall,
even they claim that they do not know the planet

(24:18):
or even the galaxy of their origin, because they have
been wanderers for so many generations among alien races. Perhaps
it would be a good idea to make a study
of them too. I don't know that a thorough one
has ever been made. That's what I wanted to warn
you about, said Father Gill, smiling. Stick to one subject

(24:42):
at a time. The IDEs would make a nice research
project in themselves, and maybe you can get around to
it eventually. But leave them alone for the present, and
don't become distracted from your basic project. Among the Markovians,
the policy of the Corning Foundation is to demand something

(25:03):
very definite in return for the money they lay on
the line. You won't get to go back next year
unless you produce. That's why I don't want you to
get sidetracked in any way. End of chapter one, chapter

(25:25):
two of Cubs of the Wolf by Raymond F. Jones.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by
Zach Katstein. Chapter two, Cameron admitted to himself that he

(25:45):
was getting more edgy as the day of departure approached,
but he tried to keep Joyce from seeing it. He
was worried about the possible development of further opposition now
that the Markovian had expressed his displeasure, and he was
worried about their reception once they reached the nucleus. He

(26:05):
wondered why they had not seen in advance that it
would be an obvious blunder to let the Markovians be
aware of their real purpose. It didn't even take a
pirate ancestry to make groups unappreciative about resurrection of their
family skeletons. But no other hindrance appeared, and on the

(26:28):
evening before their departure, Father Gill called that word had
been received from Ebbing, stating the Markovian representative had approved
the visit. Now that Cameron had expressed a change in
his objectives, their coming had been announced to the Markovian
people and the way was prepared for an official welcome.

(26:49):
Cameron was pleased by the change of attitude. He was
hit for the first time, however, by the full force
of the fact that he was taking his bride to
a pirate center which the Council had never overthrown, and
which was active only moments ago. Culturally speaking, if any

(27:09):
kind of trouble should develop, the Council would be almost
impotent in offering them assistance. On the face of it,
there was no reason to expect trouble, but the peculiarly
oblique opposition of the Markovian delegate in the Council continued
to make him uneasy. His tentative suggestion that he would

(27:33):
feel better if he knew she were safe on Earth
brought a blistering response from Joyce, which left him no
doubt about carrying out his original plans. And then, as
the last of their packing was completed and they were
ready to call it a day, the phone buzzed. Cameron hesitated,

(27:54):
determined to let it go unanswered, then punched the button irritably.
On audio only instead of the caller, he heard the
voice of the operator one moment please interstellar transface printed
please connect Visio. It was like a shock, he thought afterwards.

(28:15):
There was no one he knew who could be making
such a call to him, but automatically he did as directed.
Joyce had come up and was peering over his shoulder.
Now the screen fluttered for a moment with polychrome colors
and cleared. The message printed for English translation stood out sharply.

(28:37):
Joyce and Cameron exclaimed simultaneously at the titling. It was
from Premiere Jargla, executive head of the Markovian government. Too
wilder Cameron and Joyce. It read greetings and appreciation for
your proposed visit to the Markovian nuclear for study of

(29:01):
our history and customs. We have not been before so honored.
We feel, however, that it is an imposition on your
foundation and on you personally, to require you to make
the long journey to the nucleus for this purpose alone,
while we would be honored to entertain you. It was

(29:22):
the same proposition as Ebbing had reported the delegate offered,
only this time from the head of the Markovian government himself.
They sat up nearly all the rest of the night
considering this new development. Maybe you shouldn't go, after all,
said Joyce once. Maybe this is something that needs bigger

(29:46):
handling than we can possibly give it. Cameron shook his
head I've got to go. They haven't closed the door
and said we can't come back out. Before they did,
I'd be known for the rest of my life as
the guy who was going to crack the Markovian problem.

(30:08):
But I'd much rather you know if you're going, so
am I. They consulted again with Fathergill and finally drafted
as polite a reply as possible, explaining they were newly married,
desired to make the trip a honeymoon excursion primarily and

(30:28):
conduct an investigation into Markovian culture to prevent the waste
of the wonderful opportunity their visit would afford them. An
hour before takeoff, a polite acknowledgment came back from the Nucleus,
assuring them a warm welcome and congratulating them on their marriage.
They went at once to the spaceport and took over

(30:50):
their stateroom before anything else happens. To try to pull
us off this investigation. Cameron said the trip would be
a long one, involving more than two months subjective time.
Because no express runs moved any distance at all in
the direction of the Nucleus, it was necessary to transfer

(31:14):
three times, with days of waiting between ships. On planets
whose surface conditions permitted exploration only encumbersome suits that could
not be worn for more than short periods. Most of
the waiting time was spent in the visitor's chambers at
the landing fields. These seemed to grow progressively worse. The

(31:37):
last one could not maintain a gravity below two G,
and the minimum temperature available was one hundred and four degrees.
There was a three day wait here, and Joyce spent
most of it lying on the bed under the breeze
of a fan, which seemed to have required a special

(31:58):
dispensation of the governing to obtain. Cameron, however, was unwilling
to spend his time this way, in spite of the
discomfort imposed by any kind of activity. Humidity was a
physical factor which seemed to have gone undiscovered by the
inhabitants of the planet they were on. He was sure

(32:21):
it was constantly maintained within a fractional percent of one
hundred as he donned a clean pair of trunks and
staggered miserably along the corridor toward a window that gave
a limited view of this city about them. That was
when he discovered that they were to be accompanied on

(32:43):
the remainder of their journey by a Markovian citizen and
his eyed servant. The visitors chambers in which these semiterin
conditions were supplied consisted of only three suites. The other
two had been empty when Cameron and Joyce arrived the
night before. Now a Markovian eyed occupied a seat by

(33:06):
the window. He glanced up with warm friendliness and invited
Cameron to join him. Cameron hesitated, undecided for a moment
whether to return to his suite for the portable semantic
translator used in his profession. At times like this. He
always felt there was something decidedly unprofessional about resorting to

(33:29):
their use, and had spent many hours trying to master
Markovian before leaving. He understood the eyde well enough and
decided to see if he could get along without the translator. Thanks,
he said, taking a seat. I don't suppose there's much
else to do except look at the scenery here. The

(33:53):
eye showed obvious surprise that Cameron spoke the language without
the use of an instrument. His look of pleasure increased.
It is not often we find one of your race
who has taken the trouble to make himself communicable with us.
You must be expecting a long stay. Cameron's sense of

(34:15):
caution returned as he remembered the previous results of indiscreete
announcement of his purpose. He wiped the stream of sweat
from his face and neck and took a good look
at the Eyed. The Idealists were an anthropomorphic race, dark
skinned like the Terran Indian. Very few of them had

(34:37):
ever appeared on Earth, however, and this was actually Cameron's
first view of one in the flesh. He knew something
of their reputation and characteristics from very brief study at
the Institute, but no one really knew very much of
the Eydes as far as earthmen were concerned. The warning
of Father Gill to keep the main line of his

(34:58):
research to the bottom of his mind as he leaned
toward the stranger with a fresh sense of excitement inside him,
I have never felt you could understand another man unless
you spoke his language, he said in his not too
stumbling Markovian. The Eyed, like himself, was dressed in the

(35:21):
briefest of garments, and perspiration poured from the dark skin
as he nodded. You speak sounder wisdom than one usually
meets in a stranger, he said, may I introduce myself,
sal Krone, servant of the Master DALs Rhet Marthassa. Cameron

(35:43):
introduced himself and cautiously explained that he and Joyce were
on their honeymoon but had a side interest in the
history and customs of the Markovian nucleus. My people know
so little about you, he said. It would be a
great privilege to be able to take back information that
would increase our mutual understanding. All that the idealists have

(36:10):
belongs to every man and every race, said Salcorn solemnly.
What we can give you may be had for the asking,
But I would give you a word of warning about
my masters. Cameron felt the flesh of his back tingle

(36:31):
with sudden chill as the eyes of the eyed turned
full upon him. Do not try to find out the
hidden things of the masters. That is what you have
come for, is it not, Cameron Wilder, That is why
you have taken so much trouble to learn the language

(36:54):
we speak. I say, do not inquire of the things
about which they do not wish to speak. My masters
are a people who cannot yet be understood by the
men of other worlds. In time there will be understanding
but that time is not yet. You will only bring

(37:17):
disaster and disappointment upon us and yourselves by attempting to
hasten that time. I assure you I have no intention
of prying, said Cameron haltingly. He fumbled for the right
Markovian words. You have misunderstood. We come only in friendship,

(37:43):
and with no intention of disturbing. The eyed nodded sagely.
So many crises are originated by good intentions. But I
am sure that now you understand the feelings of my
masters in these things, that you will be concerned only

(38:04):
with your own enjoyment while in the nucleus, and do
come to the centers of the idealists, for there is
much we can show you, and our willingness has no limits.
For a moment, it was impossible for Cameron to remember
that he was dealing with a mere servant of the Markovians.

(38:27):
The Id's words were so incisive, in his manner, so commanding,
that it seemed he must be speaking in his own right.
And then his manner changed, his boldness vanished, and he
spoke obsequiously. You will forgive me, he said, But this

(38:49):
is a matter concerning which there is much feeling Cameron
Wilder was more than willing to agree with this sentiment.
As he returned to his own quarters, he debated telling
Joyce of his encounter with the Eye, deciding finally that
he'd have to mention it since they'd all be traveling together.

(39:11):
But omitting the iyde's repetition of the previous warnings, he
did not meet the Markovian, nor did he encounter the
Eyed again in the waiting quarters. It was not until
they had embarked on the last leg of their journey
and had been aboard the vessel for a day and
a half that they met a second time. The ship

(39:35):
was not a Markovian or Terran type vessel of any kind.
Another week's wait would have been required for one of those.
As it was, their quarters were not too uncomfortable, although
very limited. The bulk of the vessel was designed for
crew and passengers, very much unlike Terran or Markovian, and

(39:59):
only a f a few sweets were provided for accommodation
of such races. This through the travelers to the Nucleus
in close association again, their suites open to a common
lounge deck, and when Cameron and Joyce went out, they
found sal Korne and the Markovian Marthosa already there. The

(40:22):
Eyed was on his feet instantly with a sharp bow,
he introduced the newcomers to his master Dels. Marthosa stood
and extended a hand with a smile. I believe that
is your greeting on earth, is it not? He said?
You must be familiar with our homeworld, said Cameron, returning

(40:46):
the handshake. Only a little through my studies, said the Markovian,
enough to make me want to hear much more. Please
join us. Since my told me we would be traveling together,
I've looked forward to your company. The term sarg as

(41:08):
Cameron learned shortly, was applied to all eydes attached to Markovians.
It had a connotation somewhere between servant and companion. Salcorone
remained in the background, but there was no servility in
his manner. His eyes remained respectfully, almost fondly. That was

(41:30):
the right word, Cameron thought curiously on Marthasa. While the
eye was slender in build the Markovian was taller and bulkier.
His complexion was also dark, but not quite so much
so as the eydes. He was dressed in loose, highly
colored attire that gave Cameron an impression of an oriental

(41:54):
potentate of his own world. But somehow there was a
quality in Marthosa's manner that was jarring. It would have
been less so if the Markovian had been less anthropomorphic
in form and feature. But Cameron found it difficult to
think of him as anything but a fellow man, a

(42:17):
man of arrogance and ill manners, and completely unaware that
he was so. It was apparent in his gestures and
the negligence with which he leaned back and surveyed his companions.
You'll be surprised when you see the nucleus, he said.
We sometimes hear rumors circulating among the Council worlds that

(42:41):
Markovian culture is rather backward. I've never heard anything of
the kind, said Cameron. In fact, we've heard almost nothing
at all of the Nucleus. That's why we decided to come.
I'm sure we can make you glad you did, don't
you think so? Korn, The face of the eyed was

(43:04):
very sober as he nodded solemnly. Indeed, Master his burning
eyes were boring directly into Cameron's own. I want to
hear about your people about Earth, said Marthasa, tell me
what you would like to see and do while you
are in the nucleus. While Joyce answered explaining they hardly

(43:29):
knew what there was to be seen, Cameron's attention was
fixed by the problem of the strange relationship between the
two men, the two races. In the face of the eye.
There seemed a serenity, a dignity the Markovian would never know.
Why had the Eydes failed to lift themselves out of

(43:51):
servility to a state of independence, he wondered. Joyce explained
the story about their honeymoon and built their interest in
Marcovian culture as casual. Indeed, as she went on, Marthosa
seemed to be struck by sudden thought. I insist you

(44:12):
make your headquarters with me during your stay, he said,
I can see that you learn everything possible about the
nucleus while you are here. My son is a chief
historian at our largest research library, and my daughter has
the post of assistant curator at our Museum of Science

(44:33):
and Culture. You will never have a better opportunity to
examine the culture of the nucleus. Cameron winced inwardly at
the thought of Marthoso's companionship during their whole stay. And
yet the Markovian statement might be perfectly true. There would
be no better opportunity to make their study. We have

(44:56):
an official note of welcome from your executs head, Premiere Jargla.
He said, While we would be very happy to accept
your invitation, it may be that he has different plans
for our reception. Marthoso waved a hand, I shall arrange

(45:17):
for my appointment as your official host. Consider it agreed upon.
It was agreed, but Joyce was not as optimistic as
Cameron in regarding it an aid to their study. If
they have a general aversion to talking about their pirate ancestry,
Marthusa is just the boy to put us off the track,

(45:40):
she said. If he gets a clue to what we
really want to know, he'll keep us busy looking at
everything else until we give up and go home. Cameron
leaned back in the deep chair with his hands behind
his head. It's not too hard to imagine Marthos's great
great grid grandfather running down vessels in space and pillaging

(46:04):
helpless cities on other planets. The veneer of civilization doesn't
look very thick. It's not hard to imagine Marthosa doing it.
Said Joyce. A scimitar between his teeth would be completely
in character. If all goes well, you'll probably see just

(46:24):
that figuratively speaking of course, where a cultural shift has
been so great as this one, you are certain to
see evidence of both levels in conflict with one another.
It's like a geologic fault line. Once we learn enough
about the current mores, the anomalies will stand out in

(46:48):
full view. That's what we want to watch for. One
thing that's out of character right now is his offer
of assistance through his son, the chief historian, said Joyce.
That doesn't check with the previous invitations to stay home.
Once they let us have access to their historical records,

(47:09):
we'll have them pegged. We haven't got it yet, said Cameron.
We can't be sure just what they'll let us see,
but for my money, I'd just as soon tackle the
question of the IDEs. Sal Corone is twice the man
Marthosa is, yet he acts like he has no will

(47:31):
of his own when the Markovian is round the Roman
slave relationship, said Joyce. The Markovian probably conquered a large
community of the IDEs in their pirate days and brought
them here as slaves and I'll bet they are very
much aware that the IDEs are the better men. Marthosen

(47:51):
knows it. That's why he has to put on a
show in front of sal Coron. He's the old Roman
merchant struggling to keep up his conviction of superiority before
the Greek scholar. Slave. The IDEs aren't supposed to be slaves.
According to the little that we know, they are completely free.

(48:13):
I'm going to get Marthos's version of it anyway, Father
Gil and the Foundation can't object to that much investigation
of the IDEs. He found the Markovian completely willing to
talk about his sarg. On the last stay of the voyage,
they managed to be alone for a time without the

(48:33):
presence of sal Kron. Marthosa shook his head in answer
to Cameron's question, No, this sarg is not a slave,
not in the sense I believe you mean it. None
of the IDEs are. It's a matter of religion with
them to be attached to us the way they are.

(48:53):
They have some incomprehensible belief that their existence is of
no value unless they are serving their fellow beings. Since
that means all of them. They can't be satisfied by
serving each other. So they have to pick on some
other race. I don't recall when they first showed up

(49:16):
in the nucleus, but it's been many generations ago. There
have been IDEs in my family for a half dozen generations. Anyway,
they had spaceflight, so they came under their own power,
Cameron asked, incredulously, No, nothing like that. You can't imagine

(49:41):
them building spaceships, can you. They migrated at first as
lowest class passengers on the commercial lines. Nobody knows just
where they came from. They don't even know their own
home world. At first we tried to persuade them to
go somewhere else, but then we saw how useful they

(50:03):
could be with their fanatic belief in servitude. At present,
there is probably no family in the Nucleus that doesn't
have at least one eyed sarg. Many of us have
one for every member of the family. Marthosa paused. The
tone of his voice changed. When you've had one almost

(50:26):
all your life, as I've had, sal corone it while
it does something to you, what do you mean, Cameron asked, cautiously.
Consider the situation from Salcron's point of view. He has
no life whatever that is his own, his whole purpose

(50:49):
is to give me companionship and satisfy my requirements. And
I don't have to force him in any way. It's
all voluntary, free to leave even anytime he wants to.
But I'm certain he never will. Why do you feel
so sure of this? It's hard to explain. I feel

(51:14):
as if I've become so much a part of him
that he couldn't survive alone anymore. He's the one who
made it that way, not me. I have become indispensable
to his existence. That's the way I explain it to myself.
Most of my friends agree that this is about right.

(51:37):
It's rather difficult to understand a relationship like that unless
you put it in terms I'm familiar with on earth. Yes,
what would it be called? Among your people? When a
man so devotes his life to another? We say it
is because of love. He's also considered the word You

(52:03):
would be wrong, he said. It's just that, in some
way we have become indispensable to the IDEs. They're parasites,
if you want to put it that way, but they
provide us a relationship we can get nowhere else, and
that does us a great deal of good. That's what

(52:24):
I meant when I said it does something to us.
What about the IDE's own culture. Haven't they any community
ties among themselves? Or do they ignore their own kind?
We've never investigated very much. I suppose some of our

(52:45):
scholars know the answer to that, but the rest of
us don't. The IDEs have communities, all right. Not all
of them are in service as sargs at one time.
They have little groups and communities on the outskirts of
our cities. But they don't amount to much as a race.

(53:06):
They are simply inferior. They don't have the capacity for
a strong culture of their own, so they can't exist
independently and build a social structure like other people. It's
this religion of theirs that does it. They won't let
go of it as long as they hang on to it.

(53:27):
They can't stand on their own feet. But you don't
need to feel sorry for them. We treat them all right.
Of course, didn't mean to imply anything else, said Cameron.
Do you know if there are other Eyed groups serving
in other galaxies? Must be thousands of them altogether, out

(53:52):
beyond the nucleus, away from your galaxy. You can't find
a planet anywhere that isn't using the IDEs It's a
wonderful setup. The IDEs get what they want, and we
get sargs with nothing like the slave relationship you had
in mind. With slaves, there's rebellion, constant need of watchfulness,

(54:16):
and no genuine companionship. A sarg is different. He can
be a man's friend. End of chapter two, Chapter three
of Cubs of the Wolf by Raymond F. Jones. This

(54:40):
LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Zach Katstein,
Chapter three. They came out of the darkness of trans
space that evening, and the stars returned in the glory
of a million closely gathered suns. The Markovian nucleus lay

(55:03):
in a galaxy of tightly packed stars that made bright
the nights of all their planets. It was a spectacle
for Cameron, who had traveled but little away from the
Solar System, and for Joyce, who had never traveled at all.
Marthasa and Salkron were with them in the lounge, watching

(55:25):
the screens. As the ship changed drives. The Markovians squinted
a moment and pointed to a minor dot near the
corner of the view. That's our destination. Another six hours
and you can set foot on the best planet in
the whole universe. If it were mere enthusiasm, Cameron could

(55:48):
have taken it with tolerant understanding. But Marthosa's smugness and
arrogance had not deserted him once since the beginning of
this leg of the trip. Objectively, as a cultural facet
to be examined, it was interesting, but Cameron agreed with

(56:09):
Joyce that it was going to be difficult to live with.
The unsolved puzzle, however, was sal Korne. It was obvious
that the eyed was sensitive to the gaust ways of
the Master, yet his equally obvious devotion was unwavering. Marthosa

(56:30):
had sent word ahead to the government that he desired
the Terrence to be his guests. Evidently he was a
person of influence, for assent was returned immediately. His planet
was a colorful world, banded by huge golden deserts and
pinkish seas. The dense vegetation of the habitable areas was blue,

(56:54):
with only a scattered touch of green. Cameron wondered about
the chemistry involved. The landing was made at a port
that bordered a sea. The four of them were the
only ones disembarking, and before the car that met them
had reached the edge of the city. The ship was
gone again, a pirate's lair. Cameron thought, without the slightest

(57:19):
touch of amusement, the field looked very old, and from
it he could imagine raiders had once taken off to
harass distant shipping and do wanton destruction of cities and
people on innocent worlds. He watched the face of Marthosa
as they rode through the city. There was a kind

(57:42):
of Roman splendor in what they saw, and there was
a crude Roman pride in the Markovian who was their host.
The arrogance that was not far from cruelty could take
such pride in the sweep of spaceship embarking on missions
of murder and plunder. And yet all this barbarism had

(58:08):
been put aside. Only the arrogance remained expressed in Marthasa's tone,
as he called their attention to the features of the
city and landscape through which they passed. It wasn't pleasing,
particularly to Terran tastes, but Cameron guessed that it represented

(58:28):
a considerable accomplishment to the Markovians. Stone appeared to be
the chief building material, and while the craftsmanship was exact.
The lines of the structures lacked the grace of the
Greek and Roman monuments, of which Cameron was reminded. They

(58:50):
came at last to the house of Marthasa. There was
no doubt that he was a man of wealth or importance,
probably both. He occupied a vast villa like structure set
on a low hill overlooking the city. It was a
place of obvious luxury in the economic scale of the Markovians.

(59:15):
They were assigned spacious quarters overlooking a garden of incredible colors.
Beyond the transparent wall facing it. Salcrone was also assigned
duties as their personal attendant, which Cameron grasped intuitively was
a gesture of supreme honor among the Markovians. He thanked

(59:36):
Marthosa profusely for this courtesy. After getting unpacked, they were
shown through the house and grounds and met Marthos's family.
His wife was a woman of considerable beauty, even by
Terence standards, but there was a sharpness in her manner
and a sense of coldness in the small black eyes

(59:59):
that were pair held Joyce and Cameron. Even as the
thoughtless actions of Marthosa had done Cameron looked carefully for
the same qualities in the three smaller children who were
at home and found them easily. In none of them
was there the aura of serenity possessed by the eyed servants.

(01:00:24):
When they were finally alone. That night, Cameron sat down
to make some notes on their observations to date. The
fault line I mentioned is so obvious you can't miss it,
he said to Joyce. It's as if they're living one
kind of life because they think it's the thing to do.

(01:00:44):
But all their thoughts and feelings are being drawn invisibly
in another direction, and they're half ashamed of it. Maybe
the IDEs have something to do with it. Remember Marthosa's
statement that the relationship of the Sargs does something to
the Markovians. If we found out exactly what that something is,

(01:01:07):
we might have an answer. Cameron shook his head. I've
tried to fit it together that way too, but it
doesn't add up. The basic premise of the IDEs is asceticism,
and there was never any strength in that idea. Marthosa
is probably right in his estimate of the IDEs. They

(01:01:29):
have achieved an internal serenity, but only through compensating their
basic weakness with the crude strength of the Markovians and
other races to which they cling. They haven't the strength
to build a civilization of their own. Certainly they haven't
got the power to influence the whole nucleus. No, we'll

(01:01:54):
have to look a good deal farther than the IDEs
before we find the answer. Convinced of that, even though
I'd like to find out exactly what makes them tick,
maybe next trip. The following days were spent in almost
profitless activity as far as their basic purpose in being

(01:02:16):
in the Nucleus was concerned. Marthusa and his wife took
them on long tours through the city and into the
scenic areas of the continent. They promised trips over the
whole planet into other worlds of the Nucleus. There seemed
to be no end to this sight seeing that was

(01:02:37):
proposed for them to do. Cameron improved his facility with
the language, and Joyce was beginning to get along without
the translator. They were introduced to a considerable number of
other Marcovians, including the official representative of Premier Jargla. This

(01:02:57):
gave them added contact with the markov In character, but
Marthosa and his family seemed so typical of the race
that scarcely anything new was learned from the others. At
no time was anything hinted in reference to the original
reluctance to have the Terrans visit the Nucleus. All possible

(01:03:20):
courtesy was shown them now, and Cameron dared not mention
the invitation to stay home. He felt the situation was
as penetrable as a thick wall of sponge rubber backed
by a ten foot foundation of steel. After three weeks
of this, however, he cautiously broached the subject of meeting

(01:03:44):
the son and daughter of Marthasa in regard to visiting
the library and museum. He had met each of them
just once and found them rather cool. To his presence,
he had not dared express his interest in their specialties
at that time. Marthosa was favorable and apologetic. However, I

(01:04:06):
have intended to arrange it, he said. There have been
so many other things to do that I have neglected
your interest in these things. We won't neglect it any longer.
Suppose we make an appointment for this afternoon. Lenon will
be able to give you his personal attention. Zlenon was

(01:04:28):
Marthos's son, who held the position of chief historian at
the Research Library. He was more slender and darker than
his father, and lacking in his volubility and glad handedness.
He greeted Cameron's request with a tolerant smile. You have
to be quite specific, mister Wilder, when you say you

(01:04:51):
would like to know about the history of the Markovian nucleus.
You understand that the nucleus consists of over a hundred
worlds and has a composite history extending back more than
thirty thousand of your years in very minute detail. Cameron
countered with a helpless shrug and a smile. I'm afraid

(01:05:13):
I'll have to depend on your good nature to guide
me through such a mass. I don't intend to become
a student of Markovian history, of course, but perhaps you
have adequate summaries with which a stranger could start going back,
let's say, perhaps two or three hundred Terran years. Of course,

(01:05:34):
some very excellent ones are available. He moved toward the
reading table nearby and began punching a selection of buttons.
As Cameron and Joyce moved to follow, Marthoso waved a
hand expansively and started out the other way. I can
see you're going to be set for a while. I'll
just leave you here and stead in the car back

(01:05:56):
when I reached the house. Don't be late for dinner.
They nodded and smiled, and turned to Zlenon. The Markovian
was watching them with pinpoint eyes. I wonder if there
might be any particular problem in which you might be interested,
he said, calmly. If there is, Cameron shook his head hastily. No, certainly,

(01:06:22):
not just general information. The historian turned his attention to
the table and began explaining its use to the Terrans,
showing how they could obtain recording of any specific material
they wished to choose. It would appear in either printed
or pictorial form, or could be had on audio if

(01:06:43):
they wanted it. Once he was certain they could make
their own selections, he left them to their study. This
is the best break we could possibly have hoped for,
Joyce whispered, as Lenon disappeared from their sight. We can
get anything we want in the whole library if I
understand the operation of this gadget the way I think

(01:07:04):
I do. That's the way it looks to me, Cameron answered,
But don't get your hopes too high. There must be
a catch in it. Somewhere the way they were trying
to show us away from coming here. They punched the
buttons for the history of the planet. They were on,
scanning slowly from the present to earlier years. There were

(01:07:30):
endless accountings of trade and commercial treaties between members of
the Nucleus as the shifts of economic balance occurred. There
were stories of explorations and benevolent contacts with other races
on the outer worlds, details of their most outstanding scientific discoveries,

(01:07:51):
which seemed to come with profligate rapidity. Cameron whipped back
through the pages of the histories, searching only for a
single item, one clue of the swift evolution from barbarism
to peaceful cooperation. After an hour, he was in the

(01:08:12):
middle of that critical period when the Council despaired of
its inability to cope with the Markovian menace. But the
stories of commerce and invention and far flung exchange with
other peoples continued. Nowhere was there any reference to the

(01:08:32):
violence of the period. They went back two hundred five
hundred years beyond the time when the Council members first
made contact with the Nucleus. There was nothing. Cameron sat
back in complete puzzlement as it became apparent that it
was useless to go back further. The normal thing would

(01:08:57):
be for them to brag all over the place about
their great conquests. Even races who become comparatively civilized citizens
ordinarily let themselves go when it comes to history. If
they've had a long record of conquests in bloodshed, they

(01:09:18):
say so with plenty of chest pounding. Of course it's
padded out to reflect their righteous conquest over tyranny, but
it's always there in some form. But nothing up to
now has been normal about the development of the Markovian problem.

(01:09:40):
And this really tops it off, the complete omission of
any reference to their armed conquests. Maybe this planet didn't
participate very much. Perhaps only a small number of the
Nucleus worlds were responsible for it, said Joe. Cameron shook

(01:10:02):
his head. No, the Council records show that the Nucleus
as a unit was responsible, and that virtually all the
worlds are specifically mentioned. And even if this one had
been out of it completely, you could still expect references

(01:10:24):
to it because there was constant interchange with most of
the other planets. We can try another one, though they
tried one more than a half dozen. In quick scanning,
they swept through a summarization of the nucleus as a

(01:10:45):
whole during that critical period. There was nothing to show
that the Markovians had ever been anything but peace loving
citizens intent on pursuit of science, commerce, and the arts.
This could have been rigged for our special benefit, said

(01:11:06):
Joyce thoughtfully, as they ended the day's futile search. They
didn't want to apply enough pressure to keep us from coming,
but they did want to make sure we wouldn't find
anything about their past. Cameron shook his head slowly. It
couldn't have been done in the time they've had. Simply

(01:11:28):
cutting out what they didn't want to show us wouldn't
have done it. There's too much cross reference in all
periods involved. It's a complete phony. But it's not something
done on the spur of the moment for our benefit.
It's too good for that. Maybe they've had it for

(01:11:51):
a long time, just in case somebody like us should
come along. It's possible, but I don't think that that's
right either, said Cameron. I can't give you any reason
for thinking so, except the phoniness goes deeper than merely

(01:12:11):
deceiving an investigator. Somehow, I have the feeling that the
Markovians are even deceiving themselves. They left the building and
took the car back to the house of Marthosa without
seeings Lenon again. The Markovian host was waiting. Cameron thought

(01:12:35):
he sensed a trace of tension in Marthosa that wasn't
there before, as he led them to the seats in
the garden. We don't like to boast about the nucleus,
he said, with his customary volubility, but we have to
admit we are proud of our science and technology. Few

(01:12:56):
civilizations in the universe can match. It's not to disparage
the fine accomplishments of the Terrans, you understand, but it's
only natural that out here on these older worlds they
listened half attentively, trying in their imagination to pierce the
armor he used to defend so frantically the thing that

(01:13:20):
Markovians did not want the outer worlds to know anything about.
The talk went on during meal time. Marthoso's wife caught
the spirit of it, and they both regaled the Terrans
with accounts of the grandeur of Markovian exploits. Cameron grew

(01:13:40):
more and more depressed by it, and as they retired
to their rooms early he began to realize how absolutely
complete was the impasse into which they had been driven.
They've led us in, he said to Joyce. They've shown
us the history they've written of themselves. There's no way

(01:14:04):
in the universe we can stand up and boldly challenge
that history and call them the liars we know they are.
But they must know of the histories written on the
other Council worlds about their doings, said Joyce. Maybe we
could reach a point where we could at least ask

(01:14:26):
about them. Ask how it is that other histories show
that one hundred and twenty years ago a fleet of
Markovian ships swept unexpectedly out of space and looted and
decimated the planet Blackane six. Ask why the Markovian history
says only that the Nucleus concluded six new commercial treaties

(01:14:50):
to the benefit of all worlds concerned in that period,
without any mention of Lackane six. When you start asking
questions like that, you've got to be ready to run,
and if it fizzles out, you've lost all chance of
coming back for a second try. That could fizzle out

(01:15:12):
because they simply deny the validity of all history outside
their own. Then we might as well pack and go home.
If you're not going to challenge any of this stuff
they hand out, we won't find the answers by standing
around and taking their word on everything. I forgot to

(01:15:34):
tell you one thing, Cameron said slowly. We may not
have to take their word for it. Someone else here
knows the truth of this situation. Also, who the odds?
He told her then, of the warnings sal Coron had

(01:15:55):
given him aboard the ship on the way to the Nucleus,
the state that my masters are a people who cannot
yet be understood by the men of other worlds. The
IDs know what the Markovians are and what they are
trying to hide. I had almost overlooked that simple fact.

(01:16:20):
But you can't go out and challenge them to tell
the truth any more than you can the Markovians, Joyce protested,
Because sal Kron went out of his way to warn you,
doesn't mean he's going to get real, buddy buddy and
tell you everything you want to know. No, of course not.

(01:16:41):
But there's one little difference between him and the Markovians.
He has openly admitted that he knows why we're here.
None of the Markovians have done that. Yet. We don't
have to challenge him because there already exists. It's a
tacit understanding that something is decidedly phony. And besides, he

(01:17:07):
invited us to come and visit the Eyed communities outside
the city. I think that's an invitation we should accept
as soon as possible. End of chapter three, Chapter four

(01:17:27):
of Cubs of the Wolf by Raymond F. Jones. This
LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Zach Katstein.
Chapter four. Sal Krone had not repeated his invitation that
the Terrans visit the Eyed communities, but he showed no

(01:17:51):
adverse reaction when Cameron said that they would like to
take him up on his previous offer. You will be
very well, he said, a soft smile lighted his features.
I will notify my leaders. You will come with a start.
Cameron realized that the existence of any kind of community

(01:18:14):
probably implied leaders, but he had ignored this in view
of Marthosa's insistence that the IDEs had no culture of
their own. He wondered just how untrue that assertion might be.
For the first time, he sensed genuine disapproval in the
attitude of Marthoso when he mentioned plans to go with

(01:18:36):
sal Corone to the Eyed Centers. There's nothing out there
you'd want to see, the Markovian said. There village is
only a group of crude huts in the forest. There'll
be a waste of your time to go out there
when there's so much else we could show you. Sal

(01:18:56):
Corone suggested the visit before we arrive, said Cameron, he'd
be hurt if we turned him down. Perhaps just to
satisfy him. Angry indecision hid behind Marthos's eyes. Well, maybe
that makes it different, he said. Finally, we try to

(01:19:21):
do everything possible to make the IDEs happy. It's up
to you if you want to waste your time on
the visit. I think I do. Salcron has been very
attentive and pleasant to us. It's a small favor in return.
Early in the morning two days later, they left, with

(01:19:45):
Salcron directing them to the Idealist Center. They discovered that
the term at the edge of the city was a
mere euphemism. It was a long two hour trip at
the high speed of which the markov cars were capable.
The city itself vanished and a thick wooded area took

(01:20:07):
its place during the last half hour of the journey,
reminding them of the few remote, peaceful forests of Earth. Then,
as the car slowed, they left the highway for a
rough trail that led for a number of miles back
into the forest. They came at last into a clearing

(01:20:31):
circled by rough wooden dwellings, possessing all the appearance of
crude primitive existence on little more than a subsistence level.
This is the village of our chief, said sal Coron.
He will be pleased to explain all you may wish
to know about the idealist way. Cameron was shocked, almost

(01:20:57):
beyond speech by his first sight of the clearing. He
had tried to prepare for the worst, but he had
told himself that the Markovian's estimate of the Eydes could
not be true. Now he was forced to admit that
it was in contact with all the skills of their masters,

(01:21:17):
which they would certainly be permitted to learn if they
wanted to. The Eydes chose primitive squalor when they were
on their own, their serenity could be little more than
the serenity of the savage who has no wants or goals,
and is content to merely serve those whose ambitions are greater.

(01:21:39):
It was the serenity and peacefulness of death. The Eydes
had died as a race long ago. The Markovians were loud, boastful,
and obnoxious, but that could be discounted as the awkwardness
of youth in a race that would perhaps be very

(01:22:01):
great in the universe. At a time when the IDEs
were wholly forgotten, Cameron felt depressed by the sight. He
began to doubt the wisdom of his coming here in
hope of finding an answer to the Markovian deception. The
warning of sal Krone on shipboard seemed now like nothing

(01:22:24):
more than a half ignorant demonstration of loyalty toward the
Markovian masters. Possibly there had been some talk which the
Eye had overheard, and he had taken it upon himself
to warn the Terrans, knowing perhaps nothing of the matter
which the Markovians were reluctant to expose. If he could

(01:22:49):
have done so gracefully, Cameron felt he would have turned
and gone back without bothering with the interview. His curiosity
about the Eydes themselves had all but vanished. The answer
to their situation was obvious, and he had maintained such
high hopes that somehow his expectation in them would be fulfilled.

(01:23:13):
During this visit, there was a satisfying cleanliness apparent in everything.
As Salcron led them to the largest of the buildings,
Joyce seemed to be enjoying herself as she surveyed the
surroundings with an interest Cameron had lost. As they entered

(01:23:35):
the doorway, a thin, straight old man with a white
beard arose from a chair and approached them in greeting
the ancient conventional patriarchal order. Cameron thought he could see
the hole set up in a nutshell right now. Squalid
communities like this, where the too old and the too

(01:23:59):
young were nurtured on the calcified traditions to which nothing
was ever added, the able serving in the homes of
the Markovians, providing sustenance for themselves and those who depended
on them. The Markovians were generous, indeed, in not referring
to the IDEs as slaves, there was little else they

(01:24:20):
could ever be called. The chief was addressed as venor
by Salcron, who introduced them. It is kind of you
to include our village in your visit to the nucleus,
said Venor. There are many more spectacular things to see.

(01:24:44):
There is often greatest wisdom in the least spectacular, said Cameron,
trying to sound like a sage. Sal Corone was kind
enough to invite us to your center and said there
was much you could show us. The things of the

(01:25:05):
soul are not possible to show, said van Or gently.
We wish there were time that we might teach you
some of the great things our people have learned in
their long wanderings. I am told that your profession and
your purpose in being here is the study of races

(01:25:29):
and their actions, and the things they have learned. With
a start, Cameron came to greater attention. He was certain
he had never given any such information in the presence
of sal Kron or Marthasa. Yet even ven Or knew
he was a sociologist. Here was the first knowledge that

(01:25:53):
must lie behind the evidence of the undercurrent of objections
of the Markovian representative in the Council and Premier Jargla,
and this primitive patriarch was in possession of it. Relations
between the individuals of this planet were something far more

(01:26:14):
complex than Cameron had assumed. He hesitated a moment before speaking,
just why had this bait been so innocently thrown to him?
Marthosa had never mentioned it yet had the Markovians asked
for an attempt to get an admission from him for
their own purposes? And what purposes? He abandoned caution and nodded, Yes,

(01:26:44):
that is the thing I am interested in. I had
hoped to study the history and ways of the Markovians.
As seal Krone has told me, they don't want strangers
to make such a study. You are perhaps not so
unwilling to be known. We wish the entire universe might

(01:27:10):
know of us and be as we are. You hardly
make that possible, subjugating your identity so completely to that
of another race. The worlds will never know of you
unless you become strong and unified as a people and

(01:27:30):
obtain a name of your own. Our name is known,
said Vanor. We are the idealists. You will not find
many worlds on which we are unknown, and they call
us the ones who serve. Even on your world. You

(01:27:54):
have the saying of a philosopher who taught that any
who would be mass should become the servant of all
your people. Once understood it, not as a literal undertaking,
said Cameron. You can't submerge your entire racial identity as

(01:28:17):
you have done. That is not what the saying meant
to us. It does, said Vnor solemnly, we would master
the universe, and therefore we must serve it. That is
the core of the law of the idealists. Cameron let

(01:28:42):
his gaze scan through the window to the small clearing
in the thick forests, to the circle of wooden houses.
We would master the universe, he restrained a smile. You
cannot believe this, said Venor, because you have never understood

(01:29:05):
the mark of the servant or the mark of the master.
How often is their difficulty in distinguishing one from the other,
And how often do the illusions of the mind ease
the privations of the body? Cameron thought so that was

(01:29:27):
the source of the idealist serenity. Wherever they went, they
considered themselves the masters through service, and conversely those they
served became the slaves. He supposed. It was a pleasant,
easy philosophy that hurt no one except the ones who
believed it. They died the moment they accepted it. For

(01:29:51):
all initiative and desire were gone. The master is he
who guides the destiny of a a man or a race,
said Venor, almost in meditation. He is not the man
who gathers or disperses the wealth, or who builds the

(01:30:13):
cities and the ships to the stars. The master is
he who teaches what must be done with these things,
and how people shall expend their lives. And the Markovians
do this in obedience to you, said Cameron whimsically. Wherever

(01:30:38):
my people are, answered Vnor, strife ceases and peace comes.
Who can do this is master of worlds. There was
a strange solemnity about the voice and figure of the
old idealist that checked the sense of ridiculousness in Cameron.

(01:31:02):
It seemed somehow strangely moving. You believe the worlds are better,
he asked gently, Just because you are there, yes, said
Vanor because we are there. There was a pathos about

(01:31:24):
it that fired Cameron's anger. On scores of worlds. There
were primitive groups like this one, blinding themselves with a
glory that didn't exist in the grips of ancient, meaningless traditions.
The younger ones, like sal Krone were intelligent, worth salvaging,

(01:31:47):
but they could never be lifted out of this mire
of false belief unless they could be shown how empty
it was. Nothing you have said explains the mystery of
how this great thing is accomplished, said Cameron, almost angrily.

(01:32:07):
Even if we wanted to believe it were true, it
is still as utterly incomprehensible as before we came. There
is a saying among us, said van Or, kindly translated
into your tongue, It would be how was the wild

(01:32:28):
dog damed? And a saddle put upon the fierce stallion? Stubbornly,
then van Or would say no more about the philosophy
of the idealists. He spoke freely of the many other
worlds upon which the idealists lived and served, and he

(01:32:50):
affirmed the tradition that they did not even know the
place of their origin, the planet that might have been
their homeworld. He was evasive, however, when Cameron asked when
the first contact was made between his people and the Markovians.
There was something that the IDEs too were holding back,

(01:33:14):
the sociologists thought, and there was no apparent reason for it. Recklessly,
he decided nothing could be lost by attempting to blast
for it. Why have the Markovians consistently lied to us.
He said, they've given us their history, and if your

(01:33:36):
people know the feelings of other worlds, they know this
history is a lie. Only a few generations ago, the
Markovians pirated and plundered these worlds, and now they pose
as little tin gods with a silver halo. Why Salcoro

(01:34:00):
stood by with a look of horror on his face,
but Venor made no sign of alarm at this forbidden question.
He merely inclined his head slowly and repeated, how was
the wild dog damed? And a saddle put upon the
fierce stallion. That was the end of the interview. The

(01:34:25):
IDEs insisted, however, that he inspect the rest of the village,
and they personally guided the Terrans on the tour. Cameron's
trained eye took in at a glance, however, the evidence
supporting his previous conclusion. The artifacts and buildings demonstrated a

(01:34:46):
primitive forest culture. The other individuals he saw were almost
entirely the old and very young, the ones unsuitable as
servants to the Markovians. Ven Or explained that family life
among them paralleled in general that of the masters. Whole

(01:35:08):
Idealist families lived and served as units in the Markovian household.
Exceptions existed in the case of Salcorne and others of
his age, who were separated from their families and had
not yet begun their own. As they returned to the
car Venor took their hands. He pressed Camerons warmly and

(01:35:32):
looked into his eyes with deep sincerity. You have made
us glad by your presence, he said, and when the
time comes for you to return, we shall repay all
the pleasure you have given us. I'm afraid we won't

(01:35:55):
be able to do that, said Cameron. We appreciate your hospitality,
but I'm sure time will not permit us to visit
you again, as much as we'd like to. In the
past few minutes, he had reached the conclusion that further

(01:36:15):
research on this whole planet was futile. The best thing
they could do was go somewhere else in the nucleus
and make a fresh start. Venor shook his head, smiling.
We will see each other again, Choice and Cameron. I
feel that day will be very soon. It was senseless

(01:36:41):
to let himself be irritated by the senile patriarch who
spoke out of a world of illusion, but Cameron could
not help feeling nettled as he started back to the city.
Somehow it seemed impossible to regard Venor as merely a
specimen for sociological research. The chief of the idealists reached

(01:37:05):
out of his unreal world and made his contact with
the Terrans a personal thing, almost as if he had
spent all of his life waiting for their coming. There
was a sense of intimacy against which Cameron rebelled, and
yet it was not an unpleasant thing. Cameron's mind oscillated

(01:37:28):
between annoyance of Venor's calm assertion that they would be
back shortly and the nonsense of the eyed belief that
they controlled the civilizations in which they were servants. How
was the wild dog tamed and a saddle put upon
the fierce stallion? He smiled faintly to himself, wondering if

(01:37:51):
the Markovians were fully aware that the IDEs regarded them
as tamed dogs and saddled stallions. They couldn't help knowing,
of course, but it was hard to imagine Marthosa and
his wife being very much amused by such an estimate.
The situation would be intolerable, however, if it were met

(01:38:13):
by anything except amusement. It might be a mildly explosive subject,
but he was going to find out about that one
small item before moving on. Anyway, Cameron decided sal Krone
was strangely silent during the whole of the return trip.
He offered no comments and made only brief, noncommittal replies

(01:38:37):
to questions about the country through which they passed. He
seemed depressed by the results of their visit, probably because
the violation of his warning not to question the lives
of the Markovians. It was a curious evidence of their
completely unreal proprietary attitude in respect to their masters. They'd

(01:39:01):
have to investigate Marthoso's response as thoroughly as possible. There
seemed to be no taboo on discussion of the Iydes
with him. His annoyance at the acceptance of their invitation
to the Eyed village appeared to have vanished as he
greeted them upon their return. We delayed eating, thinking you'd
be back in time. If you'd like to join us

(01:39:23):
in the dining room as soon as you're ready. The
villa of Marthosa seemed different after the day's experience with
the Eyes, although Cameron was certain nothing had changed either
in a physical way or in their relations with the Markovians.
It was as if his senses had been somehow sharpened

(01:39:44):
to detect an undercurrent of feeling of which he had
been previously unaware. Glancing at Joyce, he sensed she felt
the same. I have the feeling that we miss something,
she said, as they changed their clothes to join Marthas
and his wife. There was something Venor wanted us to
know and wouldn't say. I would almost like to go

(01:40:07):
back there again before we go away. Cameron was surprised
at his own annoyance with Joyce's statement. It reflected the
impressions in his own mind which he was trying to ignore. Nonsense,
he said, There's no use trying to read great profundity

(01:40:28):
in the words of an old patriarch of the woods.
He's nothing except what he appears to be. The Markovians
talked easily of Venor in the rest of the eyes.
We have tried to get him to join us in
the city, said Marthas as the meal began, but he

(01:40:49):
won't hear of it. It seems to give him a
sense of importance to live out there alone with his
retinue and have the other eydes come to him with
their problems. He's a kind of arbiter and patriarch to
all of them. For many miles around while Marthosa talked,

(01:41:09):
Cameron tried to bring his awareness of all the varied
facets of the problem together and see it as a
whole as he now understood it. The Markovians, a vast
pirate community, had voluntarily abandoned freebooting for reasons yet to
be discovered. They had turned their backs upon it so

(01:41:30):
forcibly that they even hid the history of their depredations,
and one of their last acts must have been the
capture of a large colony of idealists who were forced
into servitude. Now, the Ads compensated their enslavement by the
religious belief that service made them masters over the ex pirates,

(01:41:54):
convincing themselves that they had changed the Markovians, taming them
like wild dot saddling them as fierce stallions. Cameron wondered
if he dared then dismiss the thought that there could
be any risk it was too ridiculous. There was even

(01:42:14):
a half malicious smile on his lips as he broke
into Marthos's conversation. One of the things that made me
very curious today, he said, was the general reaction of
your people to the idealist's illusion that they have tamed you,

(01:42:35):
as expressed in their aphorism about how was the wild dog?
He never finished. Across the table, the faces of the
Markovians had frozen in sudden bitterness. The shield of their
friendliness vanished under the cold glare from their eyes. Marthos's

(01:42:57):
lips seemed to curl as he whispered. So you came
like all the rest, and we wanted so much to
believe you were honest. A study, a chance to find
material for lies about the Nucleus to spread among all

(01:43:18):
the council worlds. He continued, almost sadly. You will be
confined to your quarters until transfer authorities can arrange for
your return to Earth, and you may be sure that
never again will such a scheme get one of your
kind into the Nucleus again. But there was no hint

(01:43:44):
of sadness in his wife's face. She glared coldly. I
said they should never have been permitted to come. Cameron
rose in sudden, bewildered protest. I assure you we have
no intention, he began, and then he stopped in one

(01:44:05):
moment of incredible clarity. While they stood there, eyes locked
in bitter stares, he understood, he knew the myth was
not a myth. It was cold, unbelievable reality. The Iydes
had tamed the Markovians. In a moment of fear, he

(01:44:26):
wondered if it were anything more than a thin shell
that could be shattered by a whisper from a stupid
dabbler in cultures who really knew nothing at all about
the profession to which he pretended. End of chapter four,

(01:44:51):
chapter five of Cubs of the Wolf by Raymond F. Jones.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by
Zach Katstein, Chapter five. As if upon some secret signal,

(01:45:11):
sal Korne appeared from the serving room at their left.
Our visitors are no longer our guests, Marthosa said sharply,
with accusing eyes still upon Cameron. They will remain in
their rooms until time for deportation. I trust it will

(01:45:32):
not be necessary to use force, he said directly to Cameron.
Of course not. But won't you let me explain. Won't
you even allow an apology for breaking a taboo we
did not understand? Is it not taboo among all civilized people,

(01:45:54):
including your own, to invent and spread lies about those
who wish you only well. It was useless to argue,
Cameron saw. He turned, taking Joyce's arm, and allowed Salkron
to lead them back to their rooms. As they paused
at the doorway, the eyed spoke without expression on his

(01:46:17):
dark face. This is not a good thing, Cameron Wilder.
It would have been best for you to have considered
my warning. He turned and stepped away, locking the door
behind him. Joyce slumped on the bed in dejection. This

(01:46:38):
is a fine fix. We've gotten ourselves into being declared
persona nograda before we even get a good start. They'll
remember that back home when a study of the metamorphosis
of the Markovian nucleus is mentioned in professional circles. Don't
rub it in, Cameron said, half angry. How was I

(01:47:01):
to know that was such a vicious taboo. It can't
be any secret to the Markovians that the odds look
upon them as tamed. Why should they get their hackles
up because I mentioned it? All I know is we're
washed up as of now. What do we do when
we get back home? Cameron stood with his back to her,

(01:47:26):
looking through the windows to the garden beyond. I'm not
thinking of that, he said. Can't you see we haven't failed.
We've almost got it the thing we came to find.
We knew why the Markovians suddenly became good Indians. The

(01:47:48):
odds actually did tame them. We've got to find out
how such an apparently impossible thing could be done. Do
you really believe that's what happened, asked Joyce. Cameron nodded.
It's the only thing there is to believe. If it

(01:48:10):
weren't true, Marthasa and his wife would have laughed it
off as nonsense, getting all huffy and talking about deportation
for cooking up lies. Is the best proof you could
ask for that we hit peterrt. Don't ask me how
I think the Eyes could do it. That's what I'm
going to find out. How I don't know. But he

(01:48:38):
did have an idea that if he could somehow get
word to the old eyed chieftain, help could be had.
He knew he was straining to believe things he wanted
to believe, Yet it seemed as if this were the
very thing Benor had tried to convey the day before
but had left unspoken. There was only one possibility of

(01:49:03):
establishing contact, however, and that was through sal Coron, a
remote chance. Indeed, Cameron thought, in view of the relationship
between the Markovian and his sarg as a last resort,
it was worth trying. However, it looked as if they
would not even have this chance. As the evening grew darker,

(01:49:27):
Cameron kept watch through the windows in the hope of
signaling sal Corone in case he should appear. They hoped
he might come to the room for a final check
of their needs for the night, as he usually did,
but he did not appear. Cameron finally went to bed

(01:49:47):
after Joyce was long asleep. He turned restlessly, beating his
mind with increasing wonder as to how it could be
so incredibly true that the Idealists were the actual masters
of the nucleus, that they had somehow tamed the murderous,
piratical Markovians. He couldn't have known, this was it. One

(01:50:12):
thing he could understand, however, was the Markovians' reluctance to
have visitors and their careful watch over them. Marthosa had
been more than a host. He thought he was a
guard as well, trying to keep the Terrans from discovering
the unpleasant reality concerning the influence of the eyes he

(01:50:35):
had slipped and allowing them to visit Venor. At dawn,
there was the sound of their door opening, and Cameron
whirled from his dressing, hopeful it might be sal Corone.
It was Marthosa, however, grim and distant. I have obtained
word that your deportation can be accomplished today. A mere

(01:51:00):
Jargla has been informed and concurs. The council has been
notified and offers no protestations. You will ready yourselves before
the evening hour. He slammed the door behind him. Joyce
turned down the covers in the other room and sat up.

(01:51:21):
I wonder if he isn't even going to feed us today.
Cameron made no answer. He finished dressing hurriedly and kept
a frantic watch for any sign of sal Coron. At last,
there was a knock on the door, and the eyed
appeared with breakfast on a cart. Cameron exhaled with relief

(01:51:42):
that it was not one of the other Sarks in
the household. Sal Corone eyed him impassively as he wheeled
in and arranged the food on the table By a window.
Cameron watched, estimating his chances your chief Venor was very
kind to us yesterday, he said quietly. Our biggest regret

(01:52:07):
in leaving is that our conversation with him must go unfinished.
Salkorn paused, Were there things you had yet to say
to him? He asked, No, there were things Vnor wanted
to tell us. You heard him. He wanted us to

(01:52:28):
come back. It is completely impossible for us to see
him again before we go. Salkoron straightened and set the
utensils on the table. No, it is not impossible. I
have been instructed to bring you back to the village
if it should be your request. Cameron felt a surge

(01:52:51):
of eager excitement within him. When our deportation is scheduled
for today, how can we get there? How can we void?
Marthossa and the Markovians stand? Very quietly, said sal Korn,
that sense of power and command in his voice and bearing,

(01:53:12):
as Cameron had seen it once before aboard the ship.
Now he said, close your eyes. There was a sudden,
wrenching twist, as if two solid surfaces had slammed them
from front and back, and a third force thrust them sideways.

(01:53:32):
They opened their eyes. In the wooden house of Venor
in the village of the idealists. We owe you apologies,
said Venor. We hope you are not harmed in any way.
Cameron stared around uncertainly. Joyce clutched his hands. How did we,

(01:53:58):
Cameron stammered. Teleportation is the descriptive term in your language,
I believe, said Venor. It was rather urgent that you
come without further delay, so we resorted to it. Nothing
else would do in the face of Marthos's action. Sit down,

(01:54:22):
if you will please, if you wish to rest or eat,
your quarters are ready, our quarters. Then you did expect
us back. You knew this was going to happen exactly
as it has. Yes, I knew, said Venor quietly. I

(01:54:47):
planned it this way when word first came to us
of your visit. I think we are entitled to explanations,
Cameron said. At last, we seemed to have been pieces
in a game we knew nothing about, and it had

(01:55:08):
taken this long for the full impact of Venor's admission
of teleportation to hit him. He closed his eyes in
a moment's reaction of fright. He didn't want to believe it,
and knew he must. These idealists who could master galaxies
and tame the wild Markovians. Was there anything they could

(01:55:31):
not do? Not a game venor protested. We planned this
because we wanted you to see what you have seen.
We wanted a man of earth to know what we
have done. But don't the Markovians realize the foolishness of

(01:55:54):
deporting us because we stumbled onto the relationship between you
and them? And if you are in control, how can
they issue such an order unless you want it? Our
relationship is more complex than that. There are different levels

(01:56:17):
of control we operate, the one that brought you here.
He let Cameron consider the implication of the unfinished statement.
Then he continued to understand the Markovians reason for deporting you.
Consider that on Earth men have tamed wolves and made faithful,

(01:56:43):
loyal dogs who can be trusted, Dogs who have forever
lost the knowledge their ancestors were fierce marauders, ready to
rip and tear the flesh of any man or beast
that came their way. Consider the dogs only a generation

(01:57:06):
or two from the vicious wolves who were their forebears.
The old Urges have not entirely died, yet they want
to know man's affection and trust. Could you remind them
of what their kind once was without stirring up torment

(01:57:27):
within them. So it is with the Markovians. They are
peaceful and creative, but only a few generations behind them
are pirates who are not fit to sit in the
councils of civilized beings. They have no tradition of culture

(01:57:51):
to support them. It knocks the prop out from under them,
so to speak, to have it known what life eyes
behind them. They cannot be friends with such a man.
They cannot even endure the knowledge among themselves. Then I
was right, Cameron exclaimed. Their phony history was set up

(01:58:18):
to deceive their own people as well as others. Yes,
the dog would destroy all evidence of his wolf ancestry.
It has been an enormous project, but the people of
the Nucleus have been at it a long time. They

(01:58:40):
have concocted a consistent history which leaves out all evidence
of their predatory ancestry. The items of reality which were
possible to leave have been retained. The gaps have been
bridged by fiction, lies, accounts of glorious undertakings and discoveries.

(01:59:05):
Most of the Markovian science has been taken from other cultures.
But now their history boasts of heroes and discoverers who
never lived, and who were responsible for all the great
science they enjoy. But nothing stable can be built upon

(01:59:29):
such an unhealthy foundation of self deception. Cameron protested. It
is not unhealthy, not at the present moment, said Vannar.
The time will come when it too will be thrust aside,

(01:59:49):
and a tremendous effort of scholarship will extract the elements
of truth and find that which was suppressed. But the
Markovians themselves must do it, a generation of them who
can afford to laugh at the fears and fantasies of

(02:00:10):
their ancestors. This tells us nothing of how you were
able to make a creative people out of a race
of pirate marauders, said Cameron. I gave you the key,
said Vanor. It was one used long ago by your

(02:00:33):
own people, before it was abandoned. How was the savage
wolf tamed to become the loyal friendly dog? Did ancient
men try to exterminate the wolves that came to his
caves and carried off his young? Perhaps he tried, but

(02:00:57):
he learned, perhaps accidentally, another way of conquest. He found
the wolf's cubs and learned to love them. He brought
the cubs home and cared for them tenderly, and his
own children played with them and fed them and loved them.

(02:01:23):
It took time, but eventually there were no more wild
wolves to trouble man, because he had discovered a great friend,
the dog, and man blessed dog could handle wolf with ease.
Dog forgot in time what his forebears were and became

(02:01:46):
willing to defend man against his own kind because man
loved him. It happened again and again. Agricultural man hated
the wild horse that ate his grain and trampled his fields,
but he learned to love the horse too after a while,

(02:02:11):
and again no more wild horses. But you can't take
a predatory, savage pirate and love him into decency, Cameron protested.
No Venor agreed. It is too difficult ordinarily at that level,

(02:02:38):
and wasteful of time and resources. But I didn't say
that is what happened. You don't tame a wolf by
loving it. But the cubs, yes, and even pirates have
cubs who are susceptible to being loved. The first weapon

(02:03:02):
was hate, but after learning the futility of it, sentient
creatures discovered another, the succeeding evolutionary emotion. It is pure
savagery in its destructive power, a thousand times more effective
in annihilating the enemy. You thought love thy enemy was

(02:03:27):
a soft, gentle futile doctrine. Actually, instead of merely killing
the enemy, it twists his personality, destroys his identity. He
continues to live, but he has lost his integrity as

(02:03:47):
an entity. The wolf cub never becomes an adult wolf,
he becomes a dog. It is not a doctrine of weakness,
but the ultimate weapon of destruction. It can be used
to induce any orientation desired in the mind of the enemy.

(02:04:12):
He'll do everything you want him to because he has
your love. How did you apply that to the Markovians,
asked Joyce in almost a whisper. It was one of
the most difficult programs we have ever undertaken, said Venor.

(02:04:38):
There were comparatively few of us in such a tremendous
population of Markovians. We had predicted long ago, even before
the organization of the Council, the situation would grow critical
and dangerous. By the time the Council awoke to the

(02:05:01):
fact and started its futile debates, we had made a
strong beginning, we arranged to be in the path of
a Markovian attack on one of the worlds where our
work was completed. The Markovians were only too happy to
take us into slavery and use us as victims in

(02:05:25):
their brutal sports. You didn't deliberately fall into a trap
where you allowed yourself to be killed and tortured by them,
exclaimed Cameron, then or smiled. The Markovians thought we did.

(02:05:45):
We could hardly do that. Of course, our numbers were
so small compared with theirs that we wouldn't have lasted
very long, And obviously it would have been plain stupid.
But there is one key that must not be forgotten.

(02:06:07):
An effective use of love requires an absolute superiority on
the levels attainable by the individuals to be tamed. So
in this case we had to have the power to
keep the mar Covians from slaughtering us, or we would

(02:06:29):
have been unable to accomplish our purpose. Teleportation is of
obvious use here. Likewise, psychosomatic controls that can handle any
ordinary wound we might permit them to inflict. We gave
them the illusion of slaughtering and torturing us, but our

(02:06:53):
numbers did not dwindle. Why did you give them such
an illusion, Joyce asked, And you say you permitted them
to inflict wounds? Then or nodded. We were in their households,
you see, employed as slaves and designed to the care

(02:07:19):
of their young. The cubs of the wolf were given
into our hands to love and to tame. These Markovian
children were witnesses to the supposed torture and killing of
those who loved them. It was a tremendous psychic impact

(02:07:39):
and served to drive their influence toward the side of
the slaves, and even the adults slowly recognized the net
loss to them of doing away with servants so skilled
and useful in household tasks and caring for them the young.

(02:08:02):
The games and brutality vanished spontaneously within a short time.
Markovians young and old simply didn't want them any longer.
During the maturity of that first generation of young on
whom we expended our love, our position became more secure.

(02:08:28):
These were no longer wolves. They had become dogs, loyal
to those who loved them, and we could use them
now against their own kind. Influences to abandon piracy against
other peoples began to spread throughout the nucleus. To day,

(02:08:52):
the Markovians are no longer a threat capable of holding
the countsil worlds in helpless fear. They long ago ceased
their depredations. Their internal stability is rising and is almost
at the point or we shall be able to leave them.

(02:09:13):
Our work here is about finished. Surely all this was unnecessary,
Joyce said, With your powers of teleportation and other psionic
abilities you must possess, it should be easy for you
to control the Markovians directly, force them to cease their piracy.

(02:09:37):
Of course, said Vanor, that would have been much easier
for us, and so futile. The Markovians would have learned
nothing through being taken over by us and operated externally.
They would have remained the But it was our desire

(02:10:03):
to change them, teach them, accomplish genuine learning within them.
It is always longer and more difficult this way. The results, however,
are more lasting. Who are you people? What are you?

(02:10:28):
Cameron said, with sudden intensity. You have teleportation and how
many other unknown psychic powers you have forced us to
believe you contame such a vicious world as the Markovian
nucleus once was. But where is there a life of

(02:10:50):
your own. With all your powers, you must live at
the whim of other cultures. Where is your culture? Where
is your own purpose? In spite of all you have?
Your life is a parasitical one, then, or smiled gently.

(02:11:13):
Is it not the parent or the teacher, the servant
of the child? He said? Has it not always been so?
If a species is to rise very far in its
conquest of the universe. But this does not mean that
the parent or teacher has no life of his own.

(02:11:37):
You ask, where is our culture? The culture of all
worlds is ours. We don't have great cities and vast fleets.
The wolf cubs build these for us. They carry us
across space and shelter us in their cities. Our energy

(02:12:00):
cheese are expended, and a thousand other and more profitable ways.
We have sought and learned a few of the secrets
of life and mind. With these we can move as
you were moved when we choose to do so. From

(02:12:20):
where I sit, I can speak with any of our
kind on this planet or any world of the nucleus,
and a few of us, united in effort, can touch
those in distant galaxies. What culture would you have us
acquire that we do not have. Then are finished without answer.

(02:12:47):
Cameron arose and strode slowly to the window. His back
to the room, he looked out upon the rude wooden
huts in the towering forest beyond. He tried to tell
himself it was all a lie. Such things couldn't be.
But he could feel it now with increasing strength, as

(02:13:10):
if his senses were quickening, the benign aura, the indefinable
wash of power that seemed to laugh at the edges
of his mind. Out of the corner of his eye,
he could see Joyce's face, almost radiant, as she too
sensed it here in the presence of the Eydes. Love

(02:13:34):
as a genuine power had been taught by every Terran
philosopher of any social worth, but it had never really
been tried, not in the way the Eydes understood it.
Cameron felt he could only guess at the terrible discipline
of the mind it required to use it as they did.

(02:13:57):
The analogy of the wolf cubs was all very well,
and man had learned to go that far. But there
is a difference when your own kind is involved. He thought.
Perhaps it was out of sheer fear of each other
that men continue to try to sway with hate, the

(02:14:18):
most primitive of all their weapons. It is easy to hate,
he thought. Love is hard, And because it is the
tough humans who can't achieve it and have the patience
to manipulate it, must scorn it the truly weak ones.

(02:14:39):
They are incapable of the stern and brutal self discipline
required of one who loves his enemy. But men had
known how, back in the caves, when they had known
how to conquer the wolf and the wild horse. Where
had they lost? The vision of the buildings and the

(02:15:04):
forest with its eternal peace was still in his eyes?
What else could you want with the whole universe and
the palm of your hand? He turned sharply. You tricked
us into betraying ourselves to Marthosa, And you said that

(02:15:26):
you planned it this way when you first heard of
our coming. But you have not yet said why. Why
did you want us to see what you had done?
You needed to have evidence from the Markovians themselves, said Vnor.

(02:15:46):
That is why I led you to the point where
the admission would be forced from them. The problem you
came to solve is now answered, is it not? Is
there anything to prevent you returning to Earth and writing
a successful paper on the mystery of the Markovians. You

(02:16:09):
know very well there is, said Cameron, with a sudden
sense that Venor was laughing gently at him. Who on
earth would believe what you have told me that a
handful of meek, subservient eyes had conquered the mighty Markovian nucleus?

(02:16:29):
He paused, looking at Joyce, who returned his intense gaze.
Is that all? Said Venor? Finally, no, that is not all.
After taking us to the heights and showing us everything
that lies beyond, are you simply going to turn us

(02:16:51):
away empty handed? What would you have us give you? This,
said Cameron, gesturing with his hand to include the circle
of all of them in the community beyond the window
we want what you have discovered. Is your circle a

(02:17:11):
closed one? Or can you admit those who would learn
of your ways but are not of your race? Then?
Or smile broadened as he arose and stepped toward them,
and they felt the warm wave of acceptance from his
mind even before he spoke. This is what we brought

(02:17:34):
you here to receive, he said, But you had to
ask for yourselves. We wanted men of earth in our ranks.
There are many races and many worlds who make up
the Idealists. That is why it is said that the

(02:17:54):
Eydes do not know the home world from which they
originally came. It is true they do not. We are
citizens of the universe, but we have never been represented
by a native of Earth, which needs us badly. Will

(02:18:15):
you join us? Terreens, end of chapter five, end of
Cubs of the Wolf by Raymond F. Jones