DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Sparx, v. 1, issue 6, February 1948

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Sparx, v. 1, issue 6, February 1948

Page 3

THE COLD WAR BY DAVE THOMAS
Neiland pulled the hood of his parka over his head and pushed his way through the swinging library doors into the stormy world outside. At first he could hardly see; the atmosphere was thick with falling snow, and his glasses were soon wet and almost opaque. Grimly, he slogged down the main road of the village in the direction of his hut.
"Hi, Bob," said somebody at his elbow. He squinted. "Oh, hello, Jackson," he grunted. "Didn't see you come up. Quite a blizzard, isn't it?"
"You said it." Jackson's voice was dubious. "I never guess-ed what an asteroid winter might be like, Isn't there anything we can do? Weather control, I mean. They've got that down to a science on the Imperial worlds."
Neiland shrugged. "Find us some material," he said bitterly. "We've figured it out theoretically. We've analyzed the motions of gases with four place accuracy. But can we build anything without machinery?"
"You're right, I suppose. Everybody I talk to tells me the same thing--including the food synthesists. They say their equip-ment is falling to pieces. You know what that might mean." He sounded frightened. "Isn't there any way we can open up trade relations with the Empire?"
"Guess not," sighed Neiland. "We've all wondered about it. But it just can't be done. We haven't got any transmitters; we only have one ship, and that's ready to collapse; we haven't even got enough fuel to lift ourselves off this damned asteroid. And they certainly aren't going to be charitable--not with the ideological barrier that separates us."
Jackson made a disparaging gesture. "But is ideology so important? We'll be hungry soon, you know. Isn't just living more important than any social theory?"
They wouldn't take us. Not even if we recanted, abandoned our creed of individual freedom and surrendered oruselves unconditionally to Imperial absolution. We¡re potentially subversive; having once thought for ourselves, they reason, there's always the chance that we might again."
Jackson was glum. "If I'd known what I was getting into when I joined the Malcontentes... If I'd only known about this economic isolation, this..."
They had reached Neiland's hut. He turned at the door and interupted: "You know better than that. You believe as much as I do in free individualistic thought. We're here because we
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THE COLD WAR BY DAVE THOMAS Neiland pulled the hood of his parka over his head and pushed his way through the swinging library doors into the stormy world outside. At first he could hardly see; the atmosphere was thick with falling snow, and his glasses were soon wet and almost opaque. Grimly, he slogged down the main road of the village in the direction of his hut. "Hi, Bob," said somebody at his elbow. He squinted. "Oh, hello, Jackson," he grunted. "Didn't see you come up. Quite a blizzard, isn't it?" "You said it." Jackson's voice was dubious. "I never guess-ed what an asteroid winter might be like, Isn't there anything we can do? Weather control, I mean. They've got that down to a science on the Imperial worlds." Neiland shrugged. "Find us some material," he said bitterly. "We've figured it out theoretically. We've analyzed the motions of gases with four place accuracy. But can we build anything without machinery?" "You're right, I suppose. Everybody I talk to tells me the same thing--including the food synthesists. They say their equip-ment is falling to pieces. You know what that might mean." He sounded frightened. "Isn't there any way we can open up trade relations with the Empire?" "Guess not," sighed Neiland. "We've all wondered about it. But it just can't be done. We haven't got any transmitters; we only have one ship, and that's ready to collapse; we haven't even got enough fuel to lift ourselves off this damned asteroid. And they certainly aren't going to be charitable--not with the ideological barrier that separates us." Jackson made a disparaging gesture. "But is ideology so important? We'll be hungry soon, you know. Isn't just living more important than any social theory?" They wouldn't take us. Not even if we recanted, abandoned our creed of individual freedom and surrendered oruselves unconditionally to Imperial absolution. We¡re potentially subversive; having once thought for ourselves, they reason, there's always the chance that we might again." Jackson was glum. "If I'd known what I was getting into when I joined the Malcontentes... If I'd only known about this economic isolation, this..." They had reached Neiland's hut. He turned at the door and interupted: "You know better than that. You believe as much as I do in free individualistic thought. We're here because we ((Flip the page over, please))