The Totems of Abydos (11 page)

So do not fear the forest,” said Rodriguez, closing the weapon, which action restored it to the appearance of a simple telescope.

“I do not want anything killed,” said Brenner.

Some brief indications of Brenner’s concerns are in order. On his home world, long ago, the horrors of killing anything had become clear. This was no longer viewed as the way of life. Life had been improved upon, succeeded by certain moral postures. It had begun in particular with the illegalization of utilizing certain privileged sets of life forms as food. One popular expression was that it was wrong to “enslave animals for food purposes” which slogan indicated a confusion of slavery with animal husbandry, two quite disparate institutions, and was not regarded as requiring any plausible explanation, defense, or justification. Shortly thereafter it was pointed out by botanically sensitive individuals that vegetable matter, too, was alive, and might well have some dim sort of consciousness. Various bills intended to outlaw the enslavement of vegetables, fruit trees, and such, for food purposes just failed of enactment in certain areas, after lengthy expert testimony was taken from the scientific community on the minimalistic, if that, nature of the mentality of these various plants, and such, as though the mere minimality of the mentality were at all germane to the question. Where the bills were enacted they tended to be popularly ignored, though some individuals, as a moral duty, starved to death, attended by widespread publicity in the press, rousing general sympathy but in the end accomplishing little with respect to altering the ultimate fate of most vegetables. It had also been observed that the meaning of the command, “Thou shalt not kill,” had only recently been discovered, after several thousand years. It was noted that the original community to which this directive had been issued and which, presumably, would have been in an ideal position to understand it, had failed to grasp its import. Several members of that community, for example, had been shepherds, and others had been farmers and vintagers, and such. Too, one supposes that some amongst them would not have been above angling. Also, they seem to have had few scruples about putting tribal enemies to the sword, and, indeed, in certain cases, seem to have undertaken it as a duty incumbent upon them in virtue of obedience to the will of the very entity which had issued the original injunction pertaining to killing, an anomaly, at best. The injunction against killing would apply, of course, not only to animals and plants which might be utilized for food, but, naturally, more generally. An obvious, even painfully so, life form, was the insect. Insecticides, of course, were banned. A number of other accommodations were also in order, such as screened bulbs to prevent injury to flying insects and special shoes designed both for comfort and support and reduction of the number of contact surfaces with the ground, the latter to minimize the danger to crawling insects. Children were warned to be specially watchful not to step on six-legged brothers, and so on. These were, of course, negative precautions. The next logical step was insect welfare, putting out food for them, encouraging their breeding, etc. In some communities of the more enlightened variety special walkways were designed to protect individuals from hovering swarms. Insect welfarists often tore down these screens, as artificial barriers. Some individuals would wander about with serene smiles upon their countenances, their bodies swarming with insects, providing the little fellows with harbors and refuges, and nourishing them even, depending upon the variety, with their own blood. Whereas the saintliness of these individuals was readily admitted by the community at large, it must be admitted that their example, however inspiring, seldom elicited, or was honored by, emulation. Whereas it was true that a certain amount of edible material could be synthesized from certain chemicals these processes tended to be complex and expensive. Aside from questions of the nutritional equivalence of this material, if this was thought important, which still remained controversial, there were additional problems connected with its palatability, which might be ignored, and its long-term side effects which did not yet seem to be fully understood. But this sort of thing was not practical economically for most individuals, and of those to whom it was economically practical, few seemed to be interested in it. Most would make do with some forms of mashes and pulps. It might be added, for what it is worth, that various species of animals which had hitherto been enslaved, if one may so speak, for certain values or products, such as eggs, fur, or meat, had now lapsed into extinction. Naturally the enslavement of animals such as dogs, cats, tropical fish, torgos, inwits, and canaries was also outlawed. On several worlds these animals, too, were now extinct. Happily they survived on others. A further natural development, earlier mentioned, was the extension of the franchise to these fellow citizens of worlds, to be exercised, of course, by proxies, the control of which was a matter of great political moment. On the other hand, it seemed these life forms should have a say, too, or that there should be a say on their behalf, in various parliaments, diets and congresses. Things, of course, were not quite as one might expect on Brenner’s home world, given these axiological principles and commitments, because of the recrudescence of the “reality principle,” so to speak. Many of the subscribed values were given little more attention than was required by deference to the militant minorities, suffused with righteous zeal, that championed them. Many an insect, guilty of no more than the attempt to exercise his natural rights, was doubtless done in the privacy of one’s own compartments. There were, of course, certain individuals who committed suicide, overcome by guilt at the perpetuation of these secret murders, confessed to in notes left behind, and there were occasional mothers who, in view of the clearly stated utilitarian principles of the equivalence of all life forms, had sacrificed their child to save two cockroaches, but these were rare. The rational races tended to be saved, once again, by hypocrisy, the value of which is perhaps too little understood as a facilitator of social survival. Too, certain historic decisions, still controversial, emanating from high judiciaries, perhaps expressing the opinion of an alarmed metaparty, had made it clear that it was not morally incumbent upon the rational races, no more than other life forms, to surrender and depress the quality of their own life, or to seek their own extinction, no matter how moral the cause. To be sure, these matters remained legally and morally confused. It might be mentioned, lastly, that a black market thrived on most of the civilized worlds in which certain goods, foodstuffs, and such, for a price, remained available. To use a metaphor, many individuals who would not have enjoyed sticking a pig continued to relish pork chops. Too, the rich, and the powerful, as one might expect, had things much their own way. Even on the home world, it was rumored that they could buy anything, even women.

“I do not want anything killed,” said Brenner, repeating himself, firmly.

“It is sometimes necessary to kill,” said Rodriguez.

“Never,” said Brenner.

“I suppose you are right, or at least generally,” said Rodriguez. “One could just do nothing, or die, or let something else die.”

“Of course,” said Brenner.

“What of the bird that captures and eats an insect?” asked Rodriguez. “Has it committed murder?”

“I am not responsible for the bird,” said Brenner.

“Do you regard it as guilty?” asked Rodriguez.

“No,” said Brenner.

“Why not?” asked Rodriguez.

“That is just the way of life,” said Brenner.

“And you do not regard yourself as part of the way of life?” asked Rodriguez. “You exempt yourself from its ways?”

Brenner was silent.

“Every time you take a breath, every time you move, every time you lie down, every time you step,” said Rodriguez, “you kill, say, some tiny thing, some bacterium, some virus, some mite, such things. Your very body, with its natural defenses against disease, is designed by nature to survive, and to survive by killing.”

Brenner said nothing, but was angry.

“You live,” said Rodriguez, “because it is a killing machine.”

Some individuals, incidentally, sensitive, unusually morally motivated individuals, aware of, and horrified by, these possibilities, and attempting to curtail, or minimize, breathing, to avoid movement, and such, had gone insane. Most, however, in virtue of the predictable reassertion of what might be spoken of as “the reality principle,” as we have called it, in a disgusted spasm of health, rather reflexively, threw off these ideas, almost as one might vomit poison, no longer attending to them, rather getting on with the business of living, accepting themselves at last honestly as one animal amongst others in the kingdom of life, and one with its own nature, concerning which it need not be apologetic, and a nature with a potentiality for dominance, one with its place in the order of nature, one with a right to its place in the food chain.

“You are angry,” said Rodriguez, closing the pack.

“No, I am not,” said Brenner, heatedly.

“Answer me this, truthfully,” said Rodriguez, looking at Brenner. “Let us suppose some predatory animal were intent upon devouring a child, and you could save the child by killing the animal. Would you do so?”

“Yes,” said Brenner, angrily.

“You would give priority to your own life form?”

“Yes, said Brenner, in fury.

“Then you do not, truly, believe in the equivalence of life forms.”

“It seems not,” said Brenner.

“Then you are a species chauvinist,” said Rodriguez.

Brenner said nothing, but was furious.

“And so perhaps it is appropriate that you, too, have been sent to Abydos,” smiled Rodriguez.

“Perhaps,” said Brenner.

“Have you never wondered what it would be like, to breathe freely, to walk free, to fulfill yourself, to be yourself, as what you really are, truly?”

“I do not understand,” said Brenner.

“Good night,” said Rodriguez.

“About the directress,” said Brenner.

“Yes?” said Rodriguez.

“I think you owe me an apology, on her behalf,” said Brenner, “for how you spoke of her.”

“I do not understand,” said Rodriguez.

“Having to do with your offensive remarks about “curves” and “collars” and such.”

“Oh,” said Rodriguez.

“I really feel you should apologize.”

“Look there,” said Rodriguez. “There on the plating at your feet, in that exact place.”

“Yes?” said Brenner, puzzled, complying.

“Imagine her there now, in a slave collar, perhaps in chains, if you like, at your feet, stripped.”

Brenner, startled, stared down at the plating.

“Is she in chains?” asked Rodriguez.

“Yes,” said Brenner, hesitantly.

Rodriguez laughed.

Brenner reddened, angrily.

“Now,” said Rodriguez, “she lies at your feet, docile, curled up, in her chains.”

“Stop!” said Brenner.

“She is a woman,” said Rodriguez. “Let them lie there, at your feet, in the shadow of your whip, knowing they must obey. They will lie there, and purr with contentment.”

“Stop! Stop!” said Brenner.

“What is wrong?” asked Rodriguez.

“I will not have you uttering such words!”

“Are her lineaments, so soft and well turned, so luscious, not of interest to you?”

“I must not think such thoughts!” cried Brenner.

“Why?” asked Rodriguez. “Do they make you uncomfortable? Do they make you too conscious of your manhood?”

“I am not a man,” cried Brenner, “or not in what I take to be your dreadful sense! I must not be a man, not in that terrible sense! No! I am a person! I must be a person! Manhood, in your sense, is an anachronism, belonging to more primitive times, less enlightened eras. It is now, in that sense, as you well know, outlawed.”

“Yet in you, deny it as you will,” said Rodriguez, “is a man.”

“No,” wept Brenner.

“And in the old sense, that which you find so frightening, that of pride and power.”

“No!” said Brenner.

“Accept it, fulfill it, and relish it,” said Rodriguez.

“No, no!” said Brenner.

“You find these things reprehensible, objectionable?” asked Rodriguez.

“Yes!” said Brenner.

“But the pupils of your eyes are dilated,” said Rodriguez.

Brenner turned swiftly away, that Rodriguez could not see his face, or body.

“Well,” said Rodriguez. “Dream of the directress, and as you would have her.”

“No,” said Brenner. “No!”

“Good night,” said Rodriguez, and, releasing the webbing, moved lightly across the plating, toward the exit from the lounge.

“Doubtless you will dream of her!” cried Brenner, clinging to the webbing, like a rope in the sea.

Rodriguez turned about, at the exit, and, one hand on the handle of the panel, grinned. “Perhaps,” he said, “but I think not. I have others in mind who I think would be even more interesting subjects of such dreams.”

“Monster,” said Brenner.

“And surely you, too, might do better than the directress,” he suggested, “not that she is bad, in her essentials, you understand.”