Mr. Persson answered that fairly. “We don’t know that. They were definitely using them as involuntary labor. The question seems to be whether they are intelligent enough to be called slaves. As you heard from Mr. Fernandez-Fragoso, there are some indications that they are, and some that they aren’t. But I think we should bear the possibility in mind.”

The little man nodded, and Mr. Tubman passed on to another man who had signaled for recognition.

“Am I right? They actually intended to move against our Ship by force?”

Mr. Persson said, “That’s not certain, either. It’s another possibility and it was settled by the disabling of the scoutship.”

The man said, “Barbaric,” half to himself. Then: “I think we ought to offer a vote of thanks to these young people for solving our problem for us.” And he sat down.

The next person to gain recognition seconded the idea, and my face got hot. I looked at Jimmy and saw that he wa embarrassed, too. I wished that they would pass on. I didn’t want any vote of thanks like a stone hung around my neck.

Mr. Persson said, “I think that’s a fine idea. I call for a vote on the motion.”

One of the others on the Council raised an objecting hand. He said, “I think that’s getting away from the purpose of this Assembly. If at some other time the idea seems in order, we can take action on it then.”

There was a great deal of commotion. When everything settled down, Daddy made his ruling.

“I think we should continue now.”

Knowing what Daddy had in mind to do in this Assembly, I was just as glad not to be thanked.

The next man to speak said, “I think we’re missing the main point. These people are Free Birthers! That’s the whole question. We all know what that sort of policy leads to. And they’ve proven it again with this scoutship business — who did they murder to get it?-with throwing our youngsters in jail, and all the rest. They’re a menace, and that’s the truth.”

Mr. Persson started to answer that one, too. “It’s their planet, Mr. Findlay. I wouldn’t want to deny them the right to have laws of trespass. And for the.

My father cut him off. “I disagree. I think Mr. Findlay has raised a valid issue. It should be considered seriously.”

There was a lot of noise on this, but since the Council members were the only ones on an open circuit outside the controller’s direction, Mr. Persson and Daddy were the only ones who could be heard clearly. There were, as I well knew, firmly drawn lines here. Under the politesse and apparent impartiality, Daddy was heading straight for a definite purpose with the aid of Mr. Tubman, and Mr. Persson was trying just as hard to turn the Assembly aside.

When they could be heard, Mr. Persson said, “We’re aware. We are aware of the danger these people present. We are aware. But the question has been settled for the moment. They may be Free Birthers, but still there are no more than a few million of them. They are primitive. They are backward. They have no means by which to do us harm. At worst, they can be contained. Let’s leave the poor devils alone in isolation to work out their• own destiny.”

Daddy said just as doggedly, “I don’t agree!”

Somebody started yelling for debate then, and it spread, more and more people yelling — this is the fun of Assemblies — and then, finally, they got everything quieted down.

The man who was recognized by the controller said, “It’s all right for you to sit there and tell us that, Mr. Persson, but can you guarantee that they won’t get another scoutship by whatever way they got their first one? Can you guarantee that?”

“If the other Ships are warned,” Mr. Persson said, “there won’t be any problem. But the real point is being missed here. The real point is not the damage that this backward planet can do to us. The real point is, what is the reason that there is any possibility of damage being done to us? I maintain that it is because they are backward!”

“That isn’t the question we are considering,” my father said. “We’re considering a specific case, not general issues. It isn’t pertinent. That’s my ruling.”

“It is pertinent!” Mr. Persson said. “It couldn’t be more pertinent. This question is larger than you want to admit, Mr. Havero. You’ve been avoiding bringing this question of policy, of basic policy for our Ship, out into the open. I say that now is the time.”

“You’re out of order.”

“I am not out of order! I say we should consider the point of general Ship policy. I call for a vote right now to decide whether or not we should consider it. I call for a vote, Mr. Havero.”

People in the Assembly started yelling again, some calling for a vote and some not. Eventually those calling for a vote got the louder end of it and my father held up a hand.

“All right,” he said, when it was quiet enough for him to be heard. “A motion has been made and seconded for a vote on the question of consideration of our planetary policy and carried by acclamation. Controller, record the vote.”

“Thank you,” Mr. Persson said, and punched his vote button.

I knew that Daddy wanted a vote of no, but I voted yes.

When everybody had voted, the master board showed “Yes” in green, “No” in red. The vote was 20,283 to 6,614. So we considered the question.

Mr. Persson said, “As you all know, our past policy has been to hand only as little technical information out to the planets as possible, and then only in return for material considerations. I say this is a mistake. I’ve said it before in Council meetings and I’ve attempted to bring it up before past Assemblies. In testimony that was made before the Council, Mia Havero stated that part of Tintera’s great hate for us is their feeling that they have been unfairly dealt out of their inheritance to which they have as much a right as we. I can’t say that I really blame them. We had no use for them — they had nothing we felt we could use — and in consequence they live lives of squalor. If there is any blame to assign for the fact that they are Free Birthers, I think it is ours for allowing them to lose contact with the unpleasant facts of history that we know so well. The responsibility was ours and we failed. I don’t believe that we should punish them for our failure.”

There was a round of applause from the Assembly as he finished. Then my father began to speak.

“I’m sure you all know that I disagree in every respect with Mr. Persson. First, the responsibility for what these people are — Free Birthers, possibly slavers, certainly attempted murderers — belongs to them, and not to us. They are products of the same history that we are, and if they have forgotten that history, it is not our business to teach it to them. We cannot judge them by what they might have been or by what they should have been. We have to take them for what they are and what they themselves intend to be. They are menaces to us and to every other portion of the present human race. I firmly believe that our only course is to destroy them. If we do not, then and only then will we have grounds to lay blame on ourselves. We in the Ships are in a vulnerable position; we live in an uneasy balance and the least mistake will be our ruin. Tintera is backward today, but even contained, tomorrow it may not be. That is the main fact to remember. A cancer cannot be contained and a planet that does not regulate birth is a cancer. A cancer must be destroyed or it will grow and grow until it destroys its host and itself. Tintera is a cancer. It must be destroyed.

“As for our planetary policy, I don’t believe that it needs fresh justification. The reasons for it are clear enough and they have not changed. We do live in a precarious balaflce, but there is reason for our living so. If we were to abandon the Ships and take up life on one or more of the colony planets, inevitably much of the knowledge that we have preserved and expanded would be lost or mutilated. If we were to take up life on one of the colonies, we would be swallowed and lost, a small voice in a population many times our size. In the exigencies of making a living under primitive conditions — and the most advanced of the colonies is still primitive — how much time would be left for art and science and mathematics? These things require time, and time is one thing that is not free on the colonies. Much that is around us could never be transported to a planet and preserved if the Ship were left behind. It could not be reproduced on any planet. It would have to be abandoned.