Конец вечности
The Beginning of Infinity
"
Andwasn’titso?
"Well,"saidNoys,"youseemtobethinking.Thinkofthis,then.IntheRealitythatnowexists,whyisitthatmaniscontinuallyattemptingspace-travelandcontinuallyfailing?Surelyeachspace-traveleramustknowofpreviousfailures.Whytryagain,then?"
Harlansaid,"Ihaven’tstudiedthematter."ButhethoughtuneasilyofthecoloniesonMars,establishedagainandagain,alwaysfailing.Hethoughtoftheoddattractionthatspace-flightalwayshad,evenforEternals.HecouldhearSociologistKantorVoyofthe2456th,sighingatthelossofelectro-graviticspace-flightinoneCentury,andsayinglongingly:"_Ithadbeenverybeautiful_."AndLife-PlotterNeronFeruque,whohadswornbitterlyatitspassingandhadlaunchedintoafitofrailingatEternity’shandlingofanti-cancerserumstocasehisspirit.
Wastheresuchathingasaninstinctiveyearningonthepartofintelligentbeingstoexpandoutward,toreachthestars,toleavetheprisonofgravitybehind?Wasitthatwhichforcedmantodevelopinterplanetarytraveldozensoftimes,forcedhimtotraveloverandoveragaintothedeadworldsofasolarsysteminwhichonlyEarthwaslivable?Wasittheeventualfailure,theknowledgethatonemustreturntothehomeprison,thatbroughtaboutthemaladjustmentsthatEternitywasforeverfighting.HarlanthoughtofthedrugaddictioninthosesamefutileCenturiesoftheelectro-gravitics.
