much to talk about!"
Yuri approached the open door, and the old man stepped back to allow him to enter.
It was much the same as when they'd built it, although the air inside was cooler and not at all humid. The place had air conditioning! It had been so long since he'd experienced it that Yuri almost shivered in the chill.
There had been other changes, too, Yuri noticed. The barren stage area was raised still higher; there was a comfortable-looking chair to one side, as well as some mystifying electronic gear in two portable consoles.
And books and recordings. Lots of them. They lined one side of the building. The contents of those other boxes they'd stored unopened their first day here, Yuri guessed.
"Who are you?" Yuri asked the stranger.
The old man shrugged good-naturedly. "What are names, anyway? You might say a supervisor, a trainer, a teacher, or, more to the point, your ticket to a better life. For a while, anyway, let's use the name Ponder. It fits, as you shall see."
Yuri was puzzled. "You're human," he noted.
Ponder smiled. "That term, as you will discover, has little relevance, but if you want to apply it in the most basic biological sense, then, yes, Ponder's human. Why? Does that surprise you?"
"All of this surprises me," Yuri replied.
Ponder smiled. "Why not invite the others to come in? You'll find there's room here without much crowding. Then we can all get to the explaining stage."
They sat in silence, the cushions now uncomfortably soft for them; the air conditioning felt strange. Ponder sat in the chair next to the dais; the guard, who now put in an appearance, took up station at the door. He had a small wand or baton with him, but no weapon.
Ponder looked the captives over with satisfaction.
"Well, now, let's first get really comfortable," he suggested, and reached into a box, pulling out small packages. "These aren't really good for body and health, but occasionally they're a treat." He passed them down each row. The prisoners unwrapped them, finding chocolate and confection bars inside. Only Yuri noted that all were of Ondinian manufacture; the rest were as excited as schoolchildren. They ate them joyfully, sloppily, and were soon wearing chocolate and goo on their faces and occasionally on other parts of their bodies. Nobody seemed to care.
Next Ponder passed out bottles of what proved to be natural orange drink. After so long with nothing but spring water, the taste was incredible.
"Now that you've all been refreshed," Ponder began, his voice filling the building, "let us begin."
He got up, started pacing slowly in front of the stage, noting the eyes following him. "By now you've probably concluded that the mean old Machists had tossed you out into the wilderness and promptly forgotten about you. Be assured that it is not so! Something on this scale takes time to set up, and personnel to accomplish. Well, now the waiting's over. You are about to embark on a process which might startle, amaze, and alter your perceptions of yourself and your role in a civilized society. We hope so. The end result is up to you, not us. It may be very short, or very long, or indefinite. That's up to you and you only. Participation in this program is required, but it has no time limit. It will take as long as it will take."
He paused, noted that they were listening attentively, curiously, but with just the slightest apprehension. That was good. Normal.
"First, let's go into what this is all about—not just this camp, or this program, but the whole thing.
"A very long time ago," Ponder began, "a great race reached the stars. But, before it did, it developed on its own mother world a system and a society that was unbelievably wonderful. When it broke the bonds of its birth and went faring into the galaxy, it discovered other thinking, rational beings like itself, other races, other forms. This ancient race went to embrace them as brothers, but discovered to its horror that the other races feared them,
Yuri approached the open door, and the old man stepped back to allow him to enter.
It was much the same as when they'd built it, although the air inside was cooler and not at all humid. The place had air conditioning! It had been so long since he'd experienced it that Yuri almost shivered in the chill.
There had been other changes, too, Yuri noticed. The barren stage area was raised still higher; there was a comfortable-looking chair to one side, as well as some mystifying electronic gear in two portable consoles.
And books and recordings. Lots of them. They lined one side of the building. The contents of those other boxes they'd stored unopened their first day here, Yuri guessed.
"Who are you?" Yuri asked the stranger.
The old man shrugged good-naturedly. "What are names, anyway? You might say a supervisor, a trainer, a teacher, or, more to the point, your ticket to a better life. For a while, anyway, let's use the name Ponder. It fits, as you shall see."
Yuri was puzzled. "You're human," he noted.
Ponder smiled. "That term, as you will discover, has little relevance, but if you want to apply it in the most basic biological sense, then, yes, Ponder's human. Why? Does that surprise you?"
"All of this surprises me," Yuri replied.
Ponder smiled. "Why not invite the others to come in? You'll find there's room here without much crowding. Then we can all get to the explaining stage."
They sat in silence, the cushions now uncomfortably soft for them; the air conditioning felt strange. Ponder sat in the chair next to the dais; the guard, who now put in an appearance, took up station at the door. He had a small wand or baton with him, but no weapon.
Ponder looked the captives over with satisfaction.
"Well, now, let's first get really comfortable," he suggested, and reached into a box, pulling out small packages. "These aren't really good for body and health, but occasionally they're a treat." He passed them down each row. The prisoners unwrapped them, finding chocolate and confection bars inside. Only Yuri noted that all were of Ondinian manufacture; the rest were as excited as schoolchildren. They ate them joyfully, sloppily, and were soon wearing chocolate and goo on their faces and occasionally on other parts of their bodies. Nobody seemed to care.
Next Ponder passed out bottles of what proved to be natural orange drink. After so long with nothing but spring water, the taste was incredible.
"Now that you've all been refreshed," Ponder began, his voice filling the building, "let us begin."
He got up, started pacing slowly in front of the stage, noting the eyes following him. "By now you've probably concluded that the mean old Machists had tossed you out into the wilderness and promptly forgotten about you. Be assured that it is not so! Something on this scale takes time to set up, and personnel to accomplish. Well, now the waiting's over. You are about to embark on a process which might startle, amaze, and alter your perceptions of yourself and your role in a civilized society. We hope so. The end result is up to you, not us. It may be very short, or very long, or indefinite. That's up to you and you only. Participation in this program is required, but it has no time limit. It will take as long as it will take."
He paused, noted that they were listening attentively, curiously, but with just the slightest apprehension. That was good. Normal.
"First, let's go into what this is all about—not just this camp, or this program, but the whole thing.
"A very long time ago," Ponder began, "a great race reached the stars. But, before it did, it developed on its own mother world a system and a society that was unbelievably wonderful. When it broke the bonds of its birth and went faring into the galaxy, it discovered other thinking, rational beings like itself, other races, other forms. This ancient race went to embrace them as brothers, but discovered to its horror that the other races feared them,
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