M. A. Cummings (Monette to her friends) returns with another hauntinglypersuasive story of a Tomorrow that may not be as gleaming aswe hope. Her recent story, THE WEIRDIES, apparently delighted someand startled others—and this in Los Angeles! What's happening there?
He didn't know how he could have stood the four monthsthere alone. She was company and one could talk to her ...
I can't tell anyone aboutit. In the first place, they'dnever believe me. And, if theydid, I'd probably be punishedfor having her. Because wearen't allowed to have pets ofany kind.
It wouldn't have happened,if they hadn't sent me wayout there to work. But, yousee, there are so many thingsI can't do.
I remember the day theChief of Vocation took me beforethe council.
"I've tried him on a dozenthings," he reported. Peoplealways talk about me as if Ican't understand what theymean. But I'm really not thatdumb.
"There doesn't seem to bea thing he can do," the Chiefwent on. "Actually, his intelligenceseems to be no greaterthan that which we believe ourancestors had, back in thetwentieth century."
"As bad as that?" observedone of the council members."You do have a problem."
"But we must find somethingfor him to do," said another."We can't have an idleperson in the State. It's unthinkable."
"But what?" asked theChief. "He's utterly incapableof running any of the machines.I've tried to teach him.The only things he can do,are already being done muchbetter by robots."
There was a long silence,broken at last by one little,old council member.
"I have it," he cried. "Thevery thing. We'll make himguard of the Treasure."
"But there's no need of aguard. No one will touch theTreasure without permission.We haven't had a dishonestperson in the State for morethan three thousand years."
"That's it, exactly. Therearen't any dishonest people,so there won't be anything forhim to do. But we will havesolved the problem of hisidleness."
"It might be a solution,"said the Chief. "At least, atemporary one. I suppose wewill have to find somethingelse later on. But this willgive us time to look for something."
So I became guard of theTreasure. With a badge. Andnothing to do—unless youcount watching the Key. Thegates were kept locked, justas they were in the old days,but the large Key hung besidethem. Of course, no one wantedto bother carrying itaround. It was too heavy. Theonly ones who ever used it,anyway, were members of thecouncil. As the man said, wehaven't had a dishonest personin the State for thousandsof years. Even I know thatmuch.
Of course, this left me withlots of time on my hands.That's how I happened to gether in the first place. I'd alwayswanted one, but petswere forbidden. Busy peopledidn't have time for them. SoI knew I was breaking theLaw. But I figured that noone would ever find out.
First I fixed a place forher, and made a brush screen,so that she couldn't be seenby anyone coming to thegates. Then, one night, Isneaked into the forest andgot her.
It wasn't so lonely afterthat. Now I had something totalk to. She was small when Igot her—it would be too dangerousto go near a full grownone—but she grew rapidly.That was because I caughtsmall animals and broughtthem to her. Not having todepend on what she couldcatch, she grew almost twiceas fast as usual, and was sosleek and pretty. Really, shewas a pet to be proud of.
I don't know how I couldhave stood the four months