PARIAH
By Milton Lesser
Harry spent three years in space waiting
to get home to Earth—and his family. They were
waiting for him too—that is, for his corpse....
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy
April 1954
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Captain Greene shook his shaggy head and studied Allerton with patienteyes. "You're making a mistake," he said. "You'll be back."
The inside of the spaceship was quiet now, not with the silence of thetomb, but with the silence of barely inaudible echoes as if Allertonmight still be able to hear the crew clomping about the companionwayson metal-shod feet if only he knew how to listen. He buried the notionunder the sweet anticipation of homecoming and said, "I don't think so,Captain. This is what I want, right here." He tapped the comfortingbulk of his wallet, bulging the metallic cloth of his tunic.
He was a gaunt, comical figure of a man, so long and lean that hestooped slightly at the waist and again at the shoulders, with a long,down-tipped nose which almost seemed to meet the thin-lipped mouth ashe spoke. "What about you, Captain?" he said. He was still savoring thejoy of his own return, letting it build up inside him like a slow firefanned by barely enough air to keep it kindled. He hardly cared whetherCaptain Greene disembarked or not, but the captain's unexpected lackof enthusiasm was a splendid counter-point for his own emotions and hewanted to wring every last drop of joy from his homecoming. "All themen are gone," he went on. "This is Earth, Captain."
"I don't leave the ship much these days, Allerton. I've got to completethe log, you know, then do a little advance astronauting for the tripout. Anyway, none of the others are spacemen, Allerton. An old spacedoglike me can smell 'em a mile away—the real ones. You've got themakings, all right."
"You won't see me aboard the Eros again, though. I grew up in thedepression of the eighties, Captain. What I'm looking for is security.I've got it right here—enough to start a business of my own and givemy kid the kind of education he needs these days. Three years is along time, but I tried to be a good spaceman."
"You were the best."
"Those kids running around after adventure, they'll be back. They'remade for this life. They're too young and having too much fun to startthinking much about security. But now, you take me...."
"You'll have to make the decision yourself," Captain Greeneadmitted, leaning back comfortably with a cigar and reaching for hisleather-bound log, his stubby fingers almost caressing the leaves witha love nurtured on long familiarity. "We blast off in a week," he said."Enough time for you to decide, I guess."
"But I've already decided, sir." Allerton turned to go, stoopingforward even more than usual to fit through the low doorway which, likeanything else in the tight confines of a spaceship, was not made toaccommodate his gangling figure.
"Well, don't forget this. You're wrong about the others. They're notfor space, not the way you are. It's a common misconception. Good luck,Allerton."
But Allerton was already on his way down the companionway with itsghost-noises which he no longer could hear. He wondered what it reallytook to make a man happy, truly happy over a sustained period. Theflitting stolen moments of a spaceman's life, he knew, could never befor him. Yet outside the rain drummed down drearily