WRONG ANALOGY
BY JOSEPH SHALLIT
The Pied Piper who had promised them
Paradise and led them across half the
universe had changed his tune. But this
time it was the Piper who had to pay....
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Worlds of If Science Fiction, August 1956.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Ruth was standing at the vast window of the spaceport, her body tautand eager, the luggage piled high around her. When Harvey Flanders cameout of the ship carrying the last two suitcases, she darted to him.
"Harvey, it's a dream—it's heavenly!" she cried, catching hold of hisarm. "Did you imagine—did you possibly ever imagine it would be likethis?"
Harvey's eyes followed the sweep of his wife's hand, out at thedazzling expanse of fields and orchards, green and gold under thismagnificent sun. The fantastic vegetation stretched in lush undulationsto a distant purple horizon, the sweep broken only by the brown streaksof roads, the winding ribbons of sapphire-tinted water, and, here andthere, the pastel pink and blue roofs of the settlers' houses.
Exultation filled his chest. He fought it down, deliberately, grimly."There were places on Earth that were like this before the blight came.California ... Florida ... looked like this."
"Like this?" Ruth exclaimed. "Harvey! Look at those giant fruit trees.Look at them."
Harvey caught her shoulder in a tight grip. "Honey, we just can'tlet ourselves go overboard till we're sure everything's okay," hesaid quietly. "We've had our hopes built up and slapped down so manytimes." He looked down into her brown eyes. "Kitten, do you rememberthe time old man Reeber came climbing over the fence, yelling that theblight was going, it was moving off his cornfield, and we believed, weactually believed some miracle had happened, and we went chasing afterhim and found it was just a sunbeam breaking through a cloud bank. Whata mirage that was!"
"Harvey," Ruth said softly, "do you really think that this"—her handtraced the horizon—"is a mirage?"
"I want to get a closer look, honey—I want to feel it and tasteit before I believe it," he said. But when he glanced again at thelandscape, his breath quickened and a tingle rode over his skin. "No,honey," he said quickly, "I don't think it's a mirage. I think it'swhat we've been dreaming about a long, long time."
Ruth gave a relieved cry and flung her arms around him. He held her,patting her gently. "Now take it easy," he said.
She looked up abruptly, her eyes wet. "The first thing, you've got toget some color back," she said fiercely. "You've gotten so awfullypale!"
"And you're lovelier than ever," he said, running a hand along hercheek. "Now let's get moving before they put us back on the ship andsend us home for being slow-pokes."
She pounced down on a big, leather-thonged trunk. He pushed her aside."Half pint, you take the little ones."
Together they loaded their baggage on the red four-wheeled cart. Mostof the other immigrants had already loaded their luggage and nowstood beside the carts, each couple a little island of chatter andexcitement. Next to Harvey and Ruth were Dr. Norbert Lurie and hiswife Edna, both spectacled, scholarly, and too thin; both earnest,conscientious, and eager to help; rather boring company on a ten-monthspace voyage, but very comforting to have as neighbors in a strangeland. After them came the Schweitzer twins, husky, blond, pink-faced