Starquake.pdf

of engineers who can fix the damage, repair a power plant to run the catapult, and get it into operation."
"You are talking about generations!" exclaimed Hohmann-Transfer. "You didn't tell me that before! We
can't wait that long!"
"I told you, but you wouldn't listen," said Cliff-Web. "And
we have no alternative but to wait as many generations as it takes."
"But we're getting older all the time. Without rejuvenation we will all be dead before they finish!" said
Hohmann-Transfer. "You will have to make some rejuvenation machines."
"You forget we are limited to the materials that we have on hand in the space stations and spaceships. I
have had my engineers look into the problem. We could easily rework some of the metal in the less
essential portions of the ships into machines to produce the rejuvenation enzymes. But the actual process
requires the use of a rare metal isotope. In the whole space fleet there is just enough to make two
machines, each capable of making enough enzyme for one person every three dozen greats. Basically,
only two people can be kept alive by rejuvenation."
"Then the rest will have to die!" said Hohmann-Transfer. "What is the use of fixing the gravity catapult if
there are only two people left to save?"
"We can't allow the space contingent to die off to two people," said Cliff-Web. "The cheela on the
ground have lost all their scrolls and all their technology. We need to keep the space contingent at full
strength. Since we don't have rejuvenation machines to make young cheela out of old ones, we will have
to make younglings the old-fashioned way. I understand that it's not bad, once you get used to it."
There were a number of amused rumbles from the audience, but they went right under the tread of
Hohmann-Transfer.
"I don't understand," she said.
"I am recommending that the medicos take selected personnel off their contraceptive drugs. Can't you
just see it?" he said, his eye-stubs sweeping around the large meeting bowl. "We could put the egg-pen
down here at the bottom of the meeting bowl, with the hatchling pens stretching up the sides, and the
creche-schools around the top."
It was ultimately decided to proceed with the building of the two rejuvenation machines. It would be
important to have some continuity as the collection of space stations and spaceships were converted into
a space colony. After much debate, Hohmann-Transfer and Cliff-Web were chosen to use the
rejuvenation machines. The rest of the cheela were allocated one egg each, for the space stations could
not handle much more
than a doubling in the population. Many cheela went through many greats of serious thought before they
finally decided on their "egg partner."
07:15:16 GMT TUESDAY 21 JUNE 2050