Free All Judgment Fled by James White Page B

condition.
     
     
Present indications were that it was deliberately refusing contact because

it was here merely to conduct a survey of some description. Perhaps they

did not want contact with an inferior race, or had orders forbidding such

contact. McCullough was very careful to use the word 'survey' rather

than 'reconnaissance,' but he was afraid the people at home would jump

to conclusions no matter which word he used.
     
     
So far as the physical structure of the Ship was concerned, photographic

and other observations made it clear that it had not been designed to

withstand massive accelerations or even a takeoff from an average planet.

However, if the netting they had observed covered all the corridors in

the ship, it was unlikely that they had gravity control either inside the

ship or as a means of propulsion. Since there were no rocket venturis or

any other visible signs of conventional reaction propulsion capable of

moving such a massive vessel, it seemed obvious that whatever method of

propulsion was being used, the ship remained in the weightless condition

whether it was under power or not.
     
     
Where the crew of the alien ship was concerned, they had a little more

to go on.
     
     
"In addition to the physiological details in the photographs,"

McCullough went on, "which will tell us a lot when we have a chance

to study them properly, we know that the crew is composed of three

distinct species. The alien with the white fur or clothing seemed to be

in a position of authority or influence over the others -- even though

their curiosity regarding us must have been intense, they left the area

as soon as Type Three appeared."
     
     
McCullough went on, "The second type, which we encountered first when

Walters was attacked, is much more aggressive or impulsive than Type

Three. As I see it, the Three is their equivalent of an officer, while

the Twos are a damage-control party of crew members who were angered by

the damage to their lock's hydraulic system, and expressed their anger

by taking a swipe at Walters. But if we assume that their orders were

to ignore us and let the repairs wait until after we had gone away, and

Type Three arrived on the scene to remind the others of their orders in

no uncertain terms and to chase them off . . ."
     
     
"They followed the Three," Walters put in. "It didn't chase them . . ."
     
     
"I don't think that matters," said McCullough, then continued, "Taking

a swipe at one of us is, in the circumstances, an understandable reaction.

It is not a friendly reaction, of course, but it does show that we have

certain emotional responses in common which could form a basis for a

wider understanding in time -- if we are allowed to maintain

contact with them.
     
     
"I, personally, do not think we will be.
     
     
"For there can be no doubt that they know we are here," McCullough ended

seriously. "Perhaps they have known about us from the moment we left Earth.

But we are not welcome here and we should leave before they take more

positive steps to discourage us."
     
     
For a long time there was silence, then Berryman said, "Surely we've come

too far just to turn and run. We can investigate and photograph those

hyperdrive blisters, or whatever they are, without actually entering

the Ship. I agree it is good sense to run away, but make it tomorrow or

sometime next week . . ."
     
     
"I -- I agree," said Hollis from P-One. The overamplification

which made the colonel's voice sound authoritative simply magnified the

physicist's timidity. "Accurate photographs of those generators --

which must be connected with their propulsion system -- might not give

us everything we want to know, but they would at least keep our people

from following too many useless avenues of research.

"At the same time I agree with the doctor. We should not go into the Ship

again if we aren't welcome . . ."
     
     
There came a sound of Morrison's throat being cleared, and