Direct Descent Read Online Free PDF Page A

accident?”
    “Either she or some of her kinsmen,” said Sil-Chan. “It’s been known to happen. The Mundials are jealous of their own. I had the glax of a time getting permission to come to the Library staff.”
    “This happiness through ignorance cult,” said Coogan. “How would mysticism bear on that?”
    Sil-Chan looked at the desk surface, forehead creased. “He’ll believe absolutely in his own destiny. If he thinks he has to destroy the Library to fulfill that destiny, there’ll be no stopping him.”
    Coogan clasped his hands together on the desktop, gripped them until they hurt. Obey! he thought. What a weapon to use against a fanatic!
    “If we could prove the mother or the Yoo Clan had the father killed, that might be a valuable piece of knowledge,” said Sil-Chan.
    “A wise man depends upon his friends for information and upon himself for decisions,” said Coogan.
    “That’s a Mundial axiom,” said Sil-Chan.
    “I read it somewhere,” said Coogan. “You’re a Mundial native, Toris. Explain this mysticism.”
    “It’s mostly rubbed off of me,” said Sil-Chan, “but I’ll try. It revolves around an ancient form of ancestor worship. Mysticism, you see, is the art of looking backward while convincing yourself that you’re looking forward. The ancient Terran god Janus was a mystic. He looked forward and backward at the same time. Everything a mystic does in the present must find its interpretation in the past. Now, the interpretation—”
    “That’s a subtle one,” said Coogan. “It almost slipped past me. Interpretation. Substitute explanation for interpretation—”
    “And you have a librarian,” said Sil-Chan.
    “Explanation is something that may or may not be true,” said Coogan. “We’re convinced of an interpretation.”
    “Semantics again,” said Sil-Chan. A brief smile touched his lips. “Maybe that’s why you’re director.”
    “Still against me?” asked Coogan.
    The smile left Sil-Chan’s mouth. “It’s suicide, Vince.” He hitched himself forward. “If we follow your orders, when this Adams says to destroy the Library, we’d have to help him!”
    “So we would,” said Coogan. “But it’s not going to come to that. I wish you’d trust me, Toris.”
    “If you were doing something that even remotely made sense, of course I would,” said Sil-Chan. “But—” He shrugged.
    “I’ve a job for you,” said Coogan. “It may or may not make sense, but I want it carried out to the letter. Take any ship you can get and hop to this Sextus C III in the Mundial Group. When you get there, I want you to prove that the Yoo Clan killed Leader Adams’ father. I don’t care whether it’s true or not. I want the proof.”
    “That makes sense,” said Sil-Chan. “If we can discredit the big boss—”
    The visor chimed. Coogan hit the switch and a sub-librarian’s face appeared in the screen. “Sir,” the man blurted, “the Library information broadcasts are silent! I just got a call from—”
    “Orders of the government,” said Coogan. “It’s quite all right. Return to your duties.” He blanked the screen.
    Sil-Chan was leaning on the desk, fists clenched. “You mean you let them close us down without a struggle.”
    “Let me remind you of some things,” said Coogan. “We must obey the government to survive. I am director here and I’ve given you an order. Get on it!”
    “What if I refuse?”
    “I’ll get somebody else to do it and you’ll be locked up.”
    “You don’t leave me any choice.” He turned and slammed out of the office.
    O O O
    Twenty-four times the evening rains passed across the tower far above Coogan’s office. The game of cat-and-mouse with Pchak went on as usual, the little brown general delving deeper and deeper into the files. On the twenty-fifth day Coogan came into his office in mid-afternoon.
    Pchak is completely hooked, he thought , but what happens when Adams finds out the Library hasn’t been destroyed?
    He sat