Piper in the Woods

of his path. Something glinted ahead, something sparkling through the ferns. Water. A pool. He hurried, pushing the vines aside and stepping out, leaving them behind.

He was standing on the edge of a pool, a deep pool sunk in a hollow of grey rocks, surrounded by ferns and vines. The water was clear and bright, and in motion, flowing in a waterfall at the far end. It was beautiful, and he stood watching, marveling at it, the undisturbed quality of it. Untouched, it was. Just as it had always been, probably. As long as the asteroid existed. Was he the first to see it? Perhaps. It was so hidden, so concealed by the ferns. It gave him a strange feeling, a feeling almost of ownership. He stepped down a little toward the water.

And it was then he noticed her.

The girl was sitting on the far edge of the pool, staring down into the water, resting her head on one drawn- up knee. She had been bathing; he could see that at once. Her coppery body was still wet and glistening with moisture, sparkling in the sun. She had not seen him. He stopped, holding his breath, watching her.

She was lovely, very lovely, with long dark hair that wound around her shoulders and arms. Her body was slim, very slender, with a supple grace to it that made him stare, accustomed as he was to various forms of anatomy. How silent she was! Silent and unmoving, staring down at the water. Time passed, strange, unchanging time, as he watched the girl. Time might even have ceased, with the girl sitting on the rock staring into the water, and the rows of great ferns behind her, as rigid as if they had been painted there.

All at once the girl looked up. Harris shifted, suddenly conscious of himself as an intruder. He stepped back. 'I'm sorry,' he murmured. 'I'm from the Garrison. I didn't mean to come poking around.'

She nodded without speaking.

'You don't mind?' Harris asked presently.

'No.'

So she spoke Terran! He moved a little toward her, around the side of the pool. 'I hope you don't mind my bothering you. I won't be on the asteroid very long. This is my first day here. I just arrived from Terra.'

She smiled faintly.

'I'm a doctor. Henry Harris.' He looked down at her, at the slim coppery body, gleaming in the sunlight, a faint sheen of moisture on her arms and thighs. 'You might be interested in why I'm here.' He paused. 'Maybe you can even help me.'

She looked up a little. 'Oh?'

'Would you like to help me?'

She smiled. 'Yes. Of course.'

'That's good. Mind if I sit down?' He looked around and found himself a flat rock. He sat down slowly, facing her. 'Cigarette?'

'No.'

'Well, I'll have one.' He lit up, taking a deep breath. 'You see, we have a problem at the Garrison. Something has been happening to some of the men, and it seems to be spreading. We have to find out what causes it or we won't be able to run the Garrison.'

He waited for a moment. She nodded slightly. How silent she was! Silent and unmoving. Like the ferns.

'Well, I've been able to find out a few things from them, and one very interesting fact stands out. They keep saying that something called—called The Pipers are responsible for their condition. They say the Pipers taught them—' He stopped. A strange look had flitted across her dark, small face. 'Do you know the Pipers?'

She nodded.

Acute satisfaction flooded over Harris. 'You do? I was sure the natives would know.' He stood up again. 'I was sure they would, if the Pipers really existed. Then they do exist, do they?'

'They exist.'

Harris frowned. 'And they're here, in the woods?'

'Yes.'

'I see.' He ground his cigarette out impatiently. 'You don't suppose there's any chance you could take me to them, do you?'

'Take you?'

'Yes. I have this problem and I have to solve it. You see, the Base Commander on Terra has assigned this to me, this business about the Pipers. It has to be solved. And I'm the one assigned to the job. So it's important to me to find them. Do you see? Do you understand?'

She nodded.

'Well, will you take me to them?'

The girl was silent. For a long time she sat, staring down into the water, resting her head against her knee. Harris began to become impatient. He fidgeted back and forth, resting first on one leg and then on the other.

'Well, will you?' he said again. 'It's important to the whole Garrison. What do you say?' He felt around in his pockets. 'Maybe I could give you something. What do I have....' He brought out his lighter. 'I could give you my lighter.'

The girl stood up, rising slowly, gracefully, without motion or effort. Harris' mouth fell open. How supple she was, gliding to her feet in a single motion! He blinked. Without effort she had stood, seemingly without change. All at once she was standing instead of sitting, standing and looking calmly at him, her small face expressionless.

'Will you?' he said.

'Yes. Come along.' She turned away, moving toward the row of ferns.

Harris followed quickly, stumbling across the rocks. 'Fine,' he said. 'Thanks a lot. I'm very interested to meet these Pipers. Where are you taking me, to your village? How much time do we have before nightfall?'

The girl did not answer. She had entered the ferns already, and Harris quickened his pace to keep from losing her. How silently she glided!

'Wait,' he called. 'Wait for me.'

The girl paused, waiting for him, slim and lovely, looking silently back.

He entered the ferns, hurrying after her.

'Well, I'll be damned!' Commander Cox said. 'It sure didn't take you long.' He leaped down the steps two at a time. 'Let me give you a hand.'

Harris grinned, lugging his heavy suitcases. He set them down and breathed a sigh of relief. 'It isn't worth it,' he said. 'I'm going to give up taking so much.'

'Come on inside. Soldier, give him a hand.' A Patrolman hurried over and took one of the suitcases. The three men went inside and down the corridor to Harris' quarters. Harris unlocked the door and the Patrolman deposited his suitcase inside.

'Thanks,' Harris said. He set the other down beside it. 'It's good to be back, even for a little while.'

'A little while?'

'I just came back to settle my affairs. I have to return to Y-3 tomorrow morning.'

'Then you didn't solve the problem?'

'I solved it, but I haven't cured it. I'm going back and get to work right away. There's a lot to be done.'

'But you found out what it is?'

'Yes. It was just what the men said. The Pipers.'

'The Pipers do exist?'

'Yes.' Harris nodded. 'They do exist.' He removed his coat and put it over the back of the chair. Then he went to the window and let it down. Warm spring air rushed into the room. He settled himself on the bed, leaning back.

'The Pipers exist, all right—in the minds of the Garrison crew! To the crew, the Pipers are real. The crew created them. It's a mass hypnosis, a group projection, and all the men there have it, to some degree.'

'How did it start?'

'Those men on Y-3 were sent there because they were skilled, highly-trained men with exceptional ability. All their lives they've been schooled by complex modern society, fast tempo and high integration between people. Constant pressure toward some goal, some job to be done.

'Those men are put down suddenly on an asteroid where there are natives living the most primitive of existence, completely vegetable lives. No concept of goal, no concept of purpose, and hence no ability to plan. The