Dawnman Planet

the project. One hypothesis is that these aliens are the original Homo sapiens, that Earth was seeded from one of their planets.”

Baron Wyler said affably, “Sit down, my dear Count.”

The Count nervously sat, remaining on the edge of his chair.

Ronny said, “That’s ridiculous. Earth is the origin of man.”

The other nodded, apologetically. “Most likely, Your Excellency; however, there are those among us who think otherwise. You are undoubtedly aware of the theory that would evolve upon various planets. The fact that he stands erect, that his eyes are so placed, that he has a voicebox, so many of the other factors that go to make up the entity, man—all have good reason for having evolved, and given similar situations would evolve on similar worlds as on Earth.”

“I’ve heard the theory,” Ronny begrudged. “I haven’t thought too much about it.”

“Most authorities don’t,” the other bobbed his head agreeably. “However, there are certain factors that give credence to Homo sapiens’ evolution elsewhere. For instance, we know that the earliest man-like creatures, Zinjanthropus and Homo habilis were in existence some two million years ago, and, utilizing very primitive tools and weapons. For two million years little progress was made. And then, almost overnight, in terms of history, modern man was on the scene. Some twenty or twenty-five thousand years ago, Cro-Magnon man burst upon us with his advanced tools, his weapons, his religion, his advanced art.”

“Advanced art?” Ronny protested.

“The cave drawings and paintings of the Magdalenian period in the Upper Paleolithic—especially in such places as Altamira in Spain and Lascaux in France—are not primitive art, as so many seem to think. It is a highly developed art, and, without doubt, connected with their religion. Consider a moment, and you will realize that the very concept of religion is indicative of a sophisticated mind.”

Ronny said impatiently, “I don’t seem to get the point.”

“The point,” the older man said reasonably, “is that possibly Cro-Magnon man was not native to Earth, but was either seeded there, or was the result of an ages-ago spaceship crash.”

Ronny looked at him. “But there is no proof?”

“Not as yet. Perhaps one day it will be found on the Dawnworld planets.”

“Dawnworld?” Ronny said. Then, “Never mind.” He looked at Baron Wyler who had been leaning back in his chair, quiet but beaming encouragement. “What’s this got to do with this preposterous idea that the, uh, Dawnmen aren’t intelligent?”

The Baron said, “Count… ?”

The elderly scholar ran a hand back through thinning hair, as though unhappy. “Your Excellency, are you at all acquainted with the caste system of early India?”

“No.” Ronny hesitated. “That is, not much. I understand that it was one of the reasons India never got very far.”

The academician looked at him unhappily. “Well, that is debatable. From your name and your facial characteristics, Your Excellency, I assume you are of European extraction. Europeans seem to have arrived at the opinion that their efforts have predominated in man’s development. In actuality, few, if any, of man’s really great breakthroughs originated in Europe. Indeed, the Europeans came late on the scene and were largely brought into the march of civilization despite themselves. This particularly applies to the Northern Europeans who are even more prone than others to think of themselves as the undisputed leaders.”

The Baron’s chuckle encouraged the old man.

He went on. “When my own Nordic and Tutonic ancestors were wearing animal skins and tearing their food from bones before campfires, the Indians were developing such advanced concepts as the zero, in mathematics. I mention in passing that the Mayans of Yucatan used the zero even before India. While my ancestors lived in skin- tents or inadequate shacks of wood and bark, large cities were being erected at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in the Indus River valley. Elsewhere in Asia and Africa, the wheel, the domestication of animals, agriculture, mathematics, astronomy—I could go on—were being developed. And my ancestors, and yours, Your Excellency…”

“And mine,” the Baron laughed encouragingly.

“… were still in their animal skins. Why, the art of writing has developed, in different form, in various places about the world: in China, in America, in Mesopotamia, in Egypt. The alphabet we use today had its origins in Asia Minor. But to my knowledge, the Europeans had to import writing, never striking upon it on their own.”

The old boy was evidently capable of dwelling upon non-essentials indefinitely, Ronny decided. “All right, all right,” he said. “So the Indians made great strides, in spite of the caste system.”

The scholar pursed his lips. “Or perhaps, because of it?”

“Oh, now, don’t be ridiculous.”

Count Fitz-james looked apprehensive, as though he feared he had gone too far.

But the Baron nodded to him. “Go on, my dear Count. Tell us a bit more of the caste system and its origins. And why you think it analogous to the Dawnworld’s culture.”

The other bobbed his head. “Yes, Your Lordship.” He looked back at Ronny. “The origins of the system are lost in the mists of antiquity, but it is usually thought that when the Aryans invaded from the north—destroying the earlier culture, or assimilating it—they realized that unless they took stringent measures, they would soon interbreed and merge with the more numerous conquered indigenous people. So they divided society into four orders: the Brahmins, who performed religious and scholarly pursuits, the Kshatriyas, who were the ruling class and warriors, and the Vaishyas, traders and businessmen. All these were composed of the conquering Aryans. Intermarriage between castes was forbidden—a deep religious matter. Below these three castes were the Sudras , which were composed of the original peoples and took over the laboring jobs. Beneath these were the Outcastes, the untouchables, who were consigned to the most menial tasks.

“Now, consider. This system prevailed for a thousand years, two thousand years, or even more. A man born into the Brahmin caste became a scholar or religious; a Kshatriyas, a soldier or ruler, and so on. A man born into one of the subdivisions of the Sudras was a cobbler, if his father, grandfather and so on had been. It never occurred to him to seek education, beyond what was involved in learning to make shoes. However, he did learn to make shoes and make them very well indeed. On the other hand, it never occurred to a Brahmin not to be educated. That was in the nature of things. It was inevitable. Indeed, did he fail in his studies and application of them, he had a good chance of being ostracized from society. What family would wish their perfectly normal, well-educated, Brahmin daughter to marry a cloddy? There were exceptions, of course, but on an average and over a period of time, the outstanding scholar in the caste got the pick of the girls. I assume your knowledge of genetics leads you the proper conclusions.”

Ronny was looking at him thoughtfully. “I think I begin to see your ultimate point.”

“Indeed. Actually, man on Earth has seldom come up with the type of socio-economic system that developed in India. Oh, there have been some. The so-called Incas of Peru were one. You were born into your social strata and could seldom, if ever, leave it. The Inca clan supplied the warrior-priests, the administrators; other clans supplied artisans; but most were of the soil and automatically became farmers.” The old man looked up. “It worked, by the way, surprisingly well. The average inhabitant of Peru, at the time of the conquistadores lived on a considerably higher level than did the average inhabitant of Europe.”

“The anthill,” Ronny said, an edge of distaste in his voice.

The Baron shrugged and smiled pleasantly. “Perhaps,” he said. “We are not exactly advocating such a socio-economic system, my dear Bronston; however, it has its admitted advantages.”

“From your ambitious viewpoint.”

“Granted. But the point the good Count is making is that man can evolve along such a path. He need not automatically follow the more individualistic road we most often witnessed in Earth’s early development. On the Dawnworlds, it would seem—if we interpret the information we’ve accumulated correctly—they have taken a path of specialization unknown even in caste system India.”

“But what has this got to do with your claim that they aren’t intelligent?”

“My dear Bronston, extrapolate a bit on the example the good Count gave you of the cobbler. Suppose that instead of being a cobbler for two millennia, he stuck to his specialty for a megayear or so. No need for education, no need for anything—except learning to make shoes.”