Gammel put a hand over the receiver and addressed his men. “Take him outside and shut the door.” He returned to his conversation with Janvert, explaining, “That was Merrivale. I’ve had him forcibly removed. Under the circumstances, I suspect he must be insane. I am going to come out to that – that hive myself and I am going to look at whatever it is you can show me to substantiate this weird story. I will ask that any action from this end be delayed until I report back, but I will put a time limit on that. Do you understand all of that, Janvert?”
“You sound like somebody with a few smarts, Gammel,” Janvert said. “I thank God for that. Just a minute.”
Hellstrom bent close to Janvert, spoke in a low voice.
Janvert said, “Hellstrom says you can come out here under those terms and will be permitted to report back in person. It’s my opinion that you can trust him.”
“That’s good enough for me,” Gammel said. “Tell me exactly where I report at that farm.”
“Just come to the barn,” Janvert said. “That’s where it all begins.”
As Janvert replaced the telephone in its cradle, Hellstrom turned away, wondering why he no longer felt tired. The Hive was going to get its big block of time. That seemed obvious. There were a few among the wild Outsiders who could be reasoned with – people such as this Janvert and the agent on the telephone. Such people would understand the implications of the Hive’s new stinger. They would recognize the need for change. Things were going to change in this world, too. Hellstrom knew what his own course had to be. He would bargain with the Outsider government for conditions under which the Hive could continue its mimic existence unobserved by the wild masses. The secrecy could not last indefinitely, of course. The Hive itself would see to that. They were going to swarm before long and there was nothing the Outsiders could do to prevent that swarming. Swarm would follow swarm thereafter and the wild ones would be assimilated and pushed back into smaller and smaller portions of the planet they shared now with tomorrow’s humans.
From Joseph Merrivale’s report to the Agency board.
As you know, we are effectively blocked from any further active participation in this matter, a decision the short sightedness of which we all recognize. We are consulted on the problem from time to time, however, and I can give you some idea of how things are proceeding in Washington.
My own private guess at the moment is that Hellstrom will be permitted to continue with his filthy cult, at least for the time being, and he may even be allowed to continue making his subversive films.
The seesaw of the official debate is polarized around the following two opposing viewpoints:
1. Blast them out and damn the consequences. This is a minority viewpoint which I share, but it is losing adherents.
2. Stall for time by making a secret agreement with Hellstrom, thereby keeping knowledge of the Hive from the public, while at the same time mounting a massive research program aimed at the destruction of what is coming to be called in official circles “the Hellstrom horror.”
About the Author
Frank Herbert was born in Tacoma, Washington, and educated at the University of Washington, Seattle. He worked a wide variety of jobs—including TV cameraman, radio commentator, oyster diver, jungle survival instructor, lay analyst, creative writing teacher, reporter and editor of several West Coast newspapers—before becoming a full-time writer.
In 1952, Herbert began publishing science fiction with “Looking for Something?” in Startling Stories. But his true emergence as a writer of major stature did not occur until 1965, with the publication of Dune. Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune followed, completing the saga that the Chicago Tribune would call “one of the monuments of modern science fiction.”
Herbert is also the author of some twenty other books, including The Jesus Incident, The Dosadi Experiment, and Destination: Void. He died in 1986.
Also by Frank Herbert
NOVELS
The Dragon in the Sea (1956)
Dune (1965)
Destination: Void (1966)
The Eyes of Heisenberg (1966)
The Green Brain (1966)
The Heaven Makers (1968)
The Santaroga Barrier (1968)
Dune Messiah (1969)
Whipping Star (1970)
The Godmakers (1972)
Soul Catcher (1972)
Hellstrom’s Hive (1973)
Children of Dune (1976)
The Dosadi Experiment (1977)
The Jesus Incident (with Bill Ransom) (1979)
God-Emperor of Dune (1981)
The White Plague (1982)
The Lazarus Effect (with Bill Ransom) (1983)
Heretics of Dune (1984)
Chapterhouse: Dune (1985)
Man of Two Worlds (with Brian Herbert) (1986)
The Ascension Factor (with Bill Ransom) (1988)
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
The Worlds of Frank Herbert (1970)
The Book of Frank Herbert (1973)
The Best of Frank Herbert: 1952–1964 (1977)
The Best of Frank Herbert: 1965–1970 (1977)
The Priests of Psi (1980)
Eye (1985)
Frank Herbert, Hellstrom's Hive
(Series: # )
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