Voyage from Yesteryear

Some of the Terrans privately reflected that the greatest weapon the Chiroans possessed was their power of seduction. In the 40 years since the planet had been colonized—as Earth's massive conflict seemed inevitable—Chiron had become a world populated by simple, seemingly naive people. For how could responsible adults create a world with no class system, no ceremony and no government? Of course, the innocence of the Chiroans was enticing. And even the Chiroans‘ severest critics were forced to admit that Chiroan productivity was extremely high, that their non-money economy was successful, that shoddy workmanship was a quality unknown on the planet, that the Chiroans seemed happy, healthy, peaceful and intellectually alive. - Which was exactly why the Terrans, in ever-increasing numbers, were joining the Chiroans. . . The Mayflower ll had come to Chiron after a 20-year voyage, leaving the turmoil of Earth far behind. As one Terran aboard put it, the iceberg of Earth’s society had capsized, with the masses at the bottom scrambling for the privileges at the top. And to those fleeing Earth, the solution seemed to be greater social organization, with regimented responsibilities and inviolate social borders. Howard Kalens, the Director of Liaison, and Garfield Wellesley, the Mission Director, agreed that persuasion was the order of the day—persuasion of the Chiroans to return to more traditional Terran values. Unfortunately, the Chiroans, while pacifistic, did not tend to be easily persuaded. In fact, the Chiroans' powers of persuasion seemed to be superior. . . On Chiron, workers were not mere underlings. Each chose a job that fitted his or her tastes and capabilities, and each was respected and deferred to on the basis of competence alone. A project director was no more powerful than a house-painter. Not surprisingly, this terrified the Terran leaders, for without a caste system, their own personal power would crumble. They must preserve the Terran way of life and to do so, they were prepared to utilize even the ultimate devastation of atomic weapons... .