The Foundations of Paradise - Arthur C. Clarke [47]
“Good morning, Raja. What can I do for you?”
That beautiful, dispassionate voice, untouched by human glottis, had never changed in the forty years that he had known it. Decades, perhaps centuries, after he was dead, it would be talking to other men just as it had spoken to him. (For that matter, how many conversations was it having at this very moment?) Once, this knowledge had depressed Rajasinghe; now, it no longer mattered. He did not envy ARISTOTLE’s immortality.
“Good morning, Ari. I’d like today’s World Court ruling on the Astroengineering Corporation versus the Sri Kanda Vihara case. The summary will do. Let me have the full print-out later.”
“Decision 1. Lease of temple site confirmed in perpetuity under Taprobanean and World law, as codified 2085. Unanimous ruling.
“Decision 2. The construction of the proposed Orbital Tower, with its attendant noise, vibration, and its impact upon a site of great historic and cultural importance would constitute a private nuisance, meriting an injunction under the law of torts. At this stage, public interest not of sufficient merit to affect the issue. Ruling 4 to 2, one abstention.”
“Thank you, Ari. Cancel print-out. I won’t need it. Good-by.”
Well, that was that, just as he had expected. Yet he did not know whether to be relieved or disappointed.
Rooted as he was in the past, he was glad that old traditions were cherished and protected. If one thing had been learned from the bloody history of mankind, it was that only individual human beings mattered: however eccentric their beliefs might be, they must be safeguarded, so long as they did not conflict with wider but equally legitimate interests. What was it that the old poet had said? “There is no such thing as the State.” Perhaps that was going a little too far; but it was better than the other extreme.
At the same time, Rajasinghe felt a mild sense of regret. He had half convinced himself (was this merely co-operating with the inevitable?) that Morgan’s fantastic enterprise might be just what was needed to prevent Taprobane (and perhaps the whole world, though that was no longer his responsibility) from sinking into a comfortable, self-satisfied decline. Now the Court had closed that particular avenue, at least for many years.
He wondered what Duval would have to say on the subject, and switched over to delayed playback. On Global Two ( sometimes referred to as the Land of Talking Heads), Senator Collins was still gathering momentum.
“—undoubtedly exceeding his authority and using the resources of his division on projects that did not concern it.”
“But surely, Senator, aren’t you being somewhat legalistic? As I understand it, hyperfilament was developed for construction purposes, especially bridges. And isn’t this a kind of bridge? I’ve heard Dr. Morgan use that analogy, though he also calls it a tower.”
“You’re being legalistic now, Maxine. I prefer the name ‘Space Elevator.’ And you’re quite wrong about hyperfilament. It’s the result of two hundred years of aerospace research. The fact that the final breakthrough came in the Land Division of my—ah—organization is irrelevant, though naturally I’m proud that my scientists were involved.”
“You consider that the whole project should be handed over to the Space Division?”
“What project? This is merely a design study—one of hundreds that are always going on at TCC. I never hear about a fraction of them, and I don’t want to—until they reach the stage when some major decision has to be made.”
“Which is not the case here?”
“Definitely not. My space-transportation experts say that they can handle all projected traffic increases—at least for the foreseeable future.”
“Meaning precisely?”
“Another twenty years.”
“And what happens then? The Tower will take that long to build, according to Dr. Morgan. Suppose it isn’t ready in time?”
“Then we’ll have something else. My staff is looking into all the possibilities, and it’s by no means certain that the Space Elevator is the right answer.”
“The idea, though, is fundamentally sound?”
“It appears to be, though further