STARSHIP OF FOOLS - (C) 1986 Jerry Kindall and Rex Crossley

PROLOGUE

"EARTH AND THE ARCTURAN ORIGIN"
from the Galactic Tomes Of Knowledge, module 87, screen 1248, line 54

     The date was unknown.  The calendar was not to be invented for
several more millenia.  It was the Neanderthal period of Earth Man's
deveopment, a crucial period in which the human race developed greatly
in civilzation and intelligence.  But even then, there was division. 
Although one Neanderthal looked pretty much like another -- heavy jaws,
powerful teeth, sloping foreheads -- there were already certain
differences among them.
     Some of the more intelligent Neanderthals took every opportunity to
demonstrate their superior intelligence.  Naturally, the Neanderthals of
average intelligence did not like this very much.  The less intelligent
shunned the more intelligent.
     Later, Mankind, after developing a civilization and advancing into
the twentieth century, would call these intelligent people nerds.
     The intelligent Neanderthals banded together, inventing astronomy,
physics, and space travel, while the others were still painting on the
walls of their caves.  (This is not to imply that that cave paintings
are worthless, only to illustrate that the two groups' priorities were
different.)  Each new member of the elite nerd group was a catalyst for
the rest, spurring them on to greater and greater knowledge.  At last,
they were able to leave Earth, leaving the Neanderthals behind to be
displaced by the Cro-Magnons.
     Leaving Earth, the nerds discovered a planet to settle on.  The
planet revolved around a star that the Earth people would someday call
Arcturus.  There they founded a civilization older than Earth's.  Their
technology advanced rapidly and peacefully, until they were able to be
accepted into the growing interstellar civilization.
     Meanwhile, the nerds heard that the Neanderthals had been displaced
by the Cro-Magnons on Earth.  They felt guilt.  Perhaps if they hadn't
left, their superior intelligence could have helped their species to
survive.  Therefore, guided by some vague sense of planetary debt, they
decided to repay the planet of Earth for their mistake.  They sent
scouts to Earth, to influence the early civilization of the Cro-Magnons
so that one day it could be accepted into galactic society.  They leaked
technology; they influenced language; they guided the society.
     As a result, much of Earth now speaks a vareity of Interworld, the
galactic language, although they call it English.  Their technology is
advancing at a rapid pace.  They have still not overcome their homocidal
urges, so war is common on their planet, but the time will come soon
when Earth is ready for acceptance into galactic civilization.  Even
now, Arcturan scouts in most high schools, universities, and
laboratories, the hotbeds of Earth intellectualism, are working toward
this noble goal.
     Interestingly, magic once worked on Earth, as on most planets, but
has since mysteriously vanished, and has receded into the realm of myth
and legend on Earth.  No one knows the reason for this.  There are
people on Earth calling themselves magicians, but they are, in reality,
stage illusionists, using sleight of hand to deceive their audience.
     The Arcturans, as nearly everyone knows, escaped the ostracism of
their fellow Neanderthals only to receive outcast status in the galactic
civilization.  Their technology has advanced rapidly, to the exclusion
of their social skills, which are still virtually nonexistent.  The
Arcturans, although accepted among the other civlizations, are still
considered nerds.  Their lack of people-skill has still caused them to
be exiles, of a sort.
     Sometime after the Arcturans left Earth, a group of Neanderthal
athletic fanatics broke away from the rest of Neanderthal society and
also developed a crude form of space travel, but their story is
unimportant.

                                   -- Contributor:1 Rolf Umlaut, GPh.
                                      Chief Historian, Galactic Council;
                                      Amateur Earthologist; and former
                                      Oracle of Oorlon
