kground
the recognition that at some future time he can go home. His base is
never his home."

"Precisely. That is what makes the base successful."

Ashby shook his head. "No base is ever successful from the standpoint of
permanent extension of a civilization. By its very nature it is
transitory, impermanent. That is not what we want now."

"We have the concept of permanent bases in military thinking," said
Winthrop. "You can't generalize in that fashion."

"Name for me a single military or expeditionary base that continued its
permanency over any extended period of history."

"Well--now--"

"The concept is invalid," said Ashby. "Extensions of humanity from one
area to another on a permanent basis are made by colonists. Men who do
not expect to rotate, but come to live and establish homes. This is what
we want on Serrengia. Humanity is preparing to make an extension of
itself in the Universe.

"But more than this, there are limitations of time and distance in the
establishment of bases, which cannot be overcome by any amount of
training of personnel. Cycles of rotation and distances from home can be
lengthened beyond the capacity of men to endure. It is only when they go
out with _no_ expectation of return that time and distance cease to
control them."

"We do not know of any such limitations," said Winthrop. "They have not
been met here in the Solar System."

"We know them," said Ashby. "The thing we have not found and which we
must discover before those ships depart is the quality that makes it
possible for a man to ignore time and distance and his homeland. We know
a good deal about the successful colonists of Earth's history. We know
that invariably they were of some minority group which felt itself
persecuted or limited by conditions surrounding it, or else they were
fleeing the results of some crime."

"If that is what you are looking for, it is no wonder you have failed,"
said Dr. Cowper. "We have no such minority groups in our society."

"Very true," Ashby replied. "But it is not the condition of fleeing or
being persecuted that generates the qualities of a perfect colonist by
any means! We have examples enough of adequately persecuted groups who
failed as colonists. But there is some quality, which seems to appear,
if at all, only in some of those who have courage enough to flee their
oppression or limiting conditions. This quality makes them successful in
their colonization.

"We are looking fi