The Pariah Stigma

From the very first day the space vessel Azalean (from the ancient term meaning ardour) was launched from Earth, Ishodor began the  book. It is of note that Ishodor always referred to himself in the third person.

Earth’s ruling Junta had appointed a select group, designated as The Committee of Voyage to pick the members of this first colonizing space venture. They had promptly announced Ishodor’s appointment as historian, declaring he was eminently suited to the task. No mention was included that he was considerably beyond the specified age limit for the space voyage, and that an exception had been made.

(commentary by Bibliotheca Scholars: on minutes of Junta Council)

When the secret deliberations of the Committee were finally uncovered during the subsequent revolution of the Enlightenment, it was clear they had been anxious to off-load Ishodor into space, since they unequivocally viewed him as disruptive and dangerous. Sending him on the space voyage provided an acceptable cover for getting rid of him.  In typical fashion, as mandated by the Junta, detailed minutes of not only the Committee’s decisions, but also the debate and discussion that went into them, were documented in precise minutia.Thus, a rather full reconstruction of the authority’s  intent and motivation was possible.

The appointment of Ishodor was settled immediately by acclaim, but the selection   of the 100 couples as the pioneer group, proved more challenging.  The need for couples was obvious: to insure the perpetuation of the colony. How to provide for a high degree of group cohesiveness and compatibility was hard to manage.  Zoloc, the chairman of the Committee - also a member of the Junta - provided the solution.

(from the minutes of a Junta Council meeting)

Zoloc, a prominent member of the Junta said, “Gentlemen, this momentous undertaking will resonate through the ages to our credit as brilliant and courageous. We will have reached out to the stars for the future of mankind. On the other hand, the chronicles will be unaware of the valuable efforts we made to stabilize our fragile society by using this unique opportunity to rid ourselves of disruptive and alien elements. It is well known that we have graciously allowed a small remnant of a perniciously detestable group to exist in our midst. You all know of whom I speak: the Eevreetim.  We have this rare opportunity to cut this cancer from our body politic once and for all.  My sources inform me that there only remains a few hundred couples of pure origin. Naturally, to reinforce credibility in our serious intent to support the colonizing project, we should select couples who are young and of proven childbearing capability. It is my understanding that due to the disgustingly animalistic fecundity of these women, finding qualified couples among them will not be a problem. By entirely filling the flight roster from this group, we will thus rid ourselves of their most prolific breeders as well significantly deplete the residual community. With appropriate encouragement from our efficient Keepers of Tranquility the remaining group members, many of whom have already intermarried and have lost strong ethnic identity, will surely recognize the merits of assimilating into the general population.” 

An enthusiastic motion of agreement was immediately offered and unamimously passed. Moreover, an amendment was added, declaring that since compatibility of the colonizing group was critical to its success, the decision to bestow this honoron the Eevreetim was in the voyage’s best interest.  Cognizant of the mounting pressure for action throughout the world, the committee instructed the bureaucrats to set a launch date as early as possible.