diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51150-h.zip | bin | 253344 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51150-h/51150-h.htm | 1470 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51150-h/images/cover.jpg | bin | 92094 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51150-h/images/illus1.jpg | bin | 49910 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51150-h/images/illus2.jpg | bin | 84227 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51150.txt | 1350 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/51150.zip | bin | 25887 -> 0 bytes |
10 files changed, 17 insertions, 2820 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..190552a --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #51150 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51150) diff --git a/old/51150-h.zip b/old/51150-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 665f4a0..0000000 --- a/old/51150-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51150-h/51150-h.htm b/old/51150-h/51150-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index ce5ee20..0000000 --- a/old/51150-h/51150-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1470 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of Venus Is a Man's World, by William Tenn. - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Venus is a Man's World, by William Tenn - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Venus is a Man's World - -Author: William Tenn - -Release Date: February 8, 2016 [EBook #51150] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VENUS IS A MAN'S WORLD *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="362" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>Venus Is a Man's World</h1> - -<p>BY WILLIAM TENN</p> - -<p>Illustrated by GENE FAWCETTE</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Galaxy Science Fiction July 1951.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3">Actually, there wouldn't be too much difference if women took<br /> -over the Earth altogether. But not for some men and most boys!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>I've always said that even if Sis is seven years older than me—and a -girl besides—she don't always know what's best. Put me on a spaceship -jam-packed with three hundred females just aching to get themselves -husbands in the one place they're still to be had—the planet -Venus—and you know I'll be in trouble.</p> - -<p>Bad trouble. With the law, which is the worst a boy can get into.</p> - -<p>Twenty minutes after we lifted from the Sahara Spaceport, I wriggled -out of my acceleration hammock and started for the door of our cabin.</p> - -<p>"Now you be careful, Ferdinand," Sis called after me as she opened a -book called <i>Family Problems of the Frontier Woman</i>. "Remember you're -a nice boy. Don't make me ashamed of you."</p> - -<p>I tore down the corridor. Most of the cabins had purple lights on in -front of the doors, showing that the girls were still inside their -hammocks. That meant only the ship's crew was up and about. Ship's -crews are men; women are too busy with important things like government -to run ships. I felt free all over—and happy. Now was my chance to -really see the <i>Eleanor Roosevelt</i>!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was hard to believe I was traveling in space at last. Ahead and -behind me, all the way up to where the companionway curved in out -of sight, there was nothing but smooth black wall and smooth white -doors—on and on and on. <i>Gee</i>, I thought excitedly, this is <i>one big -ship</i>!</p> - -<p>Of course, every once in a while I would run across a big scene of -stars in the void set in the wall; but they were only pictures. Nothing -that gave the feel of great empty space like I'd read about in <i>The Boy -Rocketeers</i>, no portholes, no visiplates, nothing.</p> - -<p>So when I came to the crossway, I stopped for a second, then turned -left. To the right, see, there was Deck Four, then Deck Three, leading -inward past the engine fo'c'sle to the main jets and the grav helix -going <i>purr-purr-purrty-purr</i> in the comforting way big machinery has -when it's happy and oiled. But to the left, the crossway led all the -way to the outside level which ran just under the hull. There were -portholes on the hull.</p> - -<p>I'd studied all that out in our cabin, long before we'd lifted, on -the transparent model of the ship hanging like a big cigar from the -ceiling. Sis had studied it too, but she was looking for places like -the dining salon and the library and Lifeboat 68 where we should go in -case of emergency. I looked for the <i>important</i> things.</p> - -<p>As I trotted along the crossway, I sort of wished that Sis hadn't -decided to go after a husband on a luxury liner. On a cargo ship, now, -I'd be climbing from deck to deck on a ladder instead of having gravity -underfoot all the time just like I was home on the bottom of the Gulf -of Mexico. But women always know what's right, and a boy can only make -faces and do what they say, same as the men have to do.</p> - -<p>Still, it was pretty exciting to press my nose against the slots in the -wall and see the sliding panels that could come charging out and block -the crossway into an airtight fit in case a meteor or something smashed -into the ship. And all along there were glass cases with spacesuits -standing in them, like those knights they used to have back in the -Middle Ages.</p> - -<p>"In the event of disaster affecting the oxygen content of -companionway," they had the words etched into the glass, "break glass -with hammer upon wall, remove spacesuit and proceed to don it in the -following fashion."</p> - -<p>I read the "following fashion" until I knew it by heart. <i>Boy</i>, I said -to myself, <i>I hope we have that kind of disaster. I'd sure like to get -into one of those! Bet it would be more fun than those diving suits -back in Undersea!</i></p> - -<p>And all the time I was alone. That was the best part.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Then I passed Deck Twelve and there was a big sign. "Notice! Passengers -not permitted past this point!" A big sign in red.</p> - -<p>I peeked around the corner. I knew it—the next deck was the hull. I -could see the portholes. Every twelve feet, they were, filled with the -velvet of space and the dancing of more stars than I'd ever dreamed -existed in the Universe.</p> - -<p>There wasn't anyone on the deck, as far as I could see. And this -distance from the grav helix, the ship seemed mighty quiet and lonely. -If I just took one quick look....</p> - -<p>But I thought of what Sis would say and I turned around obediently. -Then I saw the big red sign again. "Passengers not permitted—"</p> - -<p>Well! Didn't I know from my civics class that only women could be Earth -Citizens these days? Sure, ever since the Male Desuffrage Act. And -didn't I know that you had to be a citizen of a planet in order to -get an interplanetary passport? Sis had explained it all to me in the -careful, patient way she always talks politics and things like that to -men.</p> - -<p>"Technically, Ferdinand, I'm the only passenger in our family. You -can't be one, because, not being a citizen, you can't acquire an Earth -Passport. However, you'll be going to Venus on the strength of this -clause—'Miss Evelyn Sparling and all dependent male members of family, -this number not to exceed the registered quota of sub-regulations -pertaining'—and so on. I want you to understand these matters, so that -you will grow into a man who takes an active interest in world affairs. -No matter what you hear, women really like and appreciate such men."</p> - -<p>Of course, I never pay much attention to Sis when she says such dumb -things. I'm old enough, I guess, to know that it isn't what <i>Women</i> -like and appreciate that counts when it comes to people getting -married. If it were, Sis and three hundred other pretty girls like her -wouldn't be on their way to Venus to hook husbands.</p> - -<p>Still, if I wasn't a passenger, the sign didn't have anything to do -with me. I knew what Sis could say to <i>that</i>, but at least it was an -argument I could use if it ever came up. So I broke the law.</p> - -<p>I was glad I did. The stars were exciting enough, but away off to -the left, about five times as big as I'd ever seen it, except in the -movies, was the Moon, a great blob of gray and white pockmarks holding -off the black of space. I was hoping to see the Earth, but I figured it -must be on the other side of the ship or behind us. I pressed my nose -against the port and saw the tiny flicker of a spaceliner taking off, -Marsbound. I wished I was on that one!</p> - -<p>Then I noticed, a little farther down the companionway, a stretch of -blank wall where there should have been portholes. High up on the -wall in glowing red letters were the words, "Lifeboat 47. Passengers: -Thirty-two. Crew: Eleven. Unauthorized personnel keep away!"</p> - -<p>Another one of those signs.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I crept up to the porthole nearest it and could just barely make out -the stern jets where it was plastered against the hull. Then I walked -under the sign and tried to figure the way you were supposed to get -into it. There was a very thin line going around in a big circle that I -knew must be the door. But I couldn't see any knobs or switches to open -it with. Not even a button you could press.</p> - -<p>That meant it was a sonic lock like the kind we had on the outer keeps -back home in Undersea. But knock or voice? I tried the two knock -combinations I knew, and nothing happened. I only remembered one voice -key—might as well see if that's it, I figured.</p> - -<p>"Twenty, Twenty-three. Open Sesame."</p> - -<p>For a second, I thought I'd hit it just right out of all the million -possible combinations—The door clicked inward toward a black hole, and -a hairy hand as broad as my shoulders shot out of the hole. It closed -around my throat and plucked me inside as if I'd been a baby sardine.</p> - -<p>I bounced once on the hard lifeboat floor. Before I got my breath and -sat up, the door had been shut again. When the light came on, I found -myself staring up the muzzle of a highly polished blaster and into the -cold blue eyes of the biggest man I'd ever seen.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus1.jpg" width="184" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>He was wearing a one-piece suit made of some scaly green stuff that -looked hard and soft at the same time.</p> - -<p>His boots were made of it too, and so was the hood hanging down his -back.</p> - -<p>And his face was brown. Not just ordinary tan, you understand, but the -deep, dark, burned-all-the-way-in brown I'd seen on the lifeguards -in New Orleans whenever we took a surface vacation—the kind of tan -that comes from day after broiling day under a really hot Sun. His -hair looked as if it had once been blond, but now there were just long -combed-out waves with a yellowish tinge that boiled all the way down -to his shoulders.</p> - -<p>I hadn't seen hair like that on a man except maybe in history books; -every man I'd ever known had his hair cropped in the fashionable -soup-bowl style. I was staring at his hair, almost forgetting about the -blaster which I knew it was against the law for him to have at all, -when I suddenly got scared right through.</p> - -<p>His eyes.</p> - -<p>They didn't blink and there seemed to be no expression around them. -Just coldness. Maybe it was the kind of clothes he was wearing that did -it, but all of a sudden I was reminded of a crocodile I'd seen in a -surface zoo that had stared quietly at me for twenty minutes until it -opened two long tooth-studded jaws.</p> - -<p>"Green shatas!" he said suddenly. "Only a tadpole. I must be getting -jumpy enough to splash."</p> - -<p>Then he shoved the blaster away in a holster made of the same scaly -leather, crossed his arms on his chest and began to study me. I grunted -to my feet, feeling a lot better. The coldness had gone out of his eyes.</p> - -<p>I held out my hand the way Sis had taught me. "My name is Ferdinand -Sparling. I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr.—Mr.—"</p> - -<p>"Hope for your sake," he said to me, "that you aren't what you -seem—tadpole brother to one of them husbandless anura."</p> - -<p>"<i>What?</i>"</p> - -<p>"A 'nuran is a female looking to nest. Anura is a herd of same. Come -from Flatfolk ways."</p> - -<p>"Flatfolk are the Venusian natives, aren't they? Are you a Venusian? -What part of Venus do you come from? Why did you say you hope—"</p> - -<p>He chuckled and swung me up into one of the bunks that lined the -lifeboat. "Questions you ask," he said in his soft voice. "Venus is a -sharp enough place for a dryhorn, let alone a tadpole dryhorn with a -boss-minded sister."</p> - -<p>"I'm not a dryleg," I told him proudly. "<i>We're</i> from Undersea."</p> - -<p>"<i>Dryhorn</i>, I said, not dryleg. And what's Undersea?"</p> - -<p>"Well, in Undersea we called foreigners and newcomers drylegs. Just -like on Venus, I guess, you call them dryhorns." And then I told him -how Undersea had been built on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, when -the mineral resources of the land began to give out and engineers -figured that a lot could still be reached from the sea bottoms.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He nodded. He'd heard about the sea-bottom mining cities that were -bubbling under protective domes in every one of the Earth's oceans just -about the same time settlements were springing up on the planets.</p> - -<p>He looked impressed when I told him about Mom and Pop being one of the -first couples to get married in Undersea. He looked thoughtful when I -told him how Sis and I had been born there and spent half our childhood -listening to the pressure pumps. He raised his eyebrows and looked -disgusted when I told how Mom, as Undersea representative on the World -Council, had been one of the framers of the Male Desuffrage Act after -the Third Atomic War had resulted in the Maternal Revolution.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He almost squeezed my arm when I got to the time Mom and Pop were blown -up in a surfacing boat.</p> - -<p>"Well, after the funeral, there was a little money, so Sis decided we -might as well use it to migrate. There was no future for her on Earth, -she figured. You know, the three-out-of-four."</p> - -<p>"How's that?"</p> - -<p>"The three-out-of-four. No more than three women out of every four on -Earth can expect to find husbands. Not enough men to go around. Way -back in the Twentieth Century, it began to be felt, Sis says, what with -the wars and all. Then the wars went on and a lot more men began to die -or get no good from the radioactivity. Then the best men went to the -planets, Sis says, until by now even if a woman can scrounge a personal -husband, he's not much to boast about."</p> - -<p>The stranger nodded violently. "Not on Earth, he isn't. Those busybody -anura make sure of that. What a place! Suffering gridniks, I had a -bellyful!"</p> - -<p>He told me about it. Women were scarce on Venus, and he hadn't been -able to find any who were willing to come out to his lonely little -islands; he had decided to go to Earth where there was supposed to be a -surplus. Naturally, having been born and brought up on a very primitive -planet, he didn't know "it's a woman's world," like the older boys in -school used to say.</p> - -<p>The moment he landed on Earth he was in trouble. He didn't know he had -to register at a government-operated hotel for transient males; he -threw a bartender through a thick plastic window for saying something -nasty about the length of his hair; and <i>imagine</i>!—he not only -resisted arrest, resulting in three hospitalized policemen, but he -sassed the judge in open court!</p> - -<p>"Told me a man wasn't supposed to say anything except through female -attorneys. Told <i>her</i> that where <i>I</i> came from, a man spoke his piece -when he'd a mind to, and his woman walked by his side."</p> - -<p>"What happened?" I asked breathlessly.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Guilty of This and Contempt of That. That blown-up brinosaur took -my last munit for fines, then explained that she was remitting the -rest because I was a foreigner and uneducated." His eyes grew dark for -a moment. He chuckled again. "But I wasn't going to serve all those -fancy little prison sentences. Forcible Citizenship Indoctrination, -they call it? Shook the dead-dry dust of the misbegotten, God forsaken -mother world from my feet forever. The women on it deserve their men. -My pockets were folded from the fines, and the paddlefeet were looking -for me so close I didn't dare radio for more munit. So I stowed away."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>For a moment, I didn't understand him. When I did, I was almost ill. -"Y-you mean," I choked, "th-that you're b-breaking the law right now? -And I'm with you while you're doing it?"</p> - -<p>He leaned over the edge of the bunk and stared at me very seriously. -"What breed of tadpole are they turning out these days? Besides, what -business do <i>you</i> have this close to the hull?"</p> - -<p>After a moment of sober reflection, I nodded. "You're right. I've also -become a male outside the law. We're in this together."</p> - -<p>He guffawed. Then he sat up and began cleaning his blaster. I found -myself drawn to the bright killer-tube with exactly the fascination Sis -insists such things have always had for men.</p> - -<p>"Ferdinand your label? That's not right for a sprouting tadpole. I'll -call you Ford. My name's Butt. Butt Lee Brown."</p> - -<p>I liked the sound of Ford. "Is Butt a nickname, too?"</p> - -<p>"Yeah. Short for Alberta, but I haven't found a man who can draw a -blaster fast enough to call me that. You see, Pop came over in the -eighties—the big wave of immigrants when they evacuated Ontario. Named -all us boys after Canadian provinces. I was the youngest, so I got the -name they were saving for a girl."</p> - -<p>"You had a lot of brothers, Mr. Butt?"</p> - -<p>He grinned with a mighty set of teeth. "Oh, a nestful. Of course, they -were all killed in the Blue Chicago Rising by the MacGregor boys—all -except me and Saskatchewan. Then Sas and me hunted the MacGregors down. -Took a heap of time; we didn't float Jock MacGregor's ugly face down -the Tuscany till both of us were pretty near grown up."</p> - -<p>I walked up close to where I could see the tiny bright copper coils of -the blaster above the firing button. "Have you killed a lot of men with -that, Mr. Butt?"</p> - -<p>"Butt. Just plain Butt to you, Ford." He frowned and sighted at -the light globe. "No more'n twelve—not counting five government -paddlefeet, of course. I'm a peaceable planter. Way I figure it, -violence never accomplishes much that's important. My brother Sas, -now—"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He had just begun to work into a wonderful anecdote about his brother -when the dinner gong rang. Butt told me to scat. He said I was a -growing tadpole and needed my vitamins. And he mentioned, very -off-hand, that he wouldn't at all object if I brought him some fresh -fruit. It seemed there was nothing but processed foods in the lifeboat -and Butt was used to a farmer's diet.</p> - -<p>Trouble was, he was a special kind of farmer. Ordinary fruit would have -been pretty easy to sneak into my pockets at meals. I even found a way -to handle the kelp and giant watercress Mr. Brown liked, but things -like seaweed salt and Venusian mud-grapes just had too strong a smell. -Twice, the mechanical hamper refused to accept my jacket for laundering -and I had to wash it myself. But I learned so many wonderful things -about Venus every time I visited that stowaway....</p> - -<p>I learned three wild-wave songs of the Flatfolk and what it is that the -native Venusians hate so much; I learned how you tell the difference -between a lousy government paddlefoot from New Kalamazoo and the -slaptoe slinker who is the planter's friend. After a lot of begging, -Butt Lee Brown explained the workings of his blaster, explained it -so carefully that I could name every part and tell what it did from -the tiny round electrodes to the long spirals of transformer. But no -matter what, he would never let me hold it.</p> - -<p>"Sorry, Ford, old tad," he would drawl, spinning around and around in -the control swivel-chair at the nose of the lifeboat. "But way I look -at it, a man who lets somebody else handle his blaster is like the -giant whose heart was in an egg that an enemy found. When you've grown -enough so's your pop feels you ought to have a weapon, why, then's the -time to learn it and you might's well learn fast. Before then, you're -plain too young to be even near it."</p> - -<p>"I don't have a father to give me one when I come of age. I don't even -have an older brother as head of my family like your brother Labrador. -All I have is Sis. And <i>she</i>—"</p> - -<p>"She'll marry some fancy dryhorn who's never been farther South than -the Polar Coast. And she'll stay head of the family, if I know her -breed of green shata. <i>Bossy, opinionated.</i> By the way, Fordie," he -said, rising and stretching so the fish-leather bounced and rippled off -his biceps, "that sister. She ever...."</p> - -<p>And he'd be off again, cross-examining me about Evelyn. I sat in the -swivel chair he'd vacated and tried to answer his questions. But there -was a lot of stuff I didn't know. Evelyn was a healthy girl, for -instance; how healthy, exactly, I had no way of finding out. Yes, I'd -tell him, my aunts on both sides of my family each had had more than -the average number of children. No, we'd never done any farming to -speak of, back in Undersea, but—yes, I'd guess Evelyn knew about as -much as any girl there when it came to diving equipment and pressure -pump regulation.</p> - -<p>How would I know that stuff would lead to trouble for me?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Sis had insisted I come along to the geography lecture. Most of the -other girls who were going to Venus for husbands talked to each other -during the lecture, but not <i>my</i> sister! She hung on every word, took -notes even, and asked enough questions to make the perspiring purser -really work in those orientation periods.</p> - -<p>"I am very sorry, Miss Sparling," he said with pretty heavy sarcasm, -"but I cannot remember any of the agricultural products of the Macro -Continent. Since the human population is well below one per thousand -square miles, it can readily be understood that the quantity of -tilled soil, land or sub-surface, is so small that—Wait, I remember -something. The Macro Continent exports a fruit though not exactly an -edible one. The wild <i>dunging</i> drug is harvested there by criminal -speculators. Contrary to belief on Earth, the traffic has been growing -in recent years. In fact—"</p> - -<p>"Pardon me, sir," I broke in, "but doesn't <i>dunging</i> come only from -Leif Erickson Island off the Moscow Peninsula of the Macro Continent? -You remember, purser—Wang Li's third exploration, where he proved the -island and the peninsula didn't meet for most of the year?"</p> - -<p>The purser nodded slowly. "I forgot," he admitted. "Sorry, ladies, but -the boy's right. Please make the correction in your notes."</p> - -<p>But Sis was the only one who took notes, and she didn't take that one. -She stared at me for a moment, biting her lower lip thoughtfully, while -I got sicker and sicker. Then she shut her pad with the final gesture -of the right hand that Mom used to use just before challenging the -opposition to come right down on the Council floor and debate it out -with her.</p> - -<p>"Ferdinand," Sis said, "let's go back to our cabin."</p> - -<p>The moment she sat me down and walked slowly around me, I knew I was -in for it. "I've been reading up on Venusian geography in the ship's -library," I told her in a hurry.</p> - -<p>"No doubt," she said drily. She shook her night-black hair out. "But -you aren't going to tell me that you read about <i>dunging</i> in the ship's -library. The books there have been censored by a government agent of -Earth against the possibility that they might be read by susceptible -young male minds like yours. She would not have allowed—this Terran -Agent—"</p> - -<p>"Paddlefoot," I sneered.</p> - -<p>Sis sat down hard in our zoom-air chair. "Now that's a term," she said -carefully, "that is used only by Venusian riffraff."</p> - -<p>"They're not!"</p> - -<p>"Not what?"</p> - -<p>"Riffraff," I had to answer, knowing I was getting in deeper all the -time and not being able to help it. I mustn't give Mr. Brown away! -"They're trappers and farmers, pioneers and explorers, who're building -Venus. And it takes a real man to build on a hot, hungry hell like -Venus."</p> - -<p>"Does it, now?" she said, looking at me as if I were beginning to grow -a second pair of ears. "Tell me more."</p> - -<p>"You can't have meek, law-abiding, women-ruled men when you start -civilization on a new planet. You've got to have men who aren't afraid -to make their own law if necessary—with their own guns. That's where -law begins; the books get written up later."</p> - -<p>"You're going to <i>tell</i>, Ferdinand, what evil, criminal male is -speaking through your mouth!"</p> - -<p>"Nobody!" I insisted. "They're my own ideas!"</p> - -<p>"They are remarkably well-organized for a young boy's ideas. A boy -who, I might add, has previously shown a ridiculous but nonetheless -entirely masculine boredom with political philosophy. I plan to have a -government career on that new planet you talk about, Ferdinand—after -I have found a good, steady husband, of course—and I don't look -forward to a masculinist radical in the family. Now, who has been -filling your head with all this nonsense?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I was sweating. Sis has that deadly bulldog approach when she feels -someone is lying. I pulled my pulpast handkerchief from my pocket to -wipe my face. Something rattled to the floor.</p> - -<p>"What is this picture of me doing in your pocket, Ferdinand?"</p> - -<p>A trap seemed to be hinging noisily into place. "One of the passengers -wanted to see how you looked in a bathing suit."</p> - -<p>"The passengers on this ship are all female. I can't imagine any of -them that curious about my appearance. Ferdinand, it's a man who has -been giving you these anti-social ideas, isn't it? A war-mongering -masculinist like all the frustrated men who want to engage in -government and don't have the vaguest idea how to. Except, of course, -in their ancient, bloody ways. Ferdinand, who has been perverting that -sunny and carefree soul of yours?"</p> - -<p>"Nobody! <i>Nobody!</i>"</p> - -<p>"Ferdinand, there's no point in lying! I demand—"</p> - -<p>"I told you, Sis. I told you! And don't call me Ferdinand. Call me -Ford."</p> - -<p>"Ford? <i>Ford?</i> Now, you listen to me, Ferdinand...."</p> - -<p>After that it was all over but the confession. That came in a few -moments. I couldn't fool Sis. She just knew me too well, I decided -miserably. Besides, she was a girl.</p> - -<p>All the same, I wouldn't get Mr. Butt Lee Brown into trouble if I could -help it. I made Sis promise she wouldn't turn him in if I took her to -him. And the quick, nodding way she said she would made me feel just a -little better.</p> - -<p>The door opened on the signal, "Sesame." When Butt saw somebody was -with me, he jumped and the ten-inch blaster barrel grew out of his -fingers. Then he recognized Sis from the pictures.</p> - -<p>He stepped to one side and, with the same sweeping gesture, holstered -his blaster and pushed his green hood off. It was Sis's turn to jump -when she saw the wild mass of hair rolling down his back.</p> - -<p>"An honor, Miss Sparling," he said in that rumbly voice. "Please come -right in. There's a hurry-up draft."</p> - -<p>So Sis went in and I followed right after her. Mr. Brown closed the -door. I tried to catch his eye so I could give him some kind of hint or -explanation, but he had taken a couple of his big strides and was in -the control section with Sis. She didn't give ground, though; I'll say -that for her. She only came to his chest, but she had her arms crossed -sternly.</p> - -<p>"First, Mr. Brown," she began, like talking to a cluck of a kid in -class, "you realize that you are not only committing the political -crime of traveling without a visa, and the criminal one of stowing away -without paying your fare, but the moral delinquency of consuming stores -intended for the personnel of this ship solely in emergency?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He opened his mouth to its maximum width and raised an enormous hand. -Then he let the air out and dropped his arm.</p> - -<p>"I take it you either have no defense or care to make none," Sis added -caustically.</p> - -<p>Butt laughed slowly and carefully as if he were going over each word. -"Wonder if all the anura talk like that. And <i>you</i> want to foul up -Venus."</p> - -<p>"We haven't done so badly on Earth, after the mess you men made of -politics. It needed a revolution of the mothers before—"</p> - -<p>"Needed nothing. Everyone wanted peace. Earth is a weary old world."</p> - -<p>"It's a world of strong moral fiber compared to yours, Mr. Alberta Lee -Brown." Hearing his rightful name made him move suddenly and tower over -her. Sis said with a certain amount of hurry and change of tone, "What -<i>do</i> you have to say about stowing away and using up lifeboat stores?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>He cocked his head and considered a moment. "Look," he said finally, -"I have more than enough munit to pay for round trip tickets, but I -couldn't get a return visa because of that brinosaur judge and all -the charges she hung on me. Had to stow away. Picked the <i>Eleanor -Roosevelt</i> because a couple of the boys in the crew are friends of mine -and they were willing to help. But this lifeboat—don't you know that -every passenger ship carries four times as many lifeboats as it needs? -Not to mention the food I didn't eat because it stuck in my throat?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," she said bitterly. "You had this boy steal fresh fruit for you. -I suppose you didn't know that under space regulations that makes him -equally guilty?"</p> - -<p>"No, Sis, he didn't," I was beginning to argue. "All he wanted—"</p> - -<p>"Sure I knew. Also know that if I'm picked up as a stowaway, I'll be -sent back to Earth to serve out those fancy little sentences."</p> - -<p>"Well, you're guilty of them, aren't you?"</p> - -<p>He waved his hands at her impatiently. "I'm not talking law, female; -I'm talking sense. Listen! I'm in trouble because I went to Earth to -look for a wife. You're standing here right now because you're on your -way to Venus for a husband. So let's."</p> - -<p>Sis actually staggered back. "Let's? Let's <i>what</i>? Are—are you daring -to suggest that—that—"</p> - -<p>"Now, Miss Sparling, no hoopla. I'm saying let's get married, and you -know it. You figured out from what the boy told you that I was chewing -on you for a wife. You're healthy and strong, got good heredity, you -know how to operate sub-surface machinery, you've lived underwater, and -your disposition's no worse than most of the anura I've seen. Prolific -stock, too."</p> - -<p>I was so excited I just had to yell: "Gee, Sis, say <i>yes</i>!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>My sister's voice was steaming with scorn. "And what makes you think -that I'd consider you a desirable husband?"</p> - -<p>He spread his hands genially. "Figure if you wanted a poodle, you're -pretty enough to pick one up on Earth. Figure if you charge off to -Venus, you don't want a poodle, you want a man. I'm one. I own three -islands in the Galertan Archipelago that'll be good oozing mudgrape -land when they're cleared. Not to mention the rich berzeliot beds -offshore. I got no bad habits outside of having my own way. I'm also -passable good-looking for a slaptoe planter. Besides, if you marry -me you'll be the first mated on this ship—and that's a splash most -nesting females like to make."</p> - -<p>There was a longish stretch of quiet. Sis stepped back and measured him -slowly with her eyes; there was a lot to look at. He waited patiently -while she covered the distance from his peculiar green boots to that -head of hair. I was so excited I was gulping instead of breathing. -Imagine having Butt for a brother-in-law and living on a wet-plantation -in Flatfolk country!</p> - -<p>But then I remembered Sis's level head and I didn't have much hope any -more.</p> - -<p>"You know," she began, "there's more to marriage than just—"</p> - -<p>"So there is," he cut in. "Well, we can try each other for taste." And -he pulled her in, both of his great hands practically covering her -slim, straight back.</p> - -<p>Neither of them said anything for a bit after he let go. Butt spoke up -first.</p> - -<p>"Now, me," he said, "I'd vote yes."</p> - -<p>Sis ran the tip of her tongue kind of delicately from side to side -of her mouth. Then she stepped back slowly and looked at him as if -she were figuring out how many feet high he was. She kept on moving -backward, tapping her chin, while Butt and I got more and more -impatient. When she touched the lifeboat door, she pushed it open and -jumped out.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Butt ran over and looked down the crossway. After a while, he shut the -door and came back beside me. "Well," he said, swinging to a bunk, -"that's sort of it."</p> - -<p>"You're better off, Butt," I burst out. "You shouldn't have a woman -like Sis for a wife. She looks small and helpless, but don't forget -she was trained to run an underwater city!"</p> - -<p>"Wasn't worrying about that," he grinned. "<i>I</i> grew up in the fifteen -long years of the Blue Chicago Rising. Nope." He turned over on his -back and clicked his teeth at the ceiling. "Think we'd have nested out -nicely."</p> - -<p>I hitched myself up to him and we sat on the bunk, glooming away at -each other. Then we heard the tramp of feet in the crossway.</p> - -<p>Butt swung down and headed for the control compartment in the -nose of the lifeboat. He had his blaster out and was cursing very -interestingly. I started after him, but he picked me up by the seat -of my jumper and tossed me toward the door. The Captain came in and -tripped over me.</p> - -<p>I got all tangled up in his gold braid and million-mile space buttons. -When we finally got to our feet and sorted out right, he was breathing -very hard. The Captain was a round little man with a plump, golden face -and a very scared look on it. He <i>humphed</i> at me, just the way Sis -does, and lifted me by the scruff of my neck. The Chief Mate picked me -up and passed me to the Second Assistant Engineer.</p> - -<p>Sis was there, being held by the purser on one side and the Chief -Computer's Mate on the other. Behind them, I could see a flock of -wide-eyed female passengers.</p> - -<p>"You cowards!" Sis was raging. "Letting your Captain face a dangerous -outlaw all by himself!"</p> - -<p>"I dunno, Miss Sparling," the Computer's Mate said, scratching the -miniature slide-rule insignia on his visor with his free hand. "The Old -Man would've been willing to let it go with a log entry, figuring the -spaceport paddlefeet could pry out the stowaway when we landed. But you -had to quote the Mother Anita Law at him, and he's in there doing his -duty. He figures the rest of us are family men, too, and there's no -sense making orphans."</p> - -<p>"You promised, Sis," I told her through my teeth. "You promised you -wouldn't get Butt into trouble!"</p> - -<p>She tossed her spiral curls at me and ground a heel into the purser's -instep. He screwed up his face and howled, but he didn't let go of her -arm.</p> - -<p>"<i>Shush</i>, Ferdinand, this is serious!"</p> - -<p>It was. I heard the Captain say, "I'm not carrying a weapon, Brown."</p> - -<p>"Then <i>get</i> one," Butt's low, lazy voice floated out.</p> - -<p>"No, thanks. You're as handy with that thing as I am with a -rocketboard." The Captain's words got a little fainter as he walked -forward. Butt growled like a gusher about to blow.</p> - -<p>"I'm counting on your being a good guy, Brown." The Captain's -voice quavered just a bit. "I'm banking on what I heard about the -blast-happy Browns every time I lifted gravs in New Kalamazoo; they -have a code, they don't burn unarmed men."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Just about this time, events in the lifeboat went down to a mumble. The -top of my head got wet and I looked up. There was sweat rolling down -the Second Assistant's forehead; it converged at his nose and bounced -off the tip in a sizable stream. I twisted out of the way.</p> - -<p>"What's happening?" Sis gritted, straining toward the lock.</p> - -<p>"Butt's trying to decide whether he wants him fried or scrambled," the -Computer's Mate said, pulling her back. "Hey, purse, remember when the -whole family with their pop at the head went into Heatwave to argue -with Colonel Leclerc?"</p> - -<p>"Eleven dead, sixty-four injured," the purser answered mechanically. -"And no more army stationed south of Icebox." His right ear twitched -irritably. "But what're they saying?"</p> - -<p>Suddenly we heard. "By authority vested in me under the Pomona College -Treaty," the Captain was saying very loudly, "I arrest you for -violation of Articles Sixteen to Twenty-one inclusive of the Space -Transport Code, and order your person and belongings impounded for -the duration of this voyage as set forth in Sections Forty-one and -Forty-five—"</p> - -<p>"Forty-three and Forty-five," Sis groaned. "Sections Forty-three and -Forty-five, I told him. I even made him repeat it after me!"</p> - -<p>"—of the Mother Anita Law, SC 2136, Emergency Interplanetary -Directives."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We all waited breathlessly for Butt's reply. The seconds ambled on and -there was no clatter of electrostatic discharge, no smell of burning -flesh.</p> - -<p>Then we heard some feet walking. A big man in a green suit swung out -into the crossway. That was Butt. Behind him came the Captain, holding -the blaster gingerly with both hands. Butt had a funny, thoughtful look -on his face.</p> - -<p>The girls surged forward when they saw him, scattering the crew to one -side. They were like a school of sharks that had just caught sight of a -dying whale.</p> - -<p>"M-m-m-m! Are all Venusians built like that?"</p> - -<p>"Men like that are worth the mileage!"</p> - -<p>"<i>I want him!" "I want him!" "I want him!</i>"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus2.jpg" width="600" height="276" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>Sis had been let go. She grabbed my free hand and pulled me away. She -was trying to look only annoyed, but her eyes had bright little bubbles -of fury popping in them.</p> - -<p>"The cheap extroverts! And they call themselves responsible women!"</p> - -<p>I was angry, too. And I let her know, once we were in our cabin. -"What about that promise, Sis? You said you wouldn't turn him in. You -<i>promised</i>!"</p> - -<p>She stopped walking around the room as if she had been expecting to get -to Venus on foot. "I know I did, Ferdinand, but he forced me."</p> - -<p>"My name is Ford and I don't understand."</p> - -<p>"Your name is Ferdinand and stop trying to act forcefully like a girl. -It doesn't become you. In just a few days, you'll forget all this and -be your simple, carefree self again. I really truly meant to keep my -word. From what you'd told me, Mr. Brown seemed to be a fundamentally -decent chap despite his barbaric notions on equality between the -sexes—or worse. I was positive I could shame him into a more rational -social behavior and make him give himself up. Then he—he—"</p> - -<p>She pressed her fingernails into her palms and let out a long, glaring -sigh at the door. "Then he kissed me! Oh, it was a good enough -kiss—Mr. Brown has evidently had a varied and colorful background—but -the galling idiocy of the man, trying that! I was just getting over the -colossal impudence involved in <i>his</i> proposing marriage—as if <i>he</i> had -to bear the children!—and was considering the offer seriously, on its -merits, as one should consider <i>all</i> suggestions, when he deliberately -dropped the pretense of reason. He appealed to me as most of the savage -ancients appealed to their women, as an emotional machine. Throw the -correct sexual switches, says this theory, and the female surrenders -herself ecstatically to the doubtful and bloody murk of masculine -plans."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There was a double knock on the door and the Captain walked in without -waiting for an invitation. He was still holding Butt's blaster. He -pointed it at me. "Get your hands up, Ferdinand Sparling," he said.</p> - -<p>I did.</p> - -<p>"I hereby order your detention for the duration of this voyage, for -aiding and abetting a stowaway, as set forth in Sections Forty-one and -Forty-five—"</p> - -<p>"Forty-three and Forty-five," Sis interrupted him, her eyes getting -larger and rounder. "But you gave me your word of honor that no charges -would be lodged against the boy!"</p> - -<p>"Forty-one and Forty-five," he corrected her courteously, still staring -fiercely at me. "I looked it up. Of the Anita Mason Law, Emergency -Interplanetary Directives. That was the usual promise one makes to an -informer, but I made it before I knew it was Butt Lee Brown you were -talking about. I didn't want to arrest Butt Lee Brown. You forced -me. So I'm breaking my promise to you, just as, I understand, you -broke your promise to your brother. They'll both be picked up at New -Kalamazoo Spaceport and sent Terraward for trial."</p> - -<p>"But I used all of our money to buy passage," Sis wailed.</p> - -<p>"And now you'll have to return with the boy. I'm sorry, Miss Sparling. -But as you explained to me, a man who has been honored with an -important official position should stay close to the letter of the law -for the sake of other men who are trying to break down terrestrial -anti-male prejudice. Of course, there's a way out."</p> - -<p>"There is? Tell me, please!"</p> - -<p>"Can I lower my hands a minute?" I asked.</p> - -<p>"No, you can't, son—not according to the armed surveillance provisions -of the Mother Anita Law. Miss Sparling, if you'd marry Brown—now, -now, don't look at me like that!—we could let the whole matter drop. -A shipboard wedding and he goes on your passport as a 'dependent male -member of family,' which means, so far as the law is concerned, that he -had a regulation passport from the beginning of this voyage. And once -we touch Venusian soil he can contact his bank and pay for passage. On -the record, no crime was ever committed. He's free, the boy's free, and -you—"</p> - -<p>"—Are married to an uncombed desperado who doesn't know enough to sit -back and let a woman run things. Oh, you should be ashamed!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Captain shrugged and spread his arms wide.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps I should be, but that's what comes of putting men into -responsible positions, as you would say. See here, Miss Sparling, <i>I</i> -didn't want to arrest Brown, and, if it's at all possible, I'd still -prefer not to. The crew, officers and men, all go along with me. We -may be legal residents of Earth, but our work requires us to be on -Venus several times a year. We don't want to be disliked by any members -of the highly irritable Brown clan or its collateral branches. Butt -Lee Brown himself, for all of his savage appearance in your civilized -eyes, is a man of much influence on the Polar Continent. In his own -bailiwick, the Galertan Archipelago, he makes, breaks and occasionally -readjusts officials. Then there's his brother Saskatchewan who -considers Butt a helpless, put-upon youngster—"</p> - -<p>"Much influence, you say? Mr. Brown has?" Sis was suddenly thoughtful.</p> - -<p>"<i>Power</i>, actually. The kind a strong man usually wields in a newly -settled community. Besides, Miss Sparling, you're going to Venus for a -husband because the male-female ratio on Earth is reversed. Well, not -only is Butt Lee Brown a first class catch, but you can't afford to be -too particular in any case. While you're fairly pretty, you won't bring -any wealth into a marriage and your high degree of opinionation is not -likely to be well-received on a backward, masculinist world. Then, too, -the woman-hunger is not so great any more, what with the <i>Marie Curie</i> -and the <i>Fatima</i> having already deposited their cargoes, the <i>Mme. Sun -Yat Sen</i> due to arrive next month...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Sis nodded to herself, waved the door open, and walked out.</p> - -<p>"Let's hope," the Captain said. "Like any father used to say, a man who -knows how to handle women, how to get around them without their knowing -it, doesn't need to know anything else in this life. I'm plain wasted -in space. You can lower your hands now, son."</p> - -<p>We sat down and I explained the blaster to him. He was very interested. -He said all Butt had told him—in the lifeboat when they decided to -use my arrest as a club over Sis—was to keep the safety catch all the -way up against his thumb. I could see he really had been excited about -carrying a lethal weapon around. He told me that back in the old days, -captains—sea captains, that is—actually had the right to keep guns -in their cabins all the time to put down mutinies and other things our -ancestors did.</p> - -<p>The telewall flickered, and we turned it on. Sis smiled down. -"Everything's all right, Captain. Come up and marry us, please."</p> - -<p>"What did you stick him for?" he asked. "What was the price?"</p> - -<p>Sis's full lips went thin and hard, the way Mom's used to. Then she -thought better of it and laughed. "Mr. Brown is going to see that I'm -elected sheriff of the Galertan Archipelago."</p> - -<p>"And I thought she'd settle for a county clerkship!" the Captain -muttered as we spun up to the brig.</p> - -<p>The doors were open and girls were chattering in every corner. Sis came -up to the Captain to discuss arrangements. I slipped away and found -Butt sitting with folded arms in a corner of the brig. He grinned at -me. "Hi, tadpole. Like the splash?"</p> - -<p>I shook my head unhappily. "Butt, why did you do it? I'd sure love to -be your brother-in-law, but, gosh, you didn't have to marry Sis." I -pointed at some of the bustling females. Sis was going to have three -hundred bridesmaids. "Any one of them would have jumped at the chance -to be your wife. And once on any woman's passport, you'd be free. Why -Sis?"</p> - -<p>"That's what the Captain said in the lifeboat. Told him same thing I'm -telling you. I'm stubborn. What I like at first, I keep on liking. What -I want at first, I keep on wanting until I get."</p> - -<p>"Yes, but making Sis sheriff! And you'll have to back her up with your -blaster. What'll happen to that man's world?"</p> - -<p>"Wait'll after we nest and go out to my islands." He produced a -hard-lipped, smug grin, sighting it at Sis's slender back. "She'll -find herself sheriff over a bunch of natives and exactly two Earth -males—you and me. I got a hunch that'll keep her pretty busy, though."</p> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Venus is a Man's World, by William Tenn - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VENUS IS A MAN'S WORLD *** - -***** This file should be named 51150-h.htm or 51150-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/1/5/51150/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/51150-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/51150-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 6212fc6..0000000 --- a/old/51150-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51150-h/images/illus1.jpg b/old/51150-h/images/illus1.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8774282..0000000 --- a/old/51150-h/images/illus1.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51150-h/images/illus2.jpg b/old/51150-h/images/illus2.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 2e7c0da..0000000 --- a/old/51150-h/images/illus2.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/51150.txt b/old/51150.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 132dad2..0000000 --- a/old/51150.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1350 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Venus is a Man's World, by William Tenn - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Venus is a Man's World - -Author: William Tenn - -Release Date: February 8, 2016 [EBook #51150] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VENUS IS A MAN'S WORLD *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - Venus Is a Man's World - - BY WILLIAM TENN - - Illustrated by GENE FAWCETTE - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Galaxy Science Fiction July 1951. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - - Actually, there wouldn't be too much difference if women took - over the Earth altogether. But not for some men and most boys! - - -I've always said that even if Sis is seven years older than me--and a -girl besides--she don't always know what's best. Put me on a spaceship -jam-packed with three hundred females just aching to get themselves -husbands in the one place they're still to be had--the planet -Venus--and you know I'll be in trouble. - -Bad trouble. With the law, which is the worst a boy can get into. - -Twenty minutes after we lifted from the Sahara Spaceport, I wriggled -out of my acceleration hammock and started for the door of our cabin. - -"Now you be careful, Ferdinand," Sis called after me as she opened a -book called _Family Problems of the Frontier Woman_. "Remember you're -a nice boy. Don't make me ashamed of you." - -I tore down the corridor. Most of the cabins had purple lights on in -front of the doors, showing that the girls were still inside their -hammocks. That meant only the ship's crew was up and about. Ship's -crews are men; women are too busy with important things like government -to run ships. I felt free all over--and happy. Now was my chance to -really see the _Eleanor Roosevelt_! - - * * * * * - -It was hard to believe I was traveling in space at last. Ahead and -behind me, all the way up to where the companionway curved in out -of sight, there was nothing but smooth black wall and smooth white -doors--on and on and on. _Gee_, I thought excitedly, this is _one big -ship_! - -Of course, every once in a while I would run across a big scene of -stars in the void set in the wall; but they were only pictures. Nothing -that gave the feel of great empty space like I'd read about in _The Boy -Rocketeers_, no portholes, no visiplates, nothing. - -So when I came to the crossway, I stopped for a second, then turned -left. To the right, see, there was Deck Four, then Deck Three, leading -inward past the engine fo'c'sle to the main jets and the grav helix -going _purr-purr-purrty-purr_ in the comforting way big machinery has -when it's happy and oiled. But to the left, the crossway led all the -way to the outside level which ran just under the hull. There were -portholes on the hull. - -I'd studied all that out in our cabin, long before we'd lifted, on -the transparent model of the ship hanging like a big cigar from the -ceiling. Sis had studied it too, but she was looking for places like -the dining salon and the library and Lifeboat 68 where we should go in -case of emergency. I looked for the _important_ things. - -As I trotted along the crossway, I sort of wished that Sis hadn't -decided to go after a husband on a luxury liner. On a cargo ship, now, -I'd be climbing from deck to deck on a ladder instead of having gravity -underfoot all the time just like I was home on the bottom of the Gulf -of Mexico. But women always know what's right, and a boy can only make -faces and do what they say, same as the men have to do. - -Still, it was pretty exciting to press my nose against the slots in the -wall and see the sliding panels that could come charging out and block -the crossway into an airtight fit in case a meteor or something smashed -into the ship. And all along there were glass cases with spacesuits -standing in them, like those knights they used to have back in the -Middle Ages. - -"In the event of disaster affecting the oxygen content of -companionway," they had the words etched into the glass, "break glass -with hammer upon wall, remove spacesuit and proceed to don it in the -following fashion." - -I read the "following fashion" until I knew it by heart. _Boy_, I said -to myself, _I hope we have that kind of disaster. I'd sure like to get -into one of those! Bet it would be more fun than those diving suits -back in Undersea!_ - -And all the time I was alone. That was the best part. - - * * * * * - -Then I passed Deck Twelve and there was a big sign. "Notice! Passengers -not permitted past this point!" A big sign in red. - -I peeked around the corner. I knew it--the next deck was the hull. I -could see the portholes. Every twelve feet, they were, filled with the -velvet of space and the dancing of more stars than I'd ever dreamed -existed in the Universe. - -There wasn't anyone on the deck, as far as I could see. And this -distance from the grav helix, the ship seemed mighty quiet and lonely. -If I just took one quick look.... - -But I thought of what Sis would say and I turned around obediently. -Then I saw the big red sign again. "Passengers not permitted--" - -Well! Didn't I know from my civics class that only women could be Earth -Citizens these days? Sure, ever since the Male Desuffrage Act. And -didn't I know that you had to be a citizen of a planet in order to -get an interplanetary passport? Sis had explained it all to me in the -careful, patient way she always talks politics and things like that to -men. - -"Technically, Ferdinand, I'm the only passenger in our family. You -can't be one, because, not being a citizen, you can't acquire an Earth -Passport. However, you'll be going to Venus on the strength of this -clause--'Miss Evelyn Sparling and all dependent male members of family, -this number not to exceed the registered quota of sub-regulations -pertaining'--and so on. I want you to understand these matters, so that -you will grow into a man who takes an active interest in world affairs. -No matter what you hear, women really like and appreciate such men." - -Of course, I never pay much attention to Sis when she says such dumb -things. I'm old enough, I guess, to know that it isn't what _Women_ -like and appreciate that counts when it comes to people getting -married. If it were, Sis and three hundred other pretty girls like her -wouldn't be on their way to Venus to hook husbands. - -Still, if I wasn't a passenger, the sign didn't have anything to do -with me. I knew what Sis could say to _that_, but at least it was an -argument I could use if it ever came up. So I broke the law. - -I was glad I did. The stars were exciting enough, but away off to -the left, about five times as big as I'd ever seen it, except in the -movies, was the Moon, a great blob of gray and white pockmarks holding -off the black of space. I was hoping to see the Earth, but I figured it -must be on the other side of the ship or behind us. I pressed my nose -against the port and saw the tiny flicker of a spaceliner taking off, -Marsbound. I wished I was on that one! - -Then I noticed, a little farther down the companionway, a stretch of -blank wall where there should have been portholes. High up on the -wall in glowing red letters were the words, "Lifeboat 47. Passengers: -Thirty-two. Crew: Eleven. Unauthorized personnel keep away!" - -Another one of those signs. - - * * * * * - -I crept up to the porthole nearest it and could just barely make out -the stern jets where it was plastered against the hull. Then I walked -under the sign and tried to figure the way you were supposed to get -into it. There was a very thin line going around in a big circle that I -knew must be the door. But I couldn't see any knobs or switches to open -it with. Not even a button you could press. - -That meant it was a sonic lock like the kind we had on the outer keeps -back home in Undersea. But knock or voice? I tried the two knock -combinations I knew, and nothing happened. I only remembered one voice -key--might as well see if that's it, I figured. - -"Twenty, Twenty-three. Open Sesame." - -For a second, I thought I'd hit it just right out of all the million -possible combinations--The door clicked inward toward a black hole, and -a hairy hand as broad as my shoulders shot out of the hole. It closed -around my throat and plucked me inside as if I'd been a baby sardine. - -I bounced once on the hard lifeboat floor. Before I got my breath and -sat up, the door had been shut again. When the light came on, I found -myself staring up the muzzle of a highly polished blaster and into the -cold blue eyes of the biggest man I'd ever seen. - -He was wearing a one-piece suit made of some scaly green stuff that -looked hard and soft at the same time. - -His boots were made of it too, and so was the hood hanging down his -back. - -And his face was brown. Not just ordinary tan, you understand, but the -deep, dark, burned-all-the-way-in brown I'd seen on the lifeguards -in New Orleans whenever we took a surface vacation--the kind of tan -that comes from day after broiling day under a really hot Sun. His -hair looked as if it had once been blond, but now there were just long -combed-out waves with a yellowish tinge that boiled all the way down -to his shoulders. - -I hadn't seen hair like that on a man except maybe in history books; -every man I'd ever known had his hair cropped in the fashionable -soup-bowl style. I was staring at his hair, almost forgetting about the -blaster which I knew it was against the law for him to have at all, -when I suddenly got scared right through. - -His eyes. - -They didn't blink and there seemed to be no expression around them. -Just coldness. Maybe it was the kind of clothes he was wearing that did -it, but all of a sudden I was reminded of a crocodile I'd seen in a -surface zoo that had stared quietly at me for twenty minutes until it -opened two long tooth-studded jaws. - -"Green shatas!" he said suddenly. "Only a tadpole. I must be getting -jumpy enough to splash." - -Then he shoved the blaster away in a holster made of the same scaly -leather, crossed his arms on his chest and began to study me. I grunted -to my feet, feeling a lot better. The coldness had gone out of his eyes. - -I held out my hand the way Sis had taught me. "My name is Ferdinand -Sparling. I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr.--Mr.--" - -"Hope for your sake," he said to me, "that you aren't what you -seem--tadpole brother to one of them husbandless anura." - -"_What?_" - -"A 'nuran is a female looking to nest. Anura is a herd of same. Come -from Flatfolk ways." - -"Flatfolk are the Venusian natives, aren't they? Are you a Venusian? -What part of Venus do you come from? Why did you say you hope--" - -He chuckled and swung me up into one of the bunks that lined the -lifeboat. "Questions you ask," he said in his soft voice. "Venus is a -sharp enough place for a dryhorn, let alone a tadpole dryhorn with a -boss-minded sister." - -"I'm not a dryleg," I told him proudly. "_We're_ from Undersea." - -"_Dryhorn_, I said, not dryleg. And what's Undersea?" - -"Well, in Undersea we called foreigners and newcomers drylegs. Just -like on Venus, I guess, you call them dryhorns." And then I told him -how Undersea had been built on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, when -the mineral resources of the land began to give out and engineers -figured that a lot could still be reached from the sea bottoms. - - * * * * * - -He nodded. He'd heard about the sea-bottom mining cities that were -bubbling under protective domes in every one of the Earth's oceans just -about the same time settlements were springing up on the planets. - -He looked impressed when I told him about Mom and Pop being one of the -first couples to get married in Undersea. He looked thoughtful when I -told him how Sis and I had been born there and spent half our childhood -listening to the pressure pumps. He raised his eyebrows and looked -disgusted when I told how Mom, as Undersea representative on the World -Council, had been one of the framers of the Male Desuffrage Act after -the Third Atomic War had resulted in the Maternal Revolution. - - * * * * * - -He almost squeezed my arm when I got to the time Mom and Pop were blown -up in a surfacing boat. - -"Well, after the funeral, there was a little money, so Sis decided we -might as well use it to migrate. There was no future for her on Earth, -she figured. You know, the three-out-of-four." - -"How's that?" - -"The three-out-of-four. No more than three women out of every four on -Earth can expect to find husbands. Not enough men to go around. Way -back in the Twentieth Century, it began to be felt, Sis says, what with -the wars and all. Then the wars went on and a lot more men began to die -or get no good from the radioactivity. Then the best men went to the -planets, Sis says, until by now even if a woman can scrounge a personal -husband, he's not much to boast about." - -The stranger nodded violently. "Not on Earth, he isn't. Those busybody -anura make sure of that. What a place! Suffering gridniks, I had a -bellyful!" - -He told me about it. Women were scarce on Venus, and he hadn't been -able to find any who were willing to come out to his lonely little -islands; he had decided to go to Earth where there was supposed to be a -surplus. Naturally, having been born and brought up on a very primitive -planet, he didn't know "it's a woman's world," like the older boys in -school used to say. - -The moment he landed on Earth he was in trouble. He didn't know he had -to register at a government-operated hotel for transient males; he -threw a bartender through a thick plastic window for saying something -nasty about the length of his hair; and _imagine_!--he not only -resisted arrest, resulting in three hospitalized policemen, but he -sassed the judge in open court! - -"Told me a man wasn't supposed to say anything except through female -attorneys. Told _her_ that where _I_ came from, a man spoke his piece -when he'd a mind to, and his woman walked by his side." - -"What happened?" I asked breathlessly. - -"Oh, Guilty of This and Contempt of That. That blown-up brinosaur took -my last munit for fines, then explained that she was remitting the -rest because I was a foreigner and uneducated." His eyes grew dark for -a moment. He chuckled again. "But I wasn't going to serve all those -fancy little prison sentences. Forcible Citizenship Indoctrination, -they call it? Shook the dead-dry dust of the misbegotten, God forsaken -mother world from my feet forever. The women on it deserve their men. -My pockets were folded from the fines, and the paddlefeet were looking -for me so close I didn't dare radio for more munit. So I stowed away." - - * * * * * - -For a moment, I didn't understand him. When I did, I was almost ill. -"Y-you mean," I choked, "th-that you're b-breaking the law right now? -And I'm with you while you're doing it?" - -He leaned over the edge of the bunk and stared at me very seriously. -"What breed of tadpole are they turning out these days? Besides, what -business do _you_ have this close to the hull?" - -After a moment of sober reflection, I nodded. "You're right. I've also -become a male outside the law. We're in this together." - -He guffawed. Then he sat up and began cleaning his blaster. I found -myself drawn to the bright killer-tube with exactly the fascination Sis -insists such things have always had for men. - -"Ferdinand your label? That's not right for a sprouting tadpole. I'll -call you Ford. My name's Butt. Butt Lee Brown." - -I liked the sound of Ford. "Is Butt a nickname, too?" - -"Yeah. Short for Alberta, but I haven't found a man who can draw a -blaster fast enough to call me that. You see, Pop came over in the -eighties--the big wave of immigrants when they evacuated Ontario. Named -all us boys after Canadian provinces. I was the youngest, so I got the -name they were saving for a girl." - -"You had a lot of brothers, Mr. Butt?" - -He grinned with a mighty set of teeth. "Oh, a nestful. Of course, they -were all killed in the Blue Chicago Rising by the MacGregor boys--all -except me and Saskatchewan. Then Sas and me hunted the MacGregors down. -Took a heap of time; we didn't float Jock MacGregor's ugly face down -the Tuscany till both of us were pretty near grown up." - -I walked up close to where I could see the tiny bright copper coils of -the blaster above the firing button. "Have you killed a lot of men with -that, Mr. Butt?" - -"Butt. Just plain Butt to you, Ford." He frowned and sighted at -the light globe. "No more'n twelve--not counting five government -paddlefeet, of course. I'm a peaceable planter. Way I figure it, -violence never accomplishes much that's important. My brother Sas, -now--" - - * * * * * - -He had just begun to work into a wonderful anecdote about his brother -when the dinner gong rang. Butt told me to scat. He said I was a -growing tadpole and needed my vitamins. And he mentioned, very -off-hand, that he wouldn't at all object if I brought him some fresh -fruit. It seemed there was nothing but processed foods in the lifeboat -and Butt was used to a farmer's diet. - -Trouble was, he was a special kind of farmer. Ordinary fruit would have -been pretty easy to sneak into my pockets at meals. I even found a way -to handle the kelp and giant watercress Mr. Brown liked, but things -like seaweed salt and Venusian mud-grapes just had too strong a smell. -Twice, the mechanical hamper refused to accept my jacket for laundering -and I had to wash it myself. But I learned so many wonderful things -about Venus every time I visited that stowaway.... - -I learned three wild-wave songs of the Flatfolk and what it is that the -native Venusians hate so much; I learned how you tell the difference -between a lousy government paddlefoot from New Kalamazoo and the -slaptoe slinker who is the planter's friend. After a lot of begging, -Butt Lee Brown explained the workings of his blaster, explained it -so carefully that I could name every part and tell what it did from -the tiny round electrodes to the long spirals of transformer. But no -matter what, he would never let me hold it. - -"Sorry, Ford, old tad," he would drawl, spinning around and around in -the control swivel-chair at the nose of the lifeboat. "But way I look -at it, a man who lets somebody else handle his blaster is like the -giant whose heart was in an egg that an enemy found. When you've grown -enough so's your pop feels you ought to have a weapon, why, then's the -time to learn it and you might's well learn fast. Before then, you're -plain too young to be even near it." - -"I don't have a father to give me one when I come of age. I don't even -have an older brother as head of my family like your brother Labrador. -All I have is Sis. And _she_--" - -"She'll marry some fancy dryhorn who's never been farther South than -the Polar Coast. And she'll stay head of the family, if I know her -breed of green shata. _Bossy, opinionated._ By the way, Fordie," he -said, rising and stretching so the fish-leather bounced and rippled off -his biceps, "that sister. She ever...." - -And he'd be off again, cross-examining me about Evelyn. I sat in the -swivel chair he'd vacated and tried to answer his questions. But there -was a lot of stuff I didn't know. Evelyn was a healthy girl, for -instance; how healthy, exactly, I had no way of finding out. Yes, I'd -tell him, my aunts on both sides of my family each had had more than -the average number of children. No, we'd never done any farming to -speak of, back in Undersea, but--yes, I'd guess Evelyn knew about as -much as any girl there when it came to diving equipment and pressure -pump regulation. - -How would I know that stuff would lead to trouble for me? - - * * * * * - -Sis had insisted I come along to the geography lecture. Most of the -other girls who were going to Venus for husbands talked to each other -during the lecture, but not _my_ sister! She hung on every word, took -notes even, and asked enough questions to make the perspiring purser -really work in those orientation periods. - -"I am very sorry, Miss Sparling," he said with pretty heavy sarcasm, -"but I cannot remember any of the agricultural products of the Macro -Continent. Since the human population is well below one per thousand -square miles, it can readily be understood that the quantity of -tilled soil, land or sub-surface, is so small that--Wait, I remember -something. The Macro Continent exports a fruit though not exactly an -edible one. The wild _dunging_ drug is harvested there by criminal -speculators. Contrary to belief on Earth, the traffic has been growing -in recent years. In fact--" - -"Pardon me, sir," I broke in, "but doesn't _dunging_ come only from -Leif Erickson Island off the Moscow Peninsula of the Macro Continent? -You remember, purser--Wang Li's third exploration, where he proved the -island and the peninsula didn't meet for most of the year?" - -The purser nodded slowly. "I forgot," he admitted. "Sorry, ladies, but -the boy's right. Please make the correction in your notes." - -But Sis was the only one who took notes, and she didn't take that one. -She stared at me for a moment, biting her lower lip thoughtfully, while -I got sicker and sicker. Then she shut her pad with the final gesture -of the right hand that Mom used to use just before challenging the -opposition to come right down on the Council floor and debate it out -with her. - -"Ferdinand," Sis said, "let's go back to our cabin." - -The moment she sat me down and walked slowly around me, I knew I was -in for it. "I've been reading up on Venusian geography in the ship's -library," I told her in a hurry. - -"No doubt," she said drily. She shook her night-black hair out. "But -you aren't going to tell me that you read about _dunging_ in the ship's -library. The books there have been censored by a government agent of -Earth against the possibility that they might be read by susceptible -young male minds like yours. She would not have allowed--this Terran -Agent--" - -"Paddlefoot," I sneered. - -Sis sat down hard in our zoom-air chair. "Now that's a term," she said -carefully, "that is used only by Venusian riffraff." - -"They're not!" - -"Not what?" - -"Riffraff," I had to answer, knowing I was getting in deeper all the -time and not being able to help it. I mustn't give Mr. Brown away! -"They're trappers and farmers, pioneers and explorers, who're building -Venus. And it takes a real man to build on a hot, hungry hell like -Venus." - -"Does it, now?" she said, looking at me as if I were beginning to grow -a second pair of ears. "Tell me more." - -"You can't have meek, law-abiding, women-ruled men when you start -civilization on a new planet. You've got to have men who aren't afraid -to make their own law if necessary--with their own guns. That's where -law begins; the books get written up later." - -"You're going to _tell_, Ferdinand, what evil, criminal male is -speaking through your mouth!" - -"Nobody!" I insisted. "They're my own ideas!" - -"They are remarkably well-organized for a young boy's ideas. A boy -who, I might add, has previously shown a ridiculous but nonetheless -entirely masculine boredom with political philosophy. I plan to have a -government career on that new planet you talk about, Ferdinand--after -I have found a good, steady husband, of course--and I don't look -forward to a masculinist radical in the family. Now, who has been -filling your head with all this nonsense?" - - * * * * * - -I was sweating. Sis has that deadly bulldog approach when she feels -someone is lying. I pulled my pulpast handkerchief from my pocket to -wipe my face. Something rattled to the floor. - -"What is this picture of me doing in your pocket, Ferdinand?" - -A trap seemed to be hinging noisily into place. "One of the passengers -wanted to see how you looked in a bathing suit." - -"The passengers on this ship are all female. I can't imagine any of -them that curious about my appearance. Ferdinand, it's a man who has -been giving you these anti-social ideas, isn't it? A war-mongering -masculinist like all the frustrated men who want to engage in -government and don't have the vaguest idea how to. Except, of course, -in their ancient, bloody ways. Ferdinand, who has been perverting that -sunny and carefree soul of yours?" - -"Nobody! _Nobody!_" - -"Ferdinand, there's no point in lying! I demand--" - -"I told you, Sis. I told you! And don't call me Ferdinand. Call me -Ford." - -"Ford? _Ford?_ Now, you listen to me, Ferdinand...." - -After that it was all over but the confession. That came in a few -moments. I couldn't fool Sis. She just knew me too well, I decided -miserably. Besides, she was a girl. - -All the same, I wouldn't get Mr. Butt Lee Brown into trouble if I could -help it. I made Sis promise she wouldn't turn him in if I took her to -him. And the quick, nodding way she said she would made me feel just a -little better. - -The door opened on the signal, "Sesame." When Butt saw somebody was -with me, he jumped and the ten-inch blaster barrel grew out of his -fingers. Then he recognized Sis from the pictures. - -He stepped to one side and, with the same sweeping gesture, holstered -his blaster and pushed his green hood off. It was Sis's turn to jump -when she saw the wild mass of hair rolling down his back. - -"An honor, Miss Sparling," he said in that rumbly voice. "Please come -right in. There's a hurry-up draft." - -So Sis went in and I followed right after her. Mr. Brown closed the -door. I tried to catch his eye so I could give him some kind of hint or -explanation, but he had taken a couple of his big strides and was in -the control section with Sis. She didn't give ground, though; I'll say -that for her. She only came to his chest, but she had her arms crossed -sternly. - -"First, Mr. Brown," she began, like talking to a cluck of a kid in -class, "you realize that you are not only committing the political -crime of traveling without a visa, and the criminal one of stowing away -without paying your fare, but the moral delinquency of consuming stores -intended for the personnel of this ship solely in emergency?" - - * * * * * - -He opened his mouth to its maximum width and raised an enormous hand. -Then he let the air out and dropped his arm. - -"I take it you either have no defense or care to make none," Sis added -caustically. - -Butt laughed slowly and carefully as if he were going over each word. -"Wonder if all the anura talk like that. And _you_ want to foul up -Venus." - -"We haven't done so badly on Earth, after the mess you men made of -politics. It needed a revolution of the mothers before--" - -"Needed nothing. Everyone wanted peace. Earth is a weary old world." - -"It's a world of strong moral fiber compared to yours, Mr. Alberta Lee -Brown." Hearing his rightful name made him move suddenly and tower over -her. Sis said with a certain amount of hurry and change of tone, "What -_do_ you have to say about stowing away and using up lifeboat stores?" - - * * * * * - -He cocked his head and considered a moment. "Look," he said finally, -"I have more than enough munit to pay for round trip tickets, but I -couldn't get a return visa because of that brinosaur judge and all -the charges she hung on me. Had to stow away. Picked the _Eleanor -Roosevelt_ because a couple of the boys in the crew are friends of mine -and they were willing to help. But this lifeboat--don't you know that -every passenger ship carries four times as many lifeboats as it needs? -Not to mention the food I didn't eat because it stuck in my throat?" - -"Yes," she said bitterly. "You had this boy steal fresh fruit for you. -I suppose you didn't know that under space regulations that makes him -equally guilty?" - -"No, Sis, he didn't," I was beginning to argue. "All he wanted--" - -"Sure I knew. Also know that if I'm picked up as a stowaway, I'll be -sent back to Earth to serve out those fancy little sentences." - -"Well, you're guilty of them, aren't you?" - -He waved his hands at her impatiently. "I'm not talking law, female; -I'm talking sense. Listen! I'm in trouble because I went to Earth to -look for a wife. You're standing here right now because you're on your -way to Venus for a husband. So let's." - -Sis actually staggered back. "Let's? Let's _what_? Are--are you daring -to suggest that--that--" - -"Now, Miss Sparling, no hoopla. I'm saying let's get married, and you -know it. You figured out from what the boy told you that I was chewing -on you for a wife. You're healthy and strong, got good heredity, you -know how to operate sub-surface machinery, you've lived underwater, and -your disposition's no worse than most of the anura I've seen. Prolific -stock, too." - -I was so excited I just had to yell: "Gee, Sis, say _yes_!" - - * * * * * - -My sister's voice was steaming with scorn. "And what makes you think -that I'd consider you a desirable husband?" - -He spread his hands genially. "Figure if you wanted a poodle, you're -pretty enough to pick one up on Earth. Figure if you charge off to -Venus, you don't want a poodle, you want a man. I'm one. I own three -islands in the Galertan Archipelago that'll be good oozing mudgrape -land when they're cleared. Not to mention the rich berzeliot beds -offshore. I got no bad habits outside of having my own way. I'm also -passable good-looking for a slaptoe planter. Besides, if you marry -me you'll be the first mated on this ship--and that's a splash most -nesting females like to make." - -There was a longish stretch of quiet. Sis stepped back and measured him -slowly with her eyes; there was a lot to look at. He waited patiently -while she covered the distance from his peculiar green boots to that -head of hair. I was so excited I was gulping instead of breathing. -Imagine having Butt for a brother-in-law and living on a wet-plantation -in Flatfolk country! - -But then I remembered Sis's level head and I didn't have much hope any -more. - -"You know," she began, "there's more to marriage than just--" - -"So there is," he cut in. "Well, we can try each other for taste." And -he pulled her in, both of his great hands practically covering her -slim, straight back. - -Neither of them said anything for a bit after he let go. Butt spoke up -first. - -"Now, me," he said, "I'd vote yes." - -Sis ran the tip of her tongue kind of delicately from side to side -of her mouth. Then she stepped back slowly and looked at him as if -she were figuring out how many feet high he was. She kept on moving -backward, tapping her chin, while Butt and I got more and more -impatient. When she touched the lifeboat door, she pushed it open and -jumped out. - - * * * * * - -Butt ran over and looked down the crossway. After a while, he shut the -door and came back beside me. "Well," he said, swinging to a bunk, -"that's sort of it." - -"You're better off, Butt," I burst out. "You shouldn't have a woman -like Sis for a wife. She looks small and helpless, but don't forget -she was trained to run an underwater city!" - -"Wasn't worrying about that," he grinned. "_I_ grew up in the fifteen -long years of the Blue Chicago Rising. Nope." He turned over on his -back and clicked his teeth at the ceiling. "Think we'd have nested out -nicely." - -I hitched myself up to him and we sat on the bunk, glooming away at -each other. Then we heard the tramp of feet in the crossway. - -Butt swung down and headed for the control compartment in the -nose of the lifeboat. He had his blaster out and was cursing very -interestingly. I started after him, but he picked me up by the seat -of my jumper and tossed me toward the door. The Captain came in and -tripped over me. - -I got all tangled up in his gold braid and million-mile space buttons. -When we finally got to our feet and sorted out right, he was breathing -very hard. The Captain was a round little man with a plump, golden face -and a very scared look on it. He _humphed_ at me, just the way Sis -does, and lifted me by the scruff of my neck. The Chief Mate picked me -up and passed me to the Second Assistant Engineer. - -Sis was there, being held by the purser on one side and the Chief -Computer's Mate on the other. Behind them, I could see a flock of -wide-eyed female passengers. - -"You cowards!" Sis was raging. "Letting your Captain face a dangerous -outlaw all by himself!" - -"I dunno, Miss Sparling," the Computer's Mate said, scratching the -miniature slide-rule insignia on his visor with his free hand. "The Old -Man would've been willing to let it go with a log entry, figuring the -spaceport paddlefeet could pry out the stowaway when we landed. But you -had to quote the Mother Anita Law at him, and he's in there doing his -duty. He figures the rest of us are family men, too, and there's no -sense making orphans." - -"You promised, Sis," I told her through my teeth. "You promised you -wouldn't get Butt into trouble!" - -She tossed her spiral curls at me and ground a heel into the purser's -instep. He screwed up his face and howled, but he didn't let go of her -arm. - -"_Shush_, Ferdinand, this is serious!" - -It was. I heard the Captain say, "I'm not carrying a weapon, Brown." - -"Then _get_ one," Butt's low, lazy voice floated out. - -"No, thanks. You're as handy with that thing as I am with a -rocketboard." The Captain's words got a little fainter as he walked -forward. Butt growled like a gusher about to blow. - -"I'm counting on your being a good guy, Brown." The Captain's -voice quavered just a bit. "I'm banking on what I heard about the -blast-happy Browns every time I lifted gravs in New Kalamazoo; they -have a code, they don't burn unarmed men." - - * * * * * - -Just about this time, events in the lifeboat went down to a mumble. The -top of my head got wet and I looked up. There was sweat rolling down -the Second Assistant's forehead; it converged at his nose and bounced -off the tip in a sizable stream. I twisted out of the way. - -"What's happening?" Sis gritted, straining toward the lock. - -"Butt's trying to decide whether he wants him fried or scrambled," the -Computer's Mate said, pulling her back. "Hey, purse, remember when the -whole family with their pop at the head went into Heatwave to argue -with Colonel Leclerc?" - -"Eleven dead, sixty-four injured," the purser answered mechanically. -"And no more army stationed south of Icebox." His right ear twitched -irritably. "But what're they saying?" - -Suddenly we heard. "By authority vested in me under the Pomona College -Treaty," the Captain was saying very loudly, "I arrest you for -violation of Articles Sixteen to Twenty-one inclusive of the Space -Transport Code, and order your person and belongings impounded for -the duration of this voyage as set forth in Sections Forty-one and -Forty-five--" - -"Forty-three and Forty-five," Sis groaned. "Sections Forty-three and -Forty-five, I told him. I even made him repeat it after me!" - -"--of the Mother Anita Law, SC 2136, Emergency Interplanetary -Directives." - - * * * * * - -We all waited breathlessly for Butt's reply. The seconds ambled on and -there was no clatter of electrostatic discharge, no smell of burning -flesh. - -Then we heard some feet walking. A big man in a green suit swung out -into the crossway. That was Butt. Behind him came the Captain, holding -the blaster gingerly with both hands. Butt had a funny, thoughtful look -on his face. - -The girls surged forward when they saw him, scattering the crew to one -side. They were like a school of sharks that had just caught sight of a -dying whale. - -"M-m-m-m! Are all Venusians built like that?" - -"Men like that are worth the mileage!" - -"_I want him!" "I want him!" "I want him!_" - -Sis had been let go. She grabbed my free hand and pulled me away. She -was trying to look only annoyed, but her eyes had bright little bubbles -of fury popping in them. - -"The cheap extroverts! And they call themselves responsible women!" - -I was angry, too. And I let her know, once we were in our cabin. -"What about that promise, Sis? You said you wouldn't turn him in. You -_promised_!" - -She stopped walking around the room as if she had been expecting to get -to Venus on foot. "I know I did, Ferdinand, but he forced me." - -"My name is Ford and I don't understand." - -"Your name is Ferdinand and stop trying to act forcefully like a girl. -It doesn't become you. In just a few days, you'll forget all this and -be your simple, carefree self again. I really truly meant to keep my -word. From what you'd told me, Mr. Brown seemed to be a fundamentally -decent chap despite his barbaric notions on equality between the -sexes--or worse. I was positive I could shame him into a more rational -social behavior and make him give himself up. Then he--he--" - -She pressed her fingernails into her palms and let out a long, glaring -sigh at the door. "Then he kissed me! Oh, it was a good enough -kiss--Mr. Brown has evidently had a varied and colorful background--but -the galling idiocy of the man, trying that! I was just getting over the -colossal impudence involved in _his_ proposing marriage--as if _he_ had -to bear the children!--and was considering the offer seriously, on its -merits, as one should consider _all_ suggestions, when he deliberately -dropped the pretense of reason. He appealed to me as most of the savage -ancients appealed to their women, as an emotional machine. Throw the -correct sexual switches, says this theory, and the female surrenders -herself ecstatically to the doubtful and bloody murk of masculine -plans." - - * * * * * - -There was a double knock on the door and the Captain walked in without -waiting for an invitation. He was still holding Butt's blaster. He -pointed it at me. "Get your hands up, Ferdinand Sparling," he said. - -I did. - -"I hereby order your detention for the duration of this voyage, for -aiding and abetting a stowaway, as set forth in Sections Forty-one and -Forty-five--" - -"Forty-three and Forty-five," Sis interrupted him, her eyes getting -larger and rounder. "But you gave me your word of honor that no charges -would be lodged against the boy!" - -"Forty-one and Forty-five," he corrected her courteously, still staring -fiercely at me. "I looked it up. Of the Anita Mason Law, Emergency -Interplanetary Directives. That was the usual promise one makes to an -informer, but I made it before I knew it was Butt Lee Brown you were -talking about. I didn't want to arrest Butt Lee Brown. You forced -me. So I'm breaking my promise to you, just as, I understand, you -broke your promise to your brother. They'll both be picked up at New -Kalamazoo Spaceport and sent Terraward for trial." - -"But I used all of our money to buy passage," Sis wailed. - -"And now you'll have to return with the boy. I'm sorry, Miss Sparling. -But as you explained to me, a man who has been honored with an -important official position should stay close to the letter of the law -for the sake of other men who are trying to break down terrestrial -anti-male prejudice. Of course, there's a way out." - -"There is? Tell me, please!" - -"Can I lower my hands a minute?" I asked. - -"No, you can't, son--not according to the armed surveillance provisions -of the Mother Anita Law. Miss Sparling, if you'd marry Brown--now, -now, don't look at me like that!--we could let the whole matter drop. -A shipboard wedding and he goes on your passport as a 'dependent male -member of family,' which means, so far as the law is concerned, that he -had a regulation passport from the beginning of this voyage. And once -we touch Venusian soil he can contact his bank and pay for passage. On -the record, no crime was ever committed. He's free, the boy's free, and -you--" - -"--Are married to an uncombed desperado who doesn't know enough to sit -back and let a woman run things. Oh, you should be ashamed!" - - * * * * * - -The Captain shrugged and spread his arms wide. - -"Perhaps I should be, but that's what comes of putting men into -responsible positions, as you would say. See here, Miss Sparling, _I_ -didn't want to arrest Brown, and, if it's at all possible, I'd still -prefer not to. The crew, officers and men, all go along with me. We -may be legal residents of Earth, but our work requires us to be on -Venus several times a year. We don't want to be disliked by any members -of the highly irritable Brown clan or its collateral branches. Butt -Lee Brown himself, for all of his savage appearance in your civilized -eyes, is a man of much influence on the Polar Continent. In his own -bailiwick, the Galertan Archipelago, he makes, breaks and occasionally -readjusts officials. Then there's his brother Saskatchewan who -considers Butt a helpless, put-upon youngster--" - -"Much influence, you say? Mr. Brown has?" Sis was suddenly thoughtful. - -"_Power_, actually. The kind a strong man usually wields in a newly -settled community. Besides, Miss Sparling, you're going to Venus for a -husband because the male-female ratio on Earth is reversed. Well, not -only is Butt Lee Brown a first class catch, but you can't afford to be -too particular in any case. While you're fairly pretty, you won't bring -any wealth into a marriage and your high degree of opinionation is not -likely to be well-received on a backward, masculinist world. Then, too, -the woman-hunger is not so great any more, what with the _Marie Curie_ -and the _Fatima_ having already deposited their cargoes, the _Mme. Sun -Yat Sen_ due to arrive next month...." - - * * * * * - -Sis nodded to herself, waved the door open, and walked out. - -"Let's hope," the Captain said. "Like any father used to say, a man who -knows how to handle women, how to get around them without their knowing -it, doesn't need to know anything else in this life. I'm plain wasted -in space. You can lower your hands now, son." - -We sat down and I explained the blaster to him. He was very interested. -He said all Butt had told him--in the lifeboat when they decided to -use my arrest as a club over Sis--was to keep the safety catch all the -way up against his thumb. I could see he really had been excited about -carrying a lethal weapon around. He told me that back in the old days, -captains--sea captains, that is--actually had the right to keep guns -in their cabins all the time to put down mutinies and other things our -ancestors did. - -The telewall flickered, and we turned it on. Sis smiled down. -"Everything's all right, Captain. Come up and marry us, please." - -"What did you stick him for?" he asked. "What was the price?" - -Sis's full lips went thin and hard, the way Mom's used to. Then she -thought better of it and laughed. "Mr. Brown is going to see that I'm -elected sheriff of the Galertan Archipelago." - -"And I thought she'd settle for a county clerkship!" the Captain -muttered as we spun up to the brig. - -The doors were open and girls were chattering in every corner. Sis came -up to the Captain to discuss arrangements. I slipped away and found -Butt sitting with folded arms in a corner of the brig. He grinned at -me. "Hi, tadpole. Like the splash?" - -I shook my head unhappily. "Butt, why did you do it? I'd sure love to -be your brother-in-law, but, gosh, you didn't have to marry Sis." I -pointed at some of the bustling females. Sis was going to have three -hundred bridesmaids. "Any one of them would have jumped at the chance -to be your wife. And once on any woman's passport, you'd be free. Why -Sis?" - -"That's what the Captain said in the lifeboat. Told him same thing I'm -telling you. I'm stubborn. What I like at first, I keep on liking. What -I want at first, I keep on wanting until I get." - -"Yes, but making Sis sheriff! And you'll have to back her up with your -blaster. What'll happen to that man's world?" - -"Wait'll after we nest and go out to my islands." He produced a -hard-lipped, smug grin, sighting it at Sis's slender back. "She'll -find herself sheriff over a bunch of natives and exactly two Earth -males--you and me. I got a hunch that'll keep her pretty busy, though." - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Venus is a Man's World, by William Tenn - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VENUS IS A MAN'S WORLD *** - -***** This file should be named 51150.txt or 51150.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/1/5/51150/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org - - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/51150.zip b/old/51150.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 776dbde..0000000 --- a/old/51150.zip +++ /dev/null |
