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+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #63687 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63687)
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Geisha Memory, by Winston Marks
-
-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
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this ebook.
-
-Title: The Geisha Memory
-
-Author: Winston Marks
-
-Release Date: November 08, 2020 [EBook #63687]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed
- Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GEISHA MEMORY ***
-
-
-
-
- With a song in their hearts the
- celibates of Mars gaily relived--
-
- THE GEISHA MEMORY
-
- By WINSTON MARKS
-
- [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
- Planet Stories Fall 1954.
- Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
- the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
-
-
-Peter Duncan lay strapped, drugged and supine on one of the eighty
-narrow bucket-couches on the passenger deck and was miserably,
-continuously sick. It was not a nice steady nausea that a man could
-adjust to. Nor even a rhythmic vertigo like one suffered from an
-ocean liner wallowing in ground swells. It was a shifting, sliding
-instability in three dimensions, as the Mars-bound vessel responded to
-automatic radar controls.
-
-The concept of interplanetary space being empty was long since
-an exploded myth Duncan was reminded as the space ship veered,
-accelerated, decelerated and corrected course to avoid collision with
-meteorites approaching from thousands of miles away.
-
-That seventy-nine other passengers and the whole crew were suffering
-as much as he, was little comfort. They, at least, had a substantial
-reason for being here. Aside from the money, in which Duncan, too,
-shared, these others were vital players in an enormous game, supplying
-energy-starved earth with fissionable materials from the inexhaustible
-mines of Mars.
-
-The single ship was the only link between the two planets, and it
-represented earth's greatest extravagance in history. The passengers,
-replacements for eighty mine workers who had served their four years
-and 100 days contract time, provided the essential manpower. For
-them it was important work and brought them not only the $100,000
-contract fee, but also membership in the highly honored and exclusive
-fellowship of the Mars Society. Back on earth they were assured a
-life-long position of fame and wealth. To facilitate the recruiting of
-future crews, public relations man, Peter Duncan, was to see to it that
-romance and glamour surrounded the Mars Society with honor bright and a
-yard wide.
-
-And it wasn't easy. The rigors of the round trip, alone, were no
-secret on earth. After thirty years operation, most visions of romance
-in space flight had been dissipated by the grim details of the
-stomach-wrenching journey.
-
-Duncan was new to the job. And too young for the job, he had thought.
-But now the joker was apparent. Senior publicity men in the employ of
-General Fission enjoyed the high pay and conventional public relations
-work with their feet comfortably secure on earth. But G.F. needed a
-25-year-old for this assignment that broke all precedents. Experience
-came only with age. And age was the disqualifier for space ship travel.
-It was not his Phi Beta Kappa key his employers admired, but his
-youthful circulatory system, his sturdy, compact skeletal structure and
-above all his emotional stability quotient.
-
-And the world-shaking assignment for this proud package of manhood was
-to track down the meaning and implications of a song. A song that had
-seeped out of the bistros and night clubs of earth, a song that could
-have no other origin than returned space miners. There were endless
-verses to it, but the last lines were always similar. Several stanzas
-ran through Duncan's brain to the tune of the ancient patriotic ballad,
-_America The Beautiful_.
-
- Farewell to Mars
- And frigid stars
- That light the rusty sands!
- My one regret:
- I'll not forget
- Those ever-loving hands.
-
- My stint is done,
- My fortune's won.
- Break out the earthling bands!
- I'm glad to go,
- But yet I know
- I'll miss those loving hands.
-
- To breathe again
- Like other men
- And aereate my glands--
- For this, farewell
- To all that's hell--
- Except those loving hands.
-
- * * * * *
-
-"We want to know," Duncan had been told, "what the devil is going on
-out there!"
-
-"Why not cross-examine the returned miners?" Duncan had asked.
-The answer was simple. They wouldn't talk. There appeared to be a
-conspiracy to keep secret the significance of the song's suggestive
-last lines.
-
-Never had a taint of immorality touched the Mars operation. When the
-first party of young women were included in the crew ten years ago,
-eyebrows had been raised. But subsequent returnees had given no cause
-for the slightest whisper of impropriety.
-
-They couldn't afford to.
-
-The rules were hard and uncompromising. On Mars, no female member of
-the company was allowed to associate with any male except in working
-hours and within the strictest limitations of her official duty.
-Twenty women and one hundred forty men lived in complete segregation.
-Violation of this rule imposed a $10,000 fine on each of the violators.
-
-When Duncan had asked the obvious question he learned the fantastic
-truth: In spite of General Fission's world-wide recruiting campaign,
-they couldn't fill their quota of 80 men for the half shift change
-every other year. After the physical examinations reduced the thousands
-of applicants to a few hundred, the emotional tests took their toll. Of
-the remainder, 10 berths always remained open--the housekeeping, supply
-and medical care jobs went begging. Women were the only answer.
-
-It was not difficult to recruit suitable female candidates for the
-20 berths. The complications came with the problem of a mixed crew
-in isolation for over four years. Marriages would be inevitable if
-allowed. But in Mars' reduced atmospheric pressure pregnancy would be
-fatal to mother and child. Hence, the segregation rule.
-
-Until the song reached Earth, all had gone well. Young people
-selected for their emotional stability seemed able to withstand the
-terrible loneliness. But now--the song. And the whisperings that were
-threatening to disrupt the whole recruiting campaign. These young
-people were subject to the influences of their parents, churches and
-sweethearts. Even this tenuous wisp of smoke might indicate fire. And
-if the verses of the song became one shade more ribald, G.F. would
-whistle for qualified applicants. A wide open scandal could wreck the
-whole enlistment program.
-
-Back on earth the problem had presented Duncan with a provocative
-challenge. Now, 20 days out, with 42 days travel ahead, his thoughts
-were wrapping into a tight spiral of resentment. His imagination had
-run the gamut of every possible situation he might find, each more
-lurid and revolting than the last. He cursed man's lustful nature that
-made this whole mission necessary, and in particular he blamed the Mars
-colony for the physical discomfort he was being forced to endure. What
-kind of medal might they award him for spying on a herd of billy-goats
-and weak-willed nannies?
-
-A buzzer vibrated under his arm. It was his turn for exercise. Wearily
-he unfastened the webbing that strapped him to the g-couch and hauled
-his way forward to the tiny physical therapy chamber. They were in
-so-called free flight, but the lurches required that he hold fast to
-the padded rail and move hand-over-hand.
-
-There would be the tension exercises, then a "shower" with a damp
-towel. Then meal time. He made a face at the thought. So far he had
-been able to eat fewer than a dozen meals orally. His arms already
-were becoming freckled with scars from the intravenous feedings and
-anti-vertigo injections.
-
- * * * * *
-
-To his considerable surprise he was able to step through the air-lock
-and descend the steep, cleated ramp to the surface of Mars under his
-own power. The setting sun was a tiny, hot eye burning across the
-reddish orange plains. A light breeze refreshed his face after the rank
-humidity of the space ship. But the mask through which he breathed and
-the oxygen bottle on his back reminded him it was an unfriendly wind,
-the movement of a thin ocean of nitrogen in which a man could drown
-within minutes. He sucked gratefully at the low-pressure oxygen, and in
-silence shuffled after their guide.
-
-Gravity was only a third of earth's. After weeks of free-fall and the
-last hours of heavy deceleration, the replacements stumbled drunkenly
-seeking their land legs. A half mile from the ship the lights of
-the mine and lesser glow from the settlement alongside guided their
-course. As they neared the village he could make out a sprawl of
-squat, box-like buildings of a dull, silvery finish. They were the
-thin-walled, magnesium alloy structures in which Duncan would sleep,
-eat and spy until the next ship-landing.
-
-Behind him the holds were gasping open and beginning to disgorge the
-massive supply cargo that must keep 160 souls alive for 780 terrestrial
-days. Fragile appearing trucks rumbled out and passed the group. A pair
-of spindly cranes that could barely have supported their own weight on
-earth, jounced behind tiny jeep-like tow-cars.
-
-Now the sun was below distant low hills. Duncan noted the suddenness
-of the sunset, and as he looked, Phobos, the nearer moon rose out of
-the west, a huge crescent like the stage moons on earth. Only 3700
-miles from Mars' surface, it would race overhead in the space of
-minutes. Even in the dark, its progress could be followed by the disk
-of blackness against the stars. Now the crescent lay horizontal and
-narrow, but even as he watched, the sliver fattened and separated
-itself from the low mountain range.
-
-The new group was waved into the largest building, through a double
-entrance of curtains. Inside was air. Everyone was removing his mask.
-Evidently this was the recreation room. A small stage at one end held a
-man and ten women.
-
-When they were all seated in the rows of chairs, the man on the rostrum
-arose and spoke. "Fellow PhD's and fatheads, may I welcome you to
-your new home for the next," he looked at his wrist watch, "781 days,
-six hours and 18 minutes." He was short, blond, powerfully built and
-pleasant of face. A rather pale, symmetrical blotch of skin containing
-his mouth, nose and part of each cheek, was outlined by his heavily
-sunburned complexion. That would be the shadow of his oxygen mask,
-Duncan surmised. "My name is Lee Bowen, your newly elected spokesman,"
-he went on. "My chief qualification is the biggest mouth and the
-loudest voice on Mars. Before you leave you will have two elections
-in which to vote, but until the next ship comes you'll have to put up
-with me. And the girls here." He waved forward one of the slack-suited
-females. Like the others she looked intelligent, but her closely
-cropped brown hair and loose-fitting clothes almost concealed her sex.
-Her face was pretty but seemed pale without make-up. "Discretion is the
-better part of pallor," Duncan punned to himself.
-
-"Dr. Martha Rice is spokesman for the ladies." Bowen bowed briefly and
-stepped back.
-
-The girl smiled and looked them over thoughtfully. "We have problems
-here. I would like to emphasize a couple of them. Please don't
-cut yourself, shaving or working. The slightest wound in our low
-atmospheric pressure requires a compress bandage. They are nuisances. A
-modestly deep gash can cost you your life."
-
-She paused and studied them some more. "And so I hope you are all
-careful or at least thick-skinned. For another reason, too. Our second
-problem here is the high price of love." The nine girls behind her
-laughed as she looked back at them, but her face became serious.
-
-"You were led to believe that a kiss would cost you only $10,000.00.
-Well, you were misled. The price is $20,000, and the market is wide
-open. Any one of us will accommodate you, but you'll have to pay our
-fine as well as your own."
-
-Duncan gasped at her first words, then, as they sank in, he smiled.
-Morale, good. Morals, even better if this wasn't just an act. Applause
-was enthusiastic, but there were no whistles.
-
-Bowen came up again as the girl sat down. "Remember that, gentlemen.
-You came up here to earn a tenth of a million dollars. Believe me,
-you'll earn it. But don't kiss it away. It's only worth five kisses up
-here, and these girls will put you on report if you lay a finger on
-them. If they don't, _they_ go on report."
-
- * * * * *
-
-The first two days were spent unloading supply cargo and stowing
-it. The out-going passengers took care of loading the stockpile of
-concentrated minerals, so Duncan had no chance to talk with them. On
-the third morning the ship was launched. The bustle of activity died,
-and Duncan moved into the smooth mining routine like the polished cog
-that he was.
-
-Personnel training was done on earth. All were preassigned to their
-tasks, so the old crews had only to point. The mining operations went
-on as if no replacements had been made. The men's work was roughly
-divided into outside and inside work. Duncan's inside specialty was
-feeding samples to a spectrograph and assisting the nuclear chemist
-in charge of the lab. On alternate days he took his turn in the field
-tending excavating equipment.
-
-Since the mine was located near the equator, this alternation of the
-whole crew was necessary to reduce exposure to the miniature sun that
-provided so little useful heat, yet whose ultra-violet pierced the
-cloudless, thin atmosphere with vicious intensity.
-
-No one went hungry, but as the weeks passed the seeming variety of
-food rations disappeared. The monotony of dehydrated vegetables and
-meats palled. But worst was the silence. For ten hours each day almost
-no communication passed among the workers. All breathable oxygen
-had to be extracted from the oxides of minerals, and the by-product
-oxygen from the mining operation was barely enough to supply the total
-demands of their masks. So even the inside working areas were left to
-Mars' unbreathable gases, and masks could be removed only in off-duty
-quarters.
-
-Chief occupations in off-hours were games of chess, reading, writing
-and activities that used a minimum of conversation. No one felt like
-talking much after a full shift of sucking hard at oxygen to keep up
-with his body's demand. Although the lessened gravity appeared to make
-all physical labor easy, Duncan could never remember such complete
-fatigue at the end of a working day. He ate, worked, played chess and
-slept 10 hours a day.
-
-The women replacements had disappeared into their compound and
-were seen no more. He wondered at the type of indoctrination they
-were getting. Did it include an item concerning the use of _loving
-hands_? Strangely, the men made no reference to the women, and he was
-reluctant to draw attention by broaching the subject.
-
-The living quarters, mess-hall and recreation spaces were grouped
-intimately, but placed in such a manner that windows and entries
-allowed no casual glimpses of the women from the men's areas. Complete
-security in the matter of segregation appeared to be guaranteed on the
-honor system alone. All 140 men slept in one long bunk-room, all 20
-women in another.
-
-Intelligent men are not easily bored, but Peter Duncan discovered a
-certain restlessness developing among the new men during the fourth
-month. There was a tendency to break off in the middle of a chess game,
-or to speak tersely. Duncan ascribed this to a phase of adjustment,
-because the second term crew seemed better tempered.
-
-Then it began to bother _him_. He found himself developing an
-unreasoning impatience. He began using profanity at slight annoyances.
-The stiff soreness of chest, neck and back muscles became chronic, and
-he began laying awake listening to his own rapid breathing, begrudging
-every inhalation of his overworked lungs. The devil with expense! Why
-didn't they at least pressurize the sleeping quarters so a man could
-get some decent rest?
-
-He recognized the symptoms of increasing irritability in himself as it
-distracted him even during his work. But he couldn't put his finger on
-the cause. It grew worse. During the twelfth month he reached a stage
-of exasperation that almost cost him his life.
-
-He was tightening a bolt on one of the spindles. The second time his
-wrench slipped off the nut he squared away and threw the spanner at
-the horizon. Too late he saw his crew-mate, geologist Magnus Porter.
-Horrified he watched the wrench arc three times as far as it would have
-on earth, and strike Porter in the face. He went down.
-
-When Duncan reached him the scientist's face was gushing blood, and his
-smashed mask hissed its charge into the sterile air. Fortunately, they
-were on the camp side of the pits, only two hundred yards from sickbay.
-Porter weighed no more than a blanket roll, and the odds seemed good at
-first. But before Duncan had bounded half the distance his lungs pumped
-to the bursting point. His vision dimmed, and his legs faltered. He
-tore off his mask, pressed it to Porter's face, gulped a chest full of
-dead air and screamed for help.
-
- * * * * *
-
-Red streaks of pain tore through his head, down his neck muscles and
-into his chest. The slightest breathing movements racked his lungs,
-but, incredibly, they sucked in rich, sweet oxygen, heavy and dense.
-
-He knew he must be in a compression tank. The whispering pump and
-muffled sound of voices outside were evidence enough, although he
-couldn't open his eyes.
-
-The mists cleared quickly now, and the voices formed words. He
-recognized Martha Rice's voice. "--anoxia. I can't determine how
-severe. Have to wait and see. He may be all right when he gets over the
-headache. Then again there may be permanent brain damage."
-
-Duncan hurt too much to care. He passed out again. When he regained
-consciousness he realized the pressure was reduced, for his lungs were
-pumping hard again. Then the coffin clanked apart, the sides dropped
-and he was trying to focus on the ring of female faces that surrounded
-him.
-
-"Hiya, Mister?" Martha's face settled down to a recognizable fuzz-ball.
-
-His head was clear now, but his throat was too tight to consider
-speaking. He stared back blankly. The physician shook her head,
-misunderstanding his failure to respond. A nurse rigged an intravenous
-bottle, and they left him to his thoughts. He slept again, restlessly
-this time. He dreamed of the accident, the wrench floating with
-terrible slowness toward Porter. Abruptly, he was back on earth. His
-mother was rubbing his neck and shoulders. Her hands were soft and
-reassuring. They kneaded down over his pectoral muscles and massaged
-his whole chest. But how did his mother know his chest hurt. You don't
-hurt your chest playing tennis. But this chest did hurt, and the firm,
-supple hands brought it warmth and life. His mother understood--
-
-His eyes flipped open, and he stared into the inverted face of a nurse,
-stubby blonde curls bobbing crazily as her body swayed over him. "He's
-up," she said aloud.
-
-Dr. Martha Rice moved into view. "I'll take over. Save yourself for
-tonight, Muriel. It's getting rougher."
-
-The physician's hands replaced the nurse's, but the gentle, rhythmic
-touch was the same. Duncan relaxed in an orgy of tactile ecstasy.
-
-"You are Peter Duncan. Do you understand?" she asked. He blinked, and
-she took that for affirmation. "In fact," she continued, "you are now
-Hero Peter Duncan."
-
-This didn't register right. Hero? They must have saved Porter's life,
-but they didn't realize how it happened. And now she was misconstruing
-his puzzled expression. "I am Dr. Martha Rice. Remember me?"
-
-All Duncan could think of now was the hands. _Loving hands._ What was
-the right answer? If he answered wrong the hands would stop. He closed
-his eyes. _Loving hands._ He remembered his mission.
-
-How could he have better arranged it? This was ideal. By feigning slow
-recovery he could--
-
-The hands stopped. A finger peeled back an eyelid. "You are awake. Come
-to, mister!"
-
-Duncan opened the other eye and stared at her and let his lips part.
-"Thuh!" he grunted.
-
- * * * * *
-
-It was night. Duncan was detached from the intravenous needle and tube,
-and a small compress bandage covered the throbbing vein where his blood
-had boiled out when the needle was withdrawn. He had decided to reveal
-enough recovery to take oral nourishment.
-
-The wall chronometer, adjusted to the slightly longer Mars' day, read
-2300, an hour before midnight. He was alone. It should have been quiet,
-but several times heavy footsteps had passed down the hall near his
-tiny room. The sick bay was attached to the women's quarters.
-
-Distinctly he heard an outside door open and the clump of safety boots
-passed his room. Slipping off the high bed he opened his door and
-looked into the hall. It was a man. Even in the dim light there was no
-mistaking the broad physique.
-
-Duncan whipped a sheet around his nude body and followed a few yards
-to where the visitor had disappeared through a curtained arch. Before
-the curtains stopped swaying he saw the outlines of cots within. It was
-the women's sleeping room! His stomach turned cold.
-
-So the legend of the song was based on fact. And his trip out here was
-justified after all. And what now, after he had uncovered the mess with
-his own eyes?
-
-He approached the curtains uncertainly. A sob from within startled him.
-It was a man's cry. A girl's voice said something softly reassuring,
-and all was still again.
-
-Duncan lurched through the arch and stood rooted. The denunciation died
-in his throat. Twenty single bunks were spaced around the walls. Each
-was occupied, but only three girls were asleep. The rest were sitting
-on the edge with their feet on the floor. At each girl's feet with his
-back resting against her legs was a member of the male company. The
-pale light of Deimos, Mars' second moon, shone through the overhead
-panes to reveal the secret of the loving hands.
-
-Duncan watched seventeen pairs of arms encircling the necks of as many
-men, hands reaching down under loose jackets to massage aching chests
-and rising to knead gently on tired shoulder muscles. Fingers strayed
-tenderly over masculine foreheads and necks with unmistakable caressing
-motions.
-
-The prone figure near him stirred, and a sleepy face looked up at him.
-"Oh, my gosh, it's Duncan!" she said. It was Martha Rice. She slipped
-from the blankets and drew him over to her bunk. "Sit down," she
-invited.
-
-Stunned, Duncan lowered himself to the edge of the bed. "No, not there!
-Down, boy! On the deck," she pointed. "The fellows would get the wrong
-idea, patient or no patient."
-
-Duncan complied, leaning against her warm legs as the others were
-doing. She sighed, yawned audibly, and began the massaging routine.
-With the touch of her hands the confusion left Duncan's tortured mind.
-Propaganda, morality arguments, missions into space and the importance
-of $10,000 fines disappeared. This was real. A woman's heart reaching
-out through her hands to comfort her man. It was physical, but it
-transcended the physical. It justified the rigid segregation rules even
-as it glorified them and violated them.
-
-The need of man for woman was too great for any barrier. And no woman
-could refuse giving of herself when the need was desperate enough.
-
-Three more men came through the curtains.
-
-Two found girls, but the third stood hesitantly. A girl on the next
-bunk from Duncan and Martha, rubbed her man's head briskly and said
-quietly, "Good night, mister. Got another customer. See you soon." She
-waved in the new man as the other heaved reluctantly to his feet. "Good
-night, honey," he said simply and left.
-
-Men stepped over Duncan's legs coming and going, without remark,
-without greeting.
-
-Almost no conversation took place. A whispered good night or a soft
-word of comfort, and then minutes of silence except for the rustle of
-deep sighing breathing.
-
-Then Martha's hands stopped. She pulled him to his feet and led him
-toward the arch. Instantly several girls' heads turned toward them.
-"Want help, Doctor?" one asked almost sharply.
-
-"No thanks, Claire. This boy's sick."
-
-She led him back to his room. He turned his back to the bed as though
-to sit down, but instead he moved to her. She slid into his arms as
-though it were rehearsed, and he crushed her close to him. Through
-their light garments he felt her body strain for a brief moment then
-completely relax. She peeled away from his lips.
-
-"Mister, that will cost you just $10,000. You're on report!"
-
-The shock of her voice was a cold plunge back to another reality.
-Duncan's hands fell to his sides and he sat down heavily, head bowed.
-Martha lifted his legs, untwined the sheet and tucked in the blankets.
-Suddenly she dropped to him and pressed her face to his. "You poor
-devil! You poor, poor, devil!" Her tears rolled down to his face, and
-she cried unrestrainedly for more than a minute. Duncan kept his hands
-at his sides, and it was his greatest triumph of self-control.
-
- * * * * *
-
-He gave himself two days to affect recovery. On the second morning he
-called for Dr. Martha Rice. She came in alone, her darkly handsome face
-inscrutable. "You are better, I hear. For exactly how long have you
-been feeling better?"
-
-Duncan smiled. "Long enough to want to get out of here. How is Magnus
-Porter?"
-
-"He left an hour ago. He'll wear a bandage for a week, but your mask
-saved him from anything serious. That was quite a gesture, my boy. As I
-mentioned the other night, you are on report--"
-
-Duncan winced.
-
-"--for a citation for heroism beyond the call of duty."
-
-"You're quite a girl, yourself," Duncan said. "Where are my pants? I
-have some ore to get out before the next ship. We mustn't return short
-of cargo, must we?"
-
-"What do you mean, _we_? You have a term and a half to complete," she
-said.
-
-"I'm here on a special assignment, and we'll be going out together on
-the next ship."
-
-"I will, but you--you! What kind of special assignment?"
-
-"Some fuddy-duds down sunward had some foolish ideas about reducing
-the crew out here by some twenty persons. You know, trying to save
-money. I'm to report upon your dispensability. I will be pleased to
-report that the women's contingent is completely and magnificently
-indispensable to General Fission. Which reminds me, will you have
-dinner with me when we get home?"
-
-Martha was somewhat paler. She leaned against the door. "And _I_ put
-_you_ on report!"
-
-"Answer my question, girl, and hand me my pants."
-
-"Your question? Oh. Yes. Yes, of course, I'll have dinner with you.
-Here are your pants."
-
-"And breakfast and lunch?"
-
-"Is this a proposal?"
-
-"Proposals on Mars violate our contract. So do propositions, so let's
-just call it a date."
-
-"Date?" Martha fondled the word that sounded so alien and lovely. She
-smiled. "All right, Peter, it's a date."
-
-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GEISHA MEMORY ***
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- <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 The Geisha Memory, by Winston Marks.
- </title>
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-hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;}
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-.center {text-align: center;}
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-.right {text-align: right;}
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-/* Images */
-.figcenter {
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-<body>
-<pre style='margin-bottom:6em;'>The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Geisha Memory, by Winston Marks
-
-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
-will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before
-using this ebook.
-
-Title: The Geisha Memory
-
-Author: Winston Marks
-
-Release Date: November 08, 2020 [EBook #63687]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed
- Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
-
-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GEISHA MEMORY ***
-</pre>
-<div class="figcenter">
- <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<div class="titlepage">
-
-<p><i>With a song in their hearts the<br />
-celibates of Mars gaily relived&mdash;</i></p>
-
-<h1>THE GEISHA MEMORY</h1>
-
-<h2>By WINSTON MARKS</h2>
-
-<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br />
-Planet Stories Fall 1954.<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>Peter Duncan lay strapped, drugged and supine on one of the eighty
-narrow bucket-couches on the passenger deck and was miserably,
-continuously sick. It was not a nice steady nausea that a man could
-adjust to. Nor even a rhythmic vertigo like one suffered from an
-ocean liner wallowing in ground swells. It was a shifting, sliding
-instability in three dimensions, as the Mars-bound vessel responded to
-automatic radar controls.</p>
-
-<p>The concept of interplanetary space being empty was long since
-an exploded myth Duncan was reminded as the space ship veered,
-accelerated, decelerated and corrected course to avoid collision with
-meteorites approaching from thousands of miles away.</p>
-
-<p>That seventy-nine other passengers and the whole crew were suffering
-as much as he, was little comfort. They, at least, had a substantial
-reason for being here. Aside from the money, in which Duncan, too,
-shared, these others were vital players in an enormous game, supplying
-energy-starved earth with fissionable materials from the inexhaustible
-mines of Mars.</p>
-
-<p>The single ship was the only link between the two planets, and it
-represented earth's greatest extravagance in history. The passengers,
-replacements for eighty mine workers who had served their four years
-and 100 days contract time, provided the essential manpower. For
-them it was important work and brought them not only the $100,000
-contract fee, but also membership in the highly honored and exclusive
-fellowship of the Mars Society. Back on earth they were assured a
-life-long position of fame and wealth. To facilitate the recruiting of
-future crews, public relations man, Peter Duncan, was to see to it that
-romance and glamour surrounded the Mars Society with honor bright and a
-yard wide.</p>
-
-<p>And it wasn't easy. The rigors of the round trip, alone, were no
-secret on earth. After thirty years operation, most visions of romance
-in space flight had been dissipated by the grim details of the
-stomach-wrenching journey.</p>
-
-<p>Duncan was new to the job. And too young for the job, he had thought.
-But now the joker was apparent. Senior publicity men in the employ of
-General Fission enjoyed the high pay and conventional public relations
-work with their feet comfortably secure on earth. But G.F. needed a
-25-year-old for this assignment that broke all precedents. Experience
-came only with age. And age was the disqualifier for space ship travel.
-It was not his Phi Beta Kappa key his employers admired, but his
-youthful circulatory system, his sturdy, compact skeletal structure and
-above all his emotional stability quotient.</p>
-
-<p>And the world-shaking assignment for this proud package of manhood was
-to track down the meaning and implications of a song. A song that had
-seeped out of the bistros and night clubs of earth, a song that could
-have no other origin than returned space miners. There were endless
-verses to it, but the last lines were always similar. Several stanzas
-ran through Duncan's brain to the tune of the ancient patriotic ballad,
-<i>America The Beautiful</i>.</p>
-
-<div class="poetry">
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">Farewell to Mars </div>
- <div class="verse">And frigid stars </div>
- <div class="verse">That light the rusty sands! </div>
- <div class="verse">My one regret: </div>
- <div class="verse">I'll not forget </div>
- <div class="verse">Those ever-loving hands. </div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">My stint is done, </div>
- <div class="verse">My fortune's won. </div>
- <div class="verse">Break out the earthling bands! </div>
- <div class="verse">I'm glad to go, </div>
- <div class="verse">But yet I know </div>
- <div class="verse">I'll miss those loving hands. </div>
- </div>
- <div class="stanza">
- <div class="verse">To breathe again </div>
- <div class="verse">Like other men </div>
- <div class="verse">And aereate my glands&mdash; </div>
- <div class="verse">For this, farewell </div>
- <div class="verse">To all that's hell&mdash; </div>
- <div class="verse">Except those loving hands. </div>
- </div>
- </div>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>"We want to know," Duncan had been told, "what the devil is going on
-out there!"</p>
-
-<p>"Why not cross-examine the returned miners?" Duncan had asked.
-The answer was simple. They wouldn't talk. There appeared to be a
-conspiracy to keep secret the significance of the song's suggestive
-last lines.</p>
-
-<p>Never had a taint of immorality touched the Mars operation. When the
-first party of young women were included in the crew ten years ago,
-eyebrows had been raised. But subsequent returnees had given no cause
-for the slightest whisper of impropriety.</p>
-
-<p>They couldn't afford to.</p>
-
-<p>The rules were hard and uncompromising. On Mars, no female member of
-the company was allowed to associate with any male except in working
-hours and within the strictest limitations of her official duty.
-Twenty women and one hundred forty men lived in complete segregation.
-Violation of this rule imposed a $10,000 fine on each of the violators.</p>
-
-<p>When Duncan had asked the obvious question he learned the fantastic
-truth: In spite of General Fission's world-wide recruiting campaign,
-they couldn't fill their quota of 80 men for the half shift change
-every other year. After the physical examinations reduced the thousands
-of applicants to a few hundred, the emotional tests took their toll. Of
-the remainder, 10 berths always remained open&mdash;the housekeeping, supply
-and medical care jobs went begging. Women were the only answer.</p>
-
-<p>It was not difficult to recruit suitable female candidates for the
-20 berths. The complications came with the problem of a mixed crew
-in isolation for over four years. Marriages would be inevitable if
-allowed. But in Mars' reduced atmospheric pressure pregnancy would be
-fatal to mother and child. Hence, the segregation rule.</p>
-
-<p>Until the song reached Earth, all had gone well. Young people
-selected for their emotional stability seemed able to withstand the
-terrible loneliness. But now&mdash;the song. And the whisperings that were
-threatening to disrupt the whole recruiting campaign. These young
-people were subject to the influences of their parents, churches and
-sweethearts. Even this tenuous wisp of smoke might indicate fire. And
-if the verses of the song became one shade more ribald, G.F. would
-whistle for qualified applicants. A wide open scandal could wreck the
-whole enlistment program.</p>
-
-<p>Back on earth the problem had presented Duncan with a provocative
-challenge. Now, 20 days out, with 42 days travel ahead, his thoughts
-were wrapping into a tight spiral of resentment. His imagination had
-run the gamut of every possible situation he might find, each more
-lurid and revolting than the last. He cursed man's lustful nature that
-made this whole mission necessary, and in particular he blamed the Mars
-colony for the physical discomfort he was being forced to endure. What
-kind of medal might they award him for spying on a herd of billy-goats
-and weak-willed nannies?</p>
-
-<p>A buzzer vibrated under his arm. It was his turn for exercise. Wearily
-he unfastened the webbing that strapped him to the g-couch and hauled
-his way forward to the tiny physical therapy chamber. They were in
-so-called free flight, but the lurches required that he hold fast to
-the padded rail and move hand-over-hand.</p>
-
-<p>There would be the tension exercises, then a "shower" with a damp
-towel. Then meal time. He made a face at the thought. So far he had
-been able to eat fewer than a dozen meals orally. His arms already
-were becoming freckled with scars from the intravenous feedings and
-anti-vertigo injections.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>To his considerable surprise he was able to step through the air-lock
-and descend the steep, cleated ramp to the surface of Mars under his
-own power. The setting sun was a tiny, hot eye burning across the
-reddish orange plains. A light breeze refreshed his face after the rank
-humidity of the space ship. But the mask through which he breathed and
-the oxygen bottle on his back reminded him it was an unfriendly wind,
-the movement of a thin ocean of nitrogen in which a man could drown
-within minutes. He sucked gratefully at the low-pressure oxygen, and in
-silence shuffled after their guide.</p>
-
-<p>Gravity was only a third of earth's. After weeks of free-fall and the
-last hours of heavy deceleration, the replacements stumbled drunkenly
-seeking their land legs. A half mile from the ship the lights of
-the mine and lesser glow from the settlement alongside guided their
-course. As they neared the village he could make out a sprawl of
-squat, box-like buildings of a dull, silvery finish. They were the
-thin-walled, magnesium alloy structures in which Duncan would sleep,
-eat and spy until the next ship-landing.</p>
-
-<p>Behind him the holds were gasping open and beginning to disgorge the
-massive supply cargo that must keep 160 souls alive for 780 terrestrial
-days. Fragile appearing trucks rumbled out and passed the group. A pair
-of spindly cranes that could barely have supported their own weight on
-earth, jounced behind tiny jeep-like tow-cars.</p>
-
-<p>Now the sun was below distant low hills. Duncan noted the suddenness
-of the sunset, and as he looked, Phobos, the nearer moon rose out of
-the west, a huge crescent like the stage moons on earth. Only 3700
-miles from Mars' surface, it would race overhead in the space of
-minutes. Even in the dark, its progress could be followed by the disk
-of blackness against the stars. Now the crescent lay horizontal and
-narrow, but even as he watched, the sliver fattened and separated
-itself from the low mountain range.</p>
-
-<p>The new group was waved into the largest building, through a double
-entrance of curtains. Inside was air. Everyone was removing his mask.
-Evidently this was the recreation room. A small stage at one end held a
-man and ten women.</p>
-
-<p>When they were all seated in the rows of chairs, the man on the rostrum
-arose and spoke. "Fellow PhD's and fatheads, may I welcome you to
-your new home for the next," he looked at his wrist watch, "781 days,
-six hours and 18 minutes." He was short, blond, powerfully built and
-pleasant of face. A rather pale, symmetrical blotch of skin containing
-his mouth, nose and part of each cheek, was outlined by his heavily
-sunburned complexion. That would be the shadow of his oxygen mask,
-Duncan surmised. "My name is Lee Bowen, your newly elected spokesman,"
-he went on. "My chief qualification is the biggest mouth and the
-loudest voice on Mars. Before you leave you will have two elections
-in which to vote, but until the next ship comes you'll have to put up
-with me. And the girls here." He waved forward one of the slack-suited
-females. Like the others she looked intelligent, but her closely
-cropped brown hair and loose-fitting clothes almost concealed her sex.
-Her face was pretty but seemed pale without make-up. "Discretion is the
-better part of pallor," Duncan punned to himself.</p>
-
-<p>"Dr. Martha Rice is spokesman for the ladies." Bowen bowed briefly and
-stepped back.</p>
-
-<p>The girl smiled and looked them over thoughtfully. "We have problems
-here. I would like to emphasize a couple of them. Please don't
-cut yourself, shaving or working. The slightest wound in our low
-atmospheric pressure requires a compress bandage. They are nuisances. A
-modestly deep gash can cost you your life."</p>
-
-<p>She paused and studied them some more. "And so I hope you are all
-careful or at least thick-skinned. For another reason, too. Our second
-problem here is the high price of love." The nine girls behind her
-laughed as she looked back at them, but her face became serious.</p>
-
-<p>"You were led to believe that a kiss would cost you only $10,000.00.
-Well, you were misled. The price is $20,000, and the market is wide
-open. Any one of us will accommodate you, but you'll have to pay our
-fine as well as your own."</p>
-
-<p>Duncan gasped at her first words, then, as they sank in, he smiled.
-Morale, good. Morals, even better if this wasn't just an act. Applause
-was enthusiastic, but there were no whistles.</p>
-
-<p>Bowen came up again as the girl sat down. "Remember that, gentlemen.
-You came up here to earn a tenth of a million dollars. Believe me,
-you'll earn it. But don't kiss it away. It's only worth five kisses up
-here, and these girls will put you on report if you lay a finger on
-them. If they don't, <i>they</i> go on report."</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>The first two days were spent unloading supply cargo and stowing
-it. The out-going passengers took care of loading the stockpile of
-concentrated minerals, so Duncan had no chance to talk with them. On
-the third morning the ship was launched. The bustle of activity died,
-and Duncan moved into the smooth mining routine like the polished cog
-that he was.</p>
-
-<p>Personnel training was done on earth. All were preassigned to their
-tasks, so the old crews had only to point. The mining operations went
-on as if no replacements had been made. The men's work was roughly
-divided into outside and inside work. Duncan's inside specialty was
-feeding samples to a spectrograph and assisting the nuclear chemist
-in charge of the lab. On alternate days he took his turn in the field
-tending excavating equipment.</p>
-
-<p>Since the mine was located near the equator, this alternation of the
-whole crew was necessary to reduce exposure to the miniature sun that
-provided so little useful heat, yet whose ultra-violet pierced the
-cloudless, thin atmosphere with vicious intensity.</p>
-
-<p>No one went hungry, but as the weeks passed the seeming variety of
-food rations disappeared. The monotony of dehydrated vegetables and
-meats palled. But worst was the silence. For ten hours each day almost
-no communication passed among the workers. All breathable oxygen
-had to be extracted from the oxides of minerals, and the by-product
-oxygen from the mining operation was barely enough to supply the total
-demands of their masks. So even the inside working areas were left to
-Mars' unbreathable gases, and masks could be removed only in off-duty
-quarters.</p>
-
-<p>Chief occupations in off-hours were games of chess, reading, writing
-and activities that used a minimum of conversation. No one felt like
-talking much after a full shift of sucking hard at oxygen to keep up
-with his body's demand. Although the lessened gravity appeared to make
-all physical labor easy, Duncan could never remember such complete
-fatigue at the end of a working day. He ate, worked, played chess and
-slept 10 hours a day.</p>
-
-<p>The women replacements had disappeared into their compound and
-were seen no more. He wondered at the type of indoctrination they
-were getting. Did it include an item concerning the use of <i>loving
-hands</i>? Strangely, the men made no reference to the women, and he was
-reluctant to draw attention by broaching the subject.</p>
-
-<p>The living quarters, mess-hall and recreation spaces were grouped
-intimately, but placed in such a manner that windows and entries
-allowed no casual glimpses of the women from the men's areas. Complete
-security in the matter of segregation appeared to be guaranteed on the
-honor system alone. All 140 men slept in one long bunk-room, all 20
-women in another.</p>
-
-<p>Intelligent men are not easily bored, but Peter Duncan discovered a
-certain restlessness developing among the new men during the fourth
-month. There was a tendency to break off in the middle of a chess game,
-or to speak tersely. Duncan ascribed this to a phase of adjustment,
-because the second term crew seemed better tempered.</p>
-
-<p>Then it began to bother <i>him</i>. He found himself developing an
-unreasoning impatience. He began using profanity at slight annoyances.
-The stiff soreness of chest, neck and back muscles became chronic, and
-he began laying awake listening to his own rapid breathing, begrudging
-every inhalation of his overworked lungs. The devil with expense! Why
-didn't they at least pressurize the sleeping quarters so a man could
-get some decent rest?</p>
-
-<p>He recognized the symptoms of increasing irritability in himself as it
-distracted him even during his work. But he couldn't put his finger on
-the cause. It grew worse. During the twelfth month he reached a stage
-of exasperation that almost cost him his life.</p>
-
-<p>He was tightening a bolt on one of the spindles. The second time his
-wrench slipped off the nut he squared away and threw the spanner at
-the horizon. Too late he saw his crew-mate, geologist Magnus Porter.
-Horrified he watched the wrench arc three times as far as it would have
-on earth, and strike Porter in the face. He went down.</p>
-
-<p>When Duncan reached him the scientist's face was gushing blood, and his
-smashed mask hissed its charge into the sterile air. Fortunately, they
-were on the camp side of the pits, only two hundred yards from sickbay.
-Porter weighed no more than a blanket roll, and the odds seemed good at
-first. But before Duncan had bounded half the distance his lungs pumped
-to the bursting point. His vision dimmed, and his legs faltered. He
-tore off his mask, pressed it to Porter's face, gulped a chest full of
-dead air and screamed for help.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>Red streaks of pain tore through his head, down his neck muscles and
-into his chest. The slightest breathing movements racked his lungs,
-but, incredibly, they sucked in rich, sweet oxygen, heavy and dense.</p>
-
-<p>He knew he must be in a compression tank. The whispering pump and
-muffled sound of voices outside were evidence enough, although he
-couldn't open his eyes.</p>
-
-<p>The mists cleared quickly now, and the voices formed words. He
-recognized Martha Rice's voice. "&mdash;anoxia. I can't determine how
-severe. Have to wait and see. He may be all right when he gets over the
-headache. Then again there may be permanent brain damage."</p>
-
-<p>Duncan hurt too much to care. He passed out again. When he regained
-consciousness he realized the pressure was reduced, for his lungs were
-pumping hard again. Then the coffin clanked apart, the sides dropped
-and he was trying to focus on the ring of female faces that surrounded
-him.</p>
-
-<p>"Hiya, Mister?" Martha's face settled down to a recognizable fuzz-ball.</p>
-
-<p>His head was clear now, but his throat was too tight to consider
-speaking. He stared back blankly. The physician shook her head,
-misunderstanding his failure to respond. A nurse rigged an intravenous
-bottle, and they left him to his thoughts. He slept again, restlessly
-this time. He dreamed of the accident, the wrench floating with
-terrible slowness toward Porter. Abruptly, he was back on earth. His
-mother was rubbing his neck and shoulders. Her hands were soft and
-reassuring. They kneaded down over his pectoral muscles and massaged
-his whole chest. But how did his mother know his chest hurt. You don't
-hurt your chest playing tennis. But this chest did hurt, and the firm,
-supple hands brought it warmth and life. His mother understood&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>His eyes flipped open, and he stared into the inverted face of a nurse,
-stubby blonde curls bobbing crazily as her body swayed over him. "He's
-up," she said aloud.</p>
-
-<p>Dr. Martha Rice moved into view. "I'll take over. Save yourself for
-tonight, Muriel. It's getting rougher."</p>
-
-<p>The physician's hands replaced the nurse's, but the gentle, rhythmic
-touch was the same. Duncan relaxed in an orgy of tactile ecstasy.</p>
-
-<p>"You are Peter Duncan. Do you understand?" she asked. He blinked, and
-she took that for affirmation. "In fact," she continued, "you are now
-Hero Peter Duncan."</p>
-
-<p>This didn't register right. Hero? They must have saved Porter's life,
-but they didn't realize how it happened. And now she was misconstruing
-his puzzled expression. "I am Dr. Martha Rice. Remember me?"</p>
-
-<p>All Duncan could think of now was the hands. <i>Loving hands.</i> What was
-the right answer? If he answered wrong the hands would stop. He closed
-his eyes. <i>Loving hands.</i> He remembered his mission.</p>
-
-<p>How could he have better arranged it? This was ideal. By feigning slow
-recovery he could&mdash;</p>
-
-<p>The hands stopped. A finger peeled back an eyelid. "You are awake. Come
-to, mister!"</p>
-
-<p>Duncan opened the other eye and stared at her and let his lips part.
-"Thuh!" he grunted.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>It was night. Duncan was detached from the intravenous needle and tube,
-and a small compress bandage covered the throbbing vein where his blood
-had boiled out when the needle was withdrawn. He had decided to reveal
-enough recovery to take oral nourishment.</p>
-
-<p>The wall chronometer, adjusted to the slightly longer Mars' day, read
-2300, an hour before midnight. He was alone. It should have been quiet,
-but several times heavy footsteps had passed down the hall near his
-tiny room. The sick bay was attached to the women's quarters.</p>
-
-<p>Distinctly he heard an outside door open and the clump of safety boots
-passed his room. Slipping off the high bed he opened his door and
-looked into the hall. It was a man. Even in the dim light there was no
-mistaking the broad physique.</p>
-
-<p>Duncan whipped a sheet around his nude body and followed a few yards
-to where the visitor had disappeared through a curtained arch. Before
-the curtains stopped swaying he saw the outlines of cots within. It was
-the women's sleeping room! His stomach turned cold.</p>
-
-<p>So the legend of the song was based on fact. And his trip out here was
-justified after all. And what now, after he had uncovered the mess with
-his own eyes?</p>
-
-<p>He approached the curtains uncertainly. A sob from within startled him.
-It was a man's cry. A girl's voice said something softly reassuring,
-and all was still again.</p>
-
-<p>Duncan lurched through the arch and stood rooted. The denunciation died
-in his throat. Twenty single bunks were spaced around the walls. Each
-was occupied, but only three girls were asleep. The rest were sitting
-on the edge with their feet on the floor. At each girl's feet with his
-back resting against her legs was a member of the male company. The
-pale light of Deimos, Mars' second moon, shone through the overhead
-panes to reveal the secret of the loving hands.</p>
-
-<p>Duncan watched seventeen pairs of arms encircling the necks of as many
-men, hands reaching down under loose jackets to massage aching chests
-and rising to knead gently on tired shoulder muscles. Fingers strayed
-tenderly over masculine foreheads and necks with unmistakable caressing
-motions.</p>
-
-<p>The prone figure near him stirred, and a sleepy face looked up at him.
-"Oh, my gosh, it's Duncan!" she said. It was Martha Rice. She slipped
-from the blankets and drew him over to her bunk. "Sit down," she
-invited.</p>
-
-<p>Stunned, Duncan lowered himself to the edge of the bed. "No, not there!
-Down, boy! On the deck," she pointed. "The fellows would get the wrong
-idea, patient or no patient."</p>
-
-<p>Duncan complied, leaning against her warm legs as the others were
-doing. She sighed, yawned audibly, and began the massaging routine.
-With the touch of her hands the confusion left Duncan's tortured mind.
-Propaganda, morality arguments, missions into space and the importance
-of $10,000 fines disappeared. This was real. A woman's heart reaching
-out through her hands to comfort her man. It was physical, but it
-transcended the physical. It justified the rigid segregation rules even
-as it glorified them and violated them.</p>
-
-<p>The need of man for woman was too great for any barrier. And no woman
-could refuse giving of herself when the need was desperate enough.</p>
-
-<p>Three more men came through the curtains.</p>
-
-<p>Two found girls, but the third stood hesitantly. A girl on the next
-bunk from Duncan and Martha, rubbed her man's head briskly and said
-quietly, "Good night, mister. Got another customer. See you soon." She
-waved in the new man as the other heaved reluctantly to his feet. "Good
-night, honey," he said simply and left.</p>
-
-<p>Men stepped over Duncan's legs coming and going, without remark,
-without greeting.</p>
-
-<p>Almost no conversation took place. A whispered good night or a soft
-word of comfort, and then minutes of silence except for the rustle of
-deep sighing breathing.</p>
-
-<p>Then Martha's hands stopped. She pulled him to his feet and led him
-toward the arch. Instantly several girls' heads turned toward them.
-"Want help, Doctor?" one asked almost sharply.</p>
-
-<p>"No thanks, Claire. This boy's sick."</p>
-
-<p>She led him back to his room. He turned his back to the bed as though
-to sit down, but instead he moved to her. She slid into his arms as
-though it were rehearsed, and he crushed her close to him. Through
-their light garments he felt her body strain for a brief moment then
-completely relax. She peeled away from his lips.</p>
-
-<p>"Mister, that will cost you just $10,000. You're on report!"</p>
-
-<p>The shock of her voice was a cold plunge back to another reality.
-Duncan's hands fell to his sides and he sat down heavily, head bowed.
-Martha lifted his legs, untwined the sheet and tucked in the blankets.
-Suddenly she dropped to him and pressed her face to his. "You poor
-devil! You poor, poor, devil!" Her tears rolled down to his face, and
-she cried unrestrainedly for more than a minute. Duncan kept his hands
-at his sides, and it was his greatest triumph of self-control.</p>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p>He gave himself two days to affect recovery. On the second morning he
-called for Dr. Martha Rice. She came in alone, her darkly handsome face
-inscrutable. "You are better, I hear. For exactly how long have you
-been feeling better?"</p>
-
-<p>Duncan smiled. "Long enough to want to get out of here. How is Magnus
-Porter?"</p>
-
-<p>"He left an hour ago. He'll wear a bandage for a week, but your mask
-saved him from anything serious. That was quite a gesture, my boy. As I
-mentioned the other night, you are on report&mdash;"</p>
-
-<p>Duncan winced.</p>
-
-<p>"&mdash;for a citation for heroism beyond the call of duty."</p>
-
-<p>"You're quite a girl, yourself," Duncan said. "Where are my pants? I
-have some ore to get out before the next ship. We mustn't return short
-of cargo, must we?"</p>
-
-<p>"What do you mean, <i>we</i>? You have a term and a half to complete," she
-said.</p>
-
-<p>"I'm here on a special assignment, and we'll be going out together on
-the next ship."</p>
-
-<p>"I will, but you&mdash;you! What kind of special assignment?"</p>
-
-<p>"Some fuddy-duds down sunward had some foolish ideas about reducing
-the crew out here by some twenty persons. You know, trying to save
-money. I'm to report upon your dispensability. I will be pleased to
-report that the women's contingent is completely and magnificently
-indispensable to General Fission. Which reminds me, will you have
-dinner with me when we get home?"</p>
-
-<p>Martha was somewhat paler. She leaned against the door. "And <i>I</i> put
-<i>you</i> on report!"</p>
-
-<p>"Answer my question, girl, and hand me my pants."</p>
-
-<p>"Your question? Oh. Yes. Yes, of course, I'll have dinner with you.
-Here are your pants."</p>
-
-<p>"And breakfast and lunch?"</p>
-
-<p>"Is this a proposal?"</p>
-
-<p>"Proposals on Mars violate our contract. So do propositions, so let's
-just call it a date."</p>
-
-<p>"Date?" Martha fondled the word that sounded so alien and lovely. She
-smiled. "All right, Peter, it's a date."</p>
-
-<pre style='margin-top:6em'>
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