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an exercise to which his facial muscles were long unused, then glanced toward
the Kelgian and added, I don t have mobile fur to show you how I feel,
friend, but right now I am feeling very hungry but not, I
think, hungry enough to eat you.
There is doubt in your mind? said the other.
Before O Mara could reply there was a quiet, triple chime that came from
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somewhere inside their table, the place panel in front of him slid aside, and
the first course rose into sight.
Saved by the bell? said the Kelgian as it bent its over its own platter.
O Mara didn t have to speak again until the meal was finished, by which time
he was pleasantly distended and feeling well disposed toward everyone in
general but not, he told himself firmly, toward anyone in particular.
You re looking much happier, Lieutenant, said the young woman. What do you
think of the ship s food now?
It s still only fuel? said O Mara, but premium grade.
That is a very large and energy-hungry body you have there, she said. But
I d say, even before we get to see you in a swimsuit, that you are a heavy
energy user as well because you don t seem to store any of it as fat. Do you
like to swim?
The water restrictions on space service don t allow it, he replied. I can t
swim.
Then I d be happy to teach you, she said, just for the company. It isn t a
big pool, but the Kelgians, who make up most of the passenger list, don t like
getting their fur wet and the
Melfans just sink and crawl about on the bottom so they say they might as well
stay in air. We re the only Earth-humans on board and will have the place to
ourselves most of the time. There wouldn t be many otherspecies onlookers to
embarrass you if you didn t do well at first. I ve never taught anyone to swim
before so it might be fun. Are you called anything else besides
Lieutenant, Lieutenant?
O Mara, he said. But about the pool, I m not sure that I could..
Joan? she said.
Kledenth? said the Kelgian beside him, if anyone is interested.
I don t want to sound pushy? she continued, but believe it or not, you re
the first
Earth-human we ve had on this trip and I m dying to talk with someone who
doesn t need a translator. And of course you could swim, or at least stay
afloat. If y~u take a deep breath and don t quite empty your lungs, you won t
sink, and if you did get into trouble, I d be there to grab you and hold your
head above water. All you really need to swim is a bit of confidence?
O Mara didn t reply.
Alternatively? she went on, there s the exercise machinery if you want to
get hot and sweaty, unless you prefer playing table games like chess or
scremman. Or there s the observation gallery, where you can guzzle umpteen
varieties of different other-planetary booze until you begin to see things
crawling about in hyperspace outside. Which reminds me, do you know what
Chorrantir, our only Tralthan passenger, said about alcoholics on its home
world? It said that eventually they
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%20General%2011%20-%20Mind%20Changer.txt begin seeing pink Earth-humans.
Oh, God? he said, and smiled in spite of himself.
Come on, Lieutenant O Mara? Joan persisted. That uniform looks good on you,
but everybody on the ship knows by now that we have a Monitor on board, so you
should relax and take it off What do you say?
This conversation? said Kledenth suddenly, is much more interesting than the
endless talking from my friends down the table about other-world legends and
the heroic, or sometimes utterly reprehensible, figures who populate them. To
some of these people it has become a religion rather than a hobby. Well, what
do you say, O Mara?
Nothing, he said uncomfortably. I m still thinking about it.
But there s nothing to think about? Kledenth went on, its fur rippling in
small, uneven waves. I know that you Earthhumans don t have our ability to
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outwardly express inner feelings without ambiguity but, even to me, in this
situation the bare words are more than adequate. The female concerned is young
and probably physically attractive to you-although as a Kelgian I
consider it to be an unsightly life-form whose wobbly chest lumps give it a
ridiculous, top-heavy look-and plainly feeling bored and possibly sexually
frustrated because she was the only member of
~ species among the passengers. Now a same-species male has come among us and
the situation has changed for the better. Again I cannot speak with authority,
O Mara, but presumably you, too, are beautiful or have other male attributes
which she finds attractive... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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