"What"s there to know?"
He returned his hand to the steering wheel. "Okay, darling. As you say."
Again, he started the motor, pulled the car onto the road. They drove in silence. The tires hissed against wet pavement. Other cars pa.s.sed, their lights glaring. Thurlow adjusted the polarizing lenses. It was a delicate thing -- to give him enough visibility but prevent the pain of sudden light.
Presently, Ruth said: "I don"t want any trouble, a fight. You wait for me in the car. If I need help, I"ll call."
"You"re sure you don"t want me to go in with you?"
"He won"t try anything if he knows you"re there."
He shrugged. She was probably right. Certainly, she must know Nev Hudson"s character by now. But Thurlow still felt a nagging sensation of suspended judgment. He suspected the events of the past few days, even the menacing encounter of this night, made some odd kind of sense.
"Why did I marry him?" Ruth asked. "I keep asking myself. G.o.d knows. I don"t. It just seemed to come to the point where . . ." She shrugged. "After tonight, I wonder if any of us knows why we do what we do."
She looked up at Thurlow. "Why is this happening, darling?"
That"s it, Thurlow thought. There"s the sixty-four dollar question. It"s not who are these creatures? It"s . . . what do they want? Why are they interfering in our lives?
8.
Fraffin glared at the image projected above his desk. It was Lutt, his Master-of-Craft, a broad-faced Chem, steely skinned, harsh and abrupt in his decisions, lacking subtlety. He combined all the best qualities for one who supervised the mechanical end of this work, but those very qualities interfered with his present a.s.signment. He obviously equated subtlety with caution.
A moment of silence served to acquaint Lutt with the Director"s displeasure. Fraffin felt the contour pressures of his chair, glanced at the silvery web of the pantovive across the salon. Yes, Lutt was like that instrument. He had to be activated correctly.
Fraffin ran a finger along his jaw, said: "I didn"t tell you to spare the immune. You were directed to bring the female here -- at once!"
"If I have erred, I abase myself," Lutt said. "But I acted on the basis of past directives concerning this immune. The way you gave his female to another, the way you . . ."
"He was an amusing diversion, no more," Fraffin said. "Kelexel has asked to examine a native and he has mentioned this female specifically by name. She is to be brought here at once, unharmed. That proviso doesn"t apply to any other native who tries to interfere or delay you in the execution of this order. Am I understood?"
"The Director is understood," Lutt said. There was fear in his voice. Lutt knew the possible consequences of Fraffin"s displeasure: dismissal from a position of unlimited delights and diversions, from a life that never bored. He lived in a Chem paradise from which he could easily be shunted to some tertiary post and with no recourse because they shared the same guilt, he and Fraffin, the same guilt with its certain terrible punishment if they were ever discovered,
"Without delay," Fraffin said.
"She will be here before this shift is half spent," Lutt said. "I go to obey."
Lutt"s image faded, disappeared.
Fraffin leaned back. It was going fairly well . . . in spite of this delay. Imagine that Lutt trying to separate the lovers by manipulating their emotions! The clod must know the danger of trying that on an immune. Well, the female would be here soon and Kelexel could examine her as he wished. Every tool and device to bend the native"s will would be provided, of course -- as a matter of courtesy. Let no one question the hospitality of Fraffin the Director Fraffin chuckled.
Let the stupid investigator try the pleasures of this native. Let him impregnate the female. His flesh would know it when it was done. Accomplished breeding would accelerate his need for rejuvenation and where could he turn? Could he go back to the Primacy and say: "Rejuvenate me; I"ve produced an unlicensed child?" His flesh wouldn"t permit that -- no more than would the Primacy with its hidebound absolutes.
Oh, no. Kelexel would know the storyship had its own Rejuvenators, its own surgeon. He"d come begging, his mind telling him: "I can have as many children as I wish and d.a.m.n the Primacy!" Once he"d been rejuvenated, the storyship would own him.
Again, Fraffin chuckled.
They might even get back to the lovely little war in time to make a complete production out of it.
9.
Ruth was surprised to find herself enjoying the anger that condensed the room around her. The frustrated emotion that had built up in her out there in the night with Andy had an outlet at last. She watched the nervous twisting of Nev"s pink hands with their baby-skin creases at the knuckles. She knew how his hands betrayed his feelings no matter what the masked rest of him revealed. Eight months of living with the man had given her considerable knowledge. Words came out of her full lips now like slivers of bamboo to be inserted beneath Nev"s manicured soul.
"Scream about your husband"s rights all you want," she said. "The business is mine now and I don"t want you anywhere near it. Ohhh, I know why you married me. You didn"t fool me for long, Nev. Not for long."
"Ruth, you . . ."
"No more! Andy"s out there waiting for me. I"m going to take the few things I want here and I"m leaving."
Nev"s wide high forehead creased. The shoe-b.u.t.ton eyes stared at her with their matched nothingness. On one of her rampages again, that"s all. And enjoying it, d.a.m.n her! I can tell by the way she shakes her head like a horse . . . wh.o.r.es . . . horse . . . wh.o.r.es -- a horsey, high-cla.s.s wh.o.r.e.
Ruth broke her gaze away from him. Nev frightened her when he stared that way. She studied the room, wondering if there were anything here she wanted now. Nothing. It was a Nev Hudson room with overlapping muted reds and browns, Oriental bric-a-brac, a grand piano in one corner, a closed violin case that opened to reveal three bottles of liquor and a set of gla.s.ses. Nev liked that. "Lets get drunk and make beautiful music, honey." Windows beyond the piano stood uncurtained to the night and garden lights, lawn, barbecue pit, wrought iron furniture standing whitely dripping after the rain.
"California is a community-property state," Nev said.
"You"d better look into the law again," she said. "The business is my inheritance."
"Inheritance?" he asked. "But your father"s not dead yet."
She stood staring at the night, refusing to let him goad her.
d.a.m.n her! he thought. I should"ve done better in a woman but not with a business thrown into the bargain. She"s thinking about that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Andy Thurlow. She wants him but she needs my brains running the business. That ugly stick of a boy-man in her bed! She won"t have him; I"ll see to it.
"If you go away with this Dr. Thurlow, I"ll ruin him professionally and I"ll ruin you," he said.
She turned her head sideways, presenting a Greek profile, the severe line of her red hair tied at the back. A barely perceptible smile touched her lips, was gone. "Jealous, Nev?"
"I"ve warned you."
"You married me for the business," she said. "What do you care how I spend my time?" And she turned toward him. Squirm, you little pig of a man! What was I thinking of? What was I ever thinking of to take you instead of Andy. Did something twist my emotions, make me do it? She felt suddenly weak with the hungry hating. Is any choice ever right right right? Andy choosing that Fellowship instead of me, his eyes full of innocence oh hateful! Where did I spend my innocence? Unthinking about animal bodies and power. Did I choose power in Nev? But he let me take it away from him his own power and now I can hate him with it.
"The daughter of a murderer!" he snapped.
She glared at him. Is this what I chose? Why why why? Lonely, that"s why. All alone when Andy left men for that d.a.m.ned Fellowship and there was Nev Nev Nev insistent kind kind like a fox. Drunk I was drunk and feeling hateful. Nev used my hate that"s the only power he had -- hate my hate my hate I mustn"t hate then and he"s powerless I won"t even hate him putting his hand on my knee oh so kind so kind and a little higher and there we were in bed married and Andy away in Denver and I was still alone.
"I"m going," she said. "Andy"s going to drive me over to Sarah"s. If you try to stop me, I"ll call him in and I"m quite sure he can handle you."
Nev"s narrow, purse-string mouth tightened. His shoe-b.u.t.ton eyes betrayed a brief flaring and then the mask was back in place. I"ll ruin them both! The b.i.t.c.h prattling about Andy well I showed dear old honest Andy the boy with the built in system of honor and what would she say if she learned I was the one put on the pressure to get him that Fellowship?
"You know what the town"ll think," he said. "Like father like daughter. They"ll take my side. You know that."
She stamped her foot. "You pig!"
Certainly, Ruth, my dear. Get angry and stamp around like a wonderful animal my G.o.d would I like to take you to bed right now angry and hurting throwing yourself and twisting and jerking my G.o.d you"re splendid when you"re angry. I"m better for you than Andy and you should know it we"re two of a kind we take what we want and d.a.m.n the honor no honor no honor on her on her on her what an animal when she"s angry but that"s what life"s for to take to take and take and take until we"re filled up on it and she raves about Andy going back to him but Andy doesn"t take from me no siree I"ll get rid of him just as easily as I did before and Ruthy"ll come crawling back to her ever loving Nev who knows her right down to her adorable most angry adorable if I only had the guts to yank you into the bedroom right now . . . well, I"d get rid of Andy just like I did before.