"That is one thing, often the most important thing at first," Sam Yeager said, "but character is also important, and perhaps more important in the long rum." He paused, then added, "I think character may be more important at first to females judging males than to males judging females."

"Why?" Ka.s.squit asked. Both wild Big Uglies shrugged. They saw each other do it, and both laughed. Ka.s.squit noted the byplay without having any notion what might have caused it. And then she found a question the Tosevites were uniquely suited to answer, one that would have been utterly meaningless if not repellent to Ttomalss: "By your standards, am I s.e.xually attractive?"

Jonathan Yeager had never imagined being asked such a question by a naked woman who obviously didn't know the answer. He looked to his father for help, only to discover his father looking back at him. He needed a couple of seconds to understand why. Then he realized his dad was a married man, and probably thought he wasn't the one to be talking about whether a woman was s.e.xy or not.

And so Jonathan had to figure out the answer for himself. After a moment, he realized only one answer was possible, regardless of what he really thought. "Yes," he said, and added an emphatic cough. Anything else would have been a diplomatic disaster. By the speed with which his father added the Lizards' affirmative hand gesture, he knew he'd done the right thing.

Better still, he hadn't been lying. He was used to girls who shaved their heads, even though his own girlfriend didn't. And living in Gardena, which a lot of j.a.panese-Americans called home, had accustomed him to Oriental standards of beauty. Ka.s.squit had a pretty face-it would have been prettier still, of course, had it shown more expression-and he could be in no possible doubt that she had a nice figure to go with it.

To his astonishment, she folded herself into the posture of respect. "I thank you," she said with an emphatic cough of her own. "You will understand that this is not a question I could possibly ask Ttomalss or any other male or female of the Race." She corrected herself: "No, that is not true. I could ask, but without hope of obtaining a meaningful answer."

She certainly wouldn't have been attractive to the Lizards, not when their everyday name for human being human being was was Big Ugly. Big Ugly. Jonathan tried to imagine what living among aliens would be like after you discovered the truth about your body and the delights it could bring. He tried, yes, but felt himself failing. The one thought that stuck in his mind was that he was d.a.m.n glad it hadn't happened to him. Jonathan tried to imagine what living among aliens would be like after you discovered the truth about your body and the delights it could bring. He tried, yes, but felt himself failing. The one thought that stuck in his mind was that he was d.a.m.n glad it hadn't happened to him.

His father said, "There are times, superior female, when you must have been-must be-very lonely."

"Truth," Ka.s.squit said. What was she thinking? With her impa.s.sive features, Jonathan couldn't tell. She went on, "I do not know if I myself realized how lonely I was until I first began communicating with you wild Tosevites. Who can say with certainty where the intersection between biology and culture lies? Even among the Race, it remains a subject for debate."

"It is among us Tosevites, too," Jonathan said. Mickey and Donald, at least, wouldn't grow up worrying about whether they were s.e.xually interesting. Unless they turned out to be females who went into their mating season or males who met a female in her season, they wouldn't worry about such things at all. Jonathan suspected being a Lizard was easier than being a human.

But what if one of them's a male and the other's a female? That hadn't occurred to him before. It would sure complicate things. Then he shrugged. Even if it was so, the Yeagers wouldn't have to worry about it for a good many years yet. How old were Lizards when they hit p.u.b.erty? He couldn't remember. That hadn't occurred to him before. It would sure complicate things. Then he shrugged. Even if it was so, the Yeagers wouldn't have to worry about it for a good many years yet. How old were Lizards when they hit p.u.b.erty? He couldn't remember. Have to look it up, Have to look it up, he thought. he thought.

Ka.s.squit said, "I do not find Tosevite scientific research likely to be of much value."

Before Jonathan could respond indignantly to that, his father shrugged and said, "Well, in that case I do not suppose you have any reason to want anything to do with us at all. Shall we go, Jonathan?"

Leaving was the last thing Jonathan wanted. But a glance at his father's face warned him he'd better play along. "All right," he said, and started to rise. He turned to Ka.s.squit. "It was pleasant and interesting to talk with you again."

"No, do not go!" Ka.s.squit's face still showed nothing-it could show nothing-but alarm and grief filled her voice. "Please do not go. We had not yet come close to finishing this discussion."

Jonathan looked down at the metal floor of the chamber so Ka.s.squit couldn't see him grin. Sure as h.e.l.l, his old man knew how to bait a hook. And Ka.s.squit had swallowed the bait, d.a.m.ned if she hadn't.

"Why should we stay, if you mock us?" Sam Yeager asked sternly. "You are proud, as the Race is proud, but it never occurs to the Race that we Big Uglies also have reason to be proud of what we have done."

"This is not something easy for a citizen of the Empire to grasp," Ka.s.squit said. "I meant no offense." It wasn't quite an apology, but it came closer than Jonathan had expected.

He had to hide another smile. Ka.s.squit wasn't apologizing because she hadn't intended to offend; she was apologizing because she wanted to go on talking with the only other human beings she'd ever met. Jonathan knew he wasn't the most socially conscious fellow around, but he had no trouble seeing that.

"Not long after the colonization fleet arrived," Ka.s.squit said, "I was asked if I wanted a Tosevite male brought up from the surface of Tosev 3 as a means of obtaining s.e.xual release. I said no at the time. The thought of a strange wild Big Ugly as a mate was too distressing to contemplate. But the two of you do not seem like such strangers to me now?"

Jesus! Jonathan thought. Jonathan thought. I've just been propositioned! How am I supposed to say no, when I just told her I thought she was attractive? I've just been propositioned! How am I supposed to say no, when I just told her I thought she was attractive?

Part of him-one particular part of him-didn't want to say no. If he said yes, of course, Karen would kill him. But Karen's down there, and I'm up here in s.p.a.ce. She wouldn't have to know. I wouldn't be unfaithful, not really. It's research, that's what it is. But Karen's down there, and I'm up here in s.p.a.ce. She wouldn't have to know. I wouldn't be unfaithful, not really. It's research, that's what it is.

While those thoughts were going through his mind, his father said, "Superior female, you will have to forgive me. I do find you attractive, as I said, but I am not in a position to do anything about it. My permanent mate would be most unhappy if I were to mate with any female but her, and I do not wish to make her unhappy in any way."

Like any child, Jonathan had trouble imagining his parents making love with each other. When he tried to imagine his father making love with Ka.s.squit, the picture in his mind did not want to form. And when he tried to imagine his father telling his mother he'd made love with Ka.s.squit, that picture would not form at all. What he saw instead was the mushroom cloud from an explosive-metal bomb.

Ka.s.squit said, "I do not understand why such a mating would make her unhappy."

"Because we try to concentrate all our affection on our princ.i.p.al mate, and an outside mating implies a loss of that affection," Jonathan's father answered. "We have a word in our language that means something like affection affection, but it is a stronger term. We say love love." The last word, necessarily, was in English.

"Love," Ka.s.squit echoed. To her, plainly, it was just a noise. Sure enough, she went on, "I do not understand. But I gather you are telling me this is a strong custom among American Tosevites." Jonathan's father made the affirmative hand gesture. Ka.s.squit turned her attention back to Jonathan. "Do I gather that you, as yet, have no such permanent mating commitment?"

"Uh, that is, uh, correct," Jonathan said, and then wished he'd lied instead of telling the truth. A lie would have let him escape gracefully. The truth made things more complicated. He turned to his father and spoke in English: "What am I going to do, Dad?"

"Good question." His father sounded amused, which only made things worse. "If you want to be this particular kind of guinea pig, go ahead. If you don't, you'll figure out some way around it."

"What are the two of you talking about?" Ka.s.squit asked sharply.

"We are trying to decide what is proper here," Jonathan answered, which was true enough. Picking his words with great care, he went on, "I do not have a permanent arrangement with a female, no, but I am seeing a female with whom I may have such an arrangement one day."

"What does this mean-you are seeing her?" Ka.s.squit asked. "Is this a euphemism for mating with her?"

Jonathan's father had to translate euphemism euphemism for him. The question made Jonathan cough. It also made him wonder how to answer. He and Karen hadn't actually gone to bed with each other, but they'd sure done everything else. He was d.a.m.ned if he'd try to explain petting and oral s.e.x to Ka.s.squit with his father listening. Instead, keeping it simple, he just said, "Yes." for him. The question made Jonathan cough. It also made him wonder how to answer. He and Karen hadn't actually gone to bed with each other, but they'd sure done everything else. He was d.a.m.ned if he'd try to explain petting and oral s.e.x to Ka.s.squit with his father listening. Instead, keeping it simple, he just said, "Yes."

And that made his dad's eyebrows shoot up, too, as he'd known it would. Ka.s.squit said, "If you do not have a permanent mating arrangement, you may mate with whomever you choose. Is this not a truth? Do you choose to mate with me, Jonathan Yeager?"

That wasn't a proposition; it was more like an ultimatum. Before Jonathan could answer, his father said, "Superior female, regardless of what my hatchling may decide, there should be no matings at this meeting."

"And why not?" Ka.s.squit's face didn't show emotion, but her voice did. She sounded furious.

"Why not?" Jonathan's father echoed. "Because the purpose of mating-or a purpose of mating, anyhow-is reproduction. Do you want to take the chance of becoming gravid as a result of mating? How well equipped is the Race to handle that problem?"

"Oh." Ka.s.squit bent into the posture of respect. "I had not thought of that."

"A lot of Tosevites do not think of it ahead of time." Sam Yeager answered dryly. "This ends up making their lives more difficult than they would be otherwise-or more interesting, anyhow." By his expression, he was looking a long way back into the past. Had they been somewhere else, Jonathan might have asked him about it. But not here, not now.

"What is the solution, then?" Ka.s.squit asked. "It cannot be not mating. That, by what I am given to understand, is not the Tosevite way."

"The usual American solution is a thin rubber sheath worn on the male's reproductive organ," Sam Yeager said. Jonathan admired his dispa.s.sionate tone. It came easier in the language of the Race, but even so... His father went on, "This permits mating but keeps sperm and egg from meeting."

"Ingenious," Ka.s.squit said. "Sanitary. Do you have any of these sheaths with you?"

"No," Jonathan said. "We did not expect the issue of mating to arise."

"Very well," Ka.s.squit made the affirmative gesture. "Next time you visit, do bring some. Or I can arrange for a supply to be brought up from some of the territory the Race rules. Is it agreed?"

She sounded as brisk as if she were arranging a business deal. Maybe that was what she thought she was doing. She had no idea what being human meant-and she wanted to start learning in the most intimate way possible. That made sense of a sort, but only of a sort: Jonathan kept wondering if he wanted to be her teacher.

"Is it agreed?" she repeated.

Jonathan looked at Sam Yeager. His father's face said nothing at all. Jonathan knew it was up to him, no one else. Well, no one from the starship was likely to tell Karen, which was more than he could say about most Earthly situations. Ever so slightly, he nodded. "It is agreed," Sam Yeager said, and Jonathan couldn't tell for the life of him whether or not his dad thought he was doing the right thing.

"Tosevite sheaths for mating without the risk of reproduction," Ttomalss said bemusedly, one eye turret on the recording of the meeting between Ka.s.squit and the two wild Big Uglies, the other on Ka.s.squit herself.

"Yes, superior sir," Ka.s.squit said. "I can certainly understand how becoming gravid as the result of a mating would be undesirable. These sheaths reduce the risk of such a mischance."

"Are you sure you are not being precipitate in this?" Ttomalss had trouble getting used to the idea of Ka.s.squit grabbing at things with her own fingerclaws.

"Yes, superior sir. I am sure I would like to make the experiment, at any rate," Ka.s.squit told him. "Remember, some time ago you offered me a wild Tosevite for such purposes. I declined then, but no longer wish to decline."

"I... see." What Ttomalss mostly saw was occasion to worry. He knew how strongly the mating urge and the urge to form families affected the Big Uglies. Would Ka.s.squit become addicted to that gratification, as so many males and females of the Race had to ginger?

"Everything will be all right," Ka.s.squit rea.s.sured him.

"How can you know that in advance of the event?" Ttomalss demanded. "The answer is, you cannot. You have committed yourself to this course of action without adequate forethought." And if that wasn't a Tosevite thing to do, what was? Ttomalss did not tax Ka.s.squit with it, though, for fear of prompting an indignant denial-another typical Tosevite response.

"I have not," she said. "I have been considering this, pondering it, since you made your offer to me some time ago. Indeed, I have been pondering it longer than that-ever since I discovered some of the physiological responses of my own body. This is something evolution has adapted me to do."

She was likely to be right in that. She was almost certain to be right in that, in fact. Even so, Ttomalss said, "Suppose I forbid it? I have the authority to do so, as you must know."

"On what grounds would you do such a thing?" Ka.s.squit demanded angrily. "And you do not have the authority."

"I must a.s.suredly do." Ttomalss hadn't intended to get angry in return, but found he couldn't help himself. "And my authority is based on my continuing wardship of you."

"I see." Ka.s.squit leaned forward and glared at him. "So all your talk about my being a citizen of the Empire was nothing but talk? Is that what you are telling me now, superior sir?" She made the t.i.tle one of reproach. "So much for any hope of equality, I see."

"Calm yourself!" Ttomalss exclaimed, though he was feeling anything but calm himself. Dealing with Big Uglies had that effect on him, though he hadn't thought of Ka.s.squit as a Big Ugly in such matters for quite a while. "I am trying to see what is best for you. This of course is for your own long-term good."

He wondered if mature Tosevites ever spoke to their hatchlings thus. He doubted it. How likely were any Big Uglies, young or old, to value the long-term at the expense of the immediate?

Ka.s.squit certainly remained unconvinced. "Considering who I am and what I am, who are you to judge my long-term good? No one, either among the Race or among the Big Uglies, is so well suited to evaluate that as I I am myself. I am, in this particular case, unique, and my judgment must stand." am myself. I am, in this particular case, unique, and my judgment must stand."

"A moment ago, you were claiming you were not unique: you were claiming to be a citizen of the Empire," Ttomalss pointed out. "Which is it? It cannot be both at once, you know."

"You are being deliberately obstructive," Ka.s.squit said, That was a truth, but not one Ttomalss intended to admit. Ka.s.squit went on, "You realize you are trying to keep me from following a course you once urged on me? You cannot do both at once, either, superior sir."

"You do not seem to understand what a large step mating is for a Tosevite," Ttomalss said. "You are taking it too lightly."

"And you you are equipped to understand this better? Forgive me, superior sir, but I doubt it." Yes, Ka.s.squit could be devastating when she chose. And she chose now. are equipped to understand this better? Forgive me, superior sir, but I doubt it." Yes, Ka.s.squit could be devastating when she chose. And she chose now.

Ttomalss said, "I told you, I believe you were hasty in this. May I propose a compromise?"

"Go ahead, though I do not see where there is room for one," Ka.s.squit said. "Either I shall mate with this wild Big Ugly or I shall not."

"We will obtain some of these sheaths." Ttomalss didn't think that would be difficult. "But I want you to consider whether they should be used, and I want there to be some little while before the wild Big Ugly comes up here. This may be wise in any case: in the event of war between the Race and the Reich, Reich, all s.p.a.ce travel may well entail unacceptable risks." all s.p.a.ce travel may well entail unacceptable risks."

Now Ka.s.squit exclaimed in dismay, "Do you truly believe war is likely, superior sir?"

With along, hissing sigh, Ttomalss answered, "I wish I did not, but I am afraid I do. Having visited the Reich, Reich, having sojourned there, I must say that the Deutsche are, of all the Tosevites I have seen and heard of, the least susceptible to reason. They are also among the most technically adept and the most arrogant. It strikes me as a combination bound to cause trouble and grief." having sojourned there, I must say that the Deutsche are, of all the Tosevites I have seen and heard of, the least susceptible to reason. They are also among the most technically adept and the most arrogant. It strikes me as a combination bound to cause trouble and grief."

"It strikes me as a combination logically impossible." Ka.s.squit replied.

"And that is also a truth," Ttomalss replied. "But logic, like reason, goes by the board far more often on Tosev 3 than it does here. And, because the Deutsche are so fond of reasoning from premises that strike even other Big Uglies as absurd, logic, however well applied, becomes less valuable: the most perfect logic cannot make truth hatch from false premises."

"What will we do if they attack this ship?" Ka.s.squit asked.

"Logic should be able to tell you that." Ttomalss answered. "Unless we can deflect or prematurely detonate a missile with an explosive-metal warhead, it will destroy us. We have to hope we are not attacked."

He hoped Ka.s.squit wouldn't ask him how likely it was that the Race could deflect or prematurely detonate Deutsch missiles. He knew too well what the answer was: not very. not very. When the conquest fleet came to Tosev 3, no one had imagined the Big Uglies would ever be in a position to a.s.sail orbiting starships. The ships had had some antimissile launchers added in the years since the Tosevites taught the Race how inadequate its imagination was, but few males thought they could knock down everything. When the conquest fleet came to Tosev 3, no one had imagined the Big Uglies would ever be in a position to a.s.sail orbiting starships. The ships had had some antimissile launchers added in the years since the Tosevites taught the Race how inadequate its imagination was, but few males thought they could knock down everything.

Ka.s.squit didn't choose the question Ttomalss dreaded, but did ask a couple related to it: "If the Deutsche do go to war with the Race, how much damage can they do to us and to our colonies? Can they cripple us to the point where we would be vulnerable to attacks from the other Tosevite not-empires?"

"I do not know the answers there," Ttomalss said slowly. "I would doubt that even the exalted fleetlord knows the answers there. My opinion-and it is only my opinion-is that they could hurt us badly, though I do not know just how badly, or whether they could, as you say, cripple us. But of this I am sure: if they undertake to attack us, we will smash them to the point where they will never be able to do so again." He used an emphatic cough to show how sure he was.

"Good," Ka.s.squit said, with an emphatic cough of her own. "I thank you, superior sir. To some degree, that relieves my mind."

"I am glad to hear it," Ttomalss replied. That was a truth. The psychological researcher knew more than a little relief at having managed to distract his ward from thoughts of mating with the wild Big Ugly named Jonathan Yeager. Of course, the means of distracting her was contemplating great damage to the Race and the devastation of a good-sized stretch of Tosev 3. It occurred to him that such distractions might be more expensive than they were worth.

And this one didn't even prove completely successful. Ka.s.squit said, "Very well, then, superior sir: after this discussion, I do understand the need for delay in carrying out these matings. But, once the crisis with the Deutsche is resolved, I want to go forward with them, a.s.suming, of course, that part of the resolution does not involve the destruction of this ship."

"Yes-a.s.suming." Ttomalss' tone was dry. "I a.s.sure you, Ka.s.squit, you have made your views on that matter very plain, and I will do what I can, consistent with your safety and welfare, to obtain for you that which you desire." That which you l.u.s.t after, That which you l.u.s.t after, he thought. Biologically, she was a Big Ugly, sure enough. Pointing that out, though, would only inflame the situation further. Instead of doing anything so counterproductive, he asked, "Do we need to concern ourselves with other topics at this time?" he thought. Biologically, she was a Big Ugly, sure enough. Pointing that out, though, would only inflame the situation further. Instead of doing anything so counterproductive, he asked, "Do we need to concern ourselves with other topics at this time?"

"No, superior sir," Ka.s.squit answered. No matter what she was biologically, she did belong to the Race as far as culture went. Recognizing Ttomalss' question as a dismissal, she rose, briefly a.s.sumed the posture of respect, and left his office.

He sighed again once she was gone. He'd managed to slow her a bit, but she'd seized the initiative. She was going to do what she wanted to do, not what he and the rest of the Race wanted her to do. And if that didn't re-create in miniature the history of the relationship between the Race and the Big Uglies, he didn't know what did.

Hoping to distract himself from worries about Ka.s.squit-and from larger worries about the Deutsche, a situation over which he had no control whatever-he turned to the latest news reports on the computer monitor. Deutsch bl.u.s.ter formed a part of those, too. If the Big Uglies were bluffing, they were doing a masterful job. He feared they weren't.

Video from elsewhere on Tosev 3 came up on the screen: rioting brown Big Uglies, most of whom wore only a strip of white cloth wrapped around their reproductive organs. The Race's commentator said, "Farmers in the subregion of the main continental ma.s.s known as India have resorted to violence to protest the appearance of hashett in their fields. The plant from Home is of course a prime feed source for our own domestic animals, but the Big Uglies are concerned because it is successfully competing against grains they use for food. No males or females of the Race were reported injured in this latest round of unrest, but property damage is widespread."

If hashett grew well on Tosev 3, other crops from Home would, too. They would help make this world a more Homelike place, as would the spread of the Race's domestic animals. If Tosev 3 did not go up in nuclear explosions, the Race might do very well for itself here. If...

Can we acculturate the Big Uglies before they go to war with us? That was the question, no doubt about it. Increasing the Tosevites' reverence for the spirits of Emperors past would help; Ttomalss was sure of that. But it would help only slowly. Danger was growing in a hurry. The Race was running up against a deadline, not a situation familiar to its males and females. That was the question, no doubt about it. Increasing the Tosevites' reverence for the spirits of Emperors past would help; Ttomalss was sure of that. But it would help only slowly. Danger was growing in a hurry. The Race was running up against a deadline, not a situation familiar to its males and females. What can we do? What can we do? Ttomalss wondered. Ttomalss wondered. Can we do anything? Can we do anything? He could hope. Past that, he had no answers, which worried him more than anything. He could hope. Past that, he had no answers, which worried him more than anything.

As Gorppet patrolled the streets of Cape Town, his eye turrets swiveled this way and that. He was, as always, alert for the possibility of trouble from the Big Uglies who crowded those streets. The dark-skinned Tosevites were supposed to be much more friendly to the Race than the pinkish beige ones, but he trusted none of them. To a male who'd served in the SSSR, in Basra, and in Baghdad, all Big Uglies were objects of suspicion till proved otherwise.

But Gorppet's eye turrets swiveled this way and that for other reasons, too. He kept waiting for a male with an investigator's commission to come up, tap him on the flank, and say, "Come along with me for interrogation."

It hadn't happened yet. He had trouble understanding why it hadn't. By the spirits of Emperors past, he and his pals had got into a firefight not only with the Big Uglies who'd wanted to hi-jack his gold without giving him any ginger but also with a patrol of his own kind! For all he knew, he might have shot another male of the Race. That wasn't mutiny, not quite, but it came too close for comfort. He knew the Race would be turning everything inside out to find out who had committed such a crime.

They haven't caught me yet, he thought. Maybe being officially a hero helped. He'd captured the infamous Khomeini, after all. Who could imagine that a male with such a glorious accomplishment on his record might also be a male interested in acquiring large amounts of ginger? he thought. Maybe being officially a hero helped. He'd captured the infamous Khomeini, after all. Who could imagine that a male with such a glorious accomplishment on his record might also be a male interested in acquiring large amounts of ginger?

No one had imagined it yet. Gorppet counted himself very lucky that no one had. Any investigator with a nasty, suspicious mind would have noticed that his credit balance, which had swollen with the bonus he'd won for capturing the Tosevite fanatic, then proceeded to shrink not long after he came to Cape Town.

But it was growing again. By now, it was almost back to where it had been before he turned so much credit into gold. He'd sold a good deal of ginger. Even now, an investigator who looked only at his current balance and not at his transaction record would be unlikely to notice anything out of the ordinary.