Null-A Three (10 page)

The reality was that he was not prepared for such a proposal.

. . . Would a refusal or even hesitation in answering be regarded as a mortal insult? There was, of course, a type of man who would instantly accept all the opportunities of this situation. But men trained in the General Semantics orientation were not such a type.

Aloud, he offered his first barrier: “Your majesty, the honor which you offer me, may not be a wise action on your part. It is possible we should discuss what might be the repercussion of such a marriage for you and your son.”

The young woman smiled. There was no sign that she realized that she had, in effect, been rejected. She said, “That’s a very thoughtful remark. But it does not take into account that it is now two years since my husband and lover, was killed. Therefore, before we have any discussion about the long run situation, I wish you to come into my bedchamber, which, as you know—” she nodded toward the blue door at her left—“adjoins this sitting room.”

She went on earnestly, “I need very badly to be made love to by the first man I’ve met since his death, who has instantly and automatically aroused in me feelings of desire. Come!”

She had paused about eight feet from him. Now, she walked over and put her hand on his arm. As Gosseyn unresistingly allowed himself to be led in the indicated direction, there were more of those fleeting thoughts;

. . . The problem of the man-woman relationship were not obviously the subject of General Semantics discussion. Men had from time immemorial on earth had a strong need for sexual release. Presumably, this could be and in some instances was, satisfied by many women. But mostly the individual male found himself attracted specifically to a female of his own age, or younger, who, according to psychological theory, reminded him at some deep of his being, of his mother. So, essentially, a young woman who elicited a love response, brought about a fixation in him. And she had to do numerous unmother-like things before the feeling of need diminished. There were, of course, many instances whereby, presently some other woman reminded him even more strongly of his mother. And so, in due course, he was over there.

The Gosseyn bodies had never had a mother in this galaxy. No doubt, a million or more years ago, before the Great Migration, a child had been born in the traditional fashion. And it could even be that that child’s early relationship with that long, long, long ago mother still permeated his subconscious memories. But it would be a little difficult to determine which of his feelings related to an ancient mother, and which were product of his acceptance that a man should eventually have a relationship with a woman.

Incredibly, his first opportunity to have such a relationship already had hold of his arm. And, as he went with her, he could see once again that she had unusually good features, and a splendid female body. At the very instant that he noticed that—again—she made a remarkable statement. She said: “You remind me of my father. So I feel completely confident that I have found the man most suitable, not only for Enin, but for me.”

Moments after that they were through the open blue door; and she was pushing it shut behind her.

Gosseyn heard the click of a lock catching.

It was surely—Gosseyn Three thought ruefully—not one of the great moments of history.

. . . A superman—in its way that was a proper description for the Gilbert Gosseyns of this universe—was being pressured by a human-type female to participate in what appeared to be a normal sex act. The superman was resisting the opportunity; and yet he was a single man with no previous commitment to any other woman. At least equally significant neither of his predecessors, who also had no known commitments,—according to his joint memory with them—had to date had an intimate relation with a woman.

Only two living women had had an opportunity to participate in such a relationship with a Gosseyn: Leej, and the former Patricia Hardie—So, perhaps the latter could offer an explanation as to why nothing had happened the night that she had spent in the same bedroom with Gilbert Gosseyn One.

With these numerous, sketchy considerations motivating him, as the bedroom door closed behind him Gilbert Gosseyn Three spoke mentally to his Alter Ego, far away in space:

“Can you ask the lady for an explanation, Mr. Gosseyn Two?”

He realized that he was hoping for some bits of data that would help him to deal with this situation. And already there was a second awareness in him: that anything intimate he did with anyone would automatically be registered in the mind of Gosseyn Two.

It seemed to be an additional barrier to special actions of any kind, requiring something to be agreed upon the basis . . . I’ll-look-the-other-way-if-you-will . . . sort of thing.

He was aware that, as he had these new thoughts, Gosseyn Two was questioning the former Patricia Hardie.

There was a pause. Then the young woman’s “voice” spoke through the brain of that faraway Gosseyn Two. The “tone” seemed faintly amused, as if it were a subject about which she hadn’t previously had any thought; but if she had it would have been funny.

She said: “If you will consult the joint Gosseyn memory, you will recall that we were all in quite a tense situation; and that I was, unknown to the other involved persons, the sister of Enro—with all of those automatic restrictions on my behavior. And, besides, I had already met Eldred; and my fascination with the philosophy of General Semantics made him a very special person for me. Also, I should mention that Gilbert Gosseyn One seemed very much a protective type individual to me, someone upon whom I could depend.”

She added, “Now, that we have a Gosseyn Two and a Gosseyn Three, both alive at the same time, we can realize that the First Gosseyn was, in fact, a different living being; and that subsequent Gosseyn duplicate bodies having his memories is certainly interesting, and even fascinating. But you can deduce that, taking into account all the factors I have mentioned, that night he and I spent together we were not likely to engage in an intimate personal relationship.”

She seemed to be smiling again, as she concluded: “Somehow, I cannot bring myself to feel horribly sorry for you in your predicament. But I do have the thought that if Gosseyn One’s reason for not trying to take advantage of the situation had to do with General Semantics, then we have another worthwhile moral consideration operating in the world. As you know, there are many good men in the universe, who have their own fine morality to restrain them from criminal and unkind actions; and I approve that this is so.”

The analysis by the former Patricia Hardie was somewhat long, but essentially convincing—so it seemed to Gosseyn Three. Equally important, the time involved for her to voice it appeared to be exactly what he needed to have a moral consideration of his own.

“Of course,” he thought then, “what else?”

It seemed to be a cortical decision that he had come to. And so, there he stood near the entrance of what, even by fleeting first glance, was unmistakably a luxurious bedroom—stood and shook his head gently at the woman, who had half-turned and was looking back at him.

“My philosophy, and also my sense of protectiveness for you—” those were his rejecting words—“do not allow me to take advantage of your good feelings for me.”

In a way it was a little late. The woman had already removed the strange unwomanly shirt, exposing some kind of filmy undergarment and the upper halves of two bare breasts. This became even more evident, and intimate, as, after he spoke, she turned all the way around and stood facing him. It was difficult to decide from her facial expression, and slightly bent forward body position, if she was in a state of shock.

“Your philosophy?” she echoed finally. “You mean—a religion?”

“General Semantics, it’s called,” said Gosseyn as blandly as he could.

“And—” she had straightened—“it forbids sex between a woman and a man without marriage?”

Since General Semantics did not expressly forbid sex in any situation, Gosseyn Three had the wry awareness that his reasoning was being challenged at a rather high speed.

But he remained calm. He said:

“A General Semanticist, madam, is trained to take into consideration more of the realities of a situation than a person without such training.”

He continued: “I have to admit that I have not available inside me at this moment a clear picture of all the factors that a woman General Semanticist might take into account in dealing with the instinctual behavior of herself as a devoted mother and former empress, who is also a widow. But, fortunately, we have more obvious reasons for not acting hastily in this situation.”

The woman had been staring at him, as he spoke the analysis. Now, she shook her head in what seemed to be a chiding manner.

“Was that,” she asked, “a typical, long-winded sample of your day-to-day conversation as a General—” she hesitated—“semanticist?”

Gosseyn glanced mentally back over his analysis; and it was surely the most involved statement that had recently been spoken by any of the Gosseyns.

Nonetheless, he braced himself, and said, “Madam, I want you to picture the situation that exists here. A short time ago, a stranger—myself—was brought aboard this vessel. Within an hour or so after he is awakened by ship scientists, the emperor’s mother announces she will marry this stranger. The outward appearance is—would be—that I have used a malign mental power of some kind to influence the emperor’s mother. Once such a thought was presented to the officers of this great ship, they would come charging to your defense. Nothing would dissuade them from taking whatever action they deemed necessary.”

He was aware that as he spoke there was a progressive change of expression in the woman’s face and eyes: it seemed to be acceptance of his reasoning.

Indeed, moments later she began to nod. And then she said, “I can see a speedy marriage would be unwise. But a very private liaison, with the understanding between you and me that the end-result would be marriage, should surely satisfy all your religious scruples.” Gosseyn found himself smiling; for it was . . . surely . . . a subject to which General Semantics had never addressed itself. But he felt secure. “Not General Semantics,” he said confidently.

During the interchange, brief though it was, the woman must have had time to have a basic thought of her own. For suddenly she smiled.

“My dear friend,” she said in a voice that had in it the extra sweetness of sarcasm, “one of these times you must explain General Semantics and tell me all about its God; how he has managed to restrain the passions of the most willful and sexually determined creatures in the universe: men!”

She broke off: “Right now, I am reluctantly accepting that, for some reason, you cannot adjust to a simple reality of the way of man and woman. And perhaps I shall have to re-evaluate my first reaction to you. But even that can wait. And—” more sweetly, still—“since I accept that nothing is going to happen right now, and I’ve already been cooled off by this outrageous conversation, why don’t you go back into that other room; and I’ll join you there presently?”

“Thank you, madam,” said Gosseyn.

Whereupon, he turned, and opened the door, and walked through it into the reception or living room.

Vaguely, he was ashamed of himself. But also he felt relieved because, really—no commitments until this entire situation was clarified in some reasonable way. . . Right, Gosseyn Two?—”

The reply came at once; but it had the same doubtful quality that was there in the back of his own mind: “We do need more information; but Patricia, here, is shaking her head over you, and smiling.”

“Tell the lady,” communicated Gosseyn Three, “that women have been rejecting men since time immemorial, and feeling justified about it. And no need for anybody smiling.”

It must have seemed true; because there was no reply.

Now what?

He had seated himself in one of the comfortable chairs. He waited there, expecting the woman to appear any moment. But even if she did show, the question remained:

Where do we go from here?

Gosseyn Three was aware of the puffing of his own breathing; and several times in those first restless minutes there was the sound of his clothing rubbing against the soft, luxurious upholstery on which he sat. In between those perceptions—dead silence.

The reception room continued to feed back to him the timeless beauty and costliness of an apartment that had been decorated and furnished to satisfy the requirements of people accustomed to total wealth.

But, somehow, that merely accentuated his feeling of being an intruder, without any real knowledge of his surroundings.

. . . This is pretty ridiculous—he thought.

Incredibly, one of the mightiest events in the history of two galaxies had brought this giant battleship here to this area of the Milky Way galaxy from another island universe out there in space. And had apparently accomplished the feat at the speed of 20-decimal similarity.

The implications were not immediately analyzable. But surely this wasn’t all there was. The colossal meaning of such an Event in Space Time needed to be scientifically studied and understood.

. . . And with, at least, equal certainty, men like Breemeg and the Draydart, representative of the military people, were acting in some way, and not merely waiting.