The Totems of Abydos (16 page)

Then Brenner had his hand on the glass, and, slowly, deliberately, in misery, as steadily as he could, took a tiny sip. It was a cheap cooler, flavored with imported citarine extract. The bartender, if Brenner had not been mistaken, had served it with a certain contempt. Rodriguez was nursing a glass of Heimat, for which he had a taste.

“I cannot have this person in this position,” said Brenner.

“She is a female,” said Rodriguez. “If you would look at her, you might notice that.”

“I cannot have this young woman in this position,” said Brenner.

“Call her a “girl,”” said Rodriguez.

Brenner looked at him, angrily.

“She is a girl,” said Rodriguez.

“Rodriguez,” protested Brenner, half under his breath.

“She is pretty enough, and menial enough, to be a girl,” said Rodriguez. “And considering her status, there is no doubt about it. She is a girl.”

Brenner looked away, angrily. Too, he was worried. He recalled the first woman, the blonde. She had hurried forth from behind the curtain, in response to the signal, but then, for the merest instant, had stopped. She had regarded them. She had seemed startled, and then flushed, as though with sudden hope. Her hand had gone, seemingly inadvertently, to the narrow, silken sash of her garment, tight about her waist, but then she had jerked it away, frightened. She had looked to the proprietor, and the bartender. Neither, it seemed, was paying her attention. Of course, she had responded to the signal. Neither, too, then, would have observed her tiny, arrested, furtive movement, that of her hand near her sash. She then gathered herself together, and smoothed down the sides of her brief garment. On her left ankle was a small chain. Attached to it was a tiny disk. She had then approached them in a manner which might have made Brenner cry out in protest and desire, on all fours, had he had not detected something of falsity in it. Before Brenner and Rodriguez, Brenner surmised, she was, in effect, acting. This was to be a secret between the three of them, to be kept from the zards. Surely Rodriguez, too, with his perceptiveness, had noticed these things. “Sirs?” she had then asked, kneeling before Rodriguez, whom she naturally took to be first amongst them. He looked at her, and she looked puzzled, and then she smiled, knowingly, and spread her knees more widely. This, too, Brenner gathered was to be a part of the secret. He had to look away from her, as it disturbed him to see her as she was garmented, and in her current attitude. Such things made his blood scream with need. In a moment or two, he could look back, as the woman had withdrawn, Rodriguez having ordered, the food to be brought to one of the tables. Brenner was hungry, as they had not eaten since this morning on the ship. A few moments later the quirt had struck down twice again on the desk, suddenly, loudly, sharply, the sounds startling Brenner, and the second woman, a brunette, had come forth, and quickly. There had been no doubt whatsoever as to her prompt response to the signal. Then she, too, as had the other woman, had stopped. Then, angrily, she had dropped to her knees and, in a moment, as Brenner supposed she was expected to do, head down, approached them on all fours. Although she was angry, resentful, frustrated, she was not like the other woman. This one, before them, was truly on all fours.

Then she was before Brenner, and put her head down, and kissed his boots, first the left and then the right, and then knelt near him, holding to his leg, and putting her cheek close to, and then against, his leg. He had tried to draw back, but she had kept close to him. She seemed angry, but frightened, too. It was then that he ordered her away from him. She had not, of course, as we recall, surrendered her position. Brenner, putting down his drink, was in consternation. He had never seen women like this before, of course, or known they could be like this, except perhaps in his dreams. But it had not occurred to him that the substance of such dreams might be founded on realities, to be sure, realities which he had not himself experienced. These things, then, as actualities, not as dreams, were revelations to him. He had not really understood that females could be such, or that there might be places where they were such. To be sure, he had heard of such things, as, for example, having a woman at one’s feet, but, as is well understood, to hear of having one there is one thing, and to have one there, in actuality, is quite another. Brenner wanted to scream, to cry out with exultant joy, but instead he had ordered her to withdraw, with which command, as we noted, she did not comply, but only clung to his leg the more closely.

The proprietor, back at the desk, stood up, sliding his chair, or seating device, a rather heavy, stable object, cut in such a way as to accommodate his tail, backward on the wooden floor. He then came about the side of the desk. Although the girl had not turned to see, she had undoubtedly heard the movement of the chair, or seating device. Brenner felt her cheek press more closely against his thigh. Her small hands held him more closely, too. He noted that the zard, in leaving the desk, had picked up the quirt. But he had done so, as far as Brenner could tell, as much as a matter of habit as anything else. The zard, in its soiled, pocketed apron, was now moving toward them, with its characteristic, stalking gait. It was of average height for a zard, which was some seven Commonworld feet in height, a foot or so taller than either Rodriguez or Brenner. Brenner could mark its approach, its measured steps, the heel pads of its rear legs making contact with the floor first, and then its claws. Brenner felt the girl now press even more closely against him, and hold even more closely to his leg. She seemed to be very afraid. Then the steps passed them, as the zard, apparently not even noticing them, or being concerned with them, went to the door of the establishment, and, stretching his neck a little, peered out into the night. Outside the paneling of the door one could see the rain in the light of the establishment’s sign. Then, in a moment or so, the zard turned about, and stalked back to his desk. The night was not a good one for business in Company Station.

The girl drew back a little, but kept her cheek in contact with his thigh, her head down. Too, she held to his leg, as before. Brenner could not forget the feel of her body, the softness of it as it had been pressed so closely against him in the girl’s terror, her apparent fear of the proprietor, that unspeakable, luscious softness which was doubtless intended to be betrayed by the bit of yellow silk she wore. How that softness had alarmed him, and disturbed him!

Brenner took another drink, angrily.

He was furious that he had agreed to come with Rodriguez. He had originally resolved to remain in the hostel. He realized now he should have done so. Too, he could have gotten something to eat there. But he had decided not to remain there. He had been afraid to stay there, not that there was any real danger. And he had certainly been pleased to follow Rodriguez to the hostel. The day had been, as it remained, chilly, and what with the rain, and enough wind to drive the chill through one’s jacket, he had been miserable. When Rodriguez and he, soaked and cold, with their bags, had entered the hostel, he had seen, behind, and above, the desk, squatting in a large ring, suspended on a chain hung from the ceiling, a small, large-eyed, furred creature. He had originally taken this to be a pet of some sort but it had swung down from the ring to the desk, and, in a bit, had welcomed and registered them. Shortly thereafter, too, it had with one small, prehensile, black-toed foot, punched a bell, in response to which a large, shambling, slothlike creature hove into view, who seized up their bags and began to ascend the stairs. Ascending rings hung to one side, for the use of those who might prefer them to the stairs. The stairs were broad, and coarsely carpeted, to accommodate various sorts of grasping or locomotory appendages. The desk clerk, if Rodriguez was right in his identification, as it seemed probable he would be, was a Chian lemet, whereas the porter, if we may call him that, was a hirsute, three-toed veripus, an unpleasant creature of unusual strength, thought to have been originally native to Pergamum. Before one forms any possible contempt for either of these species, however, it is well to keep in mind that both life forms had independently, long ago, achieved interstellar capability, a feat which the species of Rodriguez and Brenner, presumably because of various historical reasons, had never managed. In the hallway, leading to their room, Rodriguez and Brenner passed a female of their species, who was standing near a cart. On a projection at one end of the cart, and within two containing rails, one lower and one higher, were some cleaning implements, brooms of various sorts, dustpans, one long-handled and one short-handled, and, standing in a pail of liquid, a mop. The top two shelves of the cart were laden with various objects, implements and supplies. Amongst these were brushes of various sorts, and cans and bottles, filled with various substances serviceable for cleaning and polishing. There were also such things as toiletries, bars of soap, and such. There were also, folded neatly, assortments of clean linen, sheets and such. Two blankets were also in evidence. The lower portion of the cart back from the projection, contained a hamper, in which crumpled sheets could be seen, and another container in which might be seen such things as discarded paper and the remnants of packagings of various sorts. At one side of the hall, not on the cart, was a vacuum cleaner. The woman lowered her head as they passed. She was wearing that form of garment which Rodriguez had reminded him was called a “dress.” It was rather stiff, and was presumably starched. It was of two colors, basically tan, but trimmed with white at the collar and at the borders of the short sleeves. Brenner had seldom seen a woman’s arms, as home-world proprieties had required that those small, lovely, rounded limbs should be concealed. Naturally that her arms were bared disturbed him. The dress, too, far worse, came slightly above her knees. This, too, disturbed Brenner, and even more than the baring of her arms, for the home-world proprieties were even sterner with respect to the baring of a woman’s legs, perhaps because this was thought to lead even more swiftly to lewd thoughts of mysterious, sacrosanct secrecies. Such things, the baring of arms and, even more, the baring of legs, were thought to demean her personness, which was apparently regarded by many as being incompatible with having a body, or, at least, an interesting, attractive one. The porter, for we shall speak of him as that, as he passed her, paid her no attention. Brenner noticed that the woman was barefoot, as had been the woman with whom he had so inadvertently and unfortunately collided earlier in the day, she who had been so angry. But about the ankle of this woman, the left ankle, was a small, sturdy chain, doubtless a decoration of some sort. She had apparently fastened this on herself with some sort of short, thick, cylindrical lock. Completing the decoration, about an inch in diameter, was a small, flat, circular metal disk, itself fastened into one of the links. This unpretentious little getup at the ankle seemed to Brenner an unusual sort of ornament, particularly in its plainness and sturdiness, but he did admit it was attractive.

It disturbed Brenner, of course, that the woman should be seen in the company of such tools and implements.

The door to the room was ajar and the porter thrust it open with his foot, that Brenner and Rodriguez might enter. In the room were two more women who, looking up, as they entered, and then looking down, quickly completed their work, turning down the second of the two beds in the room. Something in the attitude of the women had suggested to Brenner that they might be frightened of the porter. The porter put their bags inside the room. The two women now hurried out, one of them glancing over her shoulder at Brenner as she left. The porter had not acknowledged their presence. They were dressed the same as the woman he had encountered in the hall, and so he came to understand that their dresses were, in effect, a sort of livery or uniform. Both, too, as had the woman in the hall, had worn the tiny decorations on their left ankle, the sturdy little chain, with its lock, and disk. As one of them had left Brenner had heard a tiny, metallic click, presumably that of her disk, or its fastening, interacting with the chain.

Brenner looked after them.

“Maids,” explained Rodriguez.

“Maids?” said Brenner.

“Yes,” said Rodriguez.

This, too, upset Brenner, as such work had been outlawed for women on the home world, where it was regarded, in its servility, and meniality, as demeaning. Such work, on the home world, was now done by men.

“I do not understand,” said Brenner.

“This is Company Station,” said Rodriguez, by way of explanation.

“But they are women,” said Brenner.

“It is fit work for them,” said Rodriguez.

“Surely you are joking,” said Brenner.

“Not at all,” said Rodriguez. “Let them get down on their knees and scrub floors, let them dust and clean, and sweep, and cook, and launder, and sew. Such servile tasks are fit for them.”

“I cannot believe what I am hearing,” said Brenner.

“I am not a politician,” said Rodriguez. “I am an anthropologist.”

Most positions of importance and authority on the home world, as far as Brenner knew, were now occupied by women. There were many explanations for this, such as the remote successes of various militancies and activisms, numerous discoveries of rights, countless stunning advances in social, political, and economic justice, landmark decisions by judiciaries, reformations in education, institutionalization of much-needed public conditioning programs, media control, censorship, the domination of major political parties, and the eventual control of all significant political processes, at least on the surface. Further, as every schoolchild knew, the natural superiority of women, and their right to rule, and be dominant, had been demonstrated scientifically in a number of ways, for example, by means of carefully conducted experiments, as a consequence of numerous tests of various design, and by open, objectively conducted public-opinion polls. Interestingly enough, in spite of an apparent control of power on the home world it was rumored that many men remained in positions of power in the metaparty, if it existed, and, indeed, interestingly, that certain women in the metaparty served these men in secret, much as might slaves masters. He knew a number of highly placed women. He wondered if some of them, in secret, had their masters. Then he dismissed such a horrid thought. There were some reservations about the scientific aspects of matters, of course, such as the difficulty of replicating certain crucial experiments, of which little more than the purported consequences were published, difficulties connected primarily with the classified nature of the experimental designs and controls. There were similar reservations on the part of some with respect to the reliability and, more importantly, the validity, of the tests. Historians, largely in obscure monographs, often privately published, had noted interesting correlations, spanning several thousand years, between the pronouncements of objective science and the requirements of various political establishments. The ports at which the ship of science called were often determined by the rudder of politics. Similarly the cargos it carried and the goods it pretended to deliver were often determined by those who, in effect, owned the ship.