this competition, and to her he was the anathema alien without the organs of perception she required, and she had no more desire to occupy a male host than he had to have a female transferee.
'That's kind of you to think that, butâ'
"I wonder," Heem jetted slowly. "I had a desperate need to get into space, and I knew I needed a transferee. I must have encompassed any aura that came, overriding the natural cautions of my system. It could be as much my fault as yours."
'I do prefer your logic to mine,' she admitted.
"And you did accomplish what I required," he continued. "They must have verified my aura and yours, and approved me for the competition while I was still trying to devise a scheme to slip through without a transferee. So I made it to space after all. But nowâ"
'Now my presence is hampering you,' she said. He now found it easier to stop attributing her communication to jets; she simply did not jet or spray, even in her mind. She spoke. She seemed to become more intelligible as he accepted this alien reality.
"I really had little hope of winning the competition anyway. I am satisfied to be offplanet, with or without a transfer aura. But I do not know how you will return to your natural body if we leave the competition."
'I have to return!' she cried. 'I couldn't stand to be blind and deaf all my life!'
"To do that, we will have to win the competition. That will not be easy."
'But only one person can win. Don't all the transferees get to go home, after it is over?'
"They should. But I personally do not dare return to my home-planet for the retransfer of my visitor. You would go homeâbut I would be perpetually confined. I joined the competition to get away from that fate."
'But if we win the competitionâ'
"Then I will return as a hero, my criminal record pardoned. They have given me a considerable incentive."
'Then it's decided. We both have incentives. We win the competition!'
"Solarianâ"
'Jessica. That's my name.'
"Jessica Solarianâthis competition may be more hazardous than you appreciate. We could both perish."
'I understood it was a low-risk mission.'
"It is supposed to be. But I have had news of prior competitions. If the objective is important, the participants get highly competitive. A certain amount of intrigue, even violence occurs. It is not supposed to, but it does."
'Oh,' she said faintly. 'But maybe this objective is not so important.'
"Perhaps. We shall soon know. The ship is stabilizing; we have almost achieved escape velocity."
'Um,' she agreed nervously. 'So we may face real action. Look, Heem, we should get to know each other, so we know how to integrate. It could make a big difference. Exchange memories, compare notes, valuesâ'
He had had enough of this. "No!" he jetted. "Go away!"
'I can't go away. You know that. I'm stuck here in your body until we get to an aura transfer machine, besides which, I genuinely want to help. I feel responsibleâ'
"I don't want your help!"
'Well, my help has been forced on you. You shouldn't have signed up for this mission, if you really didn't wantâ'
Heem needled an intense negation at her.
'Hey! That hurt!' she protested.
"Then be tasteless. Silent. I don't want to be aware of your presence when I begin piloting this ship."
'Well, you needed my help before, and I think you'll need it again. Since my own welfare is tied up in this just as much as yoursâ'
Heem, furious at her persistence, needled angry loathing at her.
Jessica bounced it back at him. The impulse washed through his mind, disgusting him.
'See, I can do it too!' she said. 'I can make your mind just as miserable as you make mine. And I will , if I have to. But I don't want to have to.'
"What do you want?" Heem demanded. A part of him wondered why he had turned so negative, and another part of him did not want the answer.
'Just to get to know you. So I know what I'm involved in. Really know, instead of just that
'That's kind of you to think that, butâ'
"I wonder," Heem jetted slowly. "I had a desperate need to get into space, and I knew I needed a transferee. I must have encompassed any aura that came, overriding the natural cautions of my system. It could be as much my fault as yours."
'I do prefer your logic to mine,' she admitted.
"And you did accomplish what I required," he continued. "They must have verified my aura and yours, and approved me for the competition while I was still trying to devise a scheme to slip through without a transferee. So I made it to space after all. But nowâ"
'Now my presence is hampering you,' she said. He now found it easier to stop attributing her communication to jets; she simply did not jet or spray, even in her mind. She spoke. She seemed to become more intelligible as he accepted this alien reality.
"I really had little hope of winning the competition anyway. I am satisfied to be offplanet, with or without a transfer aura. But I do not know how you will return to your natural body if we leave the competition."
'I have to return!' she cried. 'I couldn't stand to be blind and deaf all my life!'
"To do that, we will have to win the competition. That will not be easy."
'But only one person can win. Don't all the transferees get to go home, after it is over?'
"They should. But I personally do not dare return to my home-planet for the retransfer of my visitor. You would go homeâbut I would be perpetually confined. I joined the competition to get away from that fate."
'But if we win the competitionâ'
"Then I will return as a hero, my criminal record pardoned. They have given me a considerable incentive."
'Then it's decided. We both have incentives. We win the competition!'
"Solarianâ"
'Jessica. That's my name.'
"Jessica Solarianâthis competition may be more hazardous than you appreciate. We could both perish."
'I understood it was a low-risk mission.'
"It is supposed to be. But I have had news of prior competitions. If the objective is important, the participants get highly competitive. A certain amount of intrigue, even violence occurs. It is not supposed to, but it does."
'Oh,' she said faintly. 'But maybe this objective is not so important.'
"Perhaps. We shall soon know. The ship is stabilizing; we have almost achieved escape velocity."
'Um,' she agreed nervously. 'So we may face real action. Look, Heem, we should get to know each other, so we know how to integrate. It could make a big difference. Exchange memories, compare notes, valuesâ'
He had had enough of this. "No!" he jetted. "Go away!"
'I can't go away. You know that. I'm stuck here in your body until we get to an aura transfer machine, besides which, I genuinely want to help. I feel responsibleâ'
"I don't want your help!"
'Well, my help has been forced on you. You shouldn't have signed up for this mission, if you really didn't wantâ'
Heem needled an intense negation at her.
'Hey! That hurt!' she protested.
"Then be tasteless. Silent. I don't want to be aware of your presence when I begin piloting this ship."
'Well, you needed my help before, and I think you'll need it again. Since my own welfare is tied up in this just as much as yoursâ'
Heem, furious at her persistence, needled angry loathing at her.
Jessica bounced it back at him. The impulse washed through his mind, disgusting him.
'See, I can do it too!' she said. 'I can make your mind just as miserable as you make mine. And I will , if I have to. But I don't want to have to.'
"What do you want?" Heem demanded. A part of him wondered why he had turned so negative, and another part of him did not want the answer.
'Just to get to know you. So I know what I'm involved in. Really know, instead of just that
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