you'reâ'
"No!"
'Now look, Heem. You're being unreasonable. What do you have against me? Maybe I can alleviate it.'
Heem formulated a savage needlejet, thought better of it, and sprayed irately, "You're alien! I don't want you poking into my mind."
'I think we've been over that, Heem. What either of us wants in that respect is pretty well irrelevant. You knew there'd be an alien transfereeâ'
"Not a female one!"
'Oh, now we have it, do we? It isn't just the shock of encountering a female where you didn't expect one. You're a male chauvinist!'
"Females are all right in their place."
'And what is that place? In the steaming kitchen, the nursery, the laundry roomâ'
Heem interrupted her with a spray of pure incomprehension. "What is a kitchen? A nursery? A laundry?"
'Oh, my. Maybe I'd better find out more about your females. Let's start with the basic common ground. Your females do bear children, don't they, soâ'
"They do produce litters." But he did not want to discuss that aspect. It was a private female thing about which he knew no details. "What is this kitchen your females belong in? This laundry?"
'They don't belong inâoh, never mind. It's where we fix our meals and clean our clothing.'
"Meals? Clothing?"
'You know. We just covered that. Food, to eat, andâ'
"You are not revolted?"
'Let's leave the ramifications for later. What do you really have against females?'
"I do notâ"
'Yes you do. You are against me not because I'm alien, but because I'm female. I mean to get to the root of this. Why don't you want to associate with a female?'
"Because you invade my privacy! There are thoughts that are not meant to be known to your kind."
'Thoughts? It's not as if I were parading nude in public! Iâ'
"Nude?"
'Without clothing. Exposed.'
"We wear no such encumbrance. Our bodies are always exposed. Why should any creature not be exposed?"
'Well, we Solarians do have some exposure. I meant in a sexual connection. Copulating in public, that sort of thing.'
"What is private about copulation?"
'Oh, my! I think I see the problem. To Solarians, sexual activity is generally privateâeven the necessary organs are called privatesâwhile thoughts may be disseminated freely to an audience of millions. To you HydrOs, I gatherâ'
"Thoughts are private!" Heem sprayed, shocked. "Among comprehending males, thoughts may on occasion be broadcast. But never in mixed company."
'And I, as a female able to read many of your thoughtsâI guess that has a certain effect on you, as it would on me if I were thrown naked into the men's room at a busy hour.'
"I do not comprehend your analogy, but your emotion seems equivalent."
'Uh, yes. And I must admit your view makes about as much sense as mine. Bodies are not obscene, really; it's only the mind that makes them so. I'd hate to have my thoughts advertised at certain times.'
"You do not object to a male fathoming your most private thoughts?" Heem found the notion incredible.
'Well, you're alien. Your metabolism is completely different from mine. I wouldn't object to walking naked before a dog or a horse or a dragon of either sex; they're different creatures. But the cynosure of my own kind would be devastating. Now youâyou're alien, but you're also sapient. That makes it hard to judge. But I think you would hardly care about my human attributes, so it wouldn't matter if you saw them. If you could see.'
Heem pondered that. She only minded being perceived by those who comprehended what they saw? She was certainly alien! Yet her rationale made a certain devious sense. She was so far removed from him that she had little comprehension of his concerns. What relevance, then, did her gender have? He began to feel easier.
In a moment the fluid cushion of the acceleration compartment drained, and Heem found himself in near-free-fall, in control of the ship. He jetted the Mission button. "Welcome to the competition," the ship's nozzle
"No!"
'Now look, Heem. You're being unreasonable. What do you have against me? Maybe I can alleviate it.'
Heem formulated a savage needlejet, thought better of it, and sprayed irately, "You're alien! I don't want you poking into my mind."
'I think we've been over that, Heem. What either of us wants in that respect is pretty well irrelevant. You knew there'd be an alien transfereeâ'
"Not a female one!"
'Oh, now we have it, do we? It isn't just the shock of encountering a female where you didn't expect one. You're a male chauvinist!'
"Females are all right in their place."
'And what is that place? In the steaming kitchen, the nursery, the laundry roomâ'
Heem interrupted her with a spray of pure incomprehension. "What is a kitchen? A nursery? A laundry?"
'Oh, my. Maybe I'd better find out more about your females. Let's start with the basic common ground. Your females do bear children, don't they, soâ'
"They do produce litters." But he did not want to discuss that aspect. It was a private female thing about which he knew no details. "What is this kitchen your females belong in? This laundry?"
'They don't belong inâoh, never mind. It's where we fix our meals and clean our clothing.'
"Meals? Clothing?"
'You know. We just covered that. Food, to eat, andâ'
"You are not revolted?"
'Let's leave the ramifications for later. What do you really have against females?'
"I do notâ"
'Yes you do. You are against me not because I'm alien, but because I'm female. I mean to get to the root of this. Why don't you want to associate with a female?'
"Because you invade my privacy! There are thoughts that are not meant to be known to your kind."
'Thoughts? It's not as if I were parading nude in public! Iâ'
"Nude?"
'Without clothing. Exposed.'
"We wear no such encumbrance. Our bodies are always exposed. Why should any creature not be exposed?"
'Well, we Solarians do have some exposure. I meant in a sexual connection. Copulating in public, that sort of thing.'
"What is private about copulation?"
'Oh, my! I think I see the problem. To Solarians, sexual activity is generally privateâeven the necessary organs are called privatesâwhile thoughts may be disseminated freely to an audience of millions. To you HydrOs, I gatherâ'
"Thoughts are private!" Heem sprayed, shocked. "Among comprehending males, thoughts may on occasion be broadcast. But never in mixed company."
'And I, as a female able to read many of your thoughtsâI guess that has a certain effect on you, as it would on me if I were thrown naked into the men's room at a busy hour.'
"I do not comprehend your analogy, but your emotion seems equivalent."
'Uh, yes. And I must admit your view makes about as much sense as mine. Bodies are not obscene, really; it's only the mind that makes them so. I'd hate to have my thoughts advertised at certain times.'
"You do not object to a male fathoming your most private thoughts?" Heem found the notion incredible.
'Well, you're alien. Your metabolism is completely different from mine. I wouldn't object to walking naked before a dog or a horse or a dragon of either sex; they're different creatures. But the cynosure of my own kind would be devastating. Now youâyou're alien, but you're also sapient. That makes it hard to judge. But I think you would hardly care about my human attributes, so it wouldn't matter if you saw them. If you could see.'
Heem pondered that. She only minded being perceived by those who comprehended what they saw? She was certainly alien! Yet her rationale made a certain devious sense. She was so far removed from him that she had little comprehension of his concerns. What relevance, then, did her gender have? He began to feel easier.
In a moment the fluid cushion of the acceleration compartment drained, and Heem found himself in near-free-fall, in control of the ship. He jetted the Mission button. "Welcome to the competition," the ship's nozzle
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