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Quiteright, hesaidchee rfully. Weassumedyo
uwouldn tbecomehystericalatthefact,i twasoneo fyourchiefattractions. He
wavedagreen
handtowardthebookshelvesgluttedwithsciencefictionmagazinesandnovels.
MiltK lowitzstruggledtomaintain
thepoisewithwhichhehadbeencredited.Heloweredhimself
intotheoppositechairandfranklystared.
Itwasourbe liefthatanEarthmansteepedinthefantast icliteratureofyourer
awouldbemost easilyapproached. Judging fromy our reaction, I wouldsay that
ourc onfidencewasjustified.
Where? Miltsaid. Thestrangledwordwasonlythebeginningofh
isquestion,butthegreenman seemedtocomprehend.
From a world whosename you wou ldn tknow , aw
orldnotinyoursolarsystemorastronomicaltables. A world,I
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mightadd,whichhasbecomeincreasinglyconcernedwith yourbehavior.
Me? M iltsa id, looking injured.
Oh, not youpersonally.Yourspecies. Wehavebeensendingen voystosu
rveythesituationw ithsomeregularity.Thei rreportshavedeterminedourdecision.
Decisionabout what?
Thegreenmanrecrossedhislegs. Aboutwhethero r not yourd abblingsin atomicener
gy constitute anysortof threatto our safety.Ourpeople getve ry nervousabout
thatsort of thing.
Andwhat, Miltsaid,sw allowingaboulder, haveyoudecided?
That you areathreat.
Arewhat?
A threat.Averyconsiderablethreat.N otin your ownsh
ortlifespan,perhaps,butwithinour own. For thatreason, ourCouncilof
Eldershaswiselydec idedtoel iminatethethreat beforeit becomes reality. Wethink
of itasasor t ofvaccination;ap reventativemeasure.
Buthow?
Simple.Bydestroyin
gyourplanet.Inamatterofsixhyppecs...I msorry, thegreenmanaddedapologetically,
reckonedinEarthtime,thatwouldbeexactlytwoweeks.
Milt felth isspineturn intoalemonp
opsicle.Wasthispossible?Couldthisconceivablyb ehappenin
g?Tohim?ToMiltKlowitz,whohad neverin hiswildest...
He knew hehad tos aysomething:itwas histurn. It was onlyac roak,but itstarte
dhim going.
Th-th-thisisprettyoldstuff,y know.
Thegreenmanlookedconcerned. Oh?
Miltfeltathomenow.Thiswashisdepth,hisstrata...Greystroke was the firs tt
ousetha tidea. Back inthe1700s,a long inthere.AndtherewasMauroisandVerne,rough
lyspeaking,andWe lls,an doh,all themodern boysuseitregularly.It saclichby
now.Wh ye ven--
Thegreenmancuthimoffwithafacingpalm.
I takei t, hesaidstiffly, thatyou are trying
totellmethattheconceptofyourplanet being dealt withinsu ch a mannerh
asbeenexploredinyour tribal literature?
Miltn oddedslowly,nolonger sureofh imself.
I m reallyquitesurprisedatyou,Mr.Klowitz.F romourreport,youwerelabeledade
finite subject for this; very
lowsurprisethresholdandall.Butyourincredulityseemstonegateourfindings.
PerhapsI dbettermovealong.... He beganto rise.
Waitasecond, Miltbegan.
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I wasgoingt o offer youthe opportunityt o besurvivornumberone
, thegreenmantossedoffregretfully,headingfo rthedoor , bu
tyouseemtoprefertoperishwiththerestofyourrace.Well,therearethreeotherpossibili
tiesonmyl ist.
Hishandwasonthedoorknob.
Hey!Stop !Iwant to tal kt oyou! Milt p leaded,see ingh
islifegoingoutthedoor. Thegreenmanpaused. Wait?Whatfor?
Well,I mean, gee,I mean,can t a guy findita littleweirdto haveamanf
romsomeotherp lanet in hisliving room,and--
Someotherislanduniverse, the greenmancorrectedincisively.
Yeah,sure,that swhatImean, Miltmumbled. Look,wh ydon tyo
ugivemeanotherchance. Youunderstand.Iw asalittlerocked, that sall--
Thegreenmanhesitated,andpursedhisfulllips.
Well. Nowyous oundmorelikethemanin thereport. Hetookhis chair again,withdrew
anodd metalcardandtappeditwith ane venodders tylus. Now, hesaid, asifex
aminingag rocery list, if wecan arrangeforyouandy our matetobeatth
eappointedplace--
What sthat?
Isaid,ifwecanarrangeforyourmateandyourself toa rriveat th e rendezvous point
whereour vessel canpickyouup--
Whatmate?I mabachelor: I beg yourpardon?
Abachelor.Single.Free.Unfettered.I mnotmarried.
Idon tunderstand. Thegreenman seyesblinked,andthe blob of anose qui vered. I
understood f romourenvo
ysthattheentirespecieswaspaired.Twosexes:oneman,onewoman.Itisyourb reeding
technique.
That strue,allright.Onl yId on thaveanymate,notyet.Maybenever.So wed on t
haveto worry aboutthat.
Thegreenmansighedfromthedepthsofhisbody.Heshookhisheadslowly,andbe
gantoriseto hisfeetwithanexpressivefrownofdispleasureandmelancholy.
Whereareyougoing?
IwishIcouldhaveavoidedthis,butIseet hatIc annot. In aturally assumedyouw
ouldhavea mate; we believed itwastheuniversalprincipleony ourplanet.
AndIamunderst rictorderstobringbacka pair.
Butw aitami nute--
I ms orry. TheCouncil wasmosts pecific. Onepair of Earthlings,
maleandfemale.I cannot, asyoumightsay,breaku ptheset.
Hestartedforthedoo r,andagainMiltsawthee
ndoftheworldinhisgesture.Hegrabbedforthe greenman sarm andpulledhimb ack
intotheroom.
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Youcan tmeanthat!Youcan tjustwalkout ofhere thisway--
I havemy orders, thevisitorsaidgravely.
ButI ll get a mate. Ip romise!I ll get onesoon!
I hardlythink--
So helpmeI will! Miltletthehysteria takeover; hewastiredof holding itdo wn.
I llgetam ate right away.You llsee. A genuineEarth-typemate--
I m afraidthere s hardlyenought ime.Ify ouwille xcuse me.
Justgivemeachance.Aweek--afewdays--
Thegreenmanhesitated,andthe hesitationg aveMilth ope. A fewda ys? the
visitorsa idmildly.
Exactlyhowmanydays?
Five!
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