Chapter 13 Theme Variations VI — A Tale of Twins Who Are Not Twins

(some content omitted) ...but back then, my most frequent trade was as a space trader, Minerva.The leap from slave to bishop was imposed upon me.I had to behave myself for a long time, it's just not my style.Maybe Jesus was right when he said tame people would inherit land - the problem is that they inherit very little, about six feet by three feet in size. But the road from farm coolie to freedom must go through the church, and the church demands tameness, so I behaved very tame.Those priests have some weird habits... (Nine thousand three hundred characters omitted) —and so, I left that damned planet, never wanting to go back.

—but centuries later, I went back.I had just finished my rejuvenation treatment, and I no longer looked like the bishop who disappeared into space in a spaceship. I'm a space merchant again.This line of work suits me well; it keeps you traveling and seeing new things.I came back to Blaiste for money, not revenge.I never waste my brain on revenge; the Count of Monte Cristo syndrome is exhausting and uninteresting.If I got into a fight with a guy and he survived, I wouldn't come back and kill him later.Instead, I want to outlive him—which also balances my mind.I reckon two centuries is enough time for all my enemies in Blaith to die.Many of them have died since I left that place.

I would not have stopped in Blythe if it were not for business.Interstellar trade is the most basic economic activity.You can't earn money by earning "money" because money is not money outside the planet that issued it.The vast majority of money in the galaxy is nominal; a ship full of banknotes is just a pile of scrap paper elsewhere.Bank credit is even less valuable; the distances between the stars in the Milky Way are too great.Even tinkling hard currency has to be treated as a commodity, not money, or you're just kidding yourself and making yourself penniless. Thus, it is the space businessman who grasps the essence of economics, a height rarely attained by bankers and professors.Merchants focus on bartering instead of some other frivolous stuff.He would pay the inescapable tax, not caring whether it was called "excise duty," "the king's penny," "fiscal squeeze," or outright bribery.It's another kid's bat, ball, and backyard, so you have to play by his rules.Nothing to discuss.Respect for the rules should be pragmatic.Women know this innately; that's why they're all smugglers.Men usually believe—or pretend to believe—that "regulation" is sacred, or at least a science.But this is an unfounded assumption, which is very beneficial to the government.

I rarely smuggle.It's dangerous.You may end up earning money but be afraid to spend it on a planet that issues it.I just try to avoid doing business where the taxes are too high. According to the theory of supply and demand, in determining the value of an item, where the item is located is as important as what it is - this is what the merchant does; he moves items from places of low value to where they can be worth more money place.The stinky manure in the stables becomes expensive fertilizer when transported to the south, and the pebbles on one planet become precious gems on another.The skill of choosing goods is to know where the goods are worth more money. The merchant who can guess this right can earn a fortune once, and the person who guesses wrong may become penniless.

. So it's time to do some trade. There is little profit to be made from trading between the two places; scarce resources are quickly replenished.But trade between the three places -- or more -- is lucrative.For example: Some items in Landover, let’s say cheese, have become luxury goods in Bryce; and some products produced by Bryce, such as chalk, are in great demand in Valhalla... and Valhalla Ra produced some of the gadgets that Landover needed. In this order, you can make money by selling goods; in the reverse order, you will be so poor that you lose your last shirt. I first trafficked goods on the first two planets, from Landover to Blaster, and it was very successful. I sold all my goods-what goods?It's a miracle I can remember; I've been through so much.Anyway, I got a good price and had a lot of money for the time being.

How much is "a lot"?Just having money to spend before you leave a place you'll never go back to.If you keep that money and you go back later, you usually find—as far as I can remember—that because of inflation, or war, or taxes, or a change of government, or whatever, you Those nominal currencies that remain have lost the value it represents. My ship was about to be loaded and I deposited money into the Port Authority bond account.The rest of the money will depreciate sooner or later and I only have one day to dispose of it, which is before my ship is loaded.I had to watch from the sidelines while loading; I was my purser myself, and I didn't want to trust anyone else.

So I come to the business district.I think there are some bargains to be had here. I was dressed in high-end local clothes, followed by a bodyguard.At that time, Blaise was still in the era of the slave economy, and the social classes were distributed in a pyramid shape. Your position should be as close to the top of the pyramid as possible, at least it must look like that.My bodyguard is a slave, but not mine.I hired him from an agency.The slave didn't have to do anything but follow me around and eat like a pig. I'm not a hypocrite, but the social status I project requires a valet to follow me.A "gentleman" could not be registered at the Fraternity Hilton or any other local: first-class hotel without a valet in Blaster.Nor would I be able to eat in a fancy restaurant without my own servant standing behind me.The same goes for other things.Do as the Romans do.I've also been to places where you're forced to sleep with the hostess, which can be scary at times.Comparatively speaking, it is not very difficult to follow the customs of Blaisd.

Although that agency gave him a long stick, I didn't rely on him.I have prepared six kinds of protective measures on my body, and I am also very careful when walking on the street.When I myself was a slave here, Blaster was much more dangerous, and a "gentleman" was likely to be targeted, even if it wasn't the police who harassed him. It was not a day for slave auctions, so I took a shortcut and planned to go through the slave market to Jewel Street.That's when I saw there was a sale on the slave market,' so I slowed down.I don't want to buy slaves, but a Dong who has been sold himself will not walk away silently when he sees this situation, indifferent to the plight of the slaves.

No one seemed to want to buy either; poor people surrounded the surrogate tent.I judged from their clothes and other features that there were no men with valets. Sold slaves stand on a table, a young girl and a young boy.Boys are in the late stages of puberty and girls are mature.Considering that the girl matures earlier, it can be said that the two of them are about the same age.Taking my own youth as a standard, let's say they were about eighteen years old. : At this age, male slaves are usually locked in a barrel and eat food through holes in the barrel, while female slaves are ready to marry.

They all wore sleeveless robes.I know all too well what such robes mean; they should only be shown to would-be buyers, not the pauper.The robes signified that these were valuable slaves and that they should not be sold at public auction. Of course, the method used in the auction was the Dutch auction method, and the lowest bid was ten thousand Brysons.This price - how can I explain to you the currency used by a planet hundreds of light years away from here centuries ago?Let's put it this way: Dividing that price by five would be overpriced, unless the two kids are extraordinary characters.The financial news had just reported that morning that the best young slaves, of either sex, could only be sold for a thousand Brysons.

Have you ever been tempted by a piece of clothing in a store window, walked into the store, and couldn't resist buying it.No, of course you didn't.But that's what happened to me. All I did was say to the agent, "Sir, did you write the price wrong? Or is there something special about these two that you haven't shown?" I was just curious, Minerva, because I Neither wanting to own slaves nor the extra money in my pocket would allow me to change the prevailing trade on this planet.But I want to understand why.The girl wasn't particularly pretty; she wouldn't get very high bids as a slave girl.The boy wasn't very strong either.The two of them are also not compatible.On Earth, I'd take her for an Italian or an Egyptian, and him for a Swede. I was cordially invited into the tent, and the two slaves were wheeled before me; and the attitude of the agent showed that he had not received a single inquiry all day.My shadow whispered in my ear: "Master, this price is too high. I can take you to a black market for trading. The price there is more suitable, and you are guaranteed to be satisfied." "I said shut up, loyal!"—all the hired personal servants called "loyalty", probably to compare with the actual situation—"I want to see what's going on." As soon as the curtain of the tent was lowered to separate us from the poor people outside, the agent immediately brought me a chair, bowed and handed me a drink, and said enthusiastically: "Ah, honorable sir , I'm so glad you asked those questions! I'm going to show you a great miracle of science! A miracle that can astound God! I say the above in the name of a devout believer, a child of our eternal Church Yes. I will not lie!" The slave agent who can't lie has not yet been born.The two young men stood respectfully on the display stand, and loyalty whispered to me: Don't believe a word from him, master.That girl is nothing, and as for the boy, I can beat three of those punks with my bare hands--and the rental company can sell me to you for eight hundred Brysons, that's all. " I motioned for him to be quiet. "Sir, what is this deception all about?" "This is not a hoax, I swear on my mother's behalf, dear sir! Do you believe they are brother and sister?" I looked at them, "I don't believe it." "Can you believe they're not just brother and sister, but twins?" "Do not believe." "Do you believe they were born from the same father, same mother, same womb, and born at the same time?" "Same womb, maybe." I conceded. "Surrogate mother?" "No, no!, it's literally the same parents. And—and that's the oddity—" he stared me in the eye, lowering his voice, "and they paired and bred...because the twins There is no connection between them! Can you believe it?" I told him I believed, and I believed, that he would lose his license and face blasphemy charges. He smiled even wider.He complimented my intelligence, then asked how much I would pay for these two people - if he could prove that all of these things were true.It must be higher than ten thousand Bryson, because I must know that ten thousand is just the previous bid.Maybe fifteen thousand, deposit the money in a margin account by noon. I said, "Forget it, I'm leaving before noon." I started to stand up. He said: "Wait, I beg you! I can see that you are a well-educated, scientific, knowledgeable, well-informed gentleman, and of course you will give your humble servant a chance to show you evidence of?" I still want to leave; cheating disgusts me.But he waved his hand, and the two children took off their robes and began to strike various poses.The boy's arms are folded across his chest, and his feet are firmly planted.The girl strikes a graceful pose as old as Eve: one leg with the knee slightly forward, one hand on the hip, the other arm hanging loosely, the front of the chest protruding slightly forward.The pose almost made her beautiful, except that she looked a bit jaded.There is no doubt that she must have done this action hundreds of times. But that wasn't what stopped me; something was pissing me off.The boy was naked, of course, and the girl wore a chastity belt.Do you know what that is, Minerva? "Yes, Lazarus." This is too bad. I said, "Let the kid take that damn thing off! Now!:" It's stupid to do that, and I rarely interfere with anything on a strange planet.But that stuff is disgusting. "Of course, my lord; I'm about to have her removed. Easterita!" The girl turned away, the bored expression still on her face.The agent put his back against the boy so he wouldn't see him unlock the combination lock, and said apologetically, "She has to wear this, not only to guard against those rascals, but to protect her from her brothers. They Sleeps in a cot, but she's still—will you believe it, sir, when you see her fully grown?—a virgin! Show the honorable sir, Trita." With that bored look on her face, she started to move.I've always thought a virgin obsession was a pervert, so motioned her to stop, then asked the agent if she could cook. He assured me that she was the envy of all the chefs in Blaisd, and then tried to lock her up in that steel diaper.I said roughly, "Don't put that on her again! Nobody here wants to rape her. What about the proofs you promised to show me?" Minerva, who proved everything to me - except her cooking.The evidence he showed me still doesn't reassure me, but only because that's what he showed.If I saw that evidence in my clinic here, I would never hesitate. I should mention that although my family does not live in Blythe, there is a rejuvenation clinic there.That clinic ended up being taken over by the church, and ordinary people no longer had access to anti-aging techniques that showed good results even on short-lived people, and those techniques were only used on the great.But that planet has been leading the way in biotech; because the church needs it. Minerva, I have told you about the two children of which the slave trader spoke.You now know as much, if not more, about biology, genetics, and related technologies than Ishtar; and you don't have the limitations of her time and memory.So tell me, what did he prove to me? "They're complementary diploids, Lazarus." correct!Except he calls them the "mirror twins."Can you tell me how these two children were born, Minerva?If you were in charge, how would you create such twins? The computer replied while thinking: "'Mirror twins are a non-professional name for fertilized eggs that meet certain conditions-this name is more interesting. According to my records, Secundus has not conducted similar experiments. So I can only answer your question in theory. The necessary steps to make true complementary diploid twins include: First, you need to interfere with the development of gamete cells in the father and mother. That is to say, the whole process needs to start with and before meiosis, these are diploids without reduction. "Interfering with the spermatocytes of the father, there is no problem in theory, but because the spermatocytes are very small, the interference process is somewhat difficult. If I have time to make the necessary sophisticated epitaxy, I can try this . "The logical thing to do was, at first, to culture the paternal and maternal germ cells in glass blood. When a spermatogonia was found to have turned into a primary spermatocyte, which was still diploid, immediately This primary spermatocyte is separated; when the separated primary spermatocyte divides into two secondary spermatocytes - the cells are haploid, one carrying the x chromosome and the other carrying the y Chromosomes - The two secondary spermatocytes are immediately separated, allowing each to develop into sperm. "Merely intervening at the sperm stage is not enough; it does not eliminate the confusion of gamete pairs, so that the zygote complements only by chance. "Operationally speaking, the interference process for maternal cells is relatively simple, because the individual cells are larger. But this process will involve another problem; primary oocytes must undergo appropriate intervention during meiosis to produce two single cells. Ploidy and complementary secondary oocytes, rather than one oocyte and one, Lazarus, may take a lot of trial and error before finding a reliable technique for this process. This is the same process that produces identical twins Similar, but in terms of the overall process of gamete development, it is two stages ahead of identical twins. However, these steps are probably no more difficult than breeding a female rabbit without a father. I will not rush to make my own opinion' Because I lack previous facts to base it on. But what I want to say is that if there is enough time to develop this technology, I feel that this can be done. "Now we have complementary sets of sperm, one with a Y chromosome and one with an X chromosome, and we have a complementary pair of eggs, each with an X chromosome. The fertilization process is done in a glass vessel, and we also It is possible to select specific sperm to form female-male complementation with two eggs, but it is very difficult to achieve unless we can accurately determine the genetic map of the haploid, which is very difficult and may even cause genetic damage; I I feel that such an attempt should not be made. Instead, one sperm should be randomly selected to be implanted in the egg, and the other complementary sperm should be implanted in the other egg. "There is one last requirement to achieve what the slave agent said: the two fertilized eggs should be removed from the glass vessel and implanted in the womb of the oogonia donor. There, the twins experience natural The entire process of pregnancy and childbirth, culminating in birth. "Am I right, Lazarus?" That's right!Go find your homeroom teacher, honey; you'll get a gold star on your report card.Minerva, I don't know if it happened that way.But that’s exactly what the agent said, and the evidence he showed me seemed to back it up: lab reports, holograms, and a few other things.But the thief may forge some of this "evidence" and then find a random pair of children to fool him.Without his rhetoric, these two kids wouldn't sell above average.The so-called proofs looked all right, with the bishop's seal and seal on the lab reports and other proofs.Those photos and videos also look real.But then again, how can a layman judge?Even if the evidence were not falsified, all they can prove is that such a process actually happened; they cannot prove that the two children were the result of this process.Well, he may have sold many pairs of slaves with them, and the bishop may well be living a life of debauchery on it. I looked at the evidence, including scrapbooks of the two children's upbringing, and said, "Very interesting." Then I stood up, ready to leave. The agent darted between me and the tent curtain. "Sir," he said eagerly, "kind and generous sir—how about twelve thousand?" At this point, Minerva, my merchant nature takes over. "One thousand!" I countered.I myself don't know why.Oh no, I know.That girl's body has been mutilated by that damn chastity belt; I want to insult the trafficker. He took a step back in shock, his face full of pain, as if he was giving birth to a broken beer bottle. "You're kidding me. Eleven thousand Brysons and they're yours - I can't even get Ben back!" "Fifteen hundred." I replied.I have some money with me, and I can't spend it anywhere else.I told myself that I had the power to set them free, to stop that girl from being tied up in that damned instrument again. He murmured: "If they were mine, I would give them to you. I love these two elves as I love my own children. I will find them a merciful child for nothing else." A gentle, scientific master who can recognize the scientific value of the miracle of the birth of these two children. But His Excellency will hang me up, have my body cut off piece by piece, and torture me to death. —Van Bryson, you can take all the evidence. I'm going to lose a lot of money for both of them—just because I admire you so much." I raised the price to 4,500, he dropped it to 7,000, and we froze.I'm saving the money until the last minute, and I also feel he's getting close to the point where he can sell the two kids without drawing the bishop's wrath.If such a bishop really existed— He turned away, as if to say that this haggling process is over, I will not flatter you anymore.He screamed orders for the girl to put on the steel torture device. I take out my wallet.Minerva, you know how money works; you handle the government's financial affairs.But you may not know that cash is to some people what bones are to dogs.I counted forty-five hundred Brysons, big red and gold bills under the scoundrel's nose—and stopped.He was sweating; he gulped down his saliva, but he shook his head a little with effort. So I slowly, slowly counted out more bills.Counted five thousand Brysons—and put the money away. He blocked me - and then I found myself buying the only slave I ever owned. After that, he relaxed, as if relieved.But he also asked me to pay some small money to buy the evidence he presented.Although I don't care if I take or keep those things, I still paid two hundred and fifty Brysons for the photos and video materials.He took the money and put the girl in her torture gear again. I stopped him and said, "Show me how that thing works?" I actually know how to do it.A cylindrical ten-letter combination lock that you can reset a combination each time you use it.After setting the letter combination, put the steel belt around her waist through the two ends of the cylinder, turn the letter plate again, so that it is locked, and turn the letter plate to return to the original set letter combination when it is about to be opened.The lock was expensive, and the belt was made of good material: an alloy that couldn't be cut with a hacksaw.It also adds credibility to his story.Because, although there is a market dedicated to selling virgins on that strange planet, the price of a trained female slave is similar to that of a virgin, and besides, this girl is not reserved for sale to others as a concubine.So there must be some other reason to order such an expensive chastity belt. With our backs to the two slaves, he showed me the set of letters: E, S, T, R, E, L, L, I, T, A (Istrita), very proud Showed me how smart he was to pick a combination he couldn't possibly forget. I fumbled with the letter lock awkwardly on purpose, pretending to finally figure out how to do it, and opened the lock.Then he was going to put his virginity on the girl and send us on our way.I said, "Wait a minute. I want to make sure I can use this correctly. You put it on and I'll unlock it for you." He doesn't want to do that.So I pretended to be annoyed and said he was trying to trick me into having to send someone to him and pay him more money to unlock it when I couldn't get it to work.I want my money back and am about to tear up the sales voucher.He gave in and walked into my trap. His waist was bigger than the girl's, and the ends of the steel belt almost couldn't fit together, but he managed to squeeze himself into the torture device.I said, "Spell me that monogram"—and leaned over to operate the lock.He spelled "ESTRELLITA" and I set "HORSETHIEF" (horse thief).After setting it, I squeezed the two ends of the steel strip together and turned the alphabet plate. "Okay," I said, "it's locked. You spell it for me again." He spelled it again, and I carefully matched the letters "ESTRELLITA".Alphabet lock is not open.I asked if he spelled the letter combination for me for the first time, saying that the combination of one L and two T didn't work either. He found a mirror and tried it himself, but he couldn't open it.I said the lock must be stuck, please hold your stomach, let's give it a shake.At this point he began to sweat. Finally I said: "Well, sir, I'll give you this strap. I'd rather trust a padlock. You go to the locksmith—no, you can't go out with that on; tell me where you can Find a locksmith and I'll pay him to come here and unlock you. Is that fair? I can't stay here long; I have a dinner at Beulah Park. Where are their clothes? Loyalty, put those Put away the old clothes and take these two children with you." So I left him, and he was still babbling to get the locksmith to come sooner. We were leaving his tent just as a taxi drove up.I asked Zhong Zhong to stop the taxi, and we all got in.I didn't go to the locksmith; I asked the driver to drive the car to the airport.On the way we stopped at a store to buy some clothes for the two kids to wear.The boy's is a cloth dress, and the girl's is a sarong—well, much like the one Hamadiyad was wearing yesterday.I think they were probably the first really decent clothes these two kids ever wore.I couldn't get formal shoes; just bought them two pairs of sandals.I had to drag Estrita away from the mirror; she was there admiring herself endlessly, arranging her clothes from time to time.I threw away all the robes I wore at the auction. I pushed the two children into the taxi and said to Zhong Zhong: "See that path? I will turn my back to you and you run along that path. I will not chase you, I have to watch this Two children." Minerva, I have encountered something I will never understand: the mind of a slave.Loyalty didn't get my point.When I finished speaking word by word, he was petrified.Didn't he provide good service?Do I want him to starve to death? I gave up.I sent him back to the agency and got back the deposit I left there.I also tipped him for his good service.My slave and I continued to drive to the airport in a taxi. Turns out I needed those deposits, and pretty much all the money I had on me.I had to pay customs to get those two kids on my spaceship, though I had a full bill of sale and no more to pay. I managed to get them aboard.Once in the boat, I made them kneel, put my hands on their heads, and set them free.They didn't seem to believe what was happening, so I explained, "You are free now. Free, get it? You are no longer slaves. I will sign your certificate of emancipation and you can go to the parish office to register. Or You can have dinner here and sleep on the boat for the night. I will give you all the money I have before the ship takes off tomorrow. Or, if you want, you can stay on the ship and go to Valhalla with me. It is a Nice place, just colder than here - but no slaves there." Minerva, I don't think Rita (whose local accent sounds like 'Ita') or Joe (also called Josie or Joss) got what I said about a place without slavery; things are completely different.But they've heard what a starship is, and being able to go to a new place in a starship is something that fascinates them.Even if I told them they would be hanged when they got there, they wouldn't pass up the chance.And, in their minds, I was their master; although they knew what a certificate of emancipation was, it did not change their habits of mind.Such was the nature of the old-fashioned servant: always in his corner, in the hope of earning a little pay for it. But travel is different!The farthest they had traveled in their lives was from a parish in the northern part of the planet to the capital - where they had been sold. There was a little problem the next morning.A registered slave agent named Simon Liguery filed a complaint against me alleging that I had caused him bodily harm and moral harm, as well as various violations of the law.I sat the policeman down in the living room on the spaceship, I poured him a drink, then let Rita come in, took off her beautiful new clothes, showed the policeman the scar on her buttocks, and told her to leave when it was done up.When I got up to get the sales receipt, I happened to leave a hundred Bryson bill on the table. The cop waved at the sales voucher and said there was no doubt about the value of the transaction—but he was going to tell Ligli that he was lucky not to have to face a countersuit from the buyer for selling defective merchandise... No, no more Thinking about it, it would be easier if he didn't find me before my spaceship took off.The hundred Bryson bills were gone, and the police were gone—and so were we in the afternoon. But, Minerva, I was fooled that Rita can't cook at all. The distance from Blaisd to Valhalla is long and difficult to navigate.Captain Sheffield was happy to see people company with him. An embarrassing little incident occurred on the first night of the voyage, and it was caused by a misunderstanding started the night before, while the ship was still on the ground.The ship has one cabin and two premium cabins.The captain usually drives the spaceship by himself, and he uses the cabin to store some temporary supplies and small cargo, so the cabin is not ready to receive passengers.The first night he had the free girl in his cabin, and he and her brother slept on a chaise longue in the living room. The next day, Sheffield unlocked the cabin door.He asked the two children to clean the passenger cabin, and he went to see how much space there was in the cargo hold, and then told them to move the sundries in the passenger cabin to the cargo hold, and assigned each of the two children a room.But then he'd been so busy arranging the shipment and handling the final tax filing that he forgot about it.After takeoff he was monitoring the navigation computer again.According to the time on the spaceship, he was busy until very late.The spaceship has finally entered the first n-dimensional space flight, and he can also take a rest. He went into his cabin, deciding whether to eat something first, take a shower, or do neither and go straight to sleep. Estrita was on his bed, waiting for him with wide-open eyes. He said, "Rita, what are you doing here?" She told him in curt slave language what she was doing in his bed.waiting for him.She knew why Lord Captain Sheffield had agreed to take them, and what he expected from her.She had already discussed it with her brother, who made her do it. She also added that she wasn't scared at all; she was ready and eager for this kind of thing. Aaron Sheffield still believed the first half of what she said; the latter addition was obviously a lie to reassure him.He'd seen terrified virgins before—not many, but a few. He ignored her fear.He said, "You brazen bitch, get your ass off my bed and get the hell out of your room." The free woman was in shock, in disbelief at what had happened.She was angry and insulted - and then she began to cry.The inexplicable fear she had felt before was overwhelmed by a worse emotion: because he refused her a service she thought she owed him and wanted, her little ego was destroyed.She wept, tears dripping onto his pillow. For Captain Sheffield, a woman's tears always arouse his strong sexual desire.He reacted immediately—he grabbed her by the ankles, dragged her out of bed, and forced her from his cabin back to her own, locking her inside.Then he retired to his cabin, took some steps to calm himself, and fell into a deep sleep. Minerva, Rita is the perfect woman.After I taught her how to give herself a good bath, she became very attractive: a beautiful figure, a cute little face and elegant manners, white teeth, and a fragrant smell.But sleeping with her was against the rules.所有“性爱”都是习俗，亲爱的；单纯的性交谈不上什么道德不道德，也用不着毫无意义地掩饰这种行为。 “性爱”只是一种让人们共同感受快乐的方式。这是在长期的进化过程中逐步发展起来的生存机制，对于推动人类向前发展起到了非常复杂的作用。这种作用无处不在，繁衍功能只是其中最简单的一点。 如果硬要判断性行为是否道德，其标准与那些用来判断人类日常行为道德与否的标准完全相同；其余所有关于性的规矩只是简单的习俗，与地区相关，而且存在时间较为短暂。性习俗的规矩比狗身上的跳蚤还多。这些规矩的共同点是：它们都是“上帝规定的”。我记得有一个地方规定，在私密场所性交是淫秽的、被禁止的、罪恶的——而在公共场所性交却是“怎么着都行”。我生长的那个社会对此的规定完全相反一但同样也是“上帝规定的”。我说不准哪种规矩更难遵守，但我希望上帝的心思别变来变去的，因为忽略这些规矩总是很危险。无知不成其为借口；有好几次，无知差点要了我的命。 在拒绝丽塔的时候，我遵循的不是道德标准；我在遵循我自己的性规矩，这是通过几个世纪里不断地尝试、犯错误、得到教训而建立起来的规范：永远不要和依靠自己生存的女人上床，除非我和她结了婚，或是想和她结婚。这是与道德无关的经验之谈，取决于你周遭的环境，而且不适用于那些不依靠我的女人。这是另一个话题了。但这条规矩是在绝大多数情况下都适用的安全预防措施——保护我的安全措施……因为，和那个我跟你说过的来自波士顿的女士不同，很多女人都把性交当作正式的求婚。 一时冲动让我陷入了一个困境。现在丽塔暂时依赖我；我不想和她结婚，把事情弄得更糟，我不欠她的。密涅娃，长命的人永远不该和短命的人结婚；这样对后者或者前者都不公平。 然而，一旦你捡了一只流浪猫，并收养了它，你就不能丢弃它。你不允许自己这样做。那只猫的命运会影响你内心的平静。就算做到不失信于猫会给你带来很多麻烦，你还是得这么做。我既然买下了这两个用解放证书也无法摆脱的孩子，我就必须计划他们的未来——因为他们不知道怎么计划。他们就是流浪猫。 第二天一“早”（飞船上的时间），船长谢菲尔德起床后打开丽塔的客舱，发现她在睡觉。他把她叫醒，让她起床，快点洗漱，然后准备三个人的早餐。吩咐完毕后，他去叫她哥哥，发现他的客舱是空的，他在船上的厨房里。“早晨好，乔。” 这个自由的男人惊得跳了起来。“噢！早晨好，主人。”他急忙蹲下身子，跪了下来。 “乔，正确的回答应该是：'早晨好，船长。'在目前来说，这两个称呼都一样，因为我的确是这艘飞船的主人，也是船上每个人的领导。但当我们到了瓦尔哈拉、你们离开这艘船以后，你们就不会再有任何形式的主人了。没有，就像我昨天说的那样。现在叫我'船长'。” “是的……船长。”他服从地说。 “别鞠躬！你和我说话的时候要站直身子，看着我的眼睛，要显得自信和骄傲。对于命令的正确回答应该是'遵命，船长'。你在这里干什么？” “嗯，我不知道——船长。” “我也不知填你在干什么。那些咖啡够一打人喝的了。”谢菲尔德用胳膊肘把乔推到一边，把那个男孩倒在碗里的大部分咖啡粒舀了出来，只留下足够冲九杯的量。他担心那个姑娘不会冲咖啡，于是写了张纸条告诉她冲调方法，让她在工作时间为他们准备咖啡。 他坐下来喝第一杯咖啡的时候，那个姑娘出现了。她的眼睛是红的，周围还出现了黑眼圈；他怀疑她在早晨又哭了。但他没说别的，只说了一声早晨好，然后让她一个人在厨房忙着。她看过他前一天是怎么做饭的。 没过多久，他便深深怀念起了前一天简单的午餐和晚餐——他自己做的三明治。但他什么都没说，只让他们两个人别站在他身边，而是坐下来和他一起吃早饭。早餐主要是咖啡，飞船上的冷面包和罐装黄油。和蘑菇一起煎的阿克拉鸡蛋简直是一堆没法吃的垃圾。她还试图兑些果汁。能把这个果汁弄砸了的人简直就是天才；兑这种饮料只需要在一份浓缩果汁里兑上八份冷水，包装上有说明。 “丽塔，你识字吗？” “不，主人。” “叫我'船长'。你呢，乔？” “也不会，船长。” “算术呢？就是数字？” “噢，是的，船长，我知道数字。二加二是四，二加三是五，三加五是九——” 他的妹妹纠正他：“应该是七，乔西，不是九。” “行了，”谢菲尔德说，“我知道我们有忙的了。”他边想边哼着小调，“所以最好是……有一个妹妹……或者甚至是一个老船长——”然后，他大声补充说，“吃完早饭后，你们先解决一下自己的个人需要，然后整理各自的房间。要做到井然有序、干净整洁，我过后会检査。把我舱室里的床铺整理好，但是别动其他东西，尤其是我的桌子。那以后，你们两个都去洗澡。对，我说的就是：洗澡。船上的每个人每天都要洗澡。如果愿意，还可以洗得更频繁。船上的水有的是；我们的水是循环使用的，旅程结束时，船上的水比启航时还要多几千升。别问我为什么；工作原理就是这样，我以后会给你们解释的。（对这两个连三加五等于几都搞不清楚的年轻人来说，至少要几个月以后。）当你们做完这一切以后，就是从现在开始一个半个时以后——乔，你会看时钟吗？” 乔看了看挂在飞船舱壁上的老式时钟，“我拿不准，船长。那个钟上的数字太多了。” “哦，是的，当然了；布莱斯德用的是另一套计时体系。好吧，当这个短的指针直直地指向左边，而这个长指针直指向上时，回到这里来。但这次就算你们晚了也没关系；适应新环境需要一段时间。不要为了按时赶回来而省略了洗澡。乔，用洗发香波洗洗你的头。丽塔，你过来，亲爱的；让我闻闻你的头发。是的，你也要用香波。”船上有没有发网？如果他关掉入工重力装置，让这两个孩子出于失重状态，他们就用得着发网了——或者理发。理发对乔来说没有什么影响，但他妹妹那头又黑又长的头发是她最大的特点，会帮助她在瓦尔哈拉找个丈夫。他不认为船上有发网，因为他自己的头发一直很短，适合失重状态。好吧，那个女孩可以把头发辫起来，再用什么东西绑一下。他有没有足够的动力在整个行程中一直保持八分之一G的重力？不习惯失重的人在失重情况下肌肉会松弛，甚至可能会对他们的身体造成损害。 （先别管这些了。）“把你们的房间搞整齐，再把自己洗干净，回到这里来。去吧，两个没用的人。” 他列了一张清单： 列出每个人的分工——注意：教他们做饭！ 开始教他们东西：从哪一科开始？ 很显然，应该是最基本的算术。不需要用布莱斯德语来教他们算术；他们不会再回那里去了——永远不会回去了！但在教会他们说格拉克塔语之前，布莱斯德语仍然是船上的通用语言，但他们必须学会用格拉克塔语阅读和书写——还有英语。他对他们进行的速成教育中，使用的很多书都是英语的。他有没有在瓦尔哈拉上讲的格拉克塔语磁带？像他们这样大的孩子能够很快学会当地的口音，以及所使用的习语和词汇。 更重要的是如何治愈他们那受创伤的，嗯，“心灵”。他们的性格—— 他怎么才能把这两只驯服的成年动物变成有能力的、快乐的人？在各个必要的领域内受过教育、能够在一个自由社会里进行竞争的人？愿意去竞争，不恐惧竞争——他这才意识到他揽上的“流浪猫”问题有多严重。他是不是需要在未来的五六十年，或是更长的时间里，像照顾宠物一样照顾他们，直到他们自然死亡？ 很久很久以前，男孩伍迪·史密斯发现了一只快死了的小狐狸，显然是和它的母亲走失了，也可能它的妈妈已经死了。他把它带回家，用小瓶子喂它吃的，在笼子里养了它一个冬天。春天到了，他把它带回当初发现它的地方，打开笼门的插销'把狐狸和笼子一起留在那里。 几天之后，他回到那里，想把笼子拿回家。 他发现那只狐狸缩在笼子里，严重脱水，已经饿得半死了——笼门的插销开着。他又把它带回了家，又一次照顾它，直到它恢复健康。然后他用细铁丝网替它圈了一块地，再也不想把它放回山林了。用他外祖父的话讲就是，“这个可怜的小东西从来没有机会学习如何成为一只真正的狐狸。” 他能把这两个被吓坏了的、无知的动物变成人吗？ 当“短的指针直直地指向左边，长指针直指向上时”，他们回到了起居室。他们一直等在门外，直到表上的指针走到这个位置。船长谢菲尔德假装没有看到他们。 他们走进来的时候，他扫了一眼墙上的表，说：“时间正好——很好！你们肯定用了香波，记得提醒我给你们找些梳子。”（他们还需要哪些盥洗用品？需不需要教他们使用那些物品？而且——哦，该死！船上有没有女人经期使用的东西？能临时准备些什么？唉，幸运的话，这个麻烦可能过几天才会出现。问她是没有意义的；她也说不出什么来。该死的，这艘飞船根本没为乘客准备什么物品。） “坐下吧。哦，不，等一等。到这里来，亲爱的。”船长发现她穿的衣服令人生疑地贴在她身上；他觉得那衣服是湿的，“你洗澡时是穿着这件衣服的吗？” “不是的，主——不，船长；我把它给洗了。” “我知道了。”他记起来了，在她笨手笨脚做早饭的时候，咖啡和其他污渍把她的衣服搞脏了，“把衣服脱下来挂在么地方；不要用身子把它焐干。” 她慢慢地照他说的动作起来，下巴微微颤抖着。他记起给她买这件衣服的时候，她是怎样在镜子前欣赏自己的。“等一等，丽塔。乔，把你的短裤脱下来.，还有凉鞋。” 男孩立刻照他说的做了。 “谢谢你，乔。短裤没洗的时候不要再穿上；现在它已经脏了，尽管看起来还很干净。除非你愿意，飞船航行的过程中不需要一直穿着它。你坐下来。丽塔，我给你买衣服的时候你有没有穿衣服？” “没有……船长。” “现在我穿着衣服没有？” “没有，船长。” “在某些时间和地点是需要穿衣服的——其他时候穿衣服就很愚蠢。如果这是一艘客运飞船，我们都会穿着衣服，我还会穿一件时髦的制服。但它不是，这里除了我和你哥哥以外没有其他人。看到那边那个仪器吗？那是温度和湿度计，它使飞船的计算机把这里的温度控制在二十七度，湿度是百分之四十。它还可以任意变化温度和湿度来刺激我们——这些话你们可能听不懂，总之，这样的环境使我在裸露皮肤时感觉很好。每天下午有一个小时，室内的温度会降低一些，以鼓励大家做些运动。飞船上的生活会让人的肌肉变得松弛下来。 “如果你们不适应这样的环境，我们再把温度调一调。但先按照我设定的试试。现在说说贴在你屁股上的那块湿布。如果你很愚蠢，就委屈自己，让你的体温把它焐干。如果你很聪明，就把它挂起来，让它平平展展地晾干。这是一个建议，不是命令。只要你愿意，你可以一直穿着它。只是别穿着它坐下，那是湿的；没有理由把坐垫弄湿。你会缝纫吗？” “是的船长。唔……会一点。” “我会看看能找出些什么来。你是飞船里唯一穿女士衣服的人，如果你坚持要穿衣服的话，为了未来几个月的生活，你需要给自己做一些衣服。你也需要为了在瓦尔哈拉的生活准备一些衣服：那里可不像布莱斯德那么暖和。那里的女人要穿长裤和短大衣；男人穿长裤和长大衣；每个人都要穿靴子。我在兰德弗定做了三套衣服；也许在我能给你们找个裁缝之前，那些衣服可以先凑合一下。靴子——我的靴子你准穿不了，跟公鸡穿袜子一样不合适。唔，我们可以把你的脚裹起来，这样的话，去鞋店以前，.我的靴子说不定还能在你的脚上待着，不会掉下来。 “这些事不用现在就考虑。到这里来吧要么穿湿衣服站着，要么舒服地坐下来。” 伊斯特丽塔咬着嘴唇想了想，然后选择了后者。 密涅娃，这两个年轻人比我想象的聪明。刚开始的时候是我要求他们学习。但当他们感受到文字的神奇魅力后，他们立刻被吸引住了。他们学习认字的劲儿就像鹅吃草一样，其他事情都不愿意做了。他们尤其喜欢读故事书。我有很多藏书，绝大多数是缩影书，有几千本。还有几十本珍贵的装订版，是我在兰德弗淘到的摹本古董。那里的人讲英语，格拉克塔语只是贸易用语。你读过《绿野仙.踪》系列吗？ 是的，你当然读过；我曾经帮助制定了大图书馆的规划，在里面放了一些我小时候喜欢的书，还有一些严肃读物。我要确保乔和丽塔能读到内容广泛、主题严肃的书，但大多数时候，我会让他们沉溺于故事中：《原来如此的故事》、、《爱丽斯漫游仙境》、《儿童诗苑》和《两个小野人》，等等。这样的书很少，是我还是小孩时读的书，那是大散居前三个世纪的事了。从另一方面讲，银河系的每一个人类文明都起源于那时的文明。 但我想确保他们知道小说和历史之间的区别——这很困难，因为我自己都不能肯定这两者之间是否存在区别。我还得向他们解释，神话又是另一种虚构故事，它在从事实到想象的方向上又进了一步。 密涅娃，向一个没有什么经验的人讲这些是非常困难的。什么是“魔力”？你的魔力比童话里的魔力还要强大。如果对不懂什么是“科学”的孩子们说，你拥有的不是魔力，你只是科学的产物，他们理解不了。再说，当我解释这些差别的时候，连我本人也不能确定这些差别是否真的存在。在我的游历中，我有很多次遇到过奇妙的事情——我只能说，我看到了我无法解释的奇景。 最后，我只能这样处理这个问题：我以权威的语气对他们说，有些故事只是用来娱乐的不一定是真的。和《马可波罗东游记》讲的不是一类事情，而介于两者之间。如果在这方面有什么疑问，他们可以来问我。 有时候他们的确会来问我，并且没有异议地接受了我的解释。但我看得出来，他们并不是每次都相信我说的话。这让我很高兴；这说明他们开始有自己的想法了——即使是错误怖想法也没有关系。关于我对于绿野仙踪系列的说法，丽塔只是礼貌地表示了尊重。她对翡翠城的存在深信不疑。如果她能选择的话，她会到那里去，而不是瓦尔哈拉。嗯，我也愿意到那里去。 重要的是，他们逐渐成了独立自主的人。 我用小说教育他们，在这个问题上，我一点也没有犹豫过。小说比纪实作品更能让人迅速了解各种陌生的人类行为，只比实践差一点。再说，我只有几个月的时间把这两个胆怯无知的动物变成人。我可以教他们心理学、社会学和比较人类学，手头也有这样的教材。但乔和丽塔无法把它们综合起来，形成一个完整的结构。只要我允许，他们每时每刻都在读书。他们俩像小动物一样挤在一起，盯着阅读机，互相抱怨着翻页的速度。通常都是丽塔埋怨乔；她读书的速度比他快。或许正是因为彼此之间的竞争与促进，他们在很短的时间里就从文盲变成了阅读速度很快的人。我没有让他们看有声音和图像的磁带——我要让他们阅读。 我不能让他们把所有时间都花在读书上；他们还需要学习其他事情。不仅仅是能卖个好价钱的技能，更重要的是对一个自由的人来说必不可少的冲劲和自立的能力，。我揽上这两个拖累的时候，他们完全没有这种能力。唉，我甚至不能确定他们两个有没有这种潜能；这种品质也许在他们人为操纵的出生过程中被抹去了。但只要他们身上还存在着代表希望的星星之火，我就必须找到它，让它形成燎原之势。否则我永远没办法让他们成为真正自由的人。 所以我强迫他们尽可能地自己拿主意，训斥他们的时候也非常谨慎。我欣喜地欢迎他们的每一点小叛逆的行动——当然是在心里，嘴上没有说出来。我把这些行动看作进步的证明。 我开始传授乔打斗的技巧，只是徒手搏斗，我不想让我们俩中的任何一个被杀死。船上有一个舱室被布置成了运动馆，这里的设备可以适应有重力和失重两种状态；每天一个小时的低温时间，我都是在这里度过的。我在这里训练乔。我也要求丽塔参加，但只是做做运动。我心想，应该让他妹妹看到他被痛打的样子，这样可能会激励他。 乔需要这样的刺激；他那个脑子花了很长时间才转过弯来，搞明白他可以踢打我，而且我希望他这样做，如果他成功了我是不会生气的一担如果他没有尽自己的力量，我却会生气。 这个过程花了很长时间。起初，无论我怎么门户大开，他都不会攻击我。我开始辱骂他，嘲弄他，他仍然会犹豫，错过攻击机会，反而让我能够靠近他、攻击他。 但有一个下午，他看透了我的意图，狠狠地给了我一下。就算我真想躲开，可能也会很困难。晚餐后，他得到了奖赏：可以去读一本装订书，有一页一页的纸。他戴上了我的手术手套，我警告他，如果他把书弄脏、或是撕坏的话，我会狠狠揍他一顿。我不允许丽塔碰那本书；这是给她哥哥的奖励。她生气了，甚至不愿意去看阅读机。最后他问我，他可不可以把书的内容念给她听。 我说她可以和他一起读——但她不能碰书。这样她才又高兴起来，凑到她哥哥身边，头挨着头一起读书，指挥她哥哥翻书页。 第二天她问我，为什么她不能学搏击？ 毫无疑问，她觉得一个人锻炼很无趣。我也一直这么认为，之所以一个人也要坚持锻炼，只是为了保持身体状态——谁知道下一次着陆你会碰到什么样的危险。密涅娃，我从来不认为女人应该参加战斗保护女人和孩子是男人的职责。但女人应该知道怎么战斗，因为有时候她可能需要保护自己。 所以我同意了，但我们必须改变规则。乔和我一直是按照码头规则来练习搏击的，也就是说没什么规则。我不会给他留下任何永久伤害，同样，最多只会让他给我弄上一些皮外伤。但我没把这个想法说出来，相反却告诉他如果他办得到的话，他可以把我的眼睛挖出来吃掉——我很小心，让他绝对做不到这一点。 但女人和男人不一样。我先为丽塔做了一副胸甲，保护她的乳房。这很有必要；她那个部位有些过于发达了，我们有可能在不注意的时候伤到她。我还私下里告诉乔，给她弄上一些皮外伤是可以的，但如果他打断了她的一根骨头的话，我也会打断他的骨头，这是我的规矩。 我对他的妹妹没作什么限制——我低估了她；她的进攻性比他强一倍。虽然没有受过训练，但是动作很快——而且她是玩真的。 第二天再和她一起练习时，不仅她穿上了胸甲，我和她哥哥也戴上了护身三角带。对了，前一天晚上，丽塔也被允许看了一本真正的书。 乔颇有烹饪天赋，所以我鼓励他充分利用船上的存货，做出尽量好看花哨的菜式。同时我也给丽塔施加了压力，想让她成为一名过得去的厨师。会做饭的人到哪儿都能养活自己。任何人，无论是男还是女，都应该会做饭、打扫房间、照顾孩子。起初我说不清丽塔有什么天赋，但在我的教导下，她显示出了数学方面的才能。我大受鼓舞；一个能读、能写、长着适合学数学脑袋的人，无论什么都能学会。所以我开始让她自己从书本中自学如何做账，还有一些会计原理，我不提供任何帮助。我让乔学习如何使用船上的所有工具——其实也没多少，主要是些维护工具。使用这些工具的时候，我把他盯得很紧；我可不想让他在转动的机器上丢掉手指'或是损毁机器。 我的心中充满希望。然后，情况发生了变化—— （省略大约三千一百字） ——一句话，我太蠢了。我养过家畜，还养过一大堆孩子。飞船上的所有职务都由我一人充任，包括随船医生的角色。我们的旅程开始几天后，我用手头现有的设备给他们做了一次尽可能全面的检查，在那个时代可以说是相当全面。我在离开奥穆兹德以后就没再干过医生这一行了，但船上的医务室里配备了必要的药品和设施。每一次到比较发达的行星时，我都会买一些有关最新医疗发展的录像带，在漫长的旅途中学习它们。我是一个不错的赤脚医生，密涅娃。 这两个孩子就像看起来的那样健康。男孩只有轻微的龋齿问题，牙上有两个小洞。我发现奴隶贩子关于那个女孩的说法是真的——她是处女，半月形的处女膜没有破损，所以我用的是最小号的内窥镜。她既没有抱怨，也没有显得紧张，或者问我在干什么。我得到的结论是他们以前定期做身体检查，接受种种治疗——比布莱斯德的奴隶通常能享受的医疗待遇要好。 她有三十二颗非常健康的牙齿，但却不知道后面的四颗是什么时候长出来的，只说是“在不久以前”。男孩有二十八颗牙齿，牙床上的空隙非常小，应该不会出现我担心的长出智齿的问题。X光片也没有显示牙蕾出现。 我补上了他的牙洞，并记下来等到了瓦尔哈拉一定要把他牙洞里填充的东西取出来，让牙齿自己重新长出来，然后接受预防接种，防止再发生龋齿。瓦尔哈拉的牙科技术很发达，比我做的先进得多。 丽塔不记得她上一次来月经是什么时候。她和乔讨论了这个问题；他们一致认为她的上一次月经是在离家以前，于是他开始掰着手指头计算他们离家多长时间了。我告诉她下一次、以及以后每一次来月经的时候都要告诉我，以便让我知道她的月经周期。我给了她一罐卫生巾，我以前不知道我还有这样的备用物品——它在船上的时间一定有二十年了。 下一次来月经的时候，她告诉我了。他们两个都不知道怎么打开那个装卫生巾的罐子，只好由我打开。她很喜欢罐里装的那些小小的弹性内裤，在不需要的时候也经常穿着它，把它当成了一种“装饰品”。这个女孩对衣着非常着魔；作为一个奴隶，她从来没有机会满足自己的虚荣心。我告诉她，她可以一直穿着衣服，前提是每次穿过衣服后都能把它洗干净。我对，个人卫生的要求非常严格，会检査他们的耳朵，让他们离开饭桌去把指甲洗干净，等等。这个方面，他们从前受的培训不比猪多。那个女孩从来不用我说第二次，她还会挑别自己的哥哥，以确保他也能符合我对他们的要求。我发现我对自己的要求也严格起来了；我不能带着脏指甲到饭桌上，也不能因为太困了就不洗澡。既然我制定了规矩，就不得不自己率先遵守。 她的缝纫技术和她的烹饪技术一样糟糕，但她开始自学缝纫，因为她喜欢衣服。我找出了一些色彩明亮的商品布料，让她从中寻找乐趣——把它作为胡萝卜加大棒政策中的胡萝卜。后来，穿衣服也成了一种特权，表现好才能享受。用这种方法，我让她改掉了——在绝大多数情况下——对她哥哥唠唠叨叨的毛病。 这个办法对她哥哥不起作用；他对衣服不感兴趣。但如果他不听话，我会在锻炼的时候让他多吃些苦头。这事很少发生——他不像她有那么多问题。 在她的第三、或是第四个生理周期过后的一天晚上，我在看日历的时候注意到她已经过了月经期——我忘了这件事。密涅娃，我从来不会不敲门就走进他们的房间；船上的空间太小，所以需要尽可能采取措施来保护隐私。 她的房门大开，房间里没有人。我敲了敲他的房门，没有动静。于是我继续在起居室和厨房里找她，甚至还去了小体育馆。我想她一定是在洗澡，第二天再和她谈吧。 回房间的路上再次经过他的房间时，门开了；她走了出来，然后拉上了房门。我说：“噢，你在这里！我还以为乔睡了。” “他刚睡，”丽塔说，“你找他吗，船长？要不要我叫醒他？”我说：“不，我f找的是你。，我在五到十分钟之前敲过他的房门，没人回答。” 她很抱歉没听到我敲门的声音。“对不起，船长。我想那会儿我们很忙，没有听到你敲门。”她告诉了我他们刚才在忙什么。 ——这我想到了。发现她一向很准的月经过了一个星期还没来的时候，我就已经产生怀疑了。“这可以理解，”我说，“我很高兴敲门的声音没有打扰你们。” “我们一点也不想因为这事打扰到你，船长。”她回答的神态很严肃，十分可爱，“我们都是等晚上你回你的房间以后、或是你午休的时候才在一起。” 我说：“亲爱的，你们不用那么小心。只要你们完成工作和学习，其余时间你们可以做自己想做的事。飞船'利比'不是个让人受苦的地方；我希望你们俩能开心。你那个糊涂脑子到底搞明白没有，你已经不是奴隶了？” 很显然，她还没有搞得很明白，密涅娃，因为她还是为没有听到我的敲门声、没有立即回应而懊恼不已。我说：“别傻了，丽塔。我们明天再说吧。” 但她坚持说她现在不困，她已经准备好了，一心希望做我吩咐的事。我反倒有些紧张起来。密涅娃，关于“性爱”有件最奇怪的事情：女人总是在性交刚完时表现得最为渴望，丽塔的经历也不会让她在这个时候压抑自己的冲动。更糟的是，我发现自从他们俩上船以来，我几乎第一次意识到她是个成熟的女人。这是个狭窄的走道，她和我站得很近，一只手里拿着她饶有兴致地完成的一件奇装异服，脸上还带着刚才那场愉快的运动留下的一点红晕。我有点冲动了。我敢肯定她会高兴地作出回应。她已经怀孕的情况掠过我的脑海——没有什么需要担忧的。 但在从奴隶主到类似父亲角色——严厉但却慈爱的父亲——的转换过程中，我已经因为这两个在我生命中转瞬即逝的孩子给自己惹了太多的麻烦。如果我和她上了床，我会丧失现在的角色，给已经很复杂的局面增加一个更让人烦恼的变数。所以我决定还是先解决眼前的问题。 船长谢菲尔德说：“那好吧，丽塔。你到我的房间里来。”他朝他的房间走去，她跟在后面。进到房间里，他给她拿了一把椅子。她犹豫了一下，把她那件华丽而俗气的衣服垫在椅子上，这才坐下。她的细心让他很高兴。以前的她是无知的动物，不会考虑这种问题；让她变成人的努力没有白费。但他没有对她的举动作出评价。