Chapter 14 Variations on a Theme VII From Valhalla to Landover

—It's the best I can do for them, Minerva.For a long time, there have always been some fools who wanted to abolish the institution of marriage.These efforts are as futile as trying to negate the principle of gravity, to make three point zero, or to move mountains by prayer.Marriage is not an institution imagined by priests to make people suffer; marriage is as much a part of human evolution as eyes are, and it is as important to human beings as eyes are to a person. Of course, marriage is also an economic contract, signed to raise offspring and protect the rights of mothers, so that mothers can spend the period of pregnancy and the growth of offspring with peace of mind.But it does much more than that.Marriage is a means humans have developed - unintentionally - to fulfill necessary responsibilities while making ourselves happy in the process.

Why are bees divided into queen bees, drones and worker bees, living together like a big family?This is because for them, such a lifestyle works well.Why do fish barely know their parents but get along just fine?Because the evolutionary forces of randomness make this approach work well for them.Why has "marriage"—whatever it is called—become a common institution in human societies everywhere?Don't ask the theologians, and don't ask the lawyers; such institutions existed long before churches and political authorities made the rules.It is because such a system works, that is all; despite its various flaws, according to the only common test standard-whether it is conducive to survival-it is better than the continuous emergence of thousands of years. The various institutions invented by simple minds to replace the institution of marriage are more efficient.

I am not talking about monogamy; I mean the institution of marriage in all its forms: monogamy, polyandry, polygamy, polyandry, and others that extend from it, with Various marriage systems with additional regulations. "Marriage" has innumerable customs, rules and arrangements.But only, and only, those arrangements that provide security for children and compensation for adults are "marriages." For humans, marriage creates problems, and the only acceptable compensation is what a man and a woman can give to each other. I'm not talking about "sex," Minerva.Sex is the bait for marriage, but sex is not marriage and does not constitute a sufficient reason to maintain marriage.Why buy cows if milk is cheap?

Affection, companionship, mutual trust, being able to laugh with someone and grieve together, loyalty to tolerate the other person's flaws, being able to touch someone and hold hands with them - these are "marriages", and sex is just the icing on the cake.Oh, and the icing can be delicious, but it's not cake.A marriage may lose that delicious "icing" -- if there's an accident, for example -- but it's still going to last forever, bringing endless joy to both people. Marriage used to confuse me when I was an ignorant young man in heat— (some content omitted)

—I did my best to hold the grandest wedding.Men live on face; I want them to remember this moment.I asked Rita to dress in what she thought was the most fashionable.She looked like a ridiculous Christmas tree, but I told her she looked beautiful.This is a fact.It is impossible for a bride not to be beautiful.Joe put on my clothes and I gave them to him.I put on an absurd captain's uniform, which I wore on a planet where it was customary to wear such clothes.There were four broad gold bands on the cuffs, a pawn shop ornament on the breast, a tall hat that Admiral Sir Nelson would have admired, and the rest was as fancy as the dress of an Indian chief.

I preached sermons to them that seemed solemn and meant nothing, and most of them were stolen from the teachings of the only sect they knew that Blaisd believed in. It's easy for me because I was a priest there - but I added a lot of other stuff, telling her what to do to him and telling him what to do to her, telling them both what to do with her still in her belly The children here, and the other children the two of them will have. Then I added some words, addressed to both of them, but mainly to her.I warned them that maintaining marriage is not an easy task, and they should not just walk into the hall of marriage, because they will encounter some difficulties that must be faced together, and they need to solve these difficulties.

The words made her cry, and Jo began to cry too.This is exactly what I want.Then I got them down on their knees and said a prayer for them. Minerva, I make no apologies for my hypocrisy.I don't care if that hypothetical God hears me; I just want Joe and Rita to hear it.I started with the language spoken on Blasd, then English and Grakta, and ended by singing as many verses as I could remember.When I chanted until I couldn't remember it, I chanted the children's school song: Omme bene Sine poem, Tempus est ludendi; Venit hora Absque mora, Libros deponendi! ——In the end I ended with a resounding "I hope so!"I made the two of them stand, hand in hand, and I declared, with all the supremacy of the master of a spaceship, that they were, and always will be, husband and wife—kiss her, Jo.

In the background is soft Beethoven's Ninth Symphony -- I had forgotten Virgil's "Punishment Poems" at the time, but needed a few impressive lines, and that doggerel happened to pop up.Thinking back on the doggerel later, I think it applies as much to the students' vacations as they do to their honeymoon.It's very suitable indeed, because I know that they can combine brother and sister without punishment (Sine poem) and don't worry about genetic problems. Ludendi can be translated as "gambling" or "children's game", or something else, and it can also be translated as "love game", or "sex".I have announced that there will be a four-day holiday on board, and as soon as it is announced, they do not have to do anything, they do not have to study - this is libros deponendi.It's all coincidence, Minerva, just a little Latin verse that came into my head.Latin is noble, especially if you don't know it.

Pure mythists will find that Patriarch did not translate the poem very well.One wonders why he replaces "liberos" with the word "libros" in the last line of the poem, instead of continuing the happy, vulgar pun of the original?It seemed out of his nature for him to do so.However, the old man's capricious character was evident in every respect; as for his occasional ascetic occupation, he did not take it seriously. JF45th Our dinner was huge, I made it, and they only ate in about ten minutes.Rita couldn't eat it.So I piled up a plate full of delicious food, enough for two, handed it to Joe, and told them to disappear in front of me; for four days I didn't want to see them—

(some content omitted) —I'm going to load up as soon as possible and fly to Landover.I couldn't leave them in Valhalla; Joe couldn't support a family, and Rita wouldn't be able to do much with pregnancy or childcare anytime soon.If something happens to them, I can't help them; we must go to Landover. Oh, but Rita could survive in Valhalla, where people have a very healthy view of pregnant women, they think pregnant women are cuter than non-pregnant women, and the longer the pregnancy, the more beautiful the woman is.I think so too, especially in Rita's case.She was just passable when I bought her; by the time we got to Valhalla, she was five months pregnant and looking radiant and radiant.If she leaves the ship unaccompanied, one of the first six men she meets will want to marry her.If she had one on her back and another on her stomach, she could be married the day we arrived.People there place a high value on fertility, and that planet isn't even half full.

I don't think she's ditching Jo anytime soon, but I also don't want her to be emotionally shaken by the man's attention.It's highly unlikely that Rita would leave Joe for some wealthy middle class or heir to an inheritance.But even so, I still don't want to take the slightest risk.I had worked hard to build up Joe's self-esteem, but it was still very fragile, and a blow like this would shatter it.He's able to hold his head up now - but only if he's a married man with a wife and a baby on the way.Did I mention that the name on their marriage certificate is a name I've used before?They are now Friel Ogg Fru Long and Joseph Ogg Sanjay, and they will use that name in Valhalla.I hope they keep the titles of Mr. and Mrs. Long for at least the next few years. Minerva, though I made them take that lifelong vow, I never believed they would keep it.Oh, and marriages of short-lived people generally last for life, but other than that, you can't expect much.Rita is an innocent, friendly, and sexy little slut, and it's easy for her to make the mistake of meeting guys with her legs sprawled unprepared - something that's bound to happen.But I don't want to see it happen until I get a chance to instill it in Joe.Men should be able to stand a cuckold and not have a headache about it - and Rita was just the kind of girl who could put a nice cuckold on a man.But he needs time to grow, mature, and gain self-confidence before he can bear this kind of thing with patience and dignity. I found him a job as a pearl diver and as a handyman in a small restaurant, and I also learned cooking skills from the chef of the restaurant.Every time he learns a dish, he has to pay tuition to the chef.Meanwhile, I keep Rita on the ship.My excuse was that the weather was bad outside and that a pregnant woman shouldn't go out until I got her the right clothes--and then I told her not to bother me with this just now, dear; Worry about the goods. She was quite obedient, but depressed for a while.She didn't like Valhalla; because there was one and one-seventh G's of gravity.I have let them get used to the weightless environment, especially for her with a big belly, the weightlessness is very comfortable.Her arches don't need to bear gravity, and her breasts don't feel tender.But now, she suddenly found that she was much heavier than before, her movements were sluggish, and her feet were uncomfortable.In addition, what she saw from the entrance and exit of the spaceship looked like a corner of the frozen hell.So, she was delighted with my suggestion to take them to Landover. But Valhalla was still the first new place she'd been; she wanted to see around.I procrastinated on this until the cargo was loaded.Then I measured her and bought her a warmer local style suit.But I did a sneaky trick; I got back three pairs of boots and let her choose one.Two pairs were plain work boots; the third was kitschy and showy--but half a size too small. So, when I took her outside, she was wearing a pair of tight shoes.It was also very cold and windy - I had checked the weather forecast beforehand.Like other airport cities, Toheim has many places to see, but I didn't go to those attractions, but took her around the interesting places around - always on foot.By the time I got a sled to take her back to the spaceship, she was already in so much pain that she wanted to go back to the spaceship and take off her uncomfortable outfit, especially her boots, and take a hot bath. I asked her if I would take her back to town the next day, and she politely declined. (some content omitted) —I'm not so bad, Minerva; I just want her to stay at home and not arouse her suspicions.By the way, I bought two pairs of those tacky shoes, and one of them was her size.After the first day of excursions, while she was soaking her tired feet, I replaced her with the right shoes.I later said that her problem was that she had never worn a pair of shoes or boots, so why not walk around in them on the spaceship and get used to the feeling of wearing shoes? She did as I told her to, and was amazed at how comfortable the shoes were.I explained in all seriousness that her feet had shrunk since the first time she put them on, so it would feel better to wear them for an hour today, and then every day for a while longer until she could wear them all day without feeling tired.For a week she wore those shoes, even when she was naked; she was more comfortable in them than she was barefoot.This is not surprising, since these shoes were carefully selected by me to support the arch of the foot with a force equal to the difference in gravity between the two planetary surfaces of her pregnancy weight—0.95 G in her home world, and 0.95 G in Vaal. Halla is one point one four G.She is about 20kg heavier now; she needs some foot support. I had to warn her not to go to bed with her shoes on. I took her around town a few times while picking out the goods, but I took good care of her and didn't let her walk or stand by.Every time I invite her, she comes with me, but prefers to stay on the ship and read. During this time, Joe worked long hours, with only one day off in seven days.So when I was about to leave Valhalla, I asked him to quit his job and take these two kids on a real vacation.On a sunny, sunny, even warm day, I rented a non-machine-driven sleigh pulled by reindeer and took them to the real attractions.We had lunch in a fancy restaurant in the country with a view of the Giant's crags and dinner in a more fancy restaurant in town with live music and entertainment and good food.Then we had tea at the little restaurant where Joe used to work, so he could hear the waiters call him "Frell Dragon" instead of "Hey, you!" - and he had another chance to show off His beautiful, pregnant bride. She is indeed beautiful, Minerva.At Valhalla, both men and women wear their indoor clothes, basically baggy pajamas, over heavy outdoor clothes.The difference between men's and women's pajamas lies in the materials used, the style of tailoring, etc.I bought them both outfits for the party.Joe looked in good spirits, and so did I, but all eyes were on Rita.Her dress covered her from shoulder to toe - but the dress itself was see through.The one worn indoors shimmers in orange, green and gold as the lights change without dazzling everyone.Coupled with the obvious fact that she will give birth in a few months, she was unanimously elected as "Miss Valhalla". She looked regal, and she felt it, and her expression spoke of inner happiness.She is also very confident because I have taught her the etiquette of eating in the local area, how to stand, sit, how to behave and so on.Plus a rehearsal for lunch, nothing went awry. It's okay to let her show off her beauty.Enjoy the peace of the crowd watching, or the hustle and bustle of everyone applauding.I'm not worried about anything, not only because we're leaving soon, but also because Joe and I let everyone see the knives hanging from our boots.To be honest, Joe is not a person who is good at dueling with a knife.But the perverts there don't know this.With our two wolves protecting us, no one dares to harass our beautiful little slut. —The night seemed short.The next morning we loaded all day, Rita checking the packing list, Joe checking the load and I handling the financials and making sure I wasn't robbed.Late that night, we entered n-dimensional space, and my navigation computer calculated the last digit of the decimal point in the data for the first leg of the journey to Landover.I reset the gravity regulator so that it would slowly reduce the gravity inside the spaceship from the gravity on the surface of Valhalla to a more comfortable quarter of G. It would no longer be adjusted back to the zero-gravity state before Rita gave birth.Then I locked the control room door and went back to my room.I was sweaty and exhausted.I jokingly thought, I guess it will be tomorrow before I take a bath. Just then their door opened—the door of their bedroom.That used to be the door to Joe's room before I converted their room into a suite.The door was open and they were lying on the bed.This has never happened before. I quickly understood what they were up to.They get out of bed and come to me; they want me to join them in their happy activities - they want to thank me for... thanking me for making them a happy day, thanking me for buying them, Thanks for everything else.It was his idea?her?Or two people?I didn't want to find out; I just thanked them and told them I was overwhelmed, exhausted, and terribly dirty.All I want to do now is soak in hot water, shower with soap, and sleep for twelve hours.I also said, thank them for staying up so late and waiting for me; we will work out the schedule of the ship after we have rested. I had them give me a bath and then a massage.It's not against my principles; I've taught them some massage techniques.Joe's fingering is especially good, both powerful and gentle.During her pregnancy, he gave her a massage every day—even when she came home tired from work at the small restaurant. But, Minerva, if I hadn't been exhausted, I might have broken my rule of not sleeping with a woman who depended on me for a living. (some content omitted) —every tape, every book I could buy in Tolheim, to update my knowledge of obstetrics and gynecology.I also bought some instruments and medical supplies that I would never have thought would be needed on a spaceship.I stayed cooped up in my room until I had fully mastered all the new techniques and was at least as adept at caring for babies as I was long ago as a country doctor in Ormuzd. I monitor my patient closely, watching her diet, exercising her, checking her body every day -- and banning inappropriate sexual activity. It appears that Dr. Lafayette Hubert, M.D., aka Captain Aaron Sheffield, aka Patriarch (among many others), is overly concerned about his patient.But he didn't let her and her husband know it, and he channeled his worry into motivation to 'prepare for every conceivable obstetrical emergency, with the technology of the time.The equipment and medical supplies he had bought in Valhalla were in every major respect comparable to those at the Temple of Frigg in Tolheim, where fifty babies were not uncommonly born every day. Looking at the hordes of equipment and medicines he had brought aboard, he began to laugh at himself.He thought of the country doctor in Ormuzd who had delivered many babies with his bare hands.At that time, the parting mother was sitting on her husband's lap, who lifted her legs wide apart so that Dr. Hubert could kneel in front of them to deliver the baby. That's true, but on the other hand, he always has all the equipment that can fit in a crappy car with him.Of course, when things go well, he doesn't even need to open the kit.But the point is this: when things don't go your way, you have to have someone you can use. There was one thing Thorheim bought that wasn't meant to be used in emergencies: the latest improved midwifery chair.There are handles, and the place where the arms are placed is cushioned; the parts that support the legs, feet and back can be adjusted individually, and can be translated or rotated in three directions, which can be adjusted by midwives and mothers, and the restraint equipment can be quickly untied.It's an extremely flexible device that allows a woman to position herself — or someone else to position her — so that her birth canal is vertical and as wide open as possible when the baby is born. Dr. Hubert Sherfield installed the chair in his room.Before signing for it, he checked all the adjustments—and then frowned at it.It was a fine piece of equipment, and he didn't hesitate to pay a good price for it.But it is cold and loveless; it is as impersonal as a guillotine. Although the husband's arms and legs are not as useful as this, in his opinion, there is a lot of meaning in them.The couple went through this ordeal together, with the husband's arms around her, comforting her, giving her physical and emotional support, and allowing the midwife to focus on the specifics of the birth. A husband who has been through all this has no doubts that he has become a father.Even if she ever had an affair with a passing stranger, it would be drowned out in this shared ordeal and rendered irrelevant. So what to do, doctor?This chair, or Joe's arm?Do these two children need to experience this second "marriage ceremony"?Will Joe's physical and mental strength bear all this?There was no question that Rita was the stronger of the two, even though Joe weighed more than she was about to give birth.What if Joe passed out or dropped her during labor? ——Are these problems at the worst possible time? While Sheffield worried about these things, he moved the auxiliary controls of the gravity regulator from the control room to the production chair.Despite the trouble, he decided to use his room as a delivery room; only this room was large enough to have a bed that could be easily used and its own washroom.For the next fifty days, every time he had to cling to that annoying thing, he could squeeze in front of his desk and cabinet.But he can live with it.Sixty days at most, if he didn't miscalculate Rita's fertilization time and judge her pregnancy process.Then he can take it apart and put it away. Maybe he could get a good price for it in Landover; it was still very advanced there, and he was sure of that. He positioned the chair, fastened it to the deck, raised it to its highest position, and placed the midwife's stool in front of it.He adjusted the height of the stool until he was comfortable.He found that he could also lower the height of the production chair by ten or twelve centimeters, and even then there was room for him to maneuver.With that done, he climbed into the production chair and started fiddling with the adjustment knobs.He found that the chair could even be used by someone as tall as himself.This design was not excessive; some women in Valhalla were taller than him. Minerva, Rita is about ten days past her due date by my count.They weren't worried, because I deliberately blurred the date; I was just a little worried, because after examination, she was normal and healthy in all aspects.I told them what to do during labor and kept them practicing, and I also educated them in hypnosis and asked her to do the movements that would make labor easier.I don't like having my birth canal stitched up; the birth canal should widen, not be torn. The thing that really annoys me is that I might need to wring a monster's neck off.I mean killing babies.I should not run away from this reality.All the calculations I did that sleepless night didn't rule out that risk—and if any one of the assumptions I made were wrong, the odds were higher than I thought. If I have to, I want it to be over as soon as possible. I worry a lot more than she does.I actually don't think she was worried; I was very attentive in my hypnosis education. If I had to do this horrible thing, I had to do it quickly, while they weren't looking, so they never saw the baby, and got rid of the body.After that, I still have to deal with a difficult problem, how to repair the relationship between them.Will they still be husband and wife?I have no idea.Maybe I will only have my own thoughts after seeing her reaction. Finally, her contractions came, and the intervals were getting shorter and shorter, so I put them in that production chair - it was easy, it was one-quarter gravity here.We've adjusted the position of the production chairs during practice and they're used to it.Joe climbed into the chair and sat there with his thighs wide apart, his knees higher than the rest of his body, and his heels pinned down.This position is not very comfortable, because his body is not as flexible as hers.Then I picked her up and put her on his lap—no problem, she weighed less than forty pounds, or eighteen kilograms, under the artificially adjusted gravity. She spread her legs apart, almost forming a straight line.She slid down his lap.Jo struggled to keep her from slipping between his legs. "Is that low enough, Captain?" she asked. "Good." I said.Using the chair alone might make her position a little more comfortable, but then she probably wouldn't let Joe put his arms around her.I never told them there were other poses to choose from. "You'll kiss her, Jo, and I'll tie the strings." I tied the left knees of both of them together with a lap strap, and then secured her foot with another brace I added.The chest, shoulder, and thigh straps were firmly attached to his body, and even if the ship fell apart, he would still stay in that chair.But there were no straps on her.Her hands gripped the handles, and his hands and arms were living, warm, loving harnesses under her breasts and over her bump without touching it.He knows what to do, we've practiced.If I need some power in her belly I'll let him know - leave it alone the rest of the time. My stool is fixed to the deck of the spaceship, and I also added a safety belt for fixing it.After strapping myself to the stool, I reminded them that the intense moment was about to come - a step we couldn't practice beforehand; it could lead to a miscarriage. "Hold her tight, Jo, but let her breathe. Feel better, Rita?" "Well—" she gasped, "I—I'm having contractions again!" "Hold on, honey!" I reconfirmed that my left foot was in position to control the G-meter, and kept a close eye on her stomach. A big guy!With the baby's head exposed, I increased the gravity from a quarter G to two G almost instantly.Rita yelled, and the fetus gushed out like a watermelon and fell right into my hand. I put my foot back, and the g-regulator brought us back to low-g.Meanwhile I glanced at the little baby.He was a normal boy, red all over, wrinkled and ugly looking.I slapped his ass and he burst into tears.

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Notes: characters.