Flatlander - Larry Niven [95]
We ate. I asked, “What is it with lunies? I keep hearing remarks. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect in the eighteenth century, with social diseases and no contraceptives.”
She nodded and swallowed and said, “Harry tried to explain it to me. People have been living on the moon for a hundred twenty years or so, but even eighty years ago there were only a few hundred. Human beings haven’t really adapted biologically to having children in low gravity. Maybe someday, but for now … they marry early and have two or three children and never use a contraceptive at all. Two or three children and a dozen or two dozen pregnancies that don’t come to term. The children are precious. It’s very important who the father is.”
“Uh huh.”
“That’s the official position. But there are contraceptives, and somebody’s buying them. And long engagements are normal, and children born seven or eight months after the ceremony are also normal. I’d guess they try each other out, just like we do, but one at a time, and what they’re looking for is fertility, not compatibility. And they don’t talk about even that.”
“Except Harry.”
She nodded. “Harry likes flatlander women. Society kind of frowns on that, but Harry’s too good a doctor to be fired.” She grinned at me. “That’s his story. He’s actually damned good. And he’s sterile, guaranteed. There are a fair number of men like that, and women, too. They’re in a special position. Not really considered a threat, if you follow.”
I wanted to know more about that relationship. I tried an oblique approach. “Would you recommend that I take a lunie lover?”
She didn’t smile. “Don’t fail to seduce a lunie, Gil. What I mean is, don’t fail. Don’t ask unless the answer is yes. In fact—” Now she smiled. “Don’t ask. You can let yourself be seduced. Everyone knows flatlanders are easy.”
“Are we?”
“Sure. Now, would you like to meet Harry McCavity? Is that what you were getting at? You’d like him, and he doesn’t consider you a threat. Quite the reverse.”
“What?”
“You’re a good cover. You and I are roommates of long standing. Hove City society would really prefer that Harry keep his relationships purely social.”
“Oh. Okay, I’d like to meet him socially. I met him officially last night. He was repairing a hole in a Belt delegate.” I told her about Penzler.
She didn’t like it. “Gil, if someone’s shooting at offworld conference delegates, shouldn’t you start wearing a mirror vest? And me, too?”
“Not to worry. They’ve got a suspect.”
“That’s a relief. The right suspect?”
“She was the only one out there.” I discovered that I didn’t want to talk to Taffy about Naomi. “They’ll be expecting to call me in my room. And I need some sleep. When shall we twain meet again?”
“It looks like Thursday, same time, unless someone changes my schedule again.”
“Same time. Lord.”
“I thought you were used to my funny hours. Look, I’ll leave you a message if it looks like we can get together with Harry. Lunch or dinner, okay?”
“Okay.”
It was nine when I reached my room. I called the mayor’s office, got his secretary, and was told me conference had been postponed for that day but that the conference room would be open for informal discussions.
Interesting. Chris was that important? But two other delegates had been up late into the night, and others could be suffering from time lag. I was just as glad they’d called it off.
I slept till noon. Then Laura Drury called. She was just going off duty, and a team of lunie police were leaving with Naomi in ten minutes.
4. THE CRATERED LANDS
I got into my suit in a hell of a hurry, then stopped and made myself go through the checkout routine. I was long out of practice. I reached the south face air lock and found the rest of the party still in sight on the road. I bounced after them.
There were seven of us: Naomi, Marion Shaeffer, me, and four tall lunie cops. The freckled redhead was Jefferson. The face above the tallest of the orange suits was also familiar. I’d seen him talking to the mayor last night at dinner.