"You killed her?"
"She was destroyed."
In the red time there were suggestive mists that whispered. Radwick
watched me with amusement. I had never seen a mist-woman before,
and I forgot about the Ideals when I saw these graceful, half-solid
creatures that drifted past the ship. In the distance they were alien
forms but as they divined our own forms and wants they shifted into
reasonable facsimilies of earth-women and smiled and whispered as we
drew alongside.
"Sirens," I breathed, feeling cold fear inside.
Radwick concealed a smile as one of them materialized inside the ship.
She balanced on the cabin table and fell towards me, whispering sounds
that almost made words. The sensation was one of almost-solid and yet a
yielding that gave way to the touch. There was a wetness and a warmness
with just the suggestion of glossy, mist hair, dainty-brushing,
lip-kissing. She formed herself around my body and nibbled my ear and
teased me to open my pores and admit her.
"I don't know how!" I gasped, almost overwhelmed by the
not-quite-solidity of her.
"And never will," laughed Radwick. "You aren't sex-oriented or you
would be at the end of your run on the Overdrive right this moment,
spirited away into the ideal of orgiastic perfection. The Company loses
a lot of men to these mists and they go drifting in love forever, but
she can't hurt you."
Then the delicious mist got mad and slapped my face and floated
daintily off. Then came the jarring sensation and we were back in the
daylight of our own time and heading again towards the next layer of
blue time. Only by then I could marvel no more.
* * * * *
I saw Kelly on Scolaris while they were loading the ship with duronium.
In exchange the Scolarians got various earth chemicals which were used
for alien purposes beyond our knowing. Scolaris was a planet of a great
star; it was also a city. It was a fine city but by no means different
from New York. In fact it could've been New York done on an idealistic
scale. The people of Scolaris, the Star-beings, were engaged in some
terrific struggle which I couldn't quite understand.
"Back on earth," said Kelly as we sat in his sidewalk apartment, "there
were a lot of things that went on I didn't like. If you loved someone,
there was hate mixed with it. If you liked some idea--freedom, equal
rights, the dignity of man, there was always some person or some
institution around that spoiled it. You were always striving for some
perfection and yet you knew you could never reach it. But listen, Al,
they got it here--perfection." He leaned back with a sigh.
His red-headed Ideal of the Thousand Lights in New York was there. Her
name was Valda and she smiled at me and asked if I had shot any more
Ideals lately. I grinned a negative and accepted the drink of Scolaris
that she mixed. It was perfect.
"The Scolarians are at war with a group from another galaxy, the
Philosters," said Kelly. "These star-beings are people like us engaged
in a great struggle with the Philosterian forces. But there isn't any
stupidity on our side. The Scolarians are all fine people, generous,
loving, determined. They respect one another; they never let you down.
The women of Scolaris that we call Ideals, once they fall for a man,
Scolarian or earth-like, are forever faithful and one hundred per cent
in love with you. To me the whole race is perfect good fighting the
perfect evil of the Philosterians. I want to join that fight, Al. Only
here on the Stardust Overdrive do the true whites and blacks of good
and evil exist."
"But you hated Valda back on earth," I pointed out. "Back in the
Thousand Lights that night."
"Yes. I hated her because she could be perfect and I knew I couldn't
be--I hated my own imperfection. I'm learning. I'm going to stay here
and learn to be a Scolarian. In other words, reach perfection of an
integrated, happy body and mind, engaged in a worthwhile struggle,
dedicated to the forces of good forever."
I leaned back seeing how much we were brothers, feeling how good it
was to be on Scolaris. There was a knock on the door and a dark-haired
woman came in.
"This is Sandy," said Valda, smiling at me.