"You know the answer to that."
"But, Joe, to risk your life, your _life_, Joe, for such a silly
thing--"
He said softly, "Such a silly thing as attaining to a position which
will enable me to court openly the girl I love?"
She flushed, looked into his face quickly. Her flush deepened and her
eyes went to her folded hands, on the table.
He said nothing.
Nadine said finally, her voice so low as almost not to be heard,
"Perhaps I would be willing to marry a man of Middle caste."
He was taken with surprise, but even in thrilling to the meaning of
her words, his head was shaking in negation. "Nadine Haer, Category
Medicine, Rank Doctor, Mid-Upper, married to Major Joseph Mauser,
Category Military, Mid-Middle. Don't be ridiculous, Nadine. It would
be as though back in the Twentieth Century you would have married a
Negro or Oriental."
She was stirred with anger. "There is no law preventing marriage
between castes!"
"Nor was there law, in most States, against marrying between races.
But there were few who dared, and, of those, few who were allowed to
be happy. It's no go, Nadine. Remember in the Exclusive Room the other
night when the waiter questioned my presence in an Upper establishment
and you had to tell him I was your guest? I don't desire to be your
guest the rest of my life, Nadine."
The anger welled higher in her. "And do you think that in the remote
case you do jump your caste to Upper, that I would marry you and then
realize the rest of my life that our marriage was only possible due to
your participation in mass slaughter for the sake of the slobbering
multitudes of Telly fans?"
Joe said, "I wasn't going to bring the matter up until I had made
Low-Upper caste."
"Well, sir, the matter is up. And I reject you in advance. Oh, Joe, if
you have to persist in this status-hungry ambition of yours, drop the
Category Military and get into something else. You have enough of a
fortune to branch into various fields where your abilities would lead
to advancement."
Again he didn't tell her that his fortune was all but dissipated.
Instead, he said bitterly, "Those who have, get. The rich get richer,
the poor get poorer. Things are rigged, these days, so that it's
impossible to work your way to the top except in Military and
Religion. The Uppers take care of their own, and at the same time make
every effort to keep us of the lower orders from joining their sacred
circle. I might make it in the Military, Nadine, but my chances in
another field are so remote as to be laughable."
She stood and looked down at him emptily. "No," she said, "don't get
up. I'm leaving, Major Mauser." He began to rise, to protest, but she
said, her voice curt, "I have seen only one fracas on Telly in my
entire life, and was so repelled that I vowed never to watch again.
However, I am going to make an exception. I am going to follow this
one, and if, as a result of your actions, even a single person meets
death, I wish never to see you again. Do I make myself completely
clear, Major Mauser?"