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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6e2d665 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60520 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60520) diff --git a/old/60520-8.txt b/old/60520-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 45d8278..0000000 --- a/old/60520-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,759 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Marrying Man, by Joseph Farrell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: The Marrying Man - -Author: Joseph Farrell - -Release Date: October 19, 2019 [EBook #60520] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MARRYING MAN *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - The MARRYING MAN - - BY JOSEPH FARRELL - - _Pete never heard of that old adage - about "What's sauce for the goose - is sauce for the gander"...._ - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Worlds of If Science Fiction, August 1958. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -It wasn't that Pete Cooper didn't love his wives, or that he wanted to -see them hurry on into the next world. He always felt real grief when -he found himself a widower. - -But a man must be practical. They were all healthy young women, or at -least middle aged when he married them, good insurance risks, and no -insurance agent was turning down the business when Pete asked for a -policy that big, especially when Pete was putting the cash on the line -to pay up the policy when he bought it. - -That was the most sensible way for a man in the interstellar service -to invest his money, Pete said. When he was out in space traveling at -near light speed, and time slowed almost to a stop for him, the few -months he spent on an expedition meant that nine years passed for a -wife on Earth for a Centauri trip, and Sirius meant fifteen, and Altair -twenty-five. So a man only saw his wife two or three times between -trips, and maybe the last time he saw her he had to take her to the -old ladies' home, and the next time he pulled into Earth the insurance -company was waiting for him with a check. Safer than stocks, and there -was always the possibility that the loving wife might come to an -accidental end, which would sadden him, but it meant a double indemnity -payment. That sort of satisfied a man's natural desire to have a little -speculation attached to his investment. - -Sally was the seventh. Pete sat fingering the check, feeling genuine -sadness at his bereavement. - -"Lovely girl," he told the insurance agent. "It makes a man feel empty -to come home from the stars and find that his wife has gone to her -reward." - -The insurance man disguised a cynical smirk behind his sympathetic -mask. "Yes ... a wonderful woman. But it must happen to all of us." - -He patted Pete's shoulder gently. Pete rose, folded the check -carelessly and put it into a pocket. He shook the insurance agent's -hand. - -"You've been very kind. I'll take your card ... in case I ever need -another policy...." - - * * * * * - -Pete expected to need another policy before he left for his next trip. -He felt unhappy about Sally's being gone, but a man mustn't give in to -morbid self pity. And hadn't he heard somebody say that a man without a -wife was like a spaceship without a motor? - -He strolled about the city, unimpressed by the changes since his last -visit. An interstellar man with as much service as Pete was beyond -showing surprise at superficial differences. He was a little annoyed -to find that the moving sidewalks were old-fashioned and had been torn -out. People now wore little repulsor units on their belts. - -Walking was tiresome. He stopped at a corner and watched the -pedestrians as they whizzed by a few inches off the ground. At least -they were clothed; the nudity of the previous century had been somewhat -unnerving even to the blasé eyes of a time man. And he was glad to see -that the women were back to wearing long, well groomed hair. That -period when fashion had called for smoothly shaven heads hadn't suited -his taste at all. - -In fact, none of it seemed to appeal to him very much any more. That -was sophistication, the price that must be paid by a man in the -interstellar service, watching the centuries go by without belonging to -any one of them. He watched a group of young people flit laughing by, -felt an unreasoning irritation. They'd be gone and forgotten when he'd -made a few more trips. - -One of the young girls noticed him. She broke from the group and -approached. - -"You're an interstellar, aren't you? I hope you'll join me. I'm -Nancy...." - -Pete straightened up and looked her over. A little young, maybe -nineteen, but that meant a lower premium. Nice blond hair, big waves of -it that stayed in place even when she was moving fast, and even when -she was standing still she seemed to be moving. She was really alive, -smiling and laughing and talking easily, and in a pleasant low voice. -Really healthy--that slender but nicely rounded body was good for a -hundred years. - -But then, money isn't everything. - -"A lovely name," he told her. "I like girls with old-fashioned -names...." - -Nancy, it seemed, wanted to interview a time man in connection with a -thesis, and in this particular age there was no taboo against a young -girl introducing herself to a strange man. Pete didn't mind at all -being interviewed and having dinner with her and seeing the town with -her. And even when he had given her enough material for a dozen theses, -she didn't seem in any hurry to break off their friendship. - - * * * * * - -Pete was spending half his waking hours with Nancy and the other -half in the men's beauty parlor. Not that he was old--a little -prematurely gray and somewhat wrinkled from the hard sun of space -and the unkind atmospheres of alien planets. And he had his contact -lenses changed--paper was scarce in this era and they were using finer -print to stretch the supply. But he was still young. He studied the -full length mirror and decided he'd pass for thirty-five. His actual -age--that would be hard to guess. Someday he'd look into the company -records and figure it out. But mentally, he told himself, I'm a young -man, even though I walked through this city five hundred years ago. - -A young man in love. - -They knew in this era how to make it nice for young people in love, if -you could afford one of the better places. Pete sat across the table -from Nancy at a tiny table on a roof far above the city. The room was -crowded, but some trick of design made it seem that they were alone -together. There was real music played by real people. Some of the -melodies were old ones that brought a mood of nostalgia to the time -man, with memories of past loves. But then he looked across at Nancy, -with her innocent laughing eyes, and the beauty of her brought a lump -to his throat that drove out all the small loves of the past. This was -it. This time he was really in love. - -"Pete," she said, "don't you ever get tired of it? Of jumping through -the ages, coming back to find your old friends gone, being a stranger -in a strange world? For instance, how about me? You'll be back from -Sirius or Altair some day, a year or two older, and I'll be an old -woman? How does it really feel?" - -Pete took her hands and stared earnestly into her eyes. She was more -serious than he'd ever seen her as she gazed back at him. - -"It's not the right way to live, Nancy. A man doesn't really live, in -the real meaning of life. A man needs a woman, a wife he can come home -to." He squeezed her hands gently. "Nancy, will you marry me?" - -Her hands trembled in his grasp. - -"I will, Pete--oh, Pete, I've been so hoping--and so afraid. But, Pete, -your job...?" - -He smiled reassuringly. - -"I'm signed up for a trip, but it's only a short one--that planet of -Proxima Centauri they just discovered is on the list for a complete -survey. But I'll be back in--seven, eight years. Then we can really -settle down." - -She bent over the table and kissed him. - -"I'll wait, Pete." - -"No, Nancy. Now. We'll be married first; I'll still be here a couple of -months, why waste them? I don't want to take any chances of losing you." - -"I wanted to hear that, Pete." Her eyes were shining with happiness. -"About getting married now, I mean--there's no chance of your losing -me." - -Pete was serious about settling down after the short trip to Proxima. -At least he was serious about it now. But after that trip was over.... - -He didn't think about that sort of thing any more. He had tried to -puzzle it out a few times, how he could tell a girl he was making one -more trip, and mean it, and then one more and then one more until a -happy young girl was suddenly a disillusioned embittered old woman. -There was a paradox of conscience here that he had given up trying to -resolve. When he said he was making one more trip, he meant it. But at -the same time he knew that when he came back he'd sign up for another. -If he meant what he said when he said it, even though he knew he'd -change his mind later-- - -His conscience was clear. - -And of course a man must be practical. His earnings must be invested, -and the future provided for. The honeymoon was still new when the -insurance agent responded to Pete's call. - -"I've always believed in insurance," he told Nancy. "Of course, -no amount of money could console me if I came back and found that -something had happened to you. But people must prepare for the -unpleasant things in life." - -"Of course," said Nancy, who never disagreed with her husband. "We have -to be sensible about things. I might have an accident, and so might -you. We have to face things like that." - -The insurance man was a little dazed. He'd never sold a policy nearly -as big as the amount Pete had named. - -"Nobody's had an accident on an interstellar ship in hundreds -of years," he assured Nancy. "The rate for your husband will be -negligible--we expect him to be around for a real long time. Now, sir," -he told Pete, "your best buy is our family special--the full value to -be paid to the survivor. As I said, the cost for you is trivial, and -for your wife...." - -He thumbed his rate book nervously. Pete wrote a check to pay the -policy in full, and the insurance man walked out in a trance, spending -his commission. - -And Nancy hadn't noticed that Pete's signature had gone on a guarantee -that he wouldn't resign from the interstellar service for at least two -hundred years, objective Earth time. - - * * * * * - -Pete felt a little sad when his leave began to run out. They sat around -evenings adoring each other, not too late, because Pete was a man who -needed plenty of sleep or he felt irritable the next day. Nancy never -took his bad days seriously. The laughing happiness of youth was still -in her eyes, but there was a firmness behind it now, the maturity of a -girl who knows how to become a woman. - -He went down to the spaceport a few times to look over the ship he was -signed up for, and took the routine physical. Doctors went over his -mind and his body, probing with needles and tubes and questions that -were pointless. - -"What do you think of the popular songs of today, Mr. Cooper?" - -"What do you remember of your mother, Mr. Cooper?" - -"Are you interested in girls, Mr. Cooper?" - -"Do you have a close friendship with any of the other men in the crew, -Mr. Cooper...?" - -The routine this time seemed worse than ever. Actually he'd had worse -ones, when the medical fashions of the time called for it, but somehow -it seemed more annoying this time. - -"Five hundred years," he told the doctor. "Five hundred years I've been -living this life and I know more about it than you ever will. Captain -Drago told me on the trip to Altair--no, Sirius it was, that I was the -most devoted man in the service. Pete, he said, when you're aboard, -I never worry about the engines, I'd rather have you sitting on them -than anybody else. That's the way he talked--sitting on the engines, he -called it...." - -The doctor watched Pete thoughtfully and made notes on the paper before -him. And the next day the mail brought the message that Peter Cooper, -Master Engineman First Class, was retired from the service. There was a -personal letter of congratulations from an undersecretary, and a notice -that his pension would start the first of the following month. - -"It's a mistake!" Pete told his wife angrily. "Something's wrong! They -didn't talk to Captain Drago like I told them, and--" - -Nancy's eyes were indignant. She sent him steaming back with fire in -his eyes, but he couldn't change the decision. He did get as far as -the office of the doctor who had asked him all the fool questions, and -he saw a paper he wasn't meant to see. It stunned him into temporary -silence. - -But it wasn't true! Positively not! - -Definite signs of senility, the notes read. Irritable reaction to -questioning. Mind wanders, fixes on irrelevancies. Preoccupation with -casual remarks of associates.... - -And more. He didn't tell Nancy this, nor did he show her the reply he -received to his protest. - -"While a search of our records indicates a subjective--chronological -age of approximately 48.6 years, physiological analysis puts the -condition of your body at a much higher figure--it would be guesswork -to try to name a figure. However, recent studies indicate that -interstellar personnel with long terms of service tend to age at an -increasingly rapid rate, due probably to psychological factors stemming -from the knowledge of separation from the natal culture.... - -"We are sorry...." - -He kept his hair dark and the wrinkles smoothed out and forced the -tiredness from his bones. Other things were harder to fake, but Nancy -wasn't a demanding wife. She thought he was about thirty-five, and she -thought the blow of being dropped from the service had taken the life -from him. She took his part firmly. - -"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Pete. Not one person in a thousand -could pass the examination for the interstellar service--they're really -tough. And we're together." - -"What will we live on?" Pete demanded, knowing he was being too -irritable, but unable to control it. He waved the pension check. "Can -we live on that? A fine payment for my years of service." - -Nancy looked dubiously at the check. "I thought it was a lot ... but -don't worry, Pete. You have a wife to stand by you." - - * * * * * - -When Pete found out how his wife had gone about standing by him, he was -almost shocked speechless. Almost. - -"You signed up as my replacement on the Proxima expedition! But you -can't! It's no job for a woman! And you're leaving me alone--for seven -or eight years! They won't take you!" - -"They already did." She smiled bravely at him. "As the wife of a -retired serviceman I had preference. We need the extra money, Pete. And -it won't be for long. When I come back, we'll still be young enough to -enjoy life, darling. And they pay well--a few years of sacrifice now -will make so much difference in our future...." - -Pete closed his eyes and thought of how many times he had said the same -words to starry eyed young women. It won't be long ... we'll still be -young ... good pay.... - -Her loving lips tenderly brushed his dark hair. - - * * * * * - -On nice days, Pete sits in a rocking chair on the porch with the other -old men. He doesn't bother to dye his hair any more and he reads now -with a thick glass, complaining about the small type they use nowadays. -The attendants laugh off his irritability, and some of the visitors who -come to see the other old men don't mind listening to his stories about -the interstellar service. - -When it gets toward dusk, he looks into the sky sometimes as the -stars appear. Centaurus isn't really there, not here in the northern -hemisphere, but he looks anyway. Out there in space, his wife is doing -a man's job. Wonderful woman, Elsie. - -Not Elsie--Nancy. How could he have made that mistake. Nancy, a -laughing young girl who had grown swiftly into a strong mature woman -defending her man and her marriage vows. - -He leans back and rocks faster then, a smile on his face. Sometimes the -visitors see him and shake their heads sympathetically, and sometimes -he sees them doing it, but it doesn't matter. They don't know. They -don't know about his nest egg, that insurance policy he's going to -collect some day now, because he's going to straighten them out down at -the interstellar bureau. Captain Drago will straighten them out, and -then he's going back into space and support his wife as a man should. - -And sometimes the smile fades and a tear rolls down his cheeks when -he thinks of Nancy growing old and passing away and the insurance man -giving him a check and a few words of sympathy. But a man has to be -practical about such things. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Marrying Man, by Joseph Farrell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MARRYING MAN *** - -***** This file should be named 60520-8.txt or 60520-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/5/2/60520/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: The Marrying Man - -Author: Joseph Farrell - -Release Date: October 19, 2019 [EBook #60520] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MARRYING MAN *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="350" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> -<h1>The MARRYING MAN</h1> - -<h2>BY JOSEPH FARRELL</h2> - -<p class="ph1"><i>Pete never heard of that old adage<br /> -about "What's sauce for the goose<br /> -is sauce for the gander"....</i></p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Worlds of If Science Fiction, August 1958.<br /> -Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that<br /> -the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>It wasn't that Pete Cooper didn't love his wives, or that he wanted to -see them hurry on into the next world. He always felt real grief when -he found himself a widower.</p> - -<p>But a man must be practical. They were all healthy young women, or at -least middle aged when he married them, good insurance risks, and no -insurance agent was turning down the business when Pete asked for a -policy that big, especially when Pete was putting the cash on the line -to pay up the policy when he bought it.</p> - -<p>That was the most sensible way for a man in the interstellar service -to invest his money, Pete said. When he was out in space traveling at -near light speed, and time slowed almost to a stop for him, the few -months he spent on an expedition meant that nine years passed for a -wife on Earth for a Centauri trip, and Sirius meant fifteen, and Altair -twenty-five. So a man only saw his wife two or three times between -trips, and maybe the last time he saw her he had to take her to the -old ladies' home, and the next time he pulled into Earth the insurance -company was waiting for him with a check. Safer than stocks, and there -was always the possibility that the loving wife might come to an -accidental end, which would sadden him, but it meant a double indemnity -payment. That sort of satisfied a man's natural desire to have a little -speculation attached to his investment.</p> - -<p>Sally was the seventh. Pete sat fingering the check, feeling genuine -sadness at his bereavement.</p> - -<p>"Lovely girl," he told the insurance agent. "It makes a man feel empty -to come home from the stars and find that his wife has gone to her -reward."</p> - -<p>The insurance man disguised a cynical smirk behind his sympathetic -mask. "Yes ... a wonderful woman. But it must happen to all of us."</p> - -<p>He patted Pete's shoulder gently. Pete rose, folded the check -carelessly and put it into a pocket. He shook the insurance agent's -hand.</p> - -<p>"You've been very kind. I'll take your card ... in case I ever need -another policy...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Pete expected to need another policy before he left for his next trip. -He felt unhappy about Sally's being gone, but a man mustn't give in to -morbid self pity. And hadn't he heard somebody say that a man without a -wife was like a spaceship without a motor?</p> - -<p>He strolled about the city, unimpressed by the changes since his last -visit. An interstellar man with as much service as Pete was beyond -showing surprise at superficial differences. He was a little annoyed -to find that the moving sidewalks were old-fashioned and had been torn -out. People now wore little repulsor units on their belts.</p> - -<p>Walking was tiresome. He stopped at a corner and watched the -pedestrians as they whizzed by a few inches off the ground. At least -they were clothed; the nudity of the previous century had been somewhat -unnerving even to the blasé eyes of a time man. And he was glad to see -that the women were back to wearing long, well groomed hair. That -period when fashion had called for smoothly shaven heads hadn't suited -his taste at all.</p> - -<p>In fact, none of it seemed to appeal to him very much any more. That -was sophistication, the price that must be paid by a man in the -interstellar service, watching the centuries go by without belonging to -any one of them. He watched a group of young people flit laughing by, -felt an unreasoning irritation. They'd be gone and forgotten when he'd -made a few more trips.</p> - -<p>One of the young girls noticed him. She broke from the group and -approached.</p> - -<p>"You're an interstellar, aren't you? I hope you'll join me. I'm -Nancy...."</p> - -<p>Pete straightened up and looked her over. A little young, maybe -nineteen, but that meant a lower premium. Nice blond hair, big waves of -it that stayed in place even when she was moving fast, and even when -she was standing still she seemed to be moving. She was really alive, -smiling and laughing and talking easily, and in a pleasant low voice. -Really healthy—that slender but nicely rounded body was good for a -hundred years.</p> - -<p>But then, money isn't everything.</p> - -<p>"A lovely name," he told her. "I like girls with old-fashioned -names...."</p> - -<p>Nancy, it seemed, wanted to interview a time man in connection with a -thesis, and in this particular age there was no taboo against a young -girl introducing herself to a strange man. Pete didn't mind at all -being interviewed and having dinner with her and seeing the town with -her. And even when he had given her enough material for a dozen theses, -she didn't seem in any hurry to break off their friendship.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Pete was spending half his waking hours with Nancy and the other -half in the men's beauty parlor. Not that he was old—a little -prematurely gray and somewhat wrinkled from the hard sun of space -and the unkind atmospheres of alien planets. And he had his contact -lenses changed—paper was scarce in this era and they were using finer -print to stretch the supply. But he was still young. He studied the -full length mirror and decided he'd pass for thirty-five. His actual -age—that would be hard to guess. Someday he'd look into the company -records and figure it out. But mentally, he told himself, I'm a young -man, even though I walked through this city five hundred years ago.</p> - -<p>A young man in love.</p> - -<p>They knew in this era how to make it nice for young people in love, if -you could afford one of the better places. Pete sat across the table -from Nancy at a tiny table on a roof far above the city. The room was -crowded, but some trick of design made it seem that they were alone -together. There was real music played by real people. Some of the -melodies were old ones that brought a mood of nostalgia to the time -man, with memories of past loves. But then he looked across at Nancy, -with her innocent laughing eyes, and the beauty of her brought a lump -to his throat that drove out all the small loves of the past. This was -it. This time he was really in love.</p> - -<p>"Pete," she said, "don't you ever get tired of it? Of jumping through -the ages, coming back to find your old friends gone, being a stranger -in a strange world? For instance, how about me? You'll be back from -Sirius or Altair some day, a year or two older, and I'll be an old -woman? How does it really feel?"</p> - -<p>Pete took her hands and stared earnestly into her eyes. She was more -serious than he'd ever seen her as she gazed back at him.</p> - -<p>"It's not the right way to live, Nancy. A man doesn't really live, in -the real meaning of life. A man needs a woman, a wife he can come home -to." He squeezed her hands gently. "Nancy, will you marry me?"</p> - -<p>Her hands trembled in his grasp.</p> - -<p>"I will, Pete—oh, Pete, I've been so hoping—and so afraid. But, Pete, -your job...?"</p> - -<p>He smiled reassuringly.</p> - -<p>"I'm signed up for a trip, but it's only a short one—that planet of -Proxima Centauri they just discovered is on the list for a complete -survey. But I'll be back in—seven, eight years. Then we can really -settle down."</p> - -<p>She bent over the table and kissed him.</p> - -<p>"I'll wait, Pete."</p> - -<p>"No, Nancy. Now. We'll be married first; I'll still be here a couple of -months, why waste them? I don't want to take any chances of losing you."</p> - -<p>"I wanted to hear that, Pete." Her eyes were shining with happiness. -"About getting married now, I mean—there's no chance of your losing -me."</p> - -<p>Pete was serious about settling down after the short trip to Proxima. -At least he was serious about it now. But after that trip was over....</p> - -<p>He didn't think about that sort of thing any more. He had tried to -puzzle it out a few times, how he could tell a girl he was making one -more trip, and mean it, and then one more and then one more until a -happy young girl was suddenly a disillusioned embittered old woman. -There was a paradox of conscience here that he had given up trying to -resolve. When he said he was making one more trip, he meant it. But at -the same time he knew that when he came back he'd sign up for another. -If he meant what he said when he said it, even though he knew he'd -change his mind later—</p> - -<p>His conscience was clear.</p> - -<p>And of course a man must be practical. His earnings must be invested, -and the future provided for. The honeymoon was still new when the -insurance agent responded to Pete's call.</p> - -<p>"I've always believed in insurance," he told Nancy. "Of course, -no amount of money could console me if I came back and found that -something had happened to you. But people must prepare for the -unpleasant things in life."</p> - -<p>"Of course," said Nancy, who never disagreed with her husband. "We have -to be sensible about things. I might have an accident, and so might -you. We have to face things like that."</p> - -<p>The insurance man was a little dazed. He'd never sold a policy nearly -as big as the amount Pete had named.</p> - -<p>"Nobody's had an accident on an interstellar ship in hundreds -of years," he assured Nancy. "The rate for your husband will be -negligible—we expect him to be around for a real long time. Now, sir," -he told Pete, "your best buy is our family special—the full value to -be paid to the survivor. As I said, the cost for you is trivial, and -for your wife...."</p> - -<p>He thumbed his rate book nervously. Pete wrote a check to pay the -policy in full, and the insurance man walked out in a trance, spending -his commission.</p> - -<p>And Nancy hadn't noticed that Pete's signature had gone on a guarantee -that he wouldn't resign from the interstellar service for at least two -hundred years, objective Earth time.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Pete felt a little sad when his leave began to run out. They sat around -evenings adoring each other, not too late, because Pete was a man who -needed plenty of sleep or he felt irritable the next day. Nancy never -took his bad days seriously. The laughing happiness of youth was still -in her eyes, but there was a firmness behind it now, the maturity of a -girl who knows how to become a woman.</p> - -<p>He went down to the spaceport a few times to look over the ship he was -signed up for, and took the routine physical. Doctors went over his -mind and his body, probing with needles and tubes and questions that -were pointless.</p> - -<p>"What do you think of the popular songs of today, Mr. Cooper?"</p> - -<p>"What do you remember of your mother, Mr. Cooper?"</p> - -<p>"Are you interested in girls, Mr. Cooper?"</p> - -<p>"Do you have a close friendship with any of the other men in the crew, -Mr. Cooper...?"</p> - -<p>The routine this time seemed worse than ever. Actually he'd had worse -ones, when the medical fashions of the time called for it, but somehow -it seemed more annoying this time.</p> - -<p>"Five hundred years," he told the doctor. "Five hundred years I've been -living this life and I know more about it than you ever will. Captain -Drago told me on the trip to Altair—no, Sirius it was, that I was the -most devoted man in the service. Pete, he said, when you're aboard, -I never worry about the engines, I'd rather have you sitting on them -than anybody else. That's the way he talked—sitting on the engines, he -called it...."</p> - -<p>The doctor watched Pete thoughtfully and made notes on the paper before -him. And the next day the mail brought the message that Peter Cooper, -Master Engineman First Class, was retired from the service. There was a -personal letter of congratulations from an undersecretary, and a notice -that his pension would start the first of the following month.</p> - -<p>"It's a mistake!" Pete told his wife angrily. "Something's wrong! They -didn't talk to Captain Drago like I told them, and—"</p> - -<p>Nancy's eyes were indignant. She sent him steaming back with fire in -his eyes, but he couldn't change the decision. He did get as far as -the office of the doctor who had asked him all the fool questions, and -he saw a paper he wasn't meant to see. It stunned him into temporary -silence.</p> - -<p>But it wasn't true! Positively not!</p> - -<p>Definite signs of senility, the notes read. Irritable reaction to -questioning. Mind wanders, fixes on irrelevancies. Preoccupation with -casual remarks of associates....</p> - -<p>And more. He didn't tell Nancy this, nor did he show her the reply he -received to his protest.</p> - -<p>"While a search of our records indicates a subjective—chronological -age of approximately 48.6 years, physiological analysis puts the -condition of your body at a much higher figure—it would be guesswork -to try to name a figure. However, recent studies indicate that -interstellar personnel with long terms of service tend to age at an -increasingly rapid rate, due probably to psychological factors stemming -from the knowledge of separation from the natal culture....</p> - -<p>"We are sorry...."</p> - -<p>He kept his hair dark and the wrinkles smoothed out and forced the -tiredness from his bones. Other things were harder to fake, but Nancy -wasn't a demanding wife. She thought he was about thirty-five, and she -thought the blow of being dropped from the service had taken the life -from him. She took his part firmly.</p> - -<p>"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Pete. Not one person in a thousand -could pass the examination for the interstellar service—they're really -tough. And we're together."</p> - -<p>"What will we live on?" Pete demanded, knowing he was being too -irritable, but unable to control it. He waved the pension check. "Can -we live on that? A fine payment for my years of service."</p> - -<p>Nancy looked dubiously at the check. "I thought it was a lot ... but -don't worry, Pete. You have a wife to stand by you."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When Pete found out how his wife had gone about standing by him, he was -almost shocked speechless. Almost.</p> - -<p>"You signed up as my replacement on the Proxima expedition! But you -can't! It's no job for a woman! And you're leaving me alone—for seven -or eight years! They won't take you!"</p> - -<p>"They already did." She smiled bravely at him. "As the wife of a -retired serviceman I had preference. We need the extra money, Pete. And -it won't be for long. When I come back, we'll still be young enough to -enjoy life, darling. And they pay well—a few years of sacrifice now -will make so much difference in our future...."</p> - -<p>Pete closed his eyes and thought of how many times he had said the same -words to starry eyed young women. It won't be long ... we'll still be -young ... good pay....</p> - -<p>Her loving lips tenderly brushed his dark hair.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>On nice days, Pete sits in a rocking chair on the porch with the other -old men. He doesn't bother to dye his hair any more and he reads now -with a thick glass, complaining about the small type they use nowadays. -The attendants laugh off his irritability, and some of the visitors who -come to see the other old men don't mind listening to his stories about -the interstellar service.</p> - -<p>When it gets toward dusk, he looks into the sky sometimes as the -stars appear. Centaurus isn't really there, not here in the northern -hemisphere, but he looks anyway. Out there in space, his wife is doing -a man's job. Wonderful woman, Elsie.</p> - -<p>Not Elsie—Nancy. How could he have made that mistake. Nancy, a -laughing young girl who had grown swiftly into a strong mature woman -defending her man and her marriage vows.</p> - -<p>He leans back and rocks faster then, a smile on his face. Sometimes the -visitors see him and shake their heads sympathetically, and sometimes -he sees them doing it, but it doesn't matter. They don't know. They -don't know about his nest egg, that insurance policy he's going to -collect some day now, because he's going to straighten them out down at -the interstellar bureau. Captain Drago will straighten them out, and -then he's going back into space and support his wife as a man should.</p> - -<p>And sometimes the smile fades and a tear rolls down his cheeks when -he thinks of Nancy growing old and passing away and the insurance man -giving him a check and a few words of sympathy. But a man has to be -practical about such things.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Marrying Man, by Joseph Farrell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MARRYING MAN *** - -***** This file should be named 60520-h.htm or 60520-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/5/2/60520/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: The Marrying Man - -Author: Joseph Farrell - -Release Date: October 19, 2019 [EBook #60520] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MARRYING MAN *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - The MARRYING MAN - - BY JOSEPH FARRELL - - _Pete never heard of that old adage - about "What's sauce for the goose - is sauce for the gander"...._ - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Worlds of If Science Fiction, August 1958. - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -It wasn't that Pete Cooper didn't love his wives, or that he wanted to -see them hurry on into the next world. He always felt real grief when -he found himself a widower. - -But a man must be practical. They were all healthy young women, or at -least middle aged when he married them, good insurance risks, and no -insurance agent was turning down the business when Pete asked for a -policy that big, especially when Pete was putting the cash on the line -to pay up the policy when he bought it. - -That was the most sensible way for a man in the interstellar service -to invest his money, Pete said. When he was out in space traveling at -near light speed, and time slowed almost to a stop for him, the few -months he spent on an expedition meant that nine years passed for a -wife on Earth for a Centauri trip, and Sirius meant fifteen, and Altair -twenty-five. So a man only saw his wife two or three times between -trips, and maybe the last time he saw her he had to take her to the -old ladies' home, and the next time he pulled into Earth the insurance -company was waiting for him with a check. Safer than stocks, and there -was always the possibility that the loving wife might come to an -accidental end, which would sadden him, but it meant a double indemnity -payment. That sort of satisfied a man's natural desire to have a little -speculation attached to his investment. - -Sally was the seventh. Pete sat fingering the check, feeling genuine -sadness at his bereavement. - -"Lovely girl," he told the insurance agent. "It makes a man feel empty -to come home from the stars and find that his wife has gone to her -reward." - -The insurance man disguised a cynical smirk behind his sympathetic -mask. "Yes ... a wonderful woman. But it must happen to all of us." - -He patted Pete's shoulder gently. Pete rose, folded the check -carelessly and put it into a pocket. He shook the insurance agent's -hand. - -"You've been very kind. I'll take your card ... in case I ever need -another policy...." - - * * * * * - -Pete expected to need another policy before he left for his next trip. -He felt unhappy about Sally's being gone, but a man mustn't give in to -morbid self pity. And hadn't he heard somebody say that a man without a -wife was like a spaceship without a motor? - -He strolled about the city, unimpressed by the changes since his last -visit. An interstellar man with as much service as Pete was beyond -showing surprise at superficial differences. He was a little annoyed -to find that the moving sidewalks were old-fashioned and had been torn -out. People now wore little repulsor units on their belts. - -Walking was tiresome. He stopped at a corner and watched the -pedestrians as they whizzed by a few inches off the ground. At least -they were clothed; the nudity of the previous century had been somewhat -unnerving even to the blase eyes of a time man. And he was glad to see -that the women were back to wearing long, well groomed hair. That -period when fashion had called for smoothly shaven heads hadn't suited -his taste at all. - -In fact, none of it seemed to appeal to him very much any more. That -was sophistication, the price that must be paid by a man in the -interstellar service, watching the centuries go by without belonging to -any one of them. He watched a group of young people flit laughing by, -felt an unreasoning irritation. They'd be gone and forgotten when he'd -made a few more trips. - -One of the young girls noticed him. She broke from the group and -approached. - -"You're an interstellar, aren't you? I hope you'll join me. I'm -Nancy...." - -Pete straightened up and looked her over. A little young, maybe -nineteen, but that meant a lower premium. Nice blond hair, big waves of -it that stayed in place even when she was moving fast, and even when -she was standing still she seemed to be moving. She was really alive, -smiling and laughing and talking easily, and in a pleasant low voice. -Really healthy--that slender but nicely rounded body was good for a -hundred years. - -But then, money isn't everything. - -"A lovely name," he told her. "I like girls with old-fashioned -names...." - -Nancy, it seemed, wanted to interview a time man in connection with a -thesis, and in this particular age there was no taboo against a young -girl introducing herself to a strange man. Pete didn't mind at all -being interviewed and having dinner with her and seeing the town with -her. And even when he had given her enough material for a dozen theses, -she didn't seem in any hurry to break off their friendship. - - * * * * * - -Pete was spending half his waking hours with Nancy and the other -half in the men's beauty parlor. Not that he was old--a little -prematurely gray and somewhat wrinkled from the hard sun of space -and the unkind atmospheres of alien planets. And he had his contact -lenses changed--paper was scarce in this era and they were using finer -print to stretch the supply. But he was still young. He studied the -full length mirror and decided he'd pass for thirty-five. His actual -age--that would be hard to guess. Someday he'd look into the company -records and figure it out. But mentally, he told himself, I'm a young -man, even though I walked through this city five hundred years ago. - -A young man in love. - -They knew in this era how to make it nice for young people in love, if -you could afford one of the better places. Pete sat across the table -from Nancy at a tiny table on a roof far above the city. The room was -crowded, but some trick of design made it seem that they were alone -together. There was real music played by real people. Some of the -melodies were old ones that brought a mood of nostalgia to the time -man, with memories of past loves. But then he looked across at Nancy, -with her innocent laughing eyes, and the beauty of her brought a lump -to his throat that drove out all the small loves of the past. This was -it. This time he was really in love. - -"Pete," she said, "don't you ever get tired of it? Of jumping through -the ages, coming back to find your old friends gone, being a stranger -in a strange world? For instance, how about me? You'll be back from -Sirius or Altair some day, a year or two older, and I'll be an old -woman? How does it really feel?" - -Pete took her hands and stared earnestly into her eyes. She was more -serious than he'd ever seen her as she gazed back at him. - -"It's not the right way to live, Nancy. A man doesn't really live, in -the real meaning of life. A man needs a woman, a wife he can come home -to." He squeezed her hands gently. "Nancy, will you marry me?" - -Her hands trembled in his grasp. - -"I will, Pete--oh, Pete, I've been so hoping--and so afraid. But, Pete, -your job...?" - -He smiled reassuringly. - -"I'm signed up for a trip, but it's only a short one--that planet of -Proxima Centauri they just discovered is on the list for a complete -survey. But I'll be back in--seven, eight years. Then we can really -settle down." - -She bent over the table and kissed him. - -"I'll wait, Pete." - -"No, Nancy. Now. We'll be married first; I'll still be here a couple of -months, why waste them? I don't want to take any chances of losing you." - -"I wanted to hear that, Pete." Her eyes were shining with happiness. -"About getting married now, I mean--there's no chance of your losing -me." - -Pete was serious about settling down after the short trip to Proxima. -At least he was serious about it now. But after that trip was over.... - -He didn't think about that sort of thing any more. He had tried to -puzzle it out a few times, how he could tell a girl he was making one -more trip, and mean it, and then one more and then one more until a -happy young girl was suddenly a disillusioned embittered old woman. -There was a paradox of conscience here that he had given up trying to -resolve. When he said he was making one more trip, he meant it. But at -the same time he knew that when he came back he'd sign up for another. -If he meant what he said when he said it, even though he knew he'd -change his mind later-- - -His conscience was clear. - -And of course a man must be practical. His earnings must be invested, -and the future provided for. The honeymoon was still new when the -insurance agent responded to Pete's call. - -"I've always believed in insurance," he told Nancy. "Of course, -no amount of money could console me if I came back and found that -something had happened to you. But people must prepare for the -unpleasant things in life." - -"Of course," said Nancy, who never disagreed with her husband. "We have -to be sensible about things. I might have an accident, and so might -you. We have to face things like that." - -The insurance man was a little dazed. He'd never sold a policy nearly -as big as the amount Pete had named. - -"Nobody's had an accident on an interstellar ship in hundreds -of years," he assured Nancy. "The rate for your husband will be -negligible--we expect him to be around for a real long time. Now, sir," -he told Pete, "your best buy is our family special--the full value to -be paid to the survivor. As I said, the cost for you is trivial, and -for your wife...." - -He thumbed his rate book nervously. Pete wrote a check to pay the -policy in full, and the insurance man walked out in a trance, spending -his commission. - -And Nancy hadn't noticed that Pete's signature had gone on a guarantee -that he wouldn't resign from the interstellar service for at least two -hundred years, objective Earth time. - - * * * * * - -Pete felt a little sad when his leave began to run out. They sat around -evenings adoring each other, not too late, because Pete was a man who -needed plenty of sleep or he felt irritable the next day. Nancy never -took his bad days seriously. The laughing happiness of youth was still -in her eyes, but there was a firmness behind it now, the maturity of a -girl who knows how to become a woman. - -He went down to the spaceport a few times to look over the ship he was -signed up for, and took the routine physical. Doctors went over his -mind and his body, probing with needles and tubes and questions that -were pointless. - -"What do you think of the popular songs of today, Mr. Cooper?" - -"What do you remember of your mother, Mr. Cooper?" - -"Are you interested in girls, Mr. Cooper?" - -"Do you have a close friendship with any of the other men in the crew, -Mr. Cooper...?" - -The routine this time seemed worse than ever. Actually he'd had worse -ones, when the medical fashions of the time called for it, but somehow -it seemed more annoying this time. - -"Five hundred years," he told the doctor. "Five hundred years I've been -living this life and I know more about it than you ever will. Captain -Drago told me on the trip to Altair--no, Sirius it was, that I was the -most devoted man in the service. Pete, he said, when you're aboard, -I never worry about the engines, I'd rather have you sitting on them -than anybody else. That's the way he talked--sitting on the engines, he -called it...." - -The doctor watched Pete thoughtfully and made notes on the paper before -him. And the next day the mail brought the message that Peter Cooper, -Master Engineman First Class, was retired from the service. There was a -personal letter of congratulations from an undersecretary, and a notice -that his pension would start the first of the following month. - -"It's a mistake!" Pete told his wife angrily. "Something's wrong! They -didn't talk to Captain Drago like I told them, and--" - -Nancy's eyes were indignant. She sent him steaming back with fire in -his eyes, but he couldn't change the decision. He did get as far as -the office of the doctor who had asked him all the fool questions, and -he saw a paper he wasn't meant to see. It stunned him into temporary -silence. - -But it wasn't true! Positively not! - -Definite signs of senility, the notes read. Irritable reaction to -questioning. Mind wanders, fixes on irrelevancies. Preoccupation with -casual remarks of associates.... - -And more. He didn't tell Nancy this, nor did he show her the reply he -received to his protest. - -"While a search of our records indicates a subjective--chronological -age of approximately 48.6 years, physiological analysis puts the -condition of your body at a much higher figure--it would be guesswork -to try to name a figure. However, recent studies indicate that -interstellar personnel with long terms of service tend to age at an -increasingly rapid rate, due probably to psychological factors stemming -from the knowledge of separation from the natal culture.... - -"We are sorry...." - -He kept his hair dark and the wrinkles smoothed out and forced the -tiredness from his bones. Other things were harder to fake, but Nancy -wasn't a demanding wife. She thought he was about thirty-five, and she -thought the blow of being dropped from the service had taken the life -from him. She took his part firmly. - -"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Pete. Not one person in a thousand -could pass the examination for the interstellar service--they're really -tough. And we're together." - -"What will we live on?" Pete demanded, knowing he was being too -irritable, but unable to control it. He waved the pension check. "Can -we live on that? A fine payment for my years of service." - -Nancy looked dubiously at the check. "I thought it was a lot ... but -don't worry, Pete. You have a wife to stand by you." - - * * * * * - -When Pete found out how his wife had gone about standing by him, he was -almost shocked speechless. Almost. - -"You signed up as my replacement on the Proxima expedition! But you -can't! It's no job for a woman! And you're leaving me alone--for seven -or eight years! They won't take you!" - -"They already did." She smiled bravely at him. "As the wife of a -retired serviceman I had preference. We need the extra money, Pete. And -it won't be for long. When I come back, we'll still be young enough to -enjoy life, darling. And they pay well--a few years of sacrifice now -will make so much difference in our future...." - -Pete closed his eyes and thought of how many times he had said the same -words to starry eyed young women. It won't be long ... we'll still be -young ... good pay.... - -Her loving lips tenderly brushed his dark hair. - - * * * * * - -On nice days, Pete sits in a rocking chair on the porch with the other -old men. He doesn't bother to dye his hair any more and he reads now -with a thick glass, complaining about the small type they use nowadays. -The attendants laugh off his irritability, and some of the visitors who -come to see the other old men don't mind listening to his stories about -the interstellar service. - -When it gets toward dusk, he looks into the sky sometimes as the -stars appear. Centaurus isn't really there, not here in the northern -hemisphere, but he looks anyway. Out there in space, his wife is doing -a man's job. Wonderful woman, Elsie. - -Not Elsie--Nancy. How could he have made that mistake. Nancy, a -laughing young girl who had grown swiftly into a strong mature woman -defending her man and her marriage vows. - -He leans back and rocks faster then, a smile on his face. Sometimes the -visitors see him and shake their heads sympathetically, and sometimes -he sees them doing it, but it doesn't matter. They don't know. They -don't know about his nest egg, that insurance policy he's going to -collect some day now, because he's going to straighten them out down at -the interstellar bureau. Captain Drago will straighten them out, and -then he's going back into space and support his wife as a man should. - -And sometimes the smile fades and a tear rolls down his cheeks when -he thinks of Nancy growing old and passing away and the insurance man -giving him a check and a few words of sympathy. But a man has to be -practical about such things. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Marrying Man, by Joseph Farrell - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MARRYING MAN *** - -***** This file should be named 60520.txt or 60520.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/5/2/60520/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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