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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..46bb2f0 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #65141 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65141) diff --git a/old/65141-0.txt b/old/65141-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ac9f7fe..0000000 --- a/old/65141-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1433 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Vicious Delinquents, by Mark Reinsberg - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Vicious Delinquents - -Author: Mark Reinsberg - -Release Date: April 22, 2021 [eBook #65141] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VICIOUS DELINQUENTS *** - - - - - They were kids with personality problems, so - they joined tough gangs, living only to fight - and kill. Society had to find a way to correct-- - - The Vicious Delinquents - - By Mark Reinsberg - - [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from - Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy - October 1958 - Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that - the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - -Two or three things worried me on my trip back to the hideout. So my -astrogation was sloppy and I kept losing Jupiter's shadow. - -First, there was the showdown with Naomi over who would lead the -Callisto gang. This meant another degravity fight with python whips -and steel claws. Having just gotten rid of the old battle scars on my -cheek, shoulder and breast, I wasn't so eager to have my title back on -the same disfiguring terms. - -On the other hand, wouldn't the girls take it as a sign of cowardice if -I tried to settle peaceably for second in command? - -Next, I kept thinking about the money I'd taken from my parents the day -before. What amazed me was how they could be so stupid as to believe -I would go to Mars and enroll in that technical school. Two thousand -solars was just enough to buy this sweet secondhand 2064 model Spacer -coupe. The gals in our ordnance crew would rig it up with missile -launchers, turn it into a killer, flagship of our fleet. - -But just now my ship was unarmed, defenseless. And as I approached our -base on airless, rocky Callisto I again had the feeling I was being -followed, trailed in space. - -Not by any of the Io boys; I was pretty sure of that. Because that -brave gang will always attack when the odds are five to one in their -favor. And not by the police either: They've always left us alone. -Someone else. - -I circled Jupiter's fifth moon warily, searching a half million square -miles of space for the suspected other rocket, but my instruments -detected nothing man-made. So I radioed the password and hastily set -down in the mouth of a giant natural cave entrance--the airlock of our -underground hideout. - -While air hissed into the chamber I strapped on my weapons belt and -glanced in the doorway mirror. Not--mind you--because there's anything -particularly feminine about me, but it's still such a surprise not to -find a face full of claw marks that I studied my appearance with a kind -of stranger's curiosity. Even without scars, I would hardly call myself -an attractive girl. - -My black dyed hair had reverted to its original blond shade, and the -same shoulder length it had had two years ago when I was matrixed. I -had a fifteen-year-old's applecheeked complexion, and thick eyebrows -that met above the bridge of my long thin nose and cried out for -plucking. My ears were too large and my jaw rather sharply angular. -Only my neck seemed gracefully proportioned--long, finely sculptured. - -At the rest, sheathed in a black metallic leotard, I could only shrug. - -The airlock opened. Chin uplifted, I strode from my ship with python -whip coiled in my hand, steel claws jingling at my waist. My name, in -case you're interested, is Vera. - - * * * * * - -At the heavily guarded first corridor I was met by Ginger, a fat -fog-throated valkyrie who serves as our security officer. - -"We were almost ready to blast you, my dear. Good thing you signalled -when you did." - -We rapped the knuckles of our clenched fists in greeting. - -"What's happened in the past week?" I asked. "Kill any more Ios?" - -Ginger grimaced. "Naw. I shot the arm off one but I don't think he -died. Ran into him in an alley in Ganymede City. Imagine that guy! He -was trying to steal an air synthesizer I myself had just stolen." - -The corridor led to the First Hall, a large vestibule bright with -luminescent wall paint where eight tunnels branched off into separately -hollowed-out caverns in the rocky guts of Callisto. - -"I'm itching to get back into combat," I said. "What do you say we make -a raid on the Io boys tomorrow?" - -Ginger realized I was testing her loyalty. "I'd like nothing better," -she responded heartily. "But of course we'll have to clear it with -Naomi first." - -I stopped abruptly. "Since when?" - -"Well, Vera, she became leader the day after you fell." - -"By whose authority?" I said indignantly. - -"Don't play dumb recruit. You know our system. We had no way of knowing -you'd return. Naomi and half a dozen others declared for title, and -Naomi won out in a fair gang fight. Just like you did before her." - -"So it seems we have two leaders now," I said, limbering my python whip. - -"That's something you and Naomi will have to work out," Ginger intoned. -"I'll leave you here to choose your own tunnel." - -This was part of the ritual of our gang. When a new girl arrived, the -tunnel she selected, blindly, determined her branch of service on -Callisto. One tunnel led to commissary, another to transport, another -to ordnance, another to facilities, and the remaining four to combat -training units. A girl had to be rather unlucky to miss out on the -fighting branch, but in the other units she at least learned a great -deal about thievery, heavy drinking and the use of dope. - -Knowing where each tunnel led, my present choice was simple: by seven -tunnels I could postpone an immediate showdown with Naomi, since -these went to barracks and work rooms and supply centers. The eighth -tunnel led directly to the great assembly hall and administrative -headquarters. There, Naomi would be holding council. This was the -tunnel I chose. - -I was halfway through it when a bunch of the senior gang members met me -head on. They were battle-tested gals of seventeen and eighteen with -hair waved in the short Grecian style and short sleeveless tunics of -green, red, yellow or black, depending on their unit. - -They hailed me enthusiastically. "Vera, welcome back! Beautiful ship -you brought. Hey, your hair: you look like a kid again. No more scars! -Are you going to challenge Naomi?" - -Somehow everyone else shut up in time for this question to stand out -like a band instrument taking the wrong repeat. They were all eyeing me -expectantly. - -I threw my head back with a short laugh. "I'm still the leader of this -gang." - -To lend point to the declaration I cracked the coils of my python whip, -flooring but not badly hurting a young recruit rushing up the tunnel to -meet us. The girl shrieked. - -"Wow!" one senior exclaimed. "A showdown between two leaders! That's -never happened before. This is going to be interesting." - -We helped the recruit to her feet. She limped along but knew better -than to reveal her pain. "Girls," she said, gasping, "Naomi has called -a formation! Hurry!" - -The words were hardly out of her mouth when the formation alarm -reverberated in the passageway. That gave everybody just thirty seconds -to line up with their units in the assembly hall, and my escort of -girls plunged on ahead of me. When I reached the great spiral-shaped -hall at my own more deliberate pace, the gang already stood in -formation. - - * * * * * - -I paused at the entrance, for this is always an impressive moment on -barren Callisto. The hall was a natural cavity half a mile deep, palely -illuminated by the artificial sun hanging from a ceiling stalactite. -The place was warm and moist-smelling like a greenhouse. Generations -of girls before us had gradually modified the rock interior with hand -blasters, carving out a series of broad, steplike plateaus along one -rim. On each level a unit kneeled at attention on one knee, forming a -circle around their respective hussies (our term for captain) who stood -rigidly erect holding a green nuclear torch, emblem of our gang. To me -it was a beautiful sight, especially the raising of the degravity dais. - -Up, out of the verdant depths of the cave, overgrown with Earth-style -trees and tropical foliage, rose the great ceremonial platform reserved -for the gangleader and her administrative aides. As this cleared the -rim and stabilized in midair, Naomi became visible to all and a raucous -female cheer went up from the ranks. - -Jeanette, my former protocol officer, stepped forward waving the -'parade rest' command. She was a tall lanky farm girl with lots of -common sense, and evidently she'd been promoted to second in command. - -"Girls," she said in her steady, emotionless voice, amplified a hundred -times by her throat piece projector, "just a brief announcement before -we hear from our leader. Yesterday a brawl took place in the Spilka -Skating Palace in Ganny City, and one of our girls failed to return. -Some of you may remember what a beautiful job Phyllis did of poisoning -the Io gang's food shipment a while back, and we think the boys must've -found out she was the one. Anyway, they kidnapped her and we have every -reason to believe she's being tortured right now in that fort of theirs -on Io. - -"Let's just assume she'll crack eventually and tell them our code. From -now on all external communication will use code O-97, and you new -girls will have to see your hussy right after this formation ends if -you expect to have it memorized by tomorrow morning." - -Jeanette nodded with the barest trace of a sadistic grin as a murmur -of consternation rippled through the ranks of our rookies. "That's all -from me," she added, "and now here's Naomi." - -I hadn't moved from the entrance. Now, as Naomi spoke, I began my calm, -unhurried, and, I hoped, supremely dignified march towards the dais. - -"Girls, I want to add this to what Jeanette told you," Naomi began. -"We're going to revenge this outrageous kidnapping at the earliest -possible moment. My staff and I are working countermeasures that will -make the Ios rue the day they ever pulled this stunt on one of our -girls." - -At first, all eyes were centered on Naomi, and no one observed my -approach from the rear of the hall. And I don't believe Naomi herself -could see me with the lights focussed on her face, though obviously she -knew of my arrival. She was a short, shapely sixteen-year-old, full of -gestures and animation. She wore her brown hair in bangs, her features -forming an attractive oval, her dark eyes flashing with self-assurance. -Her clothes were a green version of my own leotards, only tighter. But -as usual, claw marks marred her appearance, and it seemed to me even -from a distance that she had lost the use of her left eye. - -"Today, we want to welcome back one of our former leaders," Naomi -continued, "a girl who has just returned from the Matrix Center, and -is once again ready to do battle for the glory of our gang. This great -Callisto had the misfortune to be killed in a fight with private -detectives during that costly, but on the whole successful, raid on -the ration warehouse on Eros. I refer, of course, to our own immortal -Vera ... whom I believe is ..." (here Naomi peered out into the darker -recesses of the hall) "... among us right now." - -Another cheer went up, and everybody looked about in various directions -until a spotlight finally caught my deliberate striding figure working -its way towards the platform. - -"Because this is sort of an unusual situation," said Naomi in cool -candor, "one that doesn't seem to be covered by any of our bylaws, -it appears that Vera will have to start at the bottom again as a new -recruit. Because, you see, for all practical purposes, she's a new -person altogether." - -An angry flush shot through my body. - -"However," Naomi added patronizingly, "we're all sure that Vera's -abilities will be recognized quite soon, even as a recruit, and that -she will rapidly rise to a new position of leadership within our -organization." - -"More rapidly than you can imagine!" I shouted at the top of my voice. -Unaided by an amplifier it must have sounded feeble even to the front -ranks. But in the same instant I wound up on one foot and cracked my -whip resoundingly in her direction, and there was no mistaking this -defiant gesture. - - * * * * * - -A roar of excitement arose from the gang. For a moment there was -confusion on the dais as Naomi and her aides consulted. The clamor grew -louder. "Duel! Duel!" echoed through the hall. I knew this wasn't a -case of loyalty to me; everyone was eager to watch a nice bloody fight, -any moment of the day or night. - -Putting on my steel claws, I advanced to the edge of the chasm, -opposite the leader's platform. Here the seven-eighths Earth gravity we -artificially maintained in our hideout began to fade. The ravine itself -was subject only to Callisto's feeble attraction. Twenty-five feet -away, Naomi came out of the huddle and signalled for silence. While -the clamor was subsiding I saw Jeanette jump off the dais onto one of -the lower plateaus and disappear in one of the tunnels. I poised myself -for the leap. - -"Now look, gang," said Naomi. "Jeanette is our protocol expert and -it's her opinion that no challenge is in order. She doesn't remember -any precedent for a leader returning from Matrix, but she's just taken -off for the archive room to look up the records." A chorus of boos and -catcalls broke out, and this got under Naomi's skin. - -"Well, as far as I'm concerned, we can have this business over with -right now," she shouted, snapping claws over her wrists. - -I hurled myself across space, landing on the far corner of the -platform, whip upraised to strike the first blow. Almost in the same -instant, half a dozen aides leaped to safety on the lower plateau. - -Naomi cocked her whip with lightning speed, to my surprise, lashing -out ahead of me. But because of her bad eye it was a poorly aimed -blow which I dodged easily, and before she could regain her balance I -brought my whip down with full force across her shoulders. - -She shuddered in pain, and a great red welt opened up along her neck. -First blood. A roar went up from the spectators, who had now broken -formation to crowd along the edges of the chasm. - -Instinctively Naomi clutched for my whip, but I recoiled it in time and -swung a second time. It cut searingly into her side, winding about her -waist with a python action that crushed out her breath. I moved in for -the kill with uplifted claws. Suddenly Naomi leaped from the dais, high -into the air. - -It was a brilliant defensive move. I had no time to think, but the -alternatives were simple: hold onto the whip handle and be pulled after -her, or let go and be minus a whip. - -I held on and we went rocketing to the rough-hewn ceiling. We bounced -off the rock roof, I barely managing to switch my feet to where my head -had been to absorb the ricochet. Then we went sailing down, almost -leisurely in the weak gravity, to the bottom of the cavern. And this -time I was absorbing the whiplash, as Naomi, knotting mine about her -waist, so that I couldn't retract it, swung her own whip with vicious -skill. _Whff!_ My thighs. _Whff!_ My face. _Whff!_ My breast. - -She was cutting me to pieces; I was in agony as we fell that half mile. -Desperately I tried to ward off her blows. Then I realized there was -only one solution: in-fighting. - -I tugged with all my strength at my whip handle. She kept thrashing -and I kept pulling at my line, pulling her closer and closer, until -she could no longer use her whip effectively at such close range. My -head was foggy from the beating. I gave a final tug and lurched at her -throat with my steel claws. - -She deflected one claw, but the other sank in, and I remember how her -eyes began to widen in terror. Then ... darkness hit me. - - * * * * * - -I awoke staring up at tall lanky Jeanette, as my brain slowly stopped -revolving inside my cranium. - -"You battered your head against the rock wall, my dear Vera," she said. - -"Naomi?" I asked. "Is she--?" - -"She lost consciousness too, but for a different reason. Loss of blood. -You tore open her jugular vein. We picked both of you up off the -cavern floor." - -I sat up slowly, dizzily. "So who's leader now?" - -Jeanette smiled and shook her head. "I don't know. None of us is too -sure. We've never had a situation like this before. But we think Naomi -is. She regained consciousness first." - -I sank back on the pillow, trying to collect my thoughts. - -Naomi came into view. She had been standing behind the headboard. Her -throat was a mess despite the basic telesurgery, but her expression was -friendly. - -"Look, Vera, I'm willing to admit I would have lost. You outfought me. -But luck was on my side and I won." - -"You're right there, sister," I sighed, mustering a smile. I noticed -also that they'd fixed her eye--considerably improving her appearance. - -"Well, since neither of us was in a position to finish the other one -off, it's still a complicated proposition. I mean, about the title," -Naomi clarified. - -I again managed to sit up and felt the strength begin returning to -my limbs. If you aren't stone dead, modern medicine can heal almost -anything nowadays in a matter of hours, which I find reassuring. "What -do you propose, another duel?" - -"That doesn't make much sense," said Jeanette. "Why fight among -ourselves when there are so many of those stupid boys buzzing around?" - -"Yes, what I was going to suggest," Naomi said eagerly, "is that we -sort of share the leadership until one or the other of us gets killed -in battle." - -I thought for a moment and then clenched my fist, and we knocked -knuckles grinning at each other. - -I got to my feet. "What are your plans to strike back at the Io gang?" - -"Frankly, that was just for public consumption," Naomi admitted. "We -don't have any plans as yet." - -"Well," I said, "let's the two of us get in a ship and just bomb hell -out of their home base." - -Naomi showed surprise. "Right now? In our condition?" - -"Sure. What this gang needs is a little boost in morale." - -Naomi nodded, her brown eyes flashing. "Good. We'll go in my ship." - -Together we strode from the sickbay, through the tunnel to the airlock. -Ginger intercepted us at the First Hall. Her guards held a man at -pistol point. - -"Naomi ... Vera ... whichever of you is in charge now. We've just -caught an Io spy!" - -He was an older man, balding, seedy-appearing in an old-style tweed -suit. He stared at us in a calm, unflustered manner, plainly curious. - -"Oho! Now we can get even for the way they treated Phyllis." Naomi was -gleefully thumbing through her mental catalog of torture techniques. - -"If he's a spy," I said, "let's not waste any time on him now. We can -take care of him when we get back." - -Jeanette had followed us in the tunnel. "He doesn't look like a spy to -me," she said drily. - -"Oh no?" said Ginger. "Then how did he find our hideout? How did he -learn our landing code?" - -Suddenly I recalled my feeling of being followed. "I thought there was -someone trailing me in space this morning. All the way from Ganymede I -had the weirdest sensation." - -"Well, that may explain how he got here," said Jeanette, "but I still -say this guy isn't a spy." - -"You're quite right," said the man. "I'm not a spy." - -"Sure," Jeanette continued in her lanky farm accents, "the first -prerequisite for a spy is to look inconspicuous. This old character -couldn't do much hiding in a girl's dormitory." - -"Old man, how did you come here?" I demanded. - -"I landed at the entrance of your cave, madam, and asked to be -admitted. Then your colleagues," he nodded at Ginger, "seized me before -I could explain my purpose in coming here." - -"No matter what he says, I think he's a spy," said Ginger. "This is a -very subtle angle they're playing. I'm security officer; it's my job to -outguess them." - -Naomi was impatient. "Well, if you think he's a spy, then shoot him." - -"Yes," said Ginger, "why should we take chances?" - -The man showed irritation. "Young lady," he told Ginger very sternly, -"I must at this point advise you that my life is not on file at Matrix -Center, and that any contemplated execution of me would constitute -murder. Irrevocable murder." - -"This guy speaks like a lawyer," Jeanette murmured in my ear. "Better -investigate." - -"What kind of identification did you find on him?" I asked Ginger. - -"Oh, a bunch of papers saying he was an assistant professor at Mars -University. But those are easily forged." - -"A professor, eh? What's your field? What are you doing here?" - -He stared at me with a kind of superior smile. I had the vague feeling -I'd seen him before, which is ridiculous: I've never been on Mars. - -"Ah, at last some intelligent questions. My field, young lady, is -sociology. I happen to be doing some research on juvenile delinquency, -which is why I came here. Lewis Worth is my name. Are you perhaps the -leader of this gang? If so, I would appreciate your help." - -Ginger snorted. "What a fantastic line!" - -Naomi looked at me quizzically. Was I in fact the leader? - -I hedged. "Look, Ginger. There isn't time to investigate his story. -Right now, Naomi and I have a little mission to accomplish. So keep -this guy under guard until we get back." - -Deep down in me I felt resentment about all this tact I had to use. -Why _shouldn't_ I be the leader? The girls instinctively looked to me, -obeyed me. Why _shouldn't_ I be the one to give orders, make decisions? -This pretense of shared leadership with Naomi could only last a day, -two days, a week at most. And then would come the final showdown. - - * * * * * - -We rocketed into orbit with Jupiter's innermost satellite--I piloting, -Naomi astrogating. Io showed up like a pea-sized blemish against the -bloated planetary face, whirled into tan-grey zones of supercold -methane by thousand-mile-per-hour helium tradewinds. Jupiter the heavy, -inhospitable. - -Almost beneath us now, the boys' domed hangout glowed dully green in -the feeble Jovian sunlight. Naomi readied the missile launchers. -Seconds later, before we were within firing range, the first of the -boys' space cruisers zoomed up to intercept us. They were ready for our -ship but not our strategy. - -Down we plunged in a searing power dive, straight for the hangout's -vulnerable airlock. Missiles exploded on all sides of us, harmlessly, -as our phantom target defense went automatically to work. Our radio -crackled with barked commands and alarmed oaths between the boys' ships -and Io headquarters. - -"Zero range!" - -"They're coming in!" - -"Damn those girls!" - -"Look out! We can't stop them!" - -"It's a suicide dive! Man your crash stations!" - -We dropped down, inches above ground level of the airless moon, our -nose pointed like a needle at the green bubble. Suddenly I braked our -speed with reverse rockets, bruising my ribs with deceleration. - -"Fire!" I shouted. - -Naomi launched the first missile straight for their airlock. It struck -just before the emergency siege gate slid shut, blasting jagged holes -through the outer and inner locks. Air whooshed from the dome, hurling -men and debris into the vacuum. Seconds later the catastrophe seal was -oozing down to plug the hole, but by then our ship had plunged through. - -"You've done it!" Naomi screamed joyously. "We're inside!" - -"And their fleet is outside, and there's nothing the boys can do about -it." - -I slowed our ship to practically zero ground speed. We hovered for a -moment near the ceiling of the great transparent dome, considering our -next target. Below us lay the ramshackle gangland, a maze of roofless -partitions clustered around a tiny lake. One quarter of the city was -virtually an open-air machine shop. Near the shattered airlock stood a -parade ground, overlooked by a tall, balconied tower with people on top -making frantic gestures. - -"I'll bet that's headquarters." - -"Down it goes," said Naomi excitedly. - -I put our ship in a dive. She aimed quickly, triggered the missile. - -_Boom!_ The tower collapsed. Tiny figures began to scurry about on the -parade ground. - -"Let's get 'em!" - -I skimmed the field and Naomi blazed away with the vibro gun. One after -another the boys dissolved in puffs of smoke. I veered around and we -strafed them again, killing hundreds. - -I felt exhilarated, marvelously happy. - -Naomi shrieked ecstatically. - -In another minute there were no more boys alive who hadn't taken -shelter underground. - -I glanced upward and laughed. The boys' fleet swarmed helplessly -outside the dome like bugs on a lampshade, watching their hangout -ripped to pieces. - -"Get their arsenal!" cried Naomi. - -"Revenge for Phyllis!" - -We dived again, spraying the roofless barracks with destruction, -blasting huge craters in their machine shop, starting explosions of -ammunition that rocked our ship, threatening to blow off the dome in -one piece. - -At last the fun ended. "Only one missile left," Naomi warned. - -"Hang on, then," I said gaily, stabbing the rocket controls. "Callisto -girls are homeward bound!" - -_Blam!_ went our torpedo, tearing a second hole in the mangled airlock. -And out that hole we went, accelerating like crazy, pursued into deep -space by the entire enemy fleet. - - * * * * * - -As long as we were chased, and missile fragments rattled against our -hull, we continued in high spirits. Even when the boys scored a hit -that forced us to don our space suits, we remained elated. But the -minute the Ios broke-off pursuit we renewed our antagonism. - -"Say," said Naomi over her helmet phone, "this isn't the right course -for Callisto." - -"No, dear, I'm landing on Ganymede first. I don't think it's safe to go -on until we get that fuel leak fixed." - -"Why should we pay good money to a mechanic when our own girls can do -the job?" - -"We'd never reach Callisto. You don't realize how dense the fumes are -in this cabin. We could explode just like that." I tried futilely to -snap my clumsy spacesuit fingers. - -"Look," said Naomi irritably, "let me do the worrying. I'm the leader -and I say we go directly home." - -"I beg your pardon," I objected, holding my temper. "I understood this -was a fifty-fifty proposition." - -"Callisto!" she snarled. "I order you." - -"Shut up!" I snapped. "I'm pilot of this ship, and space law says you -obey me." - -We'd have had our final showdown right then and there, except it's -practically impossible to wrestle in spacesuits. - -We landed in Ganymede City and haggled over price with the same -garageman who sold me my used 2064 Spacer (being equipped for battle -by our ordnance crew even as we talked). He brought his bid down -finally from a hundred to seventy-five solars. - -"Okay, have it ready in an hour," I said, walking from the shop. - -Naomi followed indignantly. "Vera. Just where in the hell are you going -to get seventy-five solars?" - -I paused on the sidewalk, hands hitched to my weapons belt. "I'll dig -it up if you'll agree to do some research for me." - -Naomi smiled craftily. "Steal it, eh? All right, I'll go along with you -for the time being." - -I left her at the public library and headed, with serious misgivings, -in the direction of my family home. - -Ganymede City is a drab industrial town of a million or so people, -with very little excitement or glamor beneath its turquoise dome. The -chamber of commerce used to give a big buildup to the view of Jupiter -and the good job opportunities when they first wanted to attract -workers from Earth. Those poor shnooks soon got fed up with astronomy -when the boom fizzled out and the only jobs left were in the metal -refineries. - -I hate my father who is a jerk just like the rest of them. Never quite -became shop foreman. Never quite able to buy his own house. Never -quite saved enough to move his family to Saturn's ring where the real -boom took place. And always so damn preachy to me and the younger kids. -And my mother disgusted me too for just sitting around and taking it -all those years. - -"What are you doing here?" my father demanded. "You're supposed to be -on your way to Mars." - -"Vera, what happened?" my mother whined. "Why aren't you on the ship?" - -"I need a little more money. Seventy-five solars." - -"What do you mean, a little more money?" said my father angrily. "What -happened to the money we gave you?" - -"And the tickets," my mother, anxiously. "You promised me you'd go to -school. What did you do with the tickets?" - -"Don't worry. I got a refund. It's all in a safe place." - -My father got menacing. "Say, just what are you up to? You haven't gone -back to that gang by any chance?" - -"Oh God forbid!" my mother cried. - -"I need seventy-five solars," I repeated calmly. "Are you going to give -it to me?" - -"Answer me!" my father roared. "Have you gone back to that gang?" - -"That's none of your damn business." - -Infuriated, he started towards me. "No daughter of mine is going to -talk to me like that. I'm going to give you the spanking you've had -coming for seventeen years." - -I drew my whip and slashed him down the side of his face and chest, -cutting his shirt half open. He sat down with an unbelieving expression -and fingered the red welt. He looked at me through glazed eyes, almost -in a state of shock, as I rewound my whip. - -My mother broke the long silence. "Here, Vera. Here are your -seventy-five solars. We never want to see you or hear from you again." - - * * * * * - -News of our gang wars rarely appears in the adult press. I guess -they're afraid the publicity might encourage more teenagers to join up. -But the colonial struggle with Sirius had ended, and there wasn't much -else happening in the Solar System just at that time, so our raid on Io -made the headlines. - - GIRLS BLAST BOY HIDEOUT - Callisto fleet bombs, strafes - Io base in bloody juvenile gang war - - Humiliated Ios vow retaliation for fifty-ship sneak attack - - * * * * * - -We were received as heroes by our gang. Even the inaccuracies in the -news story contributed to our glory--the Ios being ashamed to admit all -the havoc was the result of only one solitary girl ship. Our hussies -and aides greeted us in the First Hall with a wild cheer, crowding -around us to beg for details. - -"Later," said Naomi, flushed with triumph, "we'll call a formation -later. We'll tell our story to the entire gang." - -"Back to your posts, now!" I shouted. "You hussies get your girls ready -for battle. We can expect the boys to counterattack at any time." - -The First Hall cleared rapidly of all except a few of our top officers. - -"Confidentially," I said, "I won't go for any more of this shared -leadership stuff. This gang can only be run by one boss at a time. It's -going to be either me or Naomi, but not both of us." - -"Those are my sentiments exactly," said Naomi. "Let's get this fight -over with once and for all." - -Jeanette, always the reasonable one, stepped forth quietly. "Look, this -is a very bad time to hold a duel, just when we're waiting for the Ios -to appear." - -"Yeah, you two, you're spoiling our victory celebration." - -"Put it off until tomorrow." - -"Until after the next meeting." - -"Besides," added Jeanette, "Naomi and Vera worked well enough together -during their raid on Io." - -"Yes! That's right! We'll need you!" - -The sentiment for postponement of our duel was irresistible. We both -bowed to it as gracefully as we could. - -"I'll work with you, Naomi, but I'll hate you every minute of it." - -"Likewise!" she snarled, "and twice as much." - -Fat, fog-throated Ginger edged next to me. "Well, now that that's -settled for the time being, maybe you two can agree on what to do with -this spy we caught. - -"Shoot him!" said Naomi. "He's a man." - -"Let's first determine whether or not he's a spy," I said. - -"There you two go disagreeing again," Ginger complained. "Now just what -do you want me to do with him?" - -"I've worked out a test we can give him. We can tell whether he's lying -or telling the truth when he says he's a professor." - -"Oh, this is all so much nonsense," said Naomi impatiently. She -withdrew a piece of paper from her belt wallet, handed it to me. -"Here," she said sarcastically, "here is that research you had me do -at the library. I authorize you to handle this matter for both of us." - -She stalked out of the hall with a short, scornful laugh. - - * * * * * - -Ginger had locked him in the nuclear torch storeroom, a none too -healthy place. We escorted him to the communications office. I began -the interrogation. - -"You say your name is--?" - -"Lewis Worth." - -"And your occupation is a professor?" - -"Assistant professor of sociology, Mars University." He clipped his -words with deliberate over-formality. His expression was faintly amused. - -"So you say, and so your papers say, but those could be forgeries, you -admit?" - -"Yes, that's possible," he replied softly, "but it's so easy for you to -check with my department." - -"Undoubtedly there is someone there by that name," Ginger interjected. -"But that doesn't prove your identity." - -"I have here a list of members of your alleged department. If you -actually belong to it you should be able to give me their names." - -He nodded slowly. "A fair test." - -"Then call them off, beginning with the department chairman. And if you -make a single mistake, I'll have my girl shoot you on the spot." - -Ginger raised her blaster eagerly. - -A minute later she lowered it in disappointment. - -"Very well," I said. "You weren't lying. Now tell me why you came here. -And be brief, if you please. Because, fifteen minutes from now I want -you on your ship heading back to wherever you came from." - -The professor stared at me for a moment. "The truth is, I came to see -you." - -Ginger blushed, the first time I had ever seen her do a thing like -that. "Wait outside," I told her sternly. - -When we were alone I faced him inquiringly. - -"Oh don't misunderstand me," he began. "It isn't anything personal. -And then again, maybe it is. You see, in my academic language, you -represent the charismatic personality." - -"Just what do you mean?" I demanded. - -"Well, as I told you, I'm studying juvenile delinquency, gangs, and -leaders of gangs--the whole problem of youth's orientation in society, -and the way he reacts. Frankly, Vera, you and your gang have built up -a terrible reputation in adult circles, and I, for one, am perfectly, -fascinated. I wonder if you'd admit me to your gang?" - -"What the hell are you talking about!" I was really shocked. - -"Oh--oh--strictly as an observer, mind you. For a short time only." - -"Not a chance, professor." - -"You see, I'm seeking to understand--and it would be a contribution -to social science if you'd help me find out--just why you teenagers -are striking out at each other, scorning adult society, rejecting the -opposite sex. And equally interesting to me is the subtle change that -takes place each time a--" - -I cut him short. "Look, Professor Worth. You said you haven't been -matrixed. Then this is no place for you to set up shop. Because war is -our way of life, and someone is liable to kill you just for the fun of -it. Bad situation for a man like yourself who can only afford to die -once." - -I strode to the door. "Ginger, escort the professor to his ship." - -It was a good thing we got rid of him then. Minutes later, our -instruments detected ships within a quarter of a million miles, and the -alert was sounded. Shortly afterwards, we made positive identification: -the Io gang! - -Naomi and I quarreled for a second over strategy. Should we split up, -each leader piloting her own ship and responsible for half the fleet? -Or should the two of us occupy one ship? I insisted on the latter, and -when Naomi disagreed I knocked her unconscious with the butt of my whip -and dragged her into my own Spacer coupe. Ordnance had worked fast. It -was fully equipped for battle. - -I ordered our entire fleet into attack formation. Together we zoomed up -to meet the oncoming enemy, ninety of our spaceships to a hundred and -ten of theirs. - -I rocketed out in front of my fleet. The boys had begun firing. Their -missiles exploded in space like brilliant fireworks, multicolored -bursts on all sides of us. I signalled my girls to commence firing, -launching our first missile at point-blank thousand-mile range. - -It scored a direct hit, exploding an Io ship to comet dust. I felt -serenely happy. I wanted to share my feeling of triumph with Naomi who -still lay unconscious on the cabin floor. - -"Hey, girl, wake up! We're in combat!" - -She stirred, started to regain her senses. Her eyes fluttered. Just as -they opened our ship exploded to oblivion. - - * * * * * - -This was familiar, this coming out of sleep with infinitely tender -caresses of light, in a vacuum tube the exact shape of your naked -body, a tube that dissolved at the exact instant of awakening into a -warm epidermal glow, while the bee-like humming faded into silence and -only the barest trace of hyacinth scent lingered in the nostrils. It -had happened before. How many times? Once? Twice? Three times? All my -limbs felt supremely relaxed as after sedation. All my thoughts were -clear and calm as a hidden spring on a wooded hillside. Earth summer. -Timeless. - -Abruptly the marble slab felt cold against my back and the spell was -broken. I sat up too suddenly, for a monitor voice said, reassuringly: - -"Have no fear, young lady. You have awakened in the Matrix Center -on Ganymede. There, you will recall, you at some time in the past -commissioned us to make a vibration pattern of your total physical, -mental and spiritual self. - -"You did this," the recording continued, "against the possibility that, -at some future time, accident or the unavoidable hazards of honor would -result in your organically premature death. And this has come to pass. -But, by means of your matrix, you have escaped dissolution. You are an -exact duplicate of your former self in all but the most minor respects. - -"Congratulations on your good fortune, and welcome to a new life where -we trust you will find the greatest measure of personal fulfillment." - -As the recording ended, an attendant entered the room. - -"Hello, Vera." She was smiling and pleasant voiced. "Want to put on -that white gown and come with me?" - -I followed her in bare feet over carpeting soft as lamb wool, into an -office that was really not much like an office--more like a cozily -furnished living room. On the couch sat a balding man in a tweed suit. - -Vague earlier memories gradually took shape. "Is this my placement -interview?" - -The man smiled. "Yes. You have a wonderful memory net in that brain of -yours." - -"Wasn't I supposed to remember?" - -"It's usually one of the things erased in the duplication process. But -then, you were here not so very long ago." - -I tried to recall. "It couldn't have been too recently." - -Again the interviewer smiled. "Only a week ago, my dear." - -He saw my dismay. "Oh, but don't let that bother you, Vera. That's -about par for gang leaders." - -Curiously, when he said the words 'gang leaders' I felt a little bit -embarrassed, almost ashamed. - -"Well now," he said, getting down to business, "I should like to have -a brief chat with you about your future. It's our job to help give you -a fresh new start in life. Can you think of anything you'd especially -like to do, any career you would like to follow?" - -I considered this but drew a blank. "No, frankly, I can't." - -"Well, then, perhaps you'd like to return to Callisto?" He said this in -a totally neutral fashion. - -"No. Not that anymore." - -"Good," he said, rising to his feet. - -All at once I was shivering and trembling. "Something is wrong with -me. I mean, it's true what I just said. That's how I feel. I don't -want to go back to the gang. But--I can remember how differently -I felt--before. And somehow it seems wrong to change one's mind -so--suddenly." - -His hands rested on my shoulders. "Vera, this is what going through -the matrix process does to a person." His voice was low, boundlessly -sympathetic. "Each time it heals a little bit of your personality along -with the physical battle scars. The change is very slight and very -subtle. You hardly noticed it at all the first time, did you?" - -I shook my head. "But, how long can this ... healing process go on?" - -"Some personalities, Vera, are terribly hurt, and they must die several -times before they become whole." He took my hand. "And now, my dear, -allow me to suggest two alternatives for your future. Doubtlessly, in -a universe of infinite possibilities there are infinite alternatives -one might take. But I know you quite well (though this may surprise -you) and I feel that if you can happily accept one of the two that I -mention, you will not again have to seek death in order to return here. -For that is, after all, the meaning of your immediate past." - -"What are these two alternatives?" My voice was quite small. I felt as -though my life was warped into this moment like a mobius sheet. - -"You will go to Mars University, and there train yourself to become a -laboratory technician, as you originally promised your parents. This is -a useful profession, of service to society. Sufficient funds will be -provided." - -Chagrin filled me. I rebelled at the thought. "Or...?" - -"Or--and this is also a hard choice, though it may seem glamorous at -first--you may become a member of a select expedition to a remote star -which our astronomers say has a planetary system capable of supporting -our kind of life. There we will plant a new colony." - -Joy and enthusiasm welled up inside me. "Why, that sounds wonderful! -That's my choice." - -He shook his head slowly. "Wait. Wait, Vera. This is also to be -considered. You will never again see Jupiter or any of the Solar -System. You will travel for a hundred and fifty years. Most of this -time you will sleep in deepfreeze state, of course. But inevitably you -will age twenty years in the process." - -This meant I would arrive at the other end, thirty-seven years old. My -eagerness cooled. "What a pair of alternatives!" - -He nodded gravely. "You give them both some thought. Meanwhile in the -next room you'll find some new clothes. See me afterwards." He pressed -a button on the edge of the couch and the attendant came in. - -"Yes, Professor Worth?" - -"Take Vera along please." - -Something buzzed alive in my brain. It was like a set of tumblers -clicking into place. I remembered. I turned at the door. - -"I remember you! You were the spy--that is--" - -"Yes, my dear." - -"But--" - -He smiled. "I was observing you, Vera. You were due for your fifth -matrix--your last by law. Society didn't want to lose you. I hoped -my appearance would react on your subconscious, bring your previous -experiences here forward. To help bring out the good, so to speak. It -was strictly experimental." - -He was still smiling as the door closed behind me. - -In the next room, Naomi had just finished dressing. She glared her -hostility. - -"That was a lousy trick you played on me, Vera." - -"I guess it was. I'm sorry." - -"You're _sorry_! Girl, if I had my whip and claws right now I'd _make_ -you feel sorry." - -I was silent a moment. Then I asked her, almost timidly: "Naomi, you're -not going back to the gang now, are you?" - -She stared at me peculiarly. "Are you mad? Of course I'm going back. -I'm _leader_ of the Callisto girls." She stomped through the outer -door, and I had the feeling she would be back more than once. - -When I had put my clothes on--a simple brown jerkin with blue -long-sleeved shirt--I returned to my interviewer. "Professor Worth, may -I propose a third alternative? After all, if this is a universe of -infinite possibilities, maybe two is narrowing it down too much. - -"Professor, I know I can never go back to the girl-gang way of life. -And I understand now why the police left us alone when we ran wild. -They were letting us work out our problems. - -"And somehow, that's why I feel I have to reject your two alternatives. -I'm me, and I can't limit myself in the ways you suggest. You needn't -be afraid. I won't break any more of society's rules. I won't try to -hurt anybody, deliberately. I'll probably get a job somewhere, on this -planet or some other planet. Maybe I'll make myself useful, maybe not. - -"But what does the universe have to offer a girl of my experience and -energy and," I hesitated, "charismatic personality? I intend to find -out. I want the freedom to find out. Do you see? My third alternative, -Professor, is to walk out that door with no obligation to anyone." - -He seemed not to be listening. He seemed to be thinking his own -thoughts. - -"I think that can be arranged," he said finally. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VICIOUS DELINQUENTS *** - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Vicious Delinquents</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Mark Reinsberg</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: April 22, 2021 [eBook #65141]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VICIOUS DELINQUENTS ***</div> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p>They were kids with personality problems, so<br /> -they joined tough gangs, living only to fight<br /> -and kill. Society had to find a way to correct—</p> - -<h1>The Vicious Delinquents</h1> - -<h2>By Mark Reinsberg</h2> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from<br /> -Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy<br /> -October 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>Two or three things worried me on my trip back to the hideout. So my -astrogation was sloppy and I kept losing Jupiter's shadow.</p> - -<p>First, there was the showdown with Naomi over who would lead the -Callisto gang. This meant another degravity fight with python whips -and steel claws. Having just gotten rid of the old battle scars on my -cheek, shoulder and breast, I wasn't so eager to have my title back on -the same disfiguring terms.</p> - -<p>On the other hand, wouldn't the girls take it as a sign of cowardice if -I tried to settle peaceably for second in command?</p> - -<p>Next, I kept thinking about the money I'd taken from my parents the day -before. What amazed me was how they could be so stupid as to believe -I would go to Mars and enroll in that technical school. Two thousand -solars was just enough to buy this sweet secondhand 2064 model Spacer -coupe. The gals in our ordnance crew would rig it up with missile -launchers, turn it into a killer, flagship of our fleet.</p> - -<p>But just now my ship was unarmed, defenseless. And as I approached our -base on airless, rocky Callisto I again had the feeling I was being -followed, trailed in space.</p> - -<p>Not by any of the Io boys; I was pretty sure of that. Because that -brave gang will always attack when the odds are five to one in their -favor. And not by the police either: They've always left us alone. -Someone else.</p> - -<p>I circled Jupiter's fifth moon warily, searching a half million square -miles of space for the suspected other rocket, but my instruments -detected nothing man-made. So I radioed the password and hastily set -down in the mouth of a giant natural cave entrance—the airlock of our -underground hideout.</p> - -<p>While air hissed into the chamber I strapped on my weapons belt and -glanced in the doorway mirror. Not—mind you—because there's anything -particularly feminine about me, but it's still such a surprise not to -find a face full of claw marks that I studied my appearance with a kind -of stranger's curiosity. Even without scars, I would hardly call myself -an attractive girl.</p> - -<p>My black dyed hair had reverted to its original blond shade, and the -same shoulder length it had had two years ago when I was matrixed. I -had a fifteen-year-old's applecheeked complexion, and thick eyebrows -that met above the bridge of my long thin nose and cried out for -plucking. My ears were too large and my jaw rather sharply angular. -Only my neck seemed gracefully proportioned—long, finely sculptured.</p> - -<p>At the rest, sheathed in a black metallic leotard, I could only shrug.</p> - -<p>The airlock opened. Chin uplifted, I strode from my ship with python -whip coiled in my hand, steel claws jingling at my waist. My name, in -case you're interested, is Vera.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At the heavily guarded first corridor I was met by Ginger, a fat -fog-throated valkyrie who serves as our security officer.</p> - -<p>"We were almost ready to blast you, my dear. Good thing you signalled -when you did."</p> - -<p>We rapped the knuckles of our clenched fists in greeting.</p> - -<p>"What's happened in the past week?" I asked. "Kill any more Ios?"</p> - -<p>Ginger grimaced. "Naw. I shot the arm off one but I don't think he -died. Ran into him in an alley in Ganymede City. Imagine that guy! He -was trying to steal an air synthesizer I myself had just stolen."</p> - -<p>The corridor led to the First Hall, a large vestibule bright with -luminescent wall paint where eight tunnels branched off into separately -hollowed-out caverns in the rocky guts of Callisto.</p> - -<p>"I'm itching to get back into combat," I said. "What do you say we make -a raid on the Io boys tomorrow?"</p> - -<p>Ginger realized I was testing her loyalty. "I'd like nothing better," -she responded heartily. "But of course we'll have to clear it with -Naomi first."</p> - -<p>I stopped abruptly. "Since when?"</p> - -<p>"Well, Vera, she became leader the day after you fell."</p> - -<p>"By whose authority?" I said indignantly.</p> - -<p>"Don't play dumb recruit. You know our system. We had no way of knowing -you'd return. Naomi and half a dozen others declared for title, and -Naomi won out in a fair gang fight. Just like you did before her."</p> - -<p>"So it seems we have two leaders now," I said, limbering my python whip.</p> - -<p>"That's something you and Naomi will have to work out," Ginger intoned. -"I'll leave you here to choose your own tunnel."</p> - -<p>This was part of the ritual of our gang. When a new girl arrived, the -tunnel she selected, blindly, determined her branch of service on -Callisto. One tunnel led to commissary, another to transport, another -to ordnance, another to facilities, and the remaining four to combat -training units. A girl had to be rather unlucky to miss out on the -fighting branch, but in the other units she at least learned a great -deal about thievery, heavy drinking and the use of dope.</p> - -<p>Knowing where each tunnel led, my present choice was simple: by seven -tunnels I could postpone an immediate showdown with Naomi, since -these went to barracks and work rooms and supply centers. The eighth -tunnel led directly to the great assembly hall and administrative -headquarters. There, Naomi would be holding council. This was the -tunnel I chose.</p> - -<p>I was halfway through it when a bunch of the senior gang members met me -head on. They were battle-tested gals of seventeen and eighteen with -hair waved in the short Grecian style and short sleeveless tunics of -green, red, yellow or black, depending on their unit.</p> - -<p>They hailed me enthusiastically. "Vera, welcome back! Beautiful ship -you brought. Hey, your hair: you look like a kid again. No more scars! -Are you going to challenge Naomi?"</p> - -<p>Somehow everyone else shut up in time for this question to stand out -like a band instrument taking the wrong repeat. They were all eyeing me -expectantly.</p> - -<p>I threw my head back with a short laugh. "I'm still the leader of this -gang."</p> - -<p>To lend point to the declaration I cracked the coils of my python whip, -flooring but not badly hurting a young recruit rushing up the tunnel to -meet us. The girl shrieked.</p> - -<p>"Wow!" one senior exclaimed. "A showdown between two leaders! That's -never happened before. This is going to be interesting."</p> - -<p>We helped the recruit to her feet. She limped along but knew better -than to reveal her pain. "Girls," she said, gasping, "Naomi has called -a formation! Hurry!"</p> - -<p>The words were hardly out of her mouth when the formation alarm -reverberated in the passageway. That gave everybody just thirty seconds -to line up with their units in the assembly hall, and my escort of -girls plunged on ahead of me. When I reached the great spiral-shaped -hall at my own more deliberate pace, the gang already stood in -formation.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I paused at the entrance, for this is always an impressive moment on -barren Callisto. The hall was a natural cavity half a mile deep, palely -illuminated by the artificial sun hanging from a ceiling stalactite. -The place was warm and moist-smelling like a greenhouse. Generations -of girls before us had gradually modified the rock interior with hand -blasters, carving out a series of broad, steplike plateaus along one -rim. On each level a unit kneeled at attention on one knee, forming a -circle around their respective hussies (our term for captain) who stood -rigidly erect holding a green nuclear torch, emblem of our gang. To me -it was a beautiful sight, especially the raising of the degravity dais.</p> - -<p>Up, out of the verdant depths of the cave, overgrown with Earth-style -trees and tropical foliage, rose the great ceremonial platform reserved -for the gangleader and her administrative aides. As this cleared the -rim and stabilized in midair, Naomi became visible to all and a raucous -female cheer went up from the ranks.</p> - -<p>Jeanette, my former protocol officer, stepped forward waving the -'parade rest' command. She was a tall lanky farm girl with lots of -common sense, and evidently she'd been promoted to second in command.</p> - -<p>"Girls," she said in her steady, emotionless voice, amplified a hundred -times by her throat piece projector, "just a brief announcement before -we hear from our leader. Yesterday a brawl took place in the Spilka -Skating Palace in Ganny City, and one of our girls failed to return. -Some of you may remember what a beautiful job Phyllis did of poisoning -the Io gang's food shipment a while back, and we think the boys must've -found out she was the one. Anyway, they kidnapped her and we have every -reason to believe she's being tortured right now in that fort of theirs -on Io.</p> - -<p>"Let's just assume she'll crack eventually and tell them our code. From -now on all external communication will use code O-97, and you new -girls will have to see your hussy right after this formation ends if -you expect to have it memorized by tomorrow morning."</p> - -<p>Jeanette nodded with the barest trace of a sadistic grin as a murmur -of consternation rippled through the ranks of our rookies. "That's all -from me," she added, "and now here's Naomi."</p> - -<p>I hadn't moved from the entrance. Now, as Naomi spoke, I began my calm, -unhurried, and, I hoped, supremely dignified march towards the dais.</p> - -<p>"Girls, I want to add this to what Jeanette told you," Naomi began. -"We're going to revenge this outrageous kidnapping at the earliest -possible moment. My staff and I are working countermeasures that will -make the Ios rue the day they ever pulled this stunt on one of our -girls."</p> - -<p>At first, all eyes were centered on Naomi, and no one observed my -approach from the rear of the hall. And I don't believe Naomi herself -could see me with the lights focussed on her face, though obviously she -knew of my arrival. She was a short, shapely sixteen-year-old, full of -gestures and animation. She wore her brown hair in bangs, her features -forming an attractive oval, her dark eyes flashing with self-assurance. -Her clothes were a green version of my own leotards, only tighter. But -as usual, claw marks marred her appearance, and it seemed to me even -from a distance that she had lost the use of her left eye.</p> - -<p>"Today, we want to welcome back one of our former leaders," Naomi -continued, "a girl who has just returned from the Matrix Center, and -is once again ready to do battle for the glory of our gang. This great -Callisto had the misfortune to be killed in a fight with private -detectives during that costly, but on the whole successful, raid on -the ration warehouse on Eros. I refer, of course, to our own immortal -Vera ... whom I believe is ..." (here Naomi peered out into the darker -recesses of the hall) "... among us right now."</p> - -<p>Another cheer went up, and everybody looked about in various directions -until a spotlight finally caught my deliberate striding figure working -its way towards the platform.</p> - -<p>"Because this is sort of an unusual situation," said Naomi in cool -candor, "one that doesn't seem to be covered by any of our bylaws, -it appears that Vera will have to start at the bottom again as a new -recruit. Because, you see, for all practical purposes, she's a new -person altogether."</p> - -<p>An angry flush shot through my body.</p> - -<p>"However," Naomi added patronizingly, "we're all sure that Vera's -abilities will be recognized quite soon, even as a recruit, and that -she will rapidly rise to a new position of leadership within our -organization."</p> - -<p>"More rapidly than you can imagine!" I shouted at the top of my voice. -Unaided by an amplifier it must have sounded feeble even to the front -ranks. But in the same instant I wound up on one foot and cracked my -whip resoundingly in her direction, and there was no mistaking this -defiant gesture.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A roar of excitement arose from the gang. For a moment there was -confusion on the dais as Naomi and her aides consulted. The clamor grew -louder. "Duel! Duel!" echoed through the hall. I knew this wasn't a -case of loyalty to me; everyone was eager to watch a nice bloody fight, -any moment of the day or night.</p> - -<p>Putting on my steel claws, I advanced to the edge of the chasm, -opposite the leader's platform. Here the seven-eighths Earth gravity we -artificially maintained in our hideout began to fade. The ravine itself -was subject only to Callisto's feeble attraction. Twenty-five feet -away, Naomi came out of the huddle and signalled for silence. While -the clamor was subsiding I saw Jeanette jump off the dais onto one of -the lower plateaus and disappear in one of the tunnels. I poised myself -for the leap.</p> - -<p>"Now look, gang," said Naomi. "Jeanette is our protocol expert and -it's her opinion that no challenge is in order. She doesn't remember -any precedent for a leader returning from Matrix, but she's just taken -off for the archive room to look up the records." A chorus of boos and -catcalls broke out, and this got under Naomi's skin.</p> - -<p>"Well, as far as I'm concerned, we can have this business over with -right now," she shouted, snapping claws over her wrists.</p> - -<p>I hurled myself across space, landing on the far corner of the -platform, whip upraised to strike the first blow. Almost in the same -instant, half a dozen aides leaped to safety on the lower plateau.</p> - -<p>Naomi cocked her whip with lightning speed, to my surprise, lashing -out ahead of me. But because of her bad eye it was a poorly aimed -blow which I dodged easily, and before she could regain her balance I -brought my whip down with full force across her shoulders.</p> - -<p>She shuddered in pain, and a great red welt opened up along her neck. -First blood. A roar went up from the spectators, who had now broken -formation to crowd along the edges of the chasm.</p> - -<p>Instinctively Naomi clutched for my whip, but I recoiled it in time and -swung a second time. It cut searingly into her side, winding about her -waist with a python action that crushed out her breath. I moved in for -the kill with uplifted claws. Suddenly Naomi leaped from the dais, high -into the air.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/illus.jpg" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p>It was a brilliant defensive move. I had no time to think, but the -alternatives were simple: hold onto the whip handle and be pulled after -her, or let go and be minus a whip.</p> - -<p>I held on and we went rocketing to the rough-hewn ceiling. We bounced -off the rock roof, I barely managing to switch my feet to where my head -had been to absorb the ricochet. Then we went sailing down, almost -leisurely in the weak gravity, to the bottom of the cavern. And this -time I was absorbing the whiplash, as Naomi, knotting mine about her -waist, so that I couldn't retract it, swung her own whip with vicious -skill. <i>Whff!</i> My thighs. <i>Whff!</i> My face. <i>Whff!</i> My breast.</p> - -<p>She was cutting me to pieces; I was in agony as we fell that half mile. -Desperately I tried to ward off her blows. Then I realized there was -only one solution: in-fighting.</p> - -<p>I tugged with all my strength at my whip handle. She kept thrashing -and I kept pulling at my line, pulling her closer and closer, until -she could no longer use her whip effectively at such close range. My -head was foggy from the beating. I gave a final tug and lurched at her -throat with my steel claws.</p> - -<p>She deflected one claw, but the other sank in, and I remember how her -eyes began to widen in terror. Then ... darkness hit me.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I awoke staring up at tall lanky Jeanette, as my brain slowly stopped -revolving inside my cranium.</p> - -<p>"You battered your head against the rock wall, my dear Vera," she said.</p> - -<p>"Naomi?" I asked. "Is she—?"</p> - -<p>"She lost consciousness too, but for a different reason. Loss of blood. -You tore open her jugular vein. We picked both of you up off the -cavern floor."</p> - -<p>I sat up slowly, dizzily. "So who's leader now?"</p> - -<p>Jeanette smiled and shook her head. "I don't know. None of us is too -sure. We've never had a situation like this before. But we think Naomi -is. She regained consciousness first."</p> - -<p>I sank back on the pillow, trying to collect my thoughts.</p> - -<p>Naomi came into view. She had been standing behind the headboard. Her -throat was a mess despite the basic telesurgery, but her expression was -friendly.</p> - -<p>"Look, Vera, I'm willing to admit I would have lost. You outfought me. -But luck was on my side and I won."</p> - -<p>"You're right there, sister," I sighed, mustering a smile. I noticed -also that they'd fixed her eye—considerably improving her appearance.</p> - -<p>"Well, since neither of us was in a position to finish the other one -off, it's still a complicated proposition. I mean, about the title," -Naomi clarified.</p> - -<p>I again managed to sit up and felt the strength begin returning to -my limbs. If you aren't stone dead, modern medicine can heal almost -anything nowadays in a matter of hours, which I find reassuring. "What -do you propose, another duel?"</p> - -<p>"That doesn't make much sense," said Jeanette. "Why fight among -ourselves when there are so many of those stupid boys buzzing around?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, what I was going to suggest," Naomi said eagerly, "is that we -sort of share the leadership until one or the other of us gets killed -in battle."</p> - -<p>I thought for a moment and then clenched my fist, and we knocked -knuckles grinning at each other.</p> - -<p>I got to my feet. "What are your plans to strike back at the Io gang?"</p> - -<p>"Frankly, that was just for public consumption," Naomi admitted. "We -don't have any plans as yet."</p> - -<p>"Well," I said, "let's the two of us get in a ship and just bomb hell -out of their home base."</p> - -<p>Naomi showed surprise. "Right now? In our condition?"</p> - -<p>"Sure. What this gang needs is a little boost in morale."</p> - -<p>Naomi nodded, her brown eyes flashing. "Good. We'll go in my ship."</p> - -<p>Together we strode from the sickbay, through the tunnel to the airlock. -Ginger intercepted us at the First Hall. Her guards held a man at -pistol point.</p> - -<p>"Naomi ... Vera ... whichever of you is in charge now. We've just -caught an Io spy!"</p> - -<p>He was an older man, balding, seedy-appearing in an old-style tweed -suit. He stared at us in a calm, unflustered manner, plainly curious.</p> - -<p>"Oho! Now we can get even for the way they treated Phyllis." Naomi was -gleefully thumbing through her mental catalog of torture techniques.</p> - -<p>"If he's a spy," I said, "let's not waste any time on him now. We can -take care of him when we get back."</p> - -<p>Jeanette had followed us in the tunnel. "He doesn't look like a spy to -me," she said drily.</p> - -<p>"Oh no?" said Ginger. "Then how did he find our hideout? How did he -learn our landing code?"</p> - -<p>Suddenly I recalled my feeling of being followed. "I thought there was -someone trailing me in space this morning. All the way from Ganymede I -had the weirdest sensation."</p> - -<p>"Well, that may explain how he got here," said Jeanette, "but I still -say this guy isn't a spy."</p> - -<p>"You're quite right," said the man. "I'm not a spy."</p> - -<p>"Sure," Jeanette continued in her lanky farm accents, "the first -prerequisite for a spy is to look inconspicuous. This old character -couldn't do much hiding in a girl's dormitory."</p> - -<p>"Old man, how did you come here?" I demanded.</p> - -<p>"I landed at the entrance of your cave, madam, and asked to be -admitted. Then your colleagues," he nodded at Ginger, "seized me before -I could explain my purpose in coming here."</p> - -<p>"No matter what he says, I think he's a spy," said Ginger. "This is a -very subtle angle they're playing. I'm security officer; it's my job to -outguess them."</p> - -<p>Naomi was impatient. "Well, if you think he's a spy, then shoot him."</p> - -<p>"Yes," said Ginger, "why should we take chances?"</p> - -<p>The man showed irritation. "Young lady," he told Ginger very sternly, -"I must at this point advise you that my life is not on file at Matrix -Center, and that any contemplated execution of me would constitute -murder. Irrevocable murder."</p> - -<p>"This guy speaks like a lawyer," Jeanette murmured in my ear. "Better -investigate."</p> - -<p>"What kind of identification did you find on him?" I asked Ginger.</p> - -<p>"Oh, a bunch of papers saying he was an assistant professor at Mars -University. But those are easily forged."</p> - -<p>"A professor, eh? What's your field? What are you doing here?"</p> - -<p>He stared at me with a kind of superior smile. I had the vague feeling -I'd seen him before, which is ridiculous: I've never been on Mars.</p> - -<p>"Ah, at last some intelligent questions. My field, young lady, is -sociology. I happen to be doing some research on juvenile delinquency, -which is why I came here. Lewis Worth is my name. Are you perhaps the -leader of this gang? If so, I would appreciate your help."</p> - -<p>Ginger snorted. "What a fantastic line!"</p> - -<p>Naomi looked at me quizzically. Was I in fact the leader?</p> - -<p>I hedged. "Look, Ginger. There isn't time to investigate his story. -Right now, Naomi and I have a little mission to accomplish. So keep -this guy under guard until we get back."</p> - -<p>Deep down in me I felt resentment about all this tact I had to use. -Why <i>shouldn't</i> I be the leader? The girls instinctively looked to me, -obeyed me. Why <i>shouldn't</i> I be the one to give orders, make decisions? -This pretense of shared leadership with Naomi could only last a day, -two days, a week at most. And then would come the final showdown.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We rocketed into orbit with Jupiter's innermost satellite—I piloting, -Naomi astrogating. Io showed up like a pea-sized blemish against the -bloated planetary face, whirled into tan-grey zones of supercold -methane by thousand-mile-per-hour helium tradewinds. Jupiter the heavy, -inhospitable.</p> - -<p>Almost beneath us now, the boys' domed hangout glowed dully green in -the feeble Jovian sunlight. Naomi readied the missile launchers. -Seconds later, before we were within firing range, the first of the -boys' space cruisers zoomed up to intercept us. They were ready for our -ship but not our strategy.</p> - -<p>Down we plunged in a searing power dive, straight for the hangout's -vulnerable airlock. Missiles exploded on all sides of us, harmlessly, -as our phantom target defense went automatically to work. Our radio -crackled with barked commands and alarmed oaths between the boys' ships -and Io headquarters.</p> - -<p>"Zero range!"</p> - -<p>"They're coming in!"</p> - -<p>"Damn those girls!"</p> - -<p>"Look out! We can't stop them!"</p> - -<p>"It's a suicide dive! Man your crash stations!"</p> - -<p>We dropped down, inches above ground level of the airless moon, our -nose pointed like a needle at the green bubble. Suddenly I braked our -speed with reverse rockets, bruising my ribs with deceleration.</p> - -<p>"Fire!" I shouted.</p> - -<p>Naomi launched the first missile straight for their airlock. It struck -just before the emergency siege gate slid shut, blasting jagged holes -through the outer and inner locks. Air whooshed from the dome, hurling -men and debris into the vacuum. Seconds later the catastrophe seal was -oozing down to plug the hole, but by then our ship had plunged through.</p> - -<p>"You've done it!" Naomi screamed joyously. "We're inside!"</p> - -<p>"And their fleet is outside, and there's nothing the boys can do about -it."</p> - -<p>I slowed our ship to practically zero ground speed. We hovered for a -moment near the ceiling of the great transparent dome, considering our -next target. Below us lay the ramshackle gangland, a maze of roofless -partitions clustered around a tiny lake. One quarter of the city was -virtually an open-air machine shop. Near the shattered airlock stood a -parade ground, overlooked by a tall, balconied tower with people on top -making frantic gestures.</p> - -<p>"I'll bet that's headquarters."</p> - -<p>"Down it goes," said Naomi excitedly.</p> - -<p>I put our ship in a dive. She aimed quickly, triggered the missile.</p> - -<p><i>Boom!</i> The tower collapsed. Tiny figures began to scurry about on the -parade ground.</p> - -<p>"Let's get 'em!"</p> - -<p>I skimmed the field and Naomi blazed away with the vibro gun. One after -another the boys dissolved in puffs of smoke. I veered around and we -strafed them again, killing hundreds.</p> - -<p>I felt exhilarated, marvelously happy.</p> - -<p>Naomi shrieked ecstatically.</p> - -<p>In another minute there were no more boys alive who hadn't taken -shelter underground.</p> - -<p>I glanced upward and laughed. The boys' fleet swarmed helplessly -outside the dome like bugs on a lampshade, watching their hangout -ripped to pieces.</p> - -<p>"Get their arsenal!" cried Naomi.</p> - -<p>"Revenge for Phyllis!"</p> - -<p>We dived again, spraying the roofless barracks with destruction, -blasting huge craters in their machine shop, starting explosions of -ammunition that rocked our ship, threatening to blow off the dome in -one piece.</p> - -<p>At last the fun ended. "Only one missile left," Naomi warned.</p> - -<p>"Hang on, then," I said gaily, stabbing the rocket controls. "Callisto -girls are homeward bound!"</p> - -<p><i>Blam!</i> went our torpedo, tearing a second hole in the mangled airlock. -And out that hole we went, accelerating like crazy, pursued into deep -space by the entire enemy fleet.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As long as we were chased, and missile fragments rattled against our -hull, we continued in high spirits. Even when the boys scored a hit -that forced us to don our space suits, we remained elated. But the -minute the Ios broke-off pursuit we renewed our antagonism.</p> - -<p>"Say," said Naomi over her helmet phone, "this isn't the right course -for Callisto."</p> - -<p>"No, dear, I'm landing on Ganymede first. I don't think it's safe to go -on until we get that fuel leak fixed."</p> - -<p>"Why should we pay good money to a mechanic when our own girls can do -the job?"</p> - -<p>"We'd never reach Callisto. You don't realize how dense the fumes are -in this cabin. We could explode just like that." I tried futilely to -snap my clumsy spacesuit fingers.</p> - -<p>"Look," said Naomi irritably, "let me do the worrying. I'm the leader -and I say we go directly home."</p> - -<p>"I beg your pardon," I objected, holding my temper. "I understood this -was a fifty-fifty proposition."</p> - -<p>"Callisto!" she snarled. "I order you."</p> - -<p>"Shut up!" I snapped. "I'm pilot of this ship, and space law says you -obey me."</p> - -<p>We'd have had our final showdown right then and there, except it's -practically impossible to wrestle in spacesuits.</p> - -<p>We landed in Ganymede City and haggled over price with the same -garageman who sold me my used 2064 Spacer (being equipped for battle -by our ordnance crew even as we talked). He brought his bid down -finally from a hundred to seventy-five solars.</p> - -<p>"Okay, have it ready in an hour," I said, walking from the shop.</p> - -<p>Naomi followed indignantly. "Vera. Just where in the hell are you going -to get seventy-five solars?"</p> - -<p>I paused on the sidewalk, hands hitched to my weapons belt. "I'll dig -it up if you'll agree to do some research for me."</p> - -<p>Naomi smiled craftily. "Steal it, eh? All right, I'll go along with you -for the time being."</p> - -<p>I left her at the public library and headed, with serious misgivings, -in the direction of my family home.</p> - -<p>Ganymede City is a drab industrial town of a million or so people, -with very little excitement or glamor beneath its turquoise dome. The -chamber of commerce used to give a big buildup to the view of Jupiter -and the good job opportunities when they first wanted to attract -workers from Earth. Those poor shnooks soon got fed up with astronomy -when the boom fizzled out and the only jobs left were in the metal -refineries.</p> - -<p>I hate my father who is a jerk just like the rest of them. Never quite -became shop foreman. Never quite able to buy his own house. Never -quite saved enough to move his family to Saturn's ring where the real -boom took place. And always so damn preachy to me and the younger kids. -And my mother disgusted me too for just sitting around and taking it -all those years.</p> - -<p>"What are you doing here?" my father demanded. "You're supposed to be -on your way to Mars."</p> - -<p>"Vera, what happened?" my mother whined. "Why aren't you on the ship?"</p> - -<p>"I need a little more money. Seventy-five solars."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean, a little more money?" said my father angrily. "What -happened to the money we gave you?"</p> - -<p>"And the tickets," my mother, anxiously. "You promised me you'd go to -school. What did you do with the tickets?"</p> - -<p>"Don't worry. I got a refund. It's all in a safe place."</p> - -<p>My father got menacing. "Say, just what are you up to? You haven't gone -back to that gang by any chance?"</p> - -<p>"Oh God forbid!" my mother cried.</p> - -<p>"I need seventy-five solars," I repeated calmly. "Are you going to give -it to me?"</p> - -<p>"Answer me!" my father roared. "Have you gone back to that gang?"</p> - -<p>"That's none of your damn business."</p> - -<p>Infuriated, he started towards me. "No daughter of mine is going to -talk to me like that. I'm going to give you the spanking you've had -coming for seventeen years."</p> - -<p>I drew my whip and slashed him down the side of his face and chest, -cutting his shirt half open. He sat down with an unbelieving expression -and fingered the red welt. He looked at me through glazed eyes, almost -in a state of shock, as I rewound my whip.</p> - -<p>My mother broke the long silence. "Here, Vera. Here are your -seventy-five solars. We never want to see you or hear from you again."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>News of our gang wars rarely appears in the adult press. I guess -they're afraid the publicity might encourage more teenagers to join up. -But the colonial struggle with Sirius had ended, and there wasn't much -else happening in the Solar System just at that time, so our raid on Io -made the headlines.</p> - -<p class="ph1"><i>GIRLS BLAST BOY HIDEOUT<br /> -Callisto fleet bombs, strafes<br /> -Io base in bloody juvenile gang war</i></p> - -<p class="ph1"><i>Humiliated Ios vow retaliation<br /> -for fifty-ship sneak attack</i></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We were received as heroes by our gang. Even the inaccuracies in the -news story contributed to our glory—the Ios being ashamed to admit all -the havoc was the result of only one solitary girl ship. Our hussies -and aides greeted us in the First Hall with a wild cheer, crowding -around us to beg for details.</p> - -<p>"Later," said Naomi, flushed with triumph, "we'll call a formation -later. We'll tell our story to the entire gang."</p> - -<p>"Back to your posts, now!" I shouted. "You hussies get your girls ready -for battle. We can expect the boys to counterattack at any time."</p> - -<p>The First Hall cleared rapidly of all except a few of our top officers.</p> - -<p>"Confidentially," I said, "I won't go for any more of this shared -leadership stuff. This gang can only be run by one boss at a time. It's -going to be either me or Naomi, but not both of us."</p> - -<p>"Those are my sentiments exactly," said Naomi. "Let's get this fight -over with once and for all."</p> - -<p>Jeanette, always the reasonable one, stepped forth quietly. "Look, this -is a very bad time to hold a duel, just when we're waiting for the Ios -to appear."</p> - -<p>"Yeah, you two, you're spoiling our victory celebration."</p> - -<p>"Put it off until tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"Until after the next meeting."</p> - -<p>"Besides," added Jeanette, "Naomi and Vera worked well enough together -during their raid on Io."</p> - -<p>"Yes! That's right! We'll need you!"</p> - -<p>The sentiment for postponement of our duel was irresistible. We both -bowed to it as gracefully as we could.</p> - -<p>"I'll work with you, Naomi, but I'll hate you every minute of it."</p> - -<p>"Likewise!" she snarled, "and twice as much."</p> - -<p>Fat, fog-throated Ginger edged next to me. "Well, now that that's -settled for the time being, maybe you two can agree on what to do with -this spy we caught.</p> - -<p>"Shoot him!" said Naomi. "He's a man."</p> - -<p>"Let's first determine whether or not he's a spy," I said.</p> - -<p>"There you two go disagreeing again," Ginger complained. "Now just what -do you want me to do with him?"</p> - -<p>"I've worked out a test we can give him. We can tell whether he's lying -or telling the truth when he says he's a professor."</p> - -<p>"Oh, this is all so much nonsense," said Naomi impatiently. She -withdrew a piece of paper from her belt wallet, handed it to me. -"Here," she said sarcastically, "here is that research you had me do -at the library. I authorize you to handle this matter for both of us."</p> - -<p>She stalked out of the hall with a short, scornful laugh.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ginger had locked him in the nuclear torch storeroom, a none too -healthy place. We escorted him to the communications office. I began -the interrogation.</p> - -<p>"You say your name is—?"</p> - -<p>"Lewis Worth."</p> - -<p>"And your occupation is a professor?"</p> - -<p>"Assistant professor of sociology, Mars University." He clipped his -words with deliberate over-formality. His expression was faintly amused.</p> - -<p>"So you say, and so your papers say, but those could be forgeries, you -admit?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, that's possible," he replied softly, "but it's so easy for you to -check with my department."</p> - -<p>"Undoubtedly there is someone there by that name," Ginger interjected. -"But that doesn't prove your identity."</p> - -<p>"I have here a list of members of your alleged department. If you -actually belong to it you should be able to give me their names."</p> - -<p>He nodded slowly. "A fair test."</p> - -<p>"Then call them off, beginning with the department chairman. And if you -make a single mistake, I'll have my girl shoot you on the spot."</p> - -<p>Ginger raised her blaster eagerly.</p> - -<p>A minute later she lowered it in disappointment.</p> - -<p>"Very well," I said. "You weren't lying. Now tell me why you came here. -And be brief, if you please. Because, fifteen minutes from now I want -you on your ship heading back to wherever you came from."</p> - -<p>The professor stared at me for a moment. "The truth is, I came to see -you."</p> - -<p>Ginger blushed, the first time I had ever seen her do a thing like -that. "Wait outside," I told her sternly.</p> - -<p>When we were alone I faced him inquiringly.</p> - -<p>"Oh don't misunderstand me," he began. "It isn't anything personal. -And then again, maybe it is. You see, in my academic language, you -represent the charismatic personality."</p> - -<p>"Just what do you mean?" I demanded.</p> - -<p>"Well, as I told you, I'm studying juvenile delinquency, gangs, and -leaders of gangs—the whole problem of youth's orientation in society, -and the way he reacts. Frankly, Vera, you and your gang have built up -a terrible reputation in adult circles, and I, for one, am perfectly, -fascinated. I wonder if you'd admit me to your gang?"</p> - -<p>"What the hell are you talking about!" I was really shocked.</p> - -<p>"Oh—oh—strictly as an observer, mind you. For a short time only."</p> - -<p>"Not a chance, professor."</p> - -<p>"You see, I'm seeking to understand—and it would be a contribution -to social science if you'd help me find out—just why you teenagers -are striking out at each other, scorning adult society, rejecting the -opposite sex. And equally interesting to me is the subtle change that -takes place each time a—"</p> - -<p>I cut him short. "Look, Professor Worth. You said you haven't been -matrixed. Then this is no place for you to set up shop. Because war is -our way of life, and someone is liable to kill you just for the fun of -it. Bad situation for a man like yourself who can only afford to die -once."</p> - -<p>I strode to the door. "Ginger, escort the professor to his ship."</p> - -<p>It was a good thing we got rid of him then. Minutes later, our -instruments detected ships within a quarter of a million miles, and the -alert was sounded. Shortly afterwards, we made positive identification: -the Io gang!</p> - -<p>Naomi and I quarreled for a second over strategy. Should we split up, -each leader piloting her own ship and responsible for half the fleet? -Or should the two of us occupy one ship? I insisted on the latter, and -when Naomi disagreed I knocked her unconscious with the butt of my whip -and dragged her into my own Spacer coupe. Ordnance had worked fast. It -was fully equipped for battle.</p> - -<p>I ordered our entire fleet into attack formation. Together we zoomed up -to meet the oncoming enemy, ninety of our spaceships to a hundred and -ten of theirs.</p> - -<p>I rocketed out in front of my fleet. The boys had begun firing. Their -missiles exploded in space like brilliant fireworks, multicolored -bursts on all sides of us. I signalled my girls to commence firing, -launching our first missile at point-blank thousand-mile range.</p> - -<p>It scored a direct hit, exploding an Io ship to comet dust. I felt -serenely happy. I wanted to share my feeling of triumph with Naomi who -still lay unconscious on the cabin floor.</p> - -<p>"Hey, girl, wake up! We're in combat!"</p> - -<p>She stirred, started to regain her senses. Her eyes fluttered. Just as -they opened our ship exploded to oblivion.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>This was familiar, this coming out of sleep with infinitely tender -caresses of light, in a vacuum tube the exact shape of your naked -body, a tube that dissolved at the exact instant of awakening into a -warm epidermal glow, while the bee-like humming faded into silence and -only the barest trace of hyacinth scent lingered in the nostrils. It -had happened before. How many times? Once? Twice? Three times? All my -limbs felt supremely relaxed as after sedation. All my thoughts were -clear and calm as a hidden spring on a wooded hillside. Earth summer. -Timeless.</p> - -<p>Abruptly the marble slab felt cold against my back and the spell was -broken. I sat up too suddenly, for a monitor voice said, reassuringly:</p> - -<p>"Have no fear, young lady. You have awakened in the Matrix Center -on Ganymede. There, you will recall, you at some time in the past -commissioned us to make a vibration pattern of your total physical, -mental and spiritual self.</p> - -<p>"You did this," the recording continued, "against the possibility that, -at some future time, accident or the unavoidable hazards of honor would -result in your organically premature death. And this has come to pass. -But, by means of your matrix, you have escaped dissolution. You are an -exact duplicate of your former self in all but the most minor respects.</p> - -<p>"Congratulations on your good fortune, and welcome to a new life where -we trust you will find the greatest measure of personal fulfillment."</p> - -<p>As the recording ended, an attendant entered the room.</p> - -<p>"Hello, Vera." She was smiling and pleasant voiced. "Want to put on -that white gown and come with me?"</p> - -<p>I followed her in bare feet over carpeting soft as lamb wool, into an -office that was really not much like an office—more like a cozily -furnished living room. On the couch sat a balding man in a tweed suit.</p> - -<p>Vague earlier memories gradually took shape. "Is this my placement -interview?"</p> - -<p>The man smiled. "Yes. You have a wonderful memory net in that brain of -yours."</p> - -<p>"Wasn't I supposed to remember?"</p> - -<p>"It's usually one of the things erased in the duplication process. But -then, you were here not so very long ago."</p> - -<p>I tried to recall. "It couldn't have been too recently."</p> - -<p>Again the interviewer smiled. "Only a week ago, my dear."</p> - -<p>He saw my dismay. "Oh, but don't let that bother you, Vera. That's -about par for gang leaders."</p> - -<p>Curiously, when he said the words 'gang leaders' I felt a little bit -embarrassed, almost ashamed.</p> - -<p>"Well now," he said, getting down to business, "I should like to have -a brief chat with you about your future. It's our job to help give you -a fresh new start in life. Can you think of anything you'd especially -like to do, any career you would like to follow?"</p> - -<p>I considered this but drew a blank. "No, frankly, I can't."</p> - -<p>"Well, then, perhaps you'd like to return to Callisto?" He said this in -a totally neutral fashion.</p> - -<p>"No. Not that anymore."</p> - -<p>"Good," he said, rising to his feet.</p> - -<p>All at once I was shivering and trembling. "Something is wrong with -me. I mean, it's true what I just said. That's how I feel. I don't -want to go back to the gang. But—I can remember how differently -I felt—before. And somehow it seems wrong to change one's mind -so—suddenly."</p> - -<p>His hands rested on my shoulders. "Vera, this is what going through -the matrix process does to a person." His voice was low, boundlessly -sympathetic. "Each time it heals a little bit of your personality along -with the physical battle scars. The change is very slight and very -subtle. You hardly noticed it at all the first time, did you?"</p> - -<p>I shook my head. "But, how long can this ... healing process go on?"</p> - -<p>"Some personalities, Vera, are terribly hurt, and they must die several -times before they become whole." He took my hand. "And now, my dear, -allow me to suggest two alternatives for your future. Doubtlessly, in -a universe of infinite possibilities there are infinite alternatives -one might take. But I know you quite well (though this may surprise -you) and I feel that if you can happily accept one of the two that I -mention, you will not again have to seek death in order to return here. -For that is, after all, the meaning of your immediate past."</p> - -<p>"What are these two alternatives?" My voice was quite small. I felt as -though my life was warped into this moment like a mobius sheet.</p> - -<p>"You will go to Mars University, and there train yourself to become a -laboratory technician, as you originally promised your parents. This is -a useful profession, of service to society. Sufficient funds will be -provided."</p> - -<p>Chagrin filled me. I rebelled at the thought. "Or...?"</p> - -<p>"Or—and this is also a hard choice, though it may seem glamorous at -first—you may become a member of a select expedition to a remote star -which our astronomers say has a planetary system capable of supporting -our kind of life. There we will plant a new colony."</p> - -<p>Joy and enthusiasm welled up inside me. "Why, that sounds wonderful! -That's my choice."</p> - -<p>He shook his head slowly. "Wait. Wait, Vera. This is also to be -considered. You will never again see Jupiter or any of the Solar -System. You will travel for a hundred and fifty years. Most of this -time you will sleep in deepfreeze state, of course. But inevitably you -will age twenty years in the process."</p> - -<p>This meant I would arrive at the other end, thirty-seven years old. My -eagerness cooled. "What a pair of alternatives!"</p> - -<p>He nodded gravely. "You give them both some thought. Meanwhile in the -next room you'll find some new clothes. See me afterwards." He pressed -a button on the edge of the couch and the attendant came in.</p> - -<p>"Yes, Professor Worth?"</p> - -<p>"Take Vera along please."</p> - -<p>Something buzzed alive in my brain. It was like a set of tumblers -clicking into place. I remembered. I turned at the door.</p> - -<p>"I remember you! You were the spy—that is—"</p> - -<p>"Yes, my dear."</p> - -<p>"But—"</p> - -<p>He smiled. "I was observing you, Vera. You were due for your fifth -matrix—your last by law. Society didn't want to lose you. I hoped -my appearance would react on your subconscious, bring your previous -experiences here forward. To help bring out the good, so to speak. It -was strictly experimental."</p> - -<p>He was still smiling as the door closed behind me.</p> - -<p>In the next room, Naomi had just finished dressing. She glared her -hostility.</p> - -<p>"That was a lousy trick you played on me, Vera."</p> - -<p>"I guess it was. I'm sorry."</p> - -<p>"You're <i>sorry</i>! Girl, if I had my whip and claws right now I'd <i>make</i> -you feel sorry."</p> - -<p>I was silent a moment. Then I asked her, almost timidly: "Naomi, you're -not going back to the gang now, are you?"</p> - -<p>She stared at me peculiarly. "Are you mad? Of course I'm going back. -I'm <i>leader</i> of the Callisto girls." She stomped through the outer -door, and I had the feeling she would be back more than once.</p> - -<p>When I had put my clothes on—a simple brown jerkin with blue -long-sleeved shirt—I returned to my interviewer. "Professor Worth, may -I propose a third alternative? After all, if this is a universe of -infinite possibilities, maybe two is narrowing it down too much.</p> - -<p>"Professor, I know I can never go back to the girl-gang way of life. -And I understand now why the police left us alone when we ran wild. -They were letting us work out our problems.</p> - -<p>"And somehow, that's why I feel I have to reject your two alternatives. -I'm me, and I can't limit myself in the ways you suggest. You needn't -be afraid. I won't break any more of society's rules. I won't try to -hurt anybody, deliberately. I'll probably get a job somewhere, on this -planet or some other planet. Maybe I'll make myself useful, maybe not.</p> - -<p>"But what does the universe have to offer a girl of my experience and -energy and," I hesitated, "charismatic personality? I intend to find -out. I want the freedom to find out. Do you see? My third alternative, -Professor, is to walk out that door with no obligation to anyone."</p> - -<p>He seemed not to be listening. He seemed to be thinking his own -thoughts.</p> - -<p>"I think that can be arranged," he said finally.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VICIOUS DELINQUENTS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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