Blish,James – And all the Stars a Stage

… Which did Jorn Birn no good whatsoever. The fourth boy in his

family-which, since his mother had been moderately well off, had provided

him with three people to call “father”-he had been farmed out to a creche

not long after infancy, as a luxury his mother had decided she could no

longer afford. He had been state-raised, state-educated, and

state-supported ever since. Nor did he have any hope of marrying into some

influential woman’s staff, or indeed much hope of marrying at all; though

he had never heard of Cinderella, he recognized the standard plot of the

usual television drama for the opiate it was.

Engineering or no engineering, it sometimes seemed to him in his worst

moments that he had no prospects but those of becoming a public gigolo. But

he was invariably brought up short by the realization that he was not

really attractive enough to make a living at it against the widespread

competition; and in any event, his powers in this field were at the age of

twenty-five not only unpracticed, but outright untested. Jorn Birn was

simply a glut on the market, any market, and that was the end of the

matter.

“And winds from the northeast, moderate to fresh,” the newscaster was

saying brightly. “And now, let!s see what’s stirring in the way of job

opportunities. We have an unusual item to lead off with. And there’s no use

listening to this one, girls, because it!s for a man.” There was an

appreciative giggle. “Heres an outfit that says it wants a young male with

technical train-

And all the Stars a Stage 15