“Hazel, you don’t really want me to go chasing after other women, do you?”
She took his chin in her hand. “Clifford, you are a big sweet dope. You know all there is to know about figures, but what you don’t know about women would fill reels.” She kissed him. “Relax. Mamma knows best.”
“But — ”
“The party waits.”
He raised the shell of the car. They got out and went on in.
The town house of the Johnson-Smith Estaire occupied the entire top platform of the warren. It was a conspicuous example of conspicuous waste. The living quarters (that great pile of curiously assembled building materials could hardly be called a home) occupied perhaps a third of the space, the rest was given over to gardens, both open and covered. Her husband’s ridiculously large income was derived from automatic furniture; it was her fancy to have her house display no apparent evidence of machine domination.
So it was that real live servants offered to take their wraps-they had none-and escorted them to the foot of the broad flight of stairs at the top of which the hostess was greeting her guests. She extended both arms as Clifford and Hazel approached. “My dear!” she bubbled to Hazel. “So gentle of you to come! And your brilliant husband.” She turned to her guest of honor, standing at her side. “Doctor Thorgsen, these are two of my dearest friends. Larsen Hazel-such a clever little person, really. And Master Monroe-Alpha Clifford. He does things about money at the Department of Finance. Dreadfully intricate. I’m sure you would understand it-I don’t.”
Thorgsen managed to frown and smile simultaneously. “The Larsen Hazel? But you are-I recognize you. Will you be dancing for us tonight?”
“I no longer dance.”
“What a pity! That is the first unfavorable change I’ve found on earth. I’ve been away ten years.”
“You’ve been on Pluto. How fares it there, Doctor?”
“Chilly.” He repeated his somewhat frightening mixed expression. Clifford caught his eye and bowed deeply. “I am honored, learned sir.”
“Don’t let it-I mean, not at all. Or something like that. Damn it sir, I’m not used to all this fancy politeness. Forgotten how to do it. We have a communal colony, you know. No weapons.
Monroe Alpha had noticed with surprise that Thorgsen was unarmed and brassarded, yet he carried himself with the easy arrogance of an armed citizen, sure of his position. “The life must be quite different,” he offered.
“It is. It is. Nothing like this. Work, a little gossip, bed, and back to work again. You’re in finance, eh? What sort of thing?”
“I compute the re-investment problem.”
“That? Now I know who you are. We heard of your refinement of the general solution-even out on Pluto. High computation that. Makes our little stereo-parallax puzzles look fiddlin’.”
“I would hardly say so.”
“I would. Perhaps we can find a chance to talk later. You could give me some advice.”
“I would be honored.”
Several latecomers were waiting in line. Hazel could see that their hostess was becoming impatient. They moved on. “Enjoy yourselves, my dears,” she invited them. “There are, well, things — ” She waved vaguely.
There were indeed “things.” Two theaters were available, one of which was giving a continuous performance of all the latest and smartest stereo-reels, the other provided the current spot news for anyone who could not relax without knowing what was going on out of his sight. There were gaming rooms, of course, and dozens of little snuggeries where small groups, or couples could enjoy each other’s company tete-a-tete. A currently popular deceiver circulated through the crowd, displaying his jests and deceptions and sophisticated legerdemain to any who cared to watch. Food and drink in lavish variety, quality, and quantity were available everywhere.
The sweeping tesselated ballroom floor was lightly filled. Pattern dancing would come later. The huge room faced, with no wall intervening, into one of the covered gardens, unlighted save for lights below the surface of numerous rocky little pools. The other side of the ballroom was limited by the transparent wall of the swimming bath, the surface of which was on the floor above. In addition to ornate decoration and moving colored lights on the water side of the crystal wall, the swimmers themselves, with the inescapable gracefulness of underwater movement, gave life and harmony to that side of the room.