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with Colmer, you let me help, huh? Nia Tubb said to Kurla one morning.
Thanks, Kurla answered with a wan smile.
Say, just between the two of us, Prane s no addict, is he? He doesn t look
like one and I ve seen enough to know, but still
Solar Prane developed an adverse chemical reaction to long use of mindtrap.
I always thought mindtrap was the most harmless thing in the world. I ve used
it myself times without number.
Ordinarily. But the Solar has been using it for over 70 years. A residue of
the silicon content, which ought to have been flushed out of his system, has
built up in his tissues. He also has a liquid retention problem and the
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diuretic originally prescribed combined unfavorably with the mindtrap residue,
leaching potassium from his system in an unremediable process.
What does that mean? He looks fine to me. Kurla s voice, dispassionately
clinical, was more tragic than tears.
In low-grav conditions, in free-fall particularly, there is no strain on the
skeleton and he s fine. But his bones are soft, a fall, a blow, any long
period of heavy physical strain and he would& in effect& break up. And the
silicon is gradually choking his vital organs to death.
Replace em!
Kurla shook her head. Nia. patted her hand rhythmically,. Helva interrupted
them with a rehearsal call. And that was the worst rehearsal yet. Ansra s
attitude had insidiously unnerved the entire cast, Evervone was off. They blew
their lines, forgot stage business. When Mercutio and Paris got into a fight
that was not in the script, Prane called a halt.
We ve gone stale. We will take today off and tomorrow. Helva, break out the
finer rations. Nia and Kurla, would you be so kind, please, to see what
surprises the galley might serve up? Helva, have you some tri-casts of
interest? We need to relate to the everyday worlds that we have forgotten,
immersed as we have been in ancient England.
Ansra stalked out of the main cabin, slamming the door to the women s
Quarters. Helva looked in to find her staring angrily into a mirror. It was
disconcerting for Helva to watch her frustrated, brooding self-examination
while Nia and Kurla chattered inconsequentialities in the galley.
Helva tried to be everywhere, keeping an ear out for any trouble& any more
trouble, that is. Davo floated purposefully toward Prane. Since Helva had been
speaking onlv from the main cabin, she fostered the tendency for her
passengers to forget she had ears and eyes everywhere in the ship.
You must realize by now, Prane, Davo was saying, that Ansra is determined
to ruin this production. And she is succeeding admirably.
Prane regarded his friend for a long moment, a slow smile beginning. You ve a
solution?
Let s put her off balance. Remember what we used to do on the long hauls on
tour?
Reshuffle all the parts?
Exactly. Christ, we all know each other s lines and movements.
Prane began to grin mischievously. And& let Helva be Juliet?
No, Kurla is Juliet! Davo returned Prane s surprised stare with a dead
serious dare.
And Romeo?
That part need not change, Davo said evenly, then added in a light voice,
but I shall be Friar Lawrence and marry you two.
Prane waited till everyone had eaten and was relaxed with Thracian beer. The
announcement met with approval, raucous and bawdy.
I ll be Lady Capulet, Escalus announced in a squeaky falsetto.
And I ll be Lady Montague, said Friar Lawrence in a quavering contralto,
reverting to his own normal bass to add, Always thought she was a wino.
I ll be Escalus, Helva volunteered in a voice so like the real actor s the
man dropped his tankard.
You could be the whole damn play all by yourself, Davo vowed, his voice far
more slurred than it should be on Thracian beer. There isn t one part you
couldn t do.
Really? In that case, I ll be the Nurse, Ansra Cornier announced. Then
Helva can see how the part should be played.
And Kurla will be Juliet, Davo cried, his eyes on Ansra. Set the stage, oh
chorus. Places, everyone. Places.
Two households, both alike in dignity& Helva began promptly in a basso,
sweeping everyone into the act before they had time for second thoughts.
Davo came on as Sampson, and Chadress, normally Lord Capulet, as Gregory,
hamming their lines and indulging in slapstick nonsense. Balthasar rolled on,
as though drunk, slurring through the establishment of conflict between the
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two houses. Lines were rattled off, and actors bodily moved each other into
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