Stranger in a Strange Land

Mike was baffled by Jill's reversal in attitude, plus longstanding bafflement at Duke's «art» collection. But the pale Martian thing which parallels tumultuous human sexuality gave him no foundation for grokking either narcissism or voyeurism, modesty or display. He added, «“Naughty” means a small wrongness, but I grok you did not mean a wrongness, but a goodness.»

«Uh, a naughty picture could be either, I guess — depending on who it's for — now that I'm over my prejudice. But — Mike, I'll have to show you; I can't tell you. Close those slats, will you?»

Venetian blinds flipped themselves shut. «All right,» she said. «This pose is just a little naughty — any show girl would use it as a professional pic… and this is a bit more so, some girls would use it. But this is unmistakably naughty … and this one is quite naughty … and this is so extremely naughty that I wouldn't pose with my face wrapped in a towel — unless you wanted it.»

«If your face was covered, why would I want it?»

«Ask Duke. That's all I can say.»

«I grok not wrongness, I grok not goodness. I grok — » He used a Martian word indicating a null state of all emotions.

Because he was baffled, they went on discussing it, in Martian when possible because of its extremely fine discriminations for emotions and values — and in English because Martian couldn't cope with the concepts. To pursue this mystery, Mike took a ringside table that night, Jill having coached him in how to bribe the maître d'hôtel. Jill came strutting out in the first number, her smile for everyone but a wink for Mike. She discovered that, with Mike present, the warm, pleased sensation she had been enjoying nightly was greatly amplified — she suspected that she would glow in the dark.

When the girls formed a tableau, Mike was about ten feet from Jill — she had been promoted to a front position. The director had shifted her on her fourth day, saying, «I don't know what it is, kid. We've got girls with twice your build — but you've got what customers look at.»

She posed, and talked with mike in her mind («Feel anything?»)

(«I grok but not in fullness.»)

(«Look where I am looking, my brother. The small one. He quivers. He thirsts for me.»)

(«I grok his thirst.»)

(«Can you see him?»)Jill stared into the customer's eyes both to increase his interest and to let Mike use her eyes. As her grokking of Martian thought had increased and as they had grown steadily closer they had begun to use this common Martian convenience. Jill had little control as yet; Mike could see through her eyes simply by calling to her, she could see through his only if he gave it his attention.

(«We grok him together,»)Mike agreed.(«Great thirst for Little Brother.»)

(«!!!!»)

(«Yes. Beautiful agony.»)

A music cue told Jill to resume her slow strut. She did so, moving with proud sensuousness and feeling lust boil up in response to emotions both from Mike and the stranger. The routine caused her to walk toward the rutty little stranger; she continued to lock eyes with him.

Something happened which was totally unexpected to her because Mike had never explained that it was possible. She had been letting herself receive the stranger's emotions, teasing him with eyes and body, and relaying what she felt to Mike — when suddenly she was seeing herself through strange eyes and feeling all the primitive need with which that stranger saw her.

She stumbled and would have fallen had not Mike caught her, lifted her, steadied her until she could walk unassisted, second-sight gone.

The parade of beauties continued through the exit. Off stage the girl behind her said, «What happened, Jill?»

«Caught my heel.»

«That was the wildest recover I ever saw. You looked like a puppet on strings.»

( — and so I was, dear!) «I'm going to ask the stage manager to check that spot. I think there's a loose board.»

For the rest of the show Mike gave her glimpses of how she looked to various men while making sure that she was not again taken by surprise. Jill was startled at how varied were the images: one noticed her legs, another was fascinated by undulations of her torso, a third saw only her proud bosom. Then Mike let her look at other girls in the tableaux. She was relieved to find that Mike saw them as she did — but sharper.

But she was amazed to find that her excitement increased as she looked through his eyes at other girls.

Mike left during the finale, ahead of the crowd. She did not expect to see him again that night since he had asked for time off only to see her show. But when she returned to their hotel, she felt him before she reached the room. The door opened, closed behind her. «Hello, darling!» she called out. «How nice you came home!»